Thu 3 April - arrival in Barcelona and first night
We arrived on schedule 3 April in Barcelona, Spain. We picked up the Peugeot 207 at the airport, which we have leased for the next 4 months, and headed to our first stop: Tarragona. Our small hotel, L'hote de L'avia (photo), was about 15 miles outside town in a very quiet village. The staff was very nice, and we had a huge room. There wasn't much to see or do in town but walk around observing the architecture and the various shops. The food at the hotel was quite nice, generous portions and very good. Kiyomi commented later that the tapas we got here, made especially for us by the chef, and were some of the best we had in Spain: tapas chorizo, tapas de queso, tapas de pulpo, tapas langostinos, tapas Carpaccio de bacaiao, tapas de morcilla. We're beginning to realize that we are really here, fulfilling a 30-year dream to spend a long time visiting Europe.
Fri 4 April - Tarragona
We visited Tarragona to see the Roman ruins (photo), but they were not very impressive. We had a delicious Italian lunch in a restaurant on the Ramblas Nova, the main street. We walked around a bit, then had an adventure trying to pay for parking in a garage - fortunately a kind citizen helped us out, or we might still be there, puzzling over the procedure. After a relaxing two nights, we headed for Valencia.
Sat 5 April - Valencia
We checked in to the Westin Hotel in Valencia. It's a deluxe hotel and we got upgraded to a very large room with lots of space and very posh furnishings.
We walked to the nearby El Jardin del Monforte (photo) (Monforte Garden), which in addition to being lovely and interesting, was made even more enjoyable by the smell of orange blossoms permeating the air. Kiyomi found several items of interest, so we took several pictures. Dinner at the hotel was shared salad, and pesto with oil and peppers plus wine and bread. The presentation was very good, and was more than enough for us.
Sun 6 April - Valencia's gardens
We walked to the Jardin del Real (Royal Garden) (photo), a large garden with a zoo and several museums. Again the scent of orange blossoms filled the air, adding to our enjoyment.
After that, we walked across the street to Jardines del Rio Turia (Turia River Gardens), a garden in the dry river bed. Apparently the river was diverted and the riverbed is now used by bikes, joggers, walkers, and is also the scene of fairs, playgrounds and other attractions. It's not really a garden, though.
After lunch we walked through the old town/town center to the Jardin Botanico de Valencia (Botanical Garden). There we saw plants from all over the world arranged by function (agriculture, fruits, construction, medicine, etc.) and an area of formal garden layout. This garden was educational, but not inspirational. Kiyomi didn't want any photos, even of interesting plants. On the way back we stopped by the Hotel Ingles, which is the oldest hotel in Valencia; but we found it to have been renovated and it looked quite like any other modern hotel. The GPS unit has been a real help in getting around - it would have been much more difficult without it. Even navigating from Barcelona to our first hotel it showed the way, and it got us right to the Westin Valencia, to the several gardens, and back to the hotel.
Mon 7 Apr - to Alicante, near Benisse and Altea
We left Valencia the 7th, heading for our next hotel, Casa Del Maca (photo), located in the outskirts of Alicante, in Benisse near Altea, which is right on the coast. The hotel was quite nice, and I sent email from there. We're staying at little boutique hotels, sometimes only one or two other families/couples staying. This hotel has historical significance, so they can only change/modernize a few features. But the accommodations were quite comfortable and the food was excellent. We had a tuna salad, scallop appetizers and slow-roasted pork, which we split between us. It was more than enough. We "discovered" a delicious green called canonigos. It's often translated as Lambs' Lettuce.
Tue 8 Apr - Altea and Vella Altea
The breakfast buffet had good strong coffee, fresh orange juice, pastries, yogurt, eggs, fresh fruit and more. We drove along the coast to Altea and Vella Altea (photo), where we had tapas grilled vegetables and grilled squid steak (photo). We bought some wine (a muscato and a Rondel semi-sweet sparkling wine), ham, cheese, white asparagus spears, apple, oranges (the oranges in this area are delicious!), tomatoes and green salad for dinner tonight, since the hotel restaurant was closed. It was a very tasty meal, for about €20.
Wed 9 Apr - Cabo de Gata, Agua Amarga
We left Casa Del Maca after enjoying a hearty buffet breakfast, driving through Alicante, Murcia, and Lorca on our way to our next hotel, Cortijo Los Malenos (www.cortijolosmalenos.com) (photo). It's a small but new hotel located in the middle of a wildlife preserve at Cabo de Gata, between Alicante and Malaga, just a short drive from Agua Amarga (www.aguaamarga.org) on the Mediterranean. The hotel is very clean, and the staff is quite friendly and attentive (there's only one other family here now). It's a pretty remote area, well off the beaten track, but apparently in July and August it gets quite busy with tourists from all over Europe. The GPS found Agua Amarga, and the hotel gave us GPS coordinates, which we used to arrive at the hotel. Biggest problem was getting through Alicante - we thought we'd take the road through the city, but due to repairs, we could not follow the road. The GPS wanted to take us to the freeway (A-7/E-15), so that's what we did. After we settled in, we went to the beach (photo), and although it was nice and warm, the wind was so strong we could not really enjoy our stroll. We had a delicious meal at the hotel, and we were the only ones: tomatoes with home-made olives, red house wine, vegetable puree soup, and grilled salmon.
Thu 10 Apr - Reserve del Salinas
We had a nice breakfast buffet, and then left for a drive around the preserve. The countryside reminds us of southern California/Arizona/Nevada - quite dry, no trees to speak of besides the extensive orange, olive, grape, etc. that are under cultivation. We saw lots of cactus, scrub and just plain dirt/rocks. It doesn't rain much here at all; apparently this is not the plains where the rain in Spain stays. Most of the cultivation is done under plastic - long half-cylinders that keep the water from evaporating too quickly. As we drove around the area, we saw the migrating flamingoes at the Reserve del Salinas, although from quite a distance. I had to zoom to the max with the camcorder to see them. Apparently the locals still make salt by evaporation, just like in the Bay Area. It was again too windy to walk on the beach or anywhere, but we stopped by at a seafood restaurant right on the beach. It was a typical restaurant, and since it was right on the sea, we went for the seafood: a tuna salad and a seafood combo platter with crayfish, shrimp, white tuna and another kind of white fish. Tonight the hotel served a ham and bean first course, then a salad and sliced veal as the main course, with a red wine and brownie/vanilla ice cream dessert. We found a good resource for small hotels in Europe at http://www.relaisdusilence.com/. The Internet connection didn't work here, so we'll have to postpone posting this until tomorrow or so.
Fri 11 Apr - Granada, Albaicin
After a hearty buffet breakfast we left for Granada and our appointment at the Alhambra. Finding the hotel was a real experience, even with a GPS and written instructions - we were in the heart of the old town, Albaicin, where the streets are narrow and winding. In addition, it's a maze of one-way alleys hardly wide enough for a car, with construction closing some routes. I was trying to navigate while Kiyomi was trying to drive. Believe me, we were glad when we arrived at the Hotel Santa Isabel. It was Moorish style, with an atrium open to the sky, and rooms off the open center. Our room was quite large with a bathtub and Internet access. However, the open atrium results in a lot of noise that disturbs people with good hearing (like Kiyomi).
No comments:
Post a Comment