Sleepish Alicante

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“Now I wouldn’t want your pants to fall down now would I?” suggested the Gatwick Customs officer, as with one hand I clutched to my jeans and with my other chucked my bag, including my belt through the security scanners. It had been just under 6 months ago that I left from this airport for my Greece holiday , I forgot how much I loved Gatwick – the long queues, the shoes off policy, the utter chaos, the photos on departure and of course how could I forget , the no belt policy. Which inevitable meant my way too large trousers, would make them selves at home at the bottom of my ankles. My flight was scheduled to leave from Gatwick Airport to Alicante at about 5am, so when Niki and I were running towards our gate at 4.50am, I couldn’t help but smile – I was on the road again!

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The easy jet flight was comfortable and we arrived into sunny Alicante early on Saturday morning – unfortunately thou Niki’s baggage had other intentions. Delayed in London, our pleasant Spanish rep for Easy jet explained that it would be delivered first thing the next day. Interestingly enough thou, the more this man spoke his smooth talking Spanish English, Niki’s legs got weaker and weaker – she must of been tired from the flight, poor thing!

Finally I had found a street that really did look like it came from the magazines

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After a small walk to the outside of the airport, 1 euro later, we were dropped off by the local bus into the heart of Alicante. The city was quiet on arrival and as we made our way to the hotel, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful Spanish balconies lined with potted colour, the quite aromatic coffee shops and Spanish life getting off too a sheepish start to the morning.

Goya Hotel was a budget hotel; clean, conveniently located and with character. After dumping our bags, we headed towards the sea front via El Bario. El Bario is the quaint old quarter of Alicante with cobbled stone streets lined with affluent designer outlets, boutique tapas bars and secluded plazas. I knew straight away, I was gong to have problems holding onto Niki. After dodging the various shoes shops we made our way down the waterfront to come face to face with an ancient tourism tradition – the restaurant gauntlet run! Niki and I looked each other in eye, with a nod of our heads and a look of fear in our eyes, we knew this awesome Herculean task lay before us – we had to pick a restaurant for Paella. So hurtling our way down the strip, our stomach saying yes and our brains saying way to expensive as we passed endless restaurants all offering versions of a paella combination, we settled on a nice little cafe at the far end. Sitting down to order, we felt the relief wash of our backs; we could now relax into our gourmet adventure.

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The meal was fantastic! I had a delicious mixed Paella and for anyone who is new to the world of Spanish food; Paella is a rice dish with has been boiled with stock and seafood, served in a little iron pan. Beautifully accompanied by an ice cold beer with layered ice on the pint glass, I knew that just as I had tried local foods around the world previously, Paella was rapidly become a favourite. With full stomachs and 20 euros later, we were wondering the yacht harbour with ice creams in hand. I got the slight impression, only slight thou, that if any indication of the multimillion dollar boats sitting there, that perhaps the rich stop by to play. Only a slight impression thou!

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“Hey Hun, can you see that castle on the cliffs there?” is a question I’m sure Niki will think about twice before she answers that again. The castle in question was the Castillo De Santa Barbara, a beautiful 9th century fort located upon Mount Benacantil. Over the various centuries it has been bombarded, occupied by various kings and princes, and now is a haunt for tourists alike. The views are incredible across Alicante, with green cactus gardens and olive trees creating an oasis like feel to it. After convincing Niki, that the climb wouldn’t be that hard (yes I lied), we started our ascent to the top. The walk was relatively easy and as kids started to pass us on the walk up, we knew that we had to work on our fitness levels. There is nothing like a kid beating some sense into you. Make sure thou that u have a hat and plenty of water, it does get quite hot as there is not much shade protection.

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After spending a few hours at the top, relaxing in the sun, we began our climb back down through Plaza Carmen and surrounds, one of the most idyllic streets. You know when you looking through travel magazine and you see those perfectly ornate streets, lined with pot plants, coloured doors, wrought iron gates, perfect windows, sleepy cats and old mammas screaming out the window – this was it! Finally I had found a street that really did look like it came from the magazines.

Completing our long walk through the afternoon, late night paella and a splash of sangria, it was time to retreat to quietness of our bedroom with the warm wind blowing through the open doors of our balcony; I couldn’t help but think that this was the way life should be. We woke early in the morning to Niki’s lost backpack arriving, the screams of joy as fresh underwear came out were impressive and well timed as we had a bus to catch to Grenada. Our time in Alicante was short, yet very relaxing. Alicante is a typical sea side resort, yet with plenty of Spanish charm, a funky night life and small town feel to it, made it an easy city to ease ourselves into the Spanish way of life. The city does have a feel that the more mature people, yes I mean the mammas and papas out there, would feel comfortable here, yet I felt just that.

Our next stop laid 8 hours away, the raw Islamic infused city of Grenada.