A Typically Extraordinary Tuesday in Alicante

We’ve been in Alicante for one week … and the city continues to gift us with new sights, new sounds, new flavors. And all with a surprisingly low price tag. Our new video recaps our morning. Watch it here. The full youtube link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7Ayd_WcQgI.

We mention how walkable the city is … but the video shows it even better. We had lunch against a backdrop of lively pedestrian and cyclist traffic on the Passeig Esplanada d’Espanya, a picturesque path along the Mediterranean waterfront. It steals the show!

While bus and car traffic on the streets is also steady, Alicante doesn’t have that harried pace of some cities. Residents take pride in the fact that their home is a cosmopolitan place, though smaller than Madrid and Barcelona, and they seem determined to take time to enjoy it. Lunch goes on till well past 3:00 p.m. on a weekday. And dinner? Since we’re usually home by 9:00 p.m., we really cannot say. 🙂

Here are some photos from our day:

For just under $4.00, two potent, delicious coffees served by a smiling waiter at a shaded table outdoors. What did we say about price and value?

A restaurant’s bottled ceiling.

A snow-white pigeon. They’re all over the place here!

The gorgeous, nearly dizzying mosaic work on the Passeig Esplanada d’Espanya. You’d swear it was three-dimensional as you walk on it.

Paella the way it should be, and which I’ve never been able to master, with crispy edges like the corner pieces of a really good pan of brownies. This one was laced with bite-size pieces of squid and garbanzo beans.

An accordionist playing “My Way.”

This Ukrainian restaurant sign warmed our hearts. We plan to stop in for a meal soon.

One of many Indian restaurants. The variety of Alicante’s food scene is amazing.

A restaurant tucked beneath the trees in one of Alicante’s splendid courtyards.

A hot dog salute to Atlanta (note the barbecue sauce). Why it’s here I have no idea.

A short ride on Bus #12 back home. The buses here are clean, comfortable and reliable. The subway is, too.

Siesta time!

Tomorrow we’ll swim at the Piscina Monte Tossal aquatic center, new bathing caps in hand! When we read the requirement for bathing caps for all swimmers, we asked the desk attendant if baldies like me were exempt. He laughed and tilted his hand back and forth, which I translated to mean it would be wise to have one in my swim bag, just in case.

We take no chances when it comes to a good lap swim.

Meanwhile, best wishes from both of us. And thank you so much for following our Spanish adventure.