Best blue flag beaches

One in 5 beaches in Spain given the distinguished 'blue flag' grade are found on the Costa Blanca.
There are 62 beaches and 13 ports with sporting facilities in the province alone.  Three of the criteria for the recognition are unpolluted sand, quality of the water and good services and access.  The 4 jewels in the crown of the Alicante coastline have been given the 'blue flag' every year without fail for the past 30 years.  These 4 unbeatable beaches in Alicante are:  Fossa de Calp, the Racó de l'Albir (l'Alfàs del Pi), the Carrer la Mar del Campello and the wonderful Playa de San Juan in Alicante.

Playa de San Juan in Alicante

The Playa de San Juan is always our preferred beach.  Its a whopping 6.2km long with a 100m depth in some areas.  It is used all year round in the winter the volleyball teams set up their nets and in the summer the whole of Madrid comes for their holidays to the area.

There are restaurants on the seafront with some 'chiringuitos' (small bars) right on the sand so you can hang around and chillax way after the sun goes down.  It is a quieter area in terms of nightlife and shops so it is recommended for those who really want to get away from it all.  Alicante city is just a short 5-10 minute drive away so its not exactly in the middle of nowhere.

However if you want to go snorkelling or prefer rocks to sand then, if you have a car or motorbike, head to the Cabo de las Huertas.  I think there is a small part or one of the coves that is a nudist beach (I was told that as we were sailing around the cape on my uncle's boat but I didn't try to pick it out with the binoculars).  Unless we go with friends I try to stay away from the sand as it just gets everywhere.  And if Im feeling really lazy, just to pool in my urb...

The Alicante coast in 1958

I came across this video on the local newspaper's website (diarioinformacion.com) and it's shocking (good or bad... I'll let you decide) to see how, in a little under 60 years, the Alicante coastline has changed in terms of development.

Maybe I'll take some photos of the views featured and do a 'before and after'.  Those of you who are familiar with the beaches and coastline of especially Calpe, Benidorm and Playa San Juan will be left gobsmacked.

It is a short 10 minute film from 1958 where two ladies visit the Costa Blanca from Denia down to Alicante.  The narration is in Spanish but the images speak for themselves. 

Here is the link to the page where the video is featured:

http://www.diarioinformacion.com/multimedia/videos/alicante/2016-05-02-101181-costa-blanca-antes-urbanismo-depredador.html

Thanks to the Filmoteca Española and RTVE.es these videos can be appreciated now and for many more years to come.

Featured in SWISS AIR Magazine!!!

I was recently contacted by people at SWISS AIR Magazine who were arranging a city report for their online magazine about Alicante.  They wanted to do a little spot on the blog and also my shop.  What an honour!

I have just received a copy of the magazine and the report they did on Alicante is really good.  Here is the front cover:

They highlight some really interesting things and places to go and the photos are fantastic (apart from my mug shot on the highlight about my blog ... sad face.).  This is the page dedicated to my blog (left):

My shop, Read & Sixty, is also featured on the SHOPPING page along with a photo that the photographer took here the day they came to interview me (right):


Im very pleased that my rantings about Alicante can be interesting and maybe even useful to people.  Let me know if you want to see any posts about certain things and I will try to make it happen!

Warning: the 'jealousy' alarm just may go off...

I saw this post on Spanish BuzzFeed about Alicante and when I saw the photos, I realised that the title was merely sarcastic.  If you can read Spanish then you will understand the irony otherwise just enjoy the gorgeous photos showing the Alicante province.

Click on the link further below to go to the post.
(Sorry, wonderful couple from Newcastle/London, you know who you are... I know you are going to be angry with me for posting photos like this hahaha... and thank you for the Marmite.  Please come and say 'Hi' again soon.).

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alfredomurillo/razones-para-no-visitar-alicante


I will say that I have been to almost all of these places and seen these sights with my own eyes and they are as true as you see.  In some respects, its even better in real life because you get the whole panoramic vision, feel the climate, taste the wonderful cuisine, experience the atmosphere, etc.  But to bring you back down to earth, nothing is perfect for everyone.  Maybe there are sounds or smells you don't like, maybe the people are not as you thought, maybe you can't get on in a culture with another language, maybe... there are a whole lot of maybe's.

Alicante isn't for everyone and I understand that as I have my own moans about the city too.  So for now lets just enjoy these sights of the city and the province but keep posted if you want to find out the good, the bad and the ugly sides of life in Alicante city.

Happy May!

My interview on BBC's Escape to the Continent

Last October I was filmed for an appearance on the BBC programme Escape to the Continent with the wonderful Alistair Appleton and the house-hunting 'subjects' Ian and Simon from Doncaster.  The final cut is just a short interview (from minute 25) about my advice and experience of living in Alicante.

They filmed in my shop, Read & Sixty, then we went to the market to buy ingredients for a paella that my friend Fede cooked for us in his restaurant La Piazza, which is in the main cathedral square.

You can watch the episode on BBC iPlayer and its available for another 30 days from now.  Here is the link to take you straight to the programme page:

http://bbc.in/1GjdEjy

The episode was originally aired on 18th June 2015 at 3pm.

More filming...

I have also been filmed recently for a similar programme in the US called House Hunters International, this time with some friends from San Francisco who relocated to Valencia.  When this programme comes out I will also post the link to the page.

I hope the information given in these tv appearances is useful and maybe even entertaining!
Let me know what you think!

Winter sun warning

Happy New Year to you all!!

