San Juan Festival

Las Hogueras (bonfires) de San Juan is an annual festival that begins June 20 culminating with bonfires on June 24. What began as a Pagan holiday celebrating the summer solstice and the longest day of the year, has now morphed into one big street party with afternoon rocket explosions (that make it sound like a war-zone), open-air cafes, and paper maché structures. The day I left Alicante festival-goers were setting up for the big party. Over 88 beautifully detailed structures were being erected throughout the city center... only to be burned down the last day of the festival. Firemen (bomberos) set a strict timeline for the burning of each structure wherein surrounding buildings are doused with cold water before the structure is set ablaze. While I did not get to enjoy the festival in its entirety, the pre-festival vibe was enough to make me want to go back for more.

La Playa & Montañas: All in One Day!

Ah, vacation! Our day started by laying on the beach for some good 'ol vitamin D absorption. Ah, la playa! Then, after a Euro-style lunch (baguette, cheese, meats, fruit) we climbed Benacantil Mountain to the Castle of Santa Bárbara (Castillo de Santa Bárbara) that stands proud overlooking the town of Alicante. The origins of the castle go back as early as the 9th century when the Muslim governed the Iberian Peninsula. The best part of the castle: the 360 degree views! We had a super sunny, blue sky day which made for some great Nikon moments.

A Gnarly Blood Sport: Bullfighting

Bullfighting in Spain is traditionally a cultural event, yet it has become a controversial topic...rightfully so! It is the cruelest "sport" I have laid my eyes on.

Here is an email I sent Charlie, "Can you believe I have tickets to the bull fight tomorrow? I thought it was a dude dancing around with a red scarf...but I did NOT know that they still actually KILL the bulls. WTF? What have I signed up for? Okay, before I judge, I must see it with my own eyes."

See it with my own eyes, I did. I also heard the bull moaning and the people clapping with my ears. So wrong! The bull suffered for a terrible 15 minutes as they continued to stick him in the spine with sharp sticks and the matador taunted the bull with the red cape. I took photos until I started to feel ill, then I turned away and snapped photos of the wooden seats...yeah, a great object to photograph, ha ha! Anything to take my mind off of the animal cruelty inherent in this blood sport. Marijke was braver than I was, as she watched the entire killing, but then said, "Okay, I do not think we need to see another killing." And, she was quiet for the rest of the evening. We arrived home (30 minutes after we had left) and Ali, in her nurturing way, fed us Spanish pastries and turned on an American comedy to take our thoughts away from the morbid experience.

Spanish Tapas & Sangria: Delicious!

Apparently Alicante is the birthplace of tapas, a small portion of food usually sitting on a thin piece bread, served either hot or cold. Ali brought us to a sweet little tapas bar called Lizarran where the cold tapas are beautifully arranged on the bar. There are about 25 different cold varieties to choose from. But, don't go overboard with the cold tapas, because before you know it the waiter exits the kitchen with a platter of hot tapas to choose from. Oh, and don't throw away the toothpicks...that is how you pay. The different size toothpicks depict the different prices of the tapas, ranging from 1-2 euros/each. And, let me not forget to say that the sangria's are delicious!

Spanish Grafitti

The Spanish know how to "tag". It is serious artwork and it seems that there is respect among fellow taggers, as the graffiti is free of other taggers spraying over others work. Everywhere we went in Alicante there was graffiti. They caught my eye because of the beauty of the artwork; most of them were depictions of people.

Two Hours of Sleep and a Ryanair Flight to Spain

As our clocks hit 10 p.m. we found ourselves comfy in Marijke's car on our way to Gent, Belgium. We arrived at Marijke's parents house around 1 a.m. and slept for 2 hours. Before we knew it we were back in the car headed to the small airport in Brussels, Charleroi, that serves the budget airlines. Yes, another Ryanair flight, which means a strict one bag carry-on policy, waiting in line to get a seat, and very uncomfortable airplane seats. But, hey I cannot complain, as I only paid $50 for a flight from Brussels to Alicante, Spain. Screamin' deal! Despite an hour delay due to the French air traffic controller strike, all travels were smooth.

