A Sunday Lunch in Alicante

We’ve made amazing friends during our three weeks so far in Alicante. At a traditional lunch with them this past Sunday, Ted and I felt we had fully arrived in Spain.

Three short videos tell the story. Click on the arrow in the middle of each image below for a taste of our afternoon.

First, our meal. Sancocho!

(Please forgive the tilt from vertical to horizontal in the video above. I’m still learning! Kind critics might say something like, “He captured the effervescence of the afternoon.” Ha!)

Next video: Our bubbly, “not just” cava!

Finally our toast. Salud!

The event was hosted by Maribel Mosquera Ramírez, the co-owner of a comfy neighborhood bar called Punto Marva. Featured on the left in the video above, Maribel is a lively and generous host. She welcomed each and every friend who “popped in” during the afternoon.

Including adorable pets.

The main chef was our friend Raúl Alberto Pilling-Riefkohl. In the videos above, he describes the sancocho and the special cava that capped the afternoon. My, it was good!

A sancocho closeup

Sancocho is a stew with a lush combination of flavors, especially when topped with Maribel’s mojo verde, cilantro ground with garlic, scallions (hard to find in Alicante, although leeks and onions are plentiful in the markets here), olive oil, salt and pepper.

The best part is the multidimensionally flavorful broth, which Raúl made sure we had plenty of with our stew. In fact, he’d ladle an extra spoonful in our bowls when they began to run dry.

He’s that sort of guy.

Moving to Alicante from Phoenix in January 2024 (his husband Rob joined him here in April that year), Raúl has been a terrific guide for us during our visit, teaching us the city as well as interesting tidbits about Spanish life … like the five meals typically eaten each day by the Spanish, and that it’s okay to wish someone “buenos dias” after twelve noon, IF you haven’t had lunch yet. If you have, the proper form is “buenas tardes.”

Our Sunday meal began well past twelve.

After a leisurely time of conversation, music, laughter and one’s beverage of choice, which for many was sangria, the sancocho was served around three o’clock, after lots of fun in the kitchen, too.

Our lunch hour made perfect sense, because Spaniards typically don’t eat dinner until 8:30 p.m. … or later. So mid-afternoon lunches are often de rigueur.

And since Ted and I attended a play that evening with our new friends Alberto and Glenn Molina-Coats (former Tampa residents now living in Alicante), our light dinner came after the theater, around 9:30 p.m.

Yes, Ted and I are growing fondly accustomed to life in Alicante. It’s so easy to sink into its leisurely rhythm, where the food is excellent, sure, but the company and the socializing are by far the most important reasons for gathering.

It will be hard to go home.

To leave this wonderful place. Though we miss our friends and neighbors in Atlanta, the thought of descending into the chaos and cruelty that characterize the United States today greatly disturbs us.

So we savor every moment of our time in Spain.

And every surprise.

Like this musical coda by Christian, the bartender at Punto Marva, whose powerful voice often rises above the hum of the crowd at that bar.

Here, he brings a joyful end to our joyful Sunday lunch in Alicante.

Hail Mary, indeed!

P.S. Special thanks to Alicante Rainbow LGBTQ+, a local community that has been the stepping stone to our newfound friendships in Alicante. The group has weekly gatherings, including a Thirsty Thursday event that Ted and I have attended each week since arriving in Spain. Alicante Rainbow LGBTQ+ has made all the difference in making us feel at home in Alicante.