Jasmine and BBQs

It hasn't rained here since June.
It's about 35oC every day and it doesn't get a lot cooler at night.
There are certain smells in Alicante that I hate because of this climate with its lack of rain (i.e. the streets don't get a wash), but there are two smells I do like that I get a whiff of passing by peoples gardens when I am going about Alicante on my motorbike: jasmine and bbqs. 

Even during the week there are people bbqing everywhere. I have some friends who spend their summers in their beach side apartment in Muchavista (along the Playa de San Juan) and along with the pool, tennis and basketball court there is a bbqing station in the picnic area of the urbanisation. We had a little party on Tuesday night for some friends who have just moved back to Alicante after a few years living in Holland. They really missed the lifestyle in Alicante and now that they have 3 very young children they wanted them to grow up being able to enjoy the outdoors as others do over here.

Sardines on the hot plate at a pool party

We also had a bbq (well on a hot plate actually) at the pool party we went to last weekend. They cooked lots of seafood to start with like squid and sardines, before moving on to the typical chorizo, lomo and morcilla that makes up a typical Spanish bbq.

Jasmine flowering plant

Then on Friday evening I met up with a British friend of mine and her Spanish husband and we went to a new restaurant in a finca in the Albufereta area that is owned by the same people who run the ever-so-famous Nou Manolin restaurants in Alicante. The finca had had a makeover and its interior looks exquisite in a Scandinavian-rustic style with a large outdoor eating area, all be it on a loose pebbled floor. Anyway, I am mentioning this because there was a long wall of jasmine near to where we were sitting which I just adore the smell of.

There is also the freshness of the sea breeze and the summery smell of sun tan lotion that you can appreciate walking along the Playa de San Juan... I took this yesterday at about 20:30 as people were leaving the beach and getting ready to go out to cenar (have their evening meal).

The Playa de San Juan, Alicante

I can feel another rant coming on when I think about the not so nice smells I encounter over here so I think it's best to leave it 'til another post.

What smells do you encounter where you live?

Spain shuts down! Take August off...

The 1st of August means 'changeover day' for lots of Spaniards.
The way the companies organise their staff's vacations over here is a little different to the UK.  Although many companies try to move with the times and be in line with the rest of Europe in business terms, there is still the tradition for employees to take all their 4 weeks holiday in one go.  They either take all of July or all of August off!

I would find that very limiting as an employee for many reasons, however over here there are so many festivos (like bank holidays, but on any day of the week) throughout the calendar that they get days off all year round anyway.

School holidays

The school holidays over here go from the middle/end of June until the middle of September so for parents it makes sense to spend all their holidays in that period because there are no 'half term' breaks over here.  Students only have the breaks at Christmas and at Easter.  As a child I would prefer to have half term breaks like in the UK.

Changeover day

So on the evening of 31st of July the motorways are usually quite busy with people returning from their months holiday and many more just starting it.  There are monumental tailbacks leaving and arriving to the coastal cities like Alicante and the capital, Madrid, in the interior.

Many people working in Madrid have a holiday apartment near the beach and/or in the countryside as most usually stay in Spain for their holidays.  Well who wouldn't with so much to offer as Spain has!

Shops and businesses

It's crazy because in the UK, and especially in London, Saturday is the busiest day of the week.  But here in Alicante they are not so commercially-minded and weekends are usually spent purely for leisure.  Saturday mornings is reserved for food shopping (especially for the older generation) and although my shop is very close to the market, the street which it is on (Calle Poeta Quintana) is rather empty today!  The street is full of small, independent shops and actually about only half are open because August has started.

But don't worry.  For those of you who are coming to Alicante for your August holiday, most of the bars and restaurants are open and for even longer hours than during the rest of the year.  And of course the beach is always open!