I think its important to mention, especially for any of you who are planning a trip to Alicante this winter (or are here already), that the winter sun can be dangerous.

It's not a cloudy place at all and we enjoy very clear, blue skies most days - actually I met a lady a few days ago originally from Cape Town and she compared the bright Alicante sky to her home town.  As the sun is quite low in the sky during winter, you should be prepared with some sunglasses and a clean window screen on your vehicle.  It can also reflect off the road and blind you if you are not careful.  The wife of one of my dad's friends unfortunately died many years ago now as she accidentally drove off a hillside road as she turned a corner and was blinded by the low sun.  Just be careful out there.

Inland Alicante

As it is a fairly dry climate it's great for motorbikes.  It's my vehicle of choice I use to get to and from the shop every day because parking in Alicante can be very complicated (people live in flats and the buildings are quite close together and there aren't underground garages in each building) and with one I can park virtually anywhere.  They are also great for outings in the hills around Alicante so we go often with friends and stop en route for a drink and tapas.

panorama shot Alicante

Motorbike buddies

In the hills around Alicante

If you can, don't just limit yourself to visiting Alicante city... take a road trip around the outskirts of the city and in the province where there are interesting walking and hiking routes too.  

Have you been in the hills around Alicante?

Turrón, a sweet Christmas (and all year round) treat!

Turrón is a type of nougat made with almonds which is eaten mainly at Christmas time in Spain.  It is eaten all over the country but is a traditional recipe from the Alicante province.  There are two main types - Turrón de Jijona (Turrón from Jijona) which is a soft type formed in rectangular blocks and packaged and Turrón de Alicante (turrón from Alicante) which is crunchy and brittle and is sold in a round shape the size of a plate.

I personally prefer the Jijona type which looks like this:

Turrón de Jijona

A friend of mine's parents run a factory making it in an artesanal way and ice cream as well, so it's called a torronería y heladería (turrón and ice cream sellers).  The main ingredients are toasted almonds, honey, sugar and egg.  A block of 300g (above) of this costs around 7€.

There is also slightly less soft version of this made with chocolate which includes cacao, milk and butter.

Turrón de Jijona de chocolate

They also make some rather nice Almendras Garrapiñadas, which are almonds roasted and tossed with sugar giving them a crunchy, sweet coat.

Almendras garrapiñadas

We also bought some Almendras Rellenas (filled almonds) which is an almond shape made from sugar paper and filled with soft turrón.

Almendras rellenas

If you want to try turrón and are not here at Christmas time there are some shops in Alicante city that sell it all year round.  You could try turrón ice cream that's great all year round, and also there is a bar called in the old town in Alicante city that serves a montadito (small filled roll) called Iván which has steak, rocket, parmesan, foie and turrón, and it's really delicious!

Enjoy!

The Volvo Ocean Race in Alicante

The rain has finally stopped and has given way to the wonderful blue skies that Alicante is known for. It rained once in June and once in August but at the end of September the plants and trees got a much needed drink as we had a couple of weeks of unsettled weather.

Back in tshirts and shorts now and as today was yet another 'fiesta' day in Alicante (the 9th October is the special day of the Valencian community which includes the provinces of Alicante Valencia and Castellón) we headed down to the port to the Volvo Ocean Race area.

 For a few years now, Alicante has hosted the starting point activities and celebrations of the round-the-world yacht race and the dedicated part of the port was developed especially, creating an area for race preparations, information about the sport, stuff for kids and adults to do, bars and restaurants and a permanent museum and organisers office.

You can get up close to the yachts, see preparatory races and even the workshops where mending and modification is always going on. Its totally free to get in to the area and have a walk around and as its at the far end of the port you get some lovely views towards Alicante and the Castillo de Santa Bárbara.

The last day is 11th October and the various teams set sail heading for the next stop at Cape Town. Good luck!

Biar castle

At the weekend, our friends invited us for a BBQ lunch at their family house in Banyeres de Mariola in the Sierra de Mariola.  On the way back to Alicante in the late afternoon we decided to stop off to check out the castle in Biar.  I had never been past this village before and it just intrigued me to see this well-preserved little fortress sitting strategically on top of a hill as we drove past.

We drove up through the winding, narrow streets of Biar village, which is a typical place where nothing much really happens.  These types of villages are full of old people because young people and families usually move to the city for work, opportunities and facilities.  It was empty, probably due to the afternoon heat, and very peaceful.

The view from the castle grounds down on to the village was lovely.

Unfortunately, when we got to the castle door it was closed as it was so late in the day.  So I will have to go back another day to see inside.

See the beautiful blue skies we have here in Alicante!  Not a cloud at all.

The castle has had a long history with modifications by its occupants dating back to the Middle Ages.  This area of Spain was part of the Moorish kingdom during various centuries and have also left their mark on the castle.  The Torre del Homenaje, or Homage Tower, dates back to the 12th Century and is the most ancient and most distinguished part of the castle whose vault is decorated with overlocking arches.  The perimeter walls that you can see in the photos above were erected after the Christian conquest in 1245.

In prehistoric times, this site was chosen as a settlement and an 'eternal' resting place.  In some of the natural caves on the hill, human remains have been found as well as tools and objects that accompanied these settlers on their final journey.  These objects are in the Municipal Museum.

This area has lots of small castles which are well worth a visit on the Vinalopó route.  I haven't been inside this castle yet but from the outside it looks to be in a relatively good state compared to other castles around here, which are almost in ruins.  Just check the visiting hours before making the journey!

Some information courtesy of Castillo de Biar tourist information.