Alicante greeted us with wet and soggy weather which gave us more reason to sleep. We met Ali, my dear friend who lives/works in Alicante, at the bus stop and she showed us to her home or shall I say hotel. After a much needed siesta (the Spanish close down all shops from 1-5 p.m. for nap-time), the evening included hair coloring and cheering on Brazil to a World Cup victory. "Shoota, Shoota, Shoota!" or in the correct Portuguese language, "Chuta, Chuta, Chuta!" Wednesday morning the rain fell, but after a nice shopping spree the sunshine found its way out of the clouds. The rest of our vacation was blue-sky beach days! Simply perfect!

Kicked off the BUS!

Traveling is always an adventure and this trip was not without a few tribulations. On our way back to Portugal we got kicked off the bus for failing to get our ticket validated. Hmmm, how were we supposed to know to get our tickets validated? So, there we were...left standing in the Vigo bus station as our bus to Porto (160 km away) rolled away. But, luckily the Laura/Leasa team are well-traveled and getting kicked off the bus not only makes for a good story but also an adventurous day. What was supposed to be a luxurious 3.5 hour bus ride (with movies & a/c) turned into an eight hour border crossing event that included a Polish student, gelato, a river crossing, a bus ride with "Video killed the Radio Star" song in the background, and a train ride along the Atlantic coastline. Needless to say, once we arrived in Porto we were in high spirits and had another amazing and CHEAP meal (14 euro for salmon, omelette, salad, and a house red.) Let me go on a quick tangent...the wine here is great and super cheap. Most restaurants have vino de casa (house wine)/2 euro/bottle. As much as I enjoy a nice red wine with dinner, this is like a dream come true. Therefore, when eating out I have at least a glass of house red (dad, aren't you proud?) Ok, back to the story. After dinner, there was a concert down by the river where we met a fellow traveler from New York and settled down at a riverside cafe to drink Port dessert wine and swap funny travel stories. PHOTOS: (top) Laura boarding the bus to Spain. (middle) During our border crossing, we got up close & personal to the Espana & Portugal signs. (lower middle) This is the Minho river that divides the Spanish & Portuguese borders. (lower) Enjoying Port in Porto after a long travel day. Ahhhh!

Santiago De Compostela Pilgrimage to Reality TV?

I've hit up yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Santiago de Compostela old town in the far northwest corner of Spain. This ancient town is special; with it's lush green gardens, magnificent Cathedral, narrow cobblestone walkways, and mountains surrounding the town, it is the ritualistic ending point for pilgrims who have walked as far as France (over 700 miles) to complete the Camino de Santiago (or way of St. James). On Friday morning, while enjoying fresh squeezed orange juice and a chocolate croissant on the steps of the Cathedral, we watched weary pilgrims with a scallop seashell (the symbol for this particular pilgrimage) and a gourd (for drinking from the wells) hanging from there backpacks, make their way to the Cathedral, the reputed burial site of St. James the Great (one of the disciples of Jesus). Over 100,000 people make this pilgrimage every year by foot, walking stick, donkey, or bike. It was quite inspirational, as all ages were represented and some had walked more than two months. However, out of nowhere the spiritual morning was demonized by REALITY TV! Big movie camera's, people carrying signs and cheering moved in on the scene; we weren't quite sure what all of the hype was about and thought maybe it was a real heart-wrenching pilgrimage to ask St. James to assist in recovering from an illness. Instead it was the tale of modern world meets sacred ways: REALITY TV! The Spanish edition of the reality TV show, "Big Brother," was on location, as three finalists were just finishing up the pilgrimage (see photo!) Other than touring around the beautiful and sunny town, we ate wonderful meals (salmon, paella, spanish omelette's) and stumbled on a live performance by the university male singing chorus under the spires of the Cathedral.