Pics : Lies and me at the ballerina statue; girl from China, Lies, Rahul, Holger; statue on fire; castle; Lies on harbor; beach; leaving fireworks with Jean; the walkway near the harbor
We arrived in Alicante on Wed the 24th and had no problem finding our CSers house from the train station. His name is Rahul and he has a lovely apartment 20 min walk to the beach. We each had our own room with a twin sized bed. After arriving and talking to Rahul a bit, we took naps and then got up when several of Rahul’s friends came over for dinner. One of the guys was Jean (pronounced John) who would host us the 3rd and 4th nights of our stay in Alicante. There was also a German guy named Holger and a Korean girl Chong Jung. The guys cooked and made a really yummy vegetable curry dish with white rice and chicken and bread with butter. We all ate in the beautiful sunroom that opens out onto a balcony - we had a lot of fun talking and they all spoke so many languages it was very impressive.
Later that night, we all went out to see the Hogueras. This is a big
festival that only happens once a year in Alicante where there are 70 huge papier-mâché statues all over the city and between midnight and 1 am, they are all lit on fire consecutively as public entertainment. There are also fireworks and music that everyone sings along to. The state we went to go see was a huge ballerina and it totally didn’t look made out of paper - its lines were smooth and elegant, and the tutu glittered in the street lights. First they lit a bonfire nearby on fire, and the crowd went wild. Cultural songs were blasted in the streets and all the people around us song along patriotically and clapped along. At last, the street lights in that area were turned off, the firemen finished hosing down all the nearby trees and buildings, and the ballerina was lit. She went up in a surge 
of flames at least 50 feet high, soaring above her head and engulfing her entirely. All that could be seen was a black silhouette and then even that was lost in orange flames. The heat suddenly reached the part of the crowd where we were standing (Lies and I were closest of our group), and it was so hot everyone started rushing backward. Debris also started floating in the air, and the firemen sprayed their hoses in the air all around the burning structure, but not actually on it. Eventually, when the only thing left was a flaming wooden cross-like piece that the ballerina had been built around, the firemen started spraying the excited crowds (everyone was begging them to). We backed up even farther so as not to get drenched.
Afterward we walked through the streets at 1 am, crowded with swarms of people (many with nothing but wet bathing suites on from the fire hoses). We walked through the old town and saw some outdoor markets and then went to a little bar where I had pineapple juice and everyone else had mojitos.
The next day Lies woke up very late (almost 1 pm) so I read for a couple hours and when she got up we got our suites on and walked to the beach. The main walkway along the harbor is really beautiful with multi-colored tiles and palm trees and fountains. Right before you reach the beach you can see the castle high up on the hill nearby. Alicante was so beautiful we were sad to not have brought our cameras that day.
At the beach we got in the water almost immediately it was so hot, and the water felt great! The waves were pretty big and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
That evening we made dinner for the two of us and Rahul (salad and fried potatoes) and then his friend Holger came over a little later and we all played a hand of rummy cube before bed.
On Friday I was the one to sleep in late because, at about 8:30 am I woke up sweating to death and moved to the small love seat in the living room which has a nice breeze from the porch. I stayed there until 10:30, and then returned to my room. Needless to say my sleep was restless.
Again we went to the beach and the water was even more beautiful than the day before - it had a Caribbean kind of clarity and was a beautiful blue-green color. I didn’t wear makeup so I could put my whole body under water, and it felt so freeing to swim under the softly undulating waves. Meanwhile, I was spending every free moment reading My Sister’s Keeper which is a book Lies lent me. It was SO good!! (More of that to come).
Rough night for Lieselotte. She told me that at one poin the said, "would you ever want to live in Spain?" and she said "NO" so quickly he was taken aback. That made me laugh.
On Sunday we chatted with Jean and his new couch surfer named Bowey from China and then caught a bus to the train station to head for Madrid. We’d had a really great time in Alicante. Will post about Madrid soon!
