My week and half in Spain was just what the doctor had ordered: a complete change of pace. I love Deauville and France and my students and teaching, but it was wonderful to be able to shed my French persona and practice my rather rusty Spanish skills while reuniting with Molly, Alejandro, and Elena. As you will see with my photos, I visited some beautiful places, and they were made even better by my great companions and tour guides. Funnily enough, some of the Deauville clouds I was trying to leave behind seemed to be following me around for much of my trip; according to Alejandro it clouded over once I arrived in Murcia, and each city we visited together would get cloudy in preparation for my arrival and then clear up as I left.
I spent Saturday, February 26 through the afternoon of Thursday March 3 with my fellow Frankfort-er Molly in Benidorm (a coastal resort in Valencia home to TONS of Brits), and together we took great advantage of her region's tram to visit the nearby and (let's be honest) more attractive cities of Alicante, Villajoyosa, Altea, and Denia. In the US Molly and I tend to plan our outings together around food, whether it's cooking together, visiting spots on the Bourbon Trail, or getting Blizzards and Fazoli's breadsticks before leaving for Europe, and I'm pleased to announce that little has changed in the 6 months we've spent abroad. We made several delicious meals together (including vegetarian fajitas with homemade tortillas--a first for me!), visited the Valor chocolate factory in Villajoyosa, and took a 3.5 hour hike over very mountainous coastal trails (I felt like I was in Oregon Trail for a while) with a huge pan of paella as our goal. Visiting Molly was also great because she teaches 3 year olds in an English immersion classroom in Benidorm, so we could understand each others' stories about the children. Plus, talking with her and her teacher Andi and reading Old MacDonald Had a Farm to her students gave me many great ideas for my classes.
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| Me (and my enormous backpack) in front of the Mar Mediterraneo |
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| Lovely place to stroll in Alicante |
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| The view from our hike to Altea for paella. It was hilly and exhausting but completely worth it. |
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| The sea is so blue-green! |
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| Looking behind. |
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| Partner in paella-eating. |
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| I think you can tell from this photo that we were walking from clouds into the sun. |
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| The descent into the land of paella! |
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| Altea is lovely. |
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| YUMMY PAELLA! For those who aren't acquainted, this one has rice, shrimp, chicken, beans, artichokes, peppers, and saffron gives it the color. |
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| Pretty street in Denia |
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| View of the countryside in Altea |
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| Delicious Xuxu I got in Altea while Molly was teaching her Spanish class for immigrants |
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| It started to mist in Altea, leading to several beautiful rainbows like this one. |
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| Benidorm...or should I say Beniyork? |
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| Here we are, hiding the view. |
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| Couples write their names on locks and leave them on this stairwell. I guess it's to show that their love lasts as long as it doesn't get too rusty. |
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| At the Valor chocolate factory in Villajoyosa. It smelled delicious! |
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| Colorful buildings in Villajoyosa. |
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| There were so many citrus trees everywhere! |
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| And palm trees, too. |
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| Walking off the free chocolate samples from the Valor factory. |
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| Market in Benidorm. |
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| Cool mural in Alicante. |
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| The castle I hiked up to in Alicante. I believe it belonged both to the Moors and Christians at various times, and boy was it a steep hike! |
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| Partway up... |
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| Stopped to smell the flowers. And to catch my breath! |
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| The view from the top. |
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Our goodbye feast my last night in Benidorm. I said we liked to eat, right? I'm sure you all are as exhausted by all that as I am, so I'll leave my time with Alejandro for another occasion. Hasta pronto! |
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