Semana Santa
No one parties like a Spaniard.
And no one mourns like a Spaniard either.
Semana Santa (Holy Week) is currently going on and it is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen.
Day in and day out, early in the morning or late at night, processions fill the streets with slow drums, penitents and magnificent statues of saints or of stations of the cross.
One of the most disconcerting things is that in every procession there are a few dozen men and women wearing “capuruchos,” hoods with long peaks coming of their heads. For an American, it’s disconcerting because we associate those costumes with the Klux Klux Klan (ironically a very anti-Catholic organization). It turns out that Spain came up with those robes hundreds of years ago to hide the identity of the penitents while they walk their sins away.
As well as the penitents and the figures, there are the “Manolitas,” dozens of women of all ages in each procession wearing the typical lace veil or “mantilla” and wearing all black as in mourning for the death of Christ. They are so beautiful and sad, and they are always carrying a candle on one hand and a rosary on the other.
Every one can have a job in the processions and I always have the most fun watching the little kids. They are not a sad and serious as everyone else and provide great entertainment. I even made friends with a few of them!
Tabarca
[WARNING: Lots of pictures on this post because I took some awesome shots.]
Last weekend my room mate Devin, my friend Caitlin and I decided to go to Tabarca for the day. Tabarca is a little island only an hours boat ride from the coast. It has only 98 permanent residents and it is mostly filled with summer homes.
The island is tiny! Only a little over a mile long and it is known for it’s marine reserve.
According to history, King Charles III of Spain, ordered that the island be populated in 1760 to keep it from being a pirate refuge. To protect it’s inhabitants, the royal engineer equipped the island with fortified buildings and walls, bulwarks, warehouses and barracks.
Nowadays, the island has several fish restaurants, a very rocky beach with beautiful turquoise water, and caves around and underneath the island.
So early Saturday morning, we embarked on our adventure. For some reason, even though I have never gotten seasick before, the boat ride there was a nightmare. I have never felt so queasy and most everyone on the boat felt the same way. We were all so happy to reach land.
My fellow adventurers.
The trip was really nothing like we imagined. We expected beautiful beaches, but the truth is that, even though the water is beautiful, there is no way to reach it. Most of the island is elevated, probably dozen meters above the water. And the one beach is very cloudy and rocky so we didn’t really need to wear out swim suits.
It didn’t matter though, the island has so much to explore! There was the town, and the old ruins, and then a beautiful meadow. The environment changed so much in just a few steps that we felt we were on three different islands.
We walked the entire island, exploring here and there, and only stopping to have a picnic on the highest part of the island. It was a beautiful trip and the best part was that the dreaded boat ride home didn’t bother us at all. Hallelujah!
El Pameral
A couple of weekends ago, a small group of us decided that we were finally bored of the beach (thank god for me!) so it was time to explore other things.
We decided to take a short train ride to what we had heard was a beautiful park called El Palmeral.
Boy, we’re they right.
The park had a few different kinds of palms as well as colorful flowers and cascading waters and rivers that keep the park cool. And the whole thing is just a stone throw away from the Mediterranean.
It was beautiful, and it was such a nice escape from the routine. I, of course, took hundreds of photos and here are some of my favorite ones.
I was making all the little kids jealous by playing in the water even though you weren’t allowed.
Look at what my room mate brought me back from Moscow! Authentic Russian Dolls! I love them!
Panoramic picture I took from the rooftop of my friend’s apartment. It came out great!
Time for a tour.
I just realized I haven’t showed you all my apartment yet! It’s not much, but it’s definitely become my home these past couple of months.
So without further ado, Welcome to my home :]
As you come in. There are five bedrooms and two bathrooms. I know it doesn’t look like much, but it’s really cozy and it is in the best location so it’s perfect for me.
The living room. The building is just four stories high and it is part of the historic district, one of the oldest in Alicante.
The Kitchen. It’s the weirdest thing because it is basically outside. It was once a patio and they just put a thin roof over it and voila! you have a kitchen.
Our dryer. Probably the only thing I would change in Spain. The clothes take fo.re.ver. to dry and they never feel clean. They always have a musty smell to them and are kinds stiff no matter how much softener you add. But for some reason no one here has a dryer. Seriously, they aren’t even for sale!
Our lovely dining room were we have all our family din dins. I have four room mates; two boys and two girls. The boys are from Seoul, Korea and North Carolina, US and the girls are from Ankara, Turkey and Moscow, Russia.
My tiny, lovely room! It’s really, really tiny. My guess-timation is that it’s somewhere around 7x10. It has a big window, with no view though. But no matter, I love it.
And my favorite part of my room is the collage of photos I made for my wall. Everyone I love is there, all my friends and family, and I love looking at it and remembering all the good times I’ve had.
That’s it! My apartment in just a few pictures.
Hope you guys liked it :]
Adrii
After waiting all winter for this, I finally found Gazpacho! And it was just as good as I remembered. Yum!
Jon’s Visit and Las Fallas
So the boyfriend has now come and gone and it was by far, the best time I’ve had in Alicante so far.
He arrived on Friday the 11th, and for ten days straight we just got to know the city. Every corner, every shop, every plaza. It was amazing. We ate at some amazing restaurants, had romantic walks and even made it back to the Castle.
(The roof of our hotel had the most amazing view)
I won’t disgust you with all the romantic details, just know he made me very happy :]
Anyways, on Saturday we took a little day trip with my friends Caitlin and Devin to Valencia for the last day of Las Fallas. Las Fallas is a wonderful festival dedicated to St. Joseph, patron saint of the guild of carpenters, and legend says that every spring carpenters around town would burn their torches and other wastes from their shops, and it has grown from there. Now communities spend over a year building this HUGE wonderful statues, sometimes over 7 stories tall! The festival last about ten days, with parades, special foods, and the unveiling of these figures. The end of the festival ends with a bang; thousand of fireworks are lit and then they burn the huge figures!
(Jon and I and my one of my favorites Fallas)
The day of the burn is called La Crema and that’s what we went to see. Caitlin and Devin picked us up from our hotel in a cute little rented Opel and not even 20 minutes into the trip the car broke down! But no matter, it was all part of the experience. After waiting over an hour for the tow truck and making it all the way back to the airport to get another car, we were finally on our way.
We arrived to the center of Valencia by Metro and we were immediately welcomed by the crowds of people. Everywhere you went it was packed. It was insane. We had paella at a cute little place, found a Starbucks (!!!) and then just walked around taking everything in.
(Caitlin and I were so excited to find a Starbucks. Yum!)
We walked around and it was cold and even more crowded. Finally decided to just take a front row seat to the main event which was the burn of the First Place Falla. We waited from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Totally worth it. Best firework show ever and seeing a 7 story high statue burn to the ground wasn´t too shabby either.
(Just look at that crowd!)
(In front of the main Falla at Plaza del Ayuntamiento)
After all of that we were so exhausted we slept almost all the way back, but it was definitely an experience we’ll never forget!
Here’s a video of the fireworks and the burn that Caitlin took. Click here.
xoxo
Adrii