We arrived in Alicante on Wed the 24th and had no problem finding our CSers house from the train station. His name is Rahul and he has a lovely apartment 20 min walk to the beach. We each had our own room with a twin sized bed. After arriving and talking to Rahul a bit, we took naps and then got up when several of Rahul’s friends came over for dinner. One of the guys was Jean (pronounced John) who would host us the 3rd and 4th nights of our stay in Alicante. There was also a German guy named Holger and a Korean girl Chong Jung. The guys cooked and made a really yummy vegetable curry dish with white rice and chicken and bread with butter. We all ate in the beautiful sunroom that opens out onto a balcony - we had a lot of fun talking and they all spoke so many languages it was very impressive.
Later that night, we all went out to see the Hogueras. This is a big
festival that only happens once a year in Alicante where there are 70 huge papier-mâché statues all over the city and between midnight and 1 am, they are all lit on fire consecutively as public entertainment. There are also fireworks and music that everyone sings along to. The state we went to go see was a huge ballerina and it totally didn’t look made out of paper - its lines were smooth and elegant, and the tutu glittered in the street lights. First they lit a bonfire nearby on fire, and the crowd went wild. Cultural songs were blasted in the streets and all the people around us song along patriotically and clapped along. At last, the street lights in that area were turned off, the firemen finished hosing down all the nearby trees and buildings, and the ballerina was lit. She went up in a surge 
of flames at least 50 feet high, soaring above her head and engulfing her entirely. All that could be seen was a black silhouette and then even that was lost in orange flames. The heat suddenly reached the part of the crowd where we were standing (Lies and I were closest of our group), and it was so hot everyone started rushing backward. Debris also started floating in the air, and the firemen sprayed their hoses in the air all around the burning structure, but not actually on it. Eventually, when the only thing left was a flaming wooden cross-like piece that the ballerina had been built around, the firemen started spraying the excited crowds (everyone was begging them to). We backed up even farther so as not to get drenched. Afterward we walked through the streets at 1 am, crowded with swarms of people (many with nothing but wet bathing suites on from the fire hoses). We walked through the old town and saw some outdoor markets and then went to a little bar where I had pineapple juice and everyone else had mojitos.
The next day Lies woke up very late (almost 1 pm) so I read for a couple hours and when she got up we got our suites on and walked to the beach. The main walkway along the harbor is really beautiful with multi-colored tiles and palm trees and fountains. Right before you reach the beach you can see the castle high up on the hill nearby. Alicante was so beautiful we were sad to not have brought our cameras that day.
At the beach we got in the water almost immediately it was so hot, and the water felt great! The waves were pretty big and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.
That evening we made dinner for the two of us and Rahul (salad and fried potatoes) and then his friend Holger came over a little later and we all played a hand of rummy cube before bed.
On Friday I was the one to sleep in late because, at about 8:30 am I woke up sweating to death and moved to the small love seat in the living room which has a nice breeze from the porch. I stayed there until 10:30, and then returned to my room. Needless to say my sleep was restless.
Again we went to the beach and the water was even more beautiful than the day before - it had a Caribbean kind of clarity and was a beautiful blue-green color. I didn’t wear makeup so I could put my whole body under water, and it felt so freeing to swim under the softly undulating waves. Meanwhile, I was spending every free moment reading My Sister’s Keeper which is a book Lies lent me. It was SO good!! (More of that to come).
After we got back to Rahul’s we packed up our stuff and he walked us to the bus stop to catch the bus to Jean’s apartment across town. His apartment was also very nice, though much smaller. However, it had a roof-top patio that offered an excellent view of the streets below and the stars, not to mention a great breeze. Jean took us that night to the fireworks show down at the beach. Every night for 5 nights there is a fireworks show at midnight on the beach (starting the day after Hogueras). The show was really good (though not as great as Disney World fireworks shows), and the three of us had really interesting talks about life, people, philosophy, books, etc. as we sat on the sand waiting. After the show we walked trough the old town again and then back to Jean’s.
On Saturday we (guess what???) yes, went to the beach. It was just so nice and relaxing and there isn’t much else to do in Alicante (except the castle which we sadly never got around to). I was lying on the beach finishing up the book when Lieselotte came back from the water, as she kneels down on the towel next to me she goes, "Oh my gosh! Are you crying?" Meanwhile, sobs are wracking my body. A man nearby asks in Spanish to Lieselotte if I am crying over a boyfriend *rolls eyes*. She said no, the book was just very sad and I had a big imagination.
