Alicante Spain

Friday May 2

Alicante is on the central east coast of Spain and is located along the Costa Blanca. As we came in to dock this morning we could see the castle situated high on the hill above the town and were eager to explore it. The weather was superb and the walk to the elevator was along a beautiful esplanade beside the sea and a lovely sandy beach. With yesterday being a public holiday a lot of people had turned it into a 4 day weekend and had hit the beach, just like Aussies would do!

Noelle at the Port with the Castle high in the background

Al with the beach Playa del Postiguet behind him

The Castle of Santa Barbara dates back to the 9th century when the city was under Muslim control, but excavations have revealed existence of a Roman fort dating back to the 1st century due to its commanding position. We had a lot of fun exploring the different stairways and towers, and some of the bigger rooms had exhibits found by archeological teams of the different periods over the existence of the fort and town. The views were stunning and it was a perfect day to get an overview of Alicante and the coast.

Views from the Castle

 

After all this exercise and culture it was time for some refreshments before tackling the old quarter of the city, so we chose a taverna in the square opposite the town hall. What a great choice, as we were served a refreshing salad, the best fried calamari, home cooked paella served with flair at the table, and an almond torte "drowned" in schnapps - all washed down with a carafe of sangria. A perfect meal for such a sunny day but we were glad neither of us had to drive home!

Savouring every mouthful!

It was hard to get up from the table after such a delicious and memorable meal but there was a lot more to see of this town, and fortunately the town hall was just across the square. Inside it contained some great paintings but the piece de resistance was a sculpture by Salvador Dali which, by his standards, was quite tame but brilliant none the less. The lighting made it even more effective than the sculpture by itself.

Dali's statue in the Town Hall

We love wandering the old quarters of these towns as we pick up the feel of a place while admiring the buildings, people watching, looking in shops, exploring little alleyways and walking off big lunches! As we made our way back towards the ship we strolled along the promenade beside the marina under the shade of palm trees which lined the patterned marble floor tiles. Alicante really appealed to us and we definitely plan to come back and spend more time here.

 

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