That night I stayed in and talked on the phone and enjoyed Jean’s star view, but Lieselotte decided to walk down toward the beach. When she returned she told me of yet another accosting situation. We’ve decided (besides the fact that she’s blonde and beautiful) that these people are attracted to her because she has a sweet face whereas I wear a "don’t mess me with me" mask every time I walk down a public street. Anyway, apparently this older fat man asked for directions somewhere and she said, trying to be funny, "All I know is La Rambla is that way."
Well, of course this opens up the doors of communication and he starts talking to her and she’s sort of happy that she’s getting to practice her Spanish. Finally he asks if she wants to get a coke somewhere, and she toggles with the idea, but truly wanting to practice more of the language and feeling he was harmless, she agreed. As they walked up the street toward Jean’s house the man kept saying "how about down there or there" and always pointed down sketchy alleys. Lieselotte was firm on this point though, and said "NO, I have to stay on this main street or I’ll get lost." He was like "okay okay" and they finally found a spot on the main drag. However, once in the café he started seeming more creepy. He stared at her in a very unsettling way and was saying things like "ooohhhh, muy simpatico, muy bonita." At one point he even touched her knee 
and she jerked away. As they walked down the street he’d also tried to hold her hand and she’d said no, we are only amigos, I have a boyfriend. And he tried to "explain" how in Spain people are very affectionate and people hold hands like that etc. She tried to explain how people in America respect personal space, and don’t touch women they don’t know without an invitation. She really wanted to run, but figured he wasn’t actually a danger since he’d gotten out of breath just walking up the street which was on a hill. As they left he offered her a ride on his motorbike and she made that a very definite no, and then he gave her the common ‘kiss-kiss’ on each cheek to say goodbye, but then got her in a tight hug unexpectedly and when she tried to pull away he said, "Un momento, un momento." She said after that she practically ran back to Jean’s (oh, after promising to meet him with me at his sailboat the next evening - after we’d already be in Madrid. Lol). 
That night I stayed in and talked on the phone and enjoyed Jean’s star view, but Lieselotte decided to walk down toward the beach. When she returned she told me of yet another accosting situation. We’ve decided (besides the fact that she’s blonde and beautiful) that these people are attracted to her because she has a sweet face whereas I wear a "don’t mess me with me" mask every time I walk down a public street. Anyway, apparently this older fat man asked for directions somewhere and she said, trying to be funny, "All I know is La Rambla is that way."
Well, of course this opens up the doors of communication and he starts talking to her and she’s sort of happy that she’s getting to practice her Spanish. Finally he asks if she wants to get a coke somewhere, and she toggles with the idea, but truly wanting to practice more of the language and feeling he was harmless, she agreed. As they walked up the street toward Jean’s house the man kept saying "how about down there or there" and always pointed down sketchy alleys. Lieselotte was firm on this point though, and said "NO, I have to stay on this main street or I’ll get lost." He was like "okay okay" and they finally found a spot on the main drag. However, once in the café he started seeming more creepy. He stared at her in a very unsettling way and was saying things like "ooohhhh, muy simpatico, muy bonita." At one point he even touched her knee 
and she jerked away. As they walked down the street he’d also tried to hold her hand and she’d said no, we are only amigos, I have a boyfriend. And he tried to "explain" how in Spain people are very affectionate and people hold hands like that etc. She tried to explain how people in America respect personal space, and don’t touch women they don’t know without an invitation. She really wanted to run, but figured he wasn’t actually a danger since he’d gotten out of breath just walking up the street which was on a hill. As they left he offered her a ride on his motorbike and she made that a very definite no, and then he gave her the common ‘kiss-kiss’ on each cheek to say goodbye, but then got her in a tight hug unexpectedly and when she tried to pull away he said, "Un momento, un momento." She said after that she practically ran back to Jean’s (oh, after promising to meet him with me at his sailboat the next evening - after we’d already be in Madrid. Lol). 
Rough night for Lieselotte. She told me that at one poin the said, "would you ever want to live in Spain?" and she said "NO" so quickly he was taken aback. That made me laugh.
On Sunday we chatted with Jean and his new couch surfer named Bowey from China and then caught a bus to the train station to head for Madrid. We’d had a really great time in Alicante. Will post about Madrid soon!
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