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!

The pilgrimage to Santa Faz

Today was the annual pilgrimage to Santa Faz, a small village within Alicante city.  It always takes place on the second Thursday after Maundy Thursday, the Thursday of saints week, and is said to participate some 260,000 people.

According to legend, the Clarisas nuns at the monastery keep guard of a religious relic that is supposed to be a part of the cloth that Veronica used to wipe the face of Jesus when he was on his way to the crucifixion site of Jerusalem.  The sacred cloth is taken out of the monastery once a year to preside over a mass that takes place outside the temple, in the square at Santa Faz.
 

Pilgrims on the route to Santa Faz - image courtesy of El Mundo

The pilgrims start at 8am at the CoCathedral of San Nicholás in the centre of Alicante and walk the roughly 8km to the Santa Faz monastery along the roads which are closed off to traffic for the event, accompanying the religious procession.  In the town hall square people can pick up (if they get up early enough) one of the 15,000 canes which they attach a sprig of rosemary to the top.  Also traditional is wearing a tunic and neck scarf.  Once at Santa Faz a Mass takes place, then people who want to see the relic queue to get inside the monastery.
 

The Mass at Santa Faz - image courtesy of Diario Informacion

After visiting the church, people hang around to have a bite to eat at one of the many stalls that are set up for the day or to browse the small market of artisan products from the area.  Some really prepared families bring a picnic and find a spot around the grassy areas of Santa Faz and make a day of it as it is an official holiday in Alicante.

Alternative ideas

If you don't fancy/can't walk the 8km there is a special bus service that leaves and comes back to central Alicante every 5 minutes.
Also, if you like walking part of it but not the religious part of it, you can fill up your trolley with food and drinks (usually the alcoholic type, as the Alicantinos like to party), join the pilgrimage to the end of the Avenida de Denia and then take a right towards San Juan beach.  When the weather happens to be good on the day of Santa Faz, there can be up to 15,000 people on this part of the beach, it's been estimated, usually the younger generation though.


Have you ever been on a pilgrimage?

Street food event in Alicante

I went to check out the 'Alacant Street Food Market' yesterday afternoon which is an event running this Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the grounds of the old bus station in the centre of Alicante.

There was a central stall on one side selling drinks and who also had the music pumping to appeal to the younger, hipster generation. There were about 10 caravans serving different treats from bacon butties (unfortunately not like the ones in the UK) to fried seaweed.  There was also a g&t stall and one serving up coffee and cakes.

I went there really hungry after I had closed the shop quite late but as it was the middle of the day, the sun was beating down and I could actually feel my arms sizzling as I held my camera steadily to take photos.  So as there was practically no shade and no cool air at all, I got back on my bike and went home for lunch. 

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!

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!

Check the 'cheque'

People go out to eat quite a lot in Alicante. Considering that Alicante city itself is not predominantly a tourist destination (many people have holiday homes in the towns up and down the coast either side of the city) there is a huge quantity of restaurants and bars. By 'bars' I mean the Spanish version, which is a place where you can order a beer, a bocadillo or some tapas, a coffee or even a stiff drink. They are a little different then the 'bars' in the UK.
I am sure that if you look at the proportion of catering/hospitality businesses to other types of businesses in Alicante it would be higher than most towns and cities around the world.

The mild climate of Alicante has undoubtedly contributed to this, especially when it's hot. People want to be out on the streets, not stuck at home (which is also why the local people, and generally in the south of Spain, don't bother so much with the decoration of their homes).

So as we go out more often, it is more likely that we will encounter an error in our bill.
I would recommend always checking the bill before you pay as mistakes or misunderstandings frequently occur.  You don't have to feel uncomfortable about it and certainly don't be afraid to query it if you see an error. It is most likely a genuine mistake.

I will advise you that if a restaurant puts down a plate of olives (aceitunas) or bread (pan) or anything you didn't ask for as you arrive or whilst looking at the menu (la carta), you will in 99% of the cases, be charged for it on the final bill (la cuenta). Most places that do this charge you about 1€ per person for the bread and maybe 1,50 - 2€ for the olives.

Receipt from a recent casual dinner out in Alicante.
(Try the cazón en adobo when you can find it in a
restaurant over here... it's delicious!)

The prices on the menus in almost all places are with the VAT (IVA) included and tips are not automatically added to the bill. Incidentally, you are not pressured to leave tips over here and they don't think bad of you either if you don't leave anything. But if you've had good service or just want to show your appreciation you can leave something and the waiters will be very grateful... sometimes ring a bell from behind the counter to tell everyone you've been generous!

That's all I wanted to say for this post... Oh, just to inform you that over here you can order beer in McDonalds to have with your burger instead of the normal soft drinks if you want it.

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!

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!

Restaurant Revolution!

There are so many food and drink-related businesses in Alicante right now and more opening up each week. Just a year or so ago you would walk around the streets of Alicante and lose count of the closed-down businesses within the first 100 metres. The crisis really took its toll on small businesses.
But now its like another world! The town hall has had a hand in the improvements from decorating certain streets, renovating parks and public spaces to allowing cafes to operate in public squares (this can be debated whether is beneficial to everyone...). I don't know if the licensing process has been relaxed to allow businesses to open, especially catering businesses? 

I have been to two new restaurants just this week. One is a casual burger bar which I will highlight in a future post, and the other is a restaurant with a varied mediterranean menu.
On Monday I went to this place...

La Mary is a franchise with a great value quality-price range, good selection of dishes, considered presentation and nice decoration. I really cannot speak highly enough of it. It only opened 3 weeks ago so maybe they are taking extra care. I'm not the only one who likes it - every time I pass the restaurant it's full!
They also do a lunch time set menu with a fantastic pricetag, if you can get in, that is.

 

Images courtesy of La Mary Alicante.

You can find their details on the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lamaryalicante/timeline

The offering of restaurants and bars has improved so much in Alicante that the old-fashioned, manky places are going to have to keep up and improve. I went to one of 'those' last week and it was a terrible experience - bad decoration, dirty tables, disappointing food and unrealistic prices. No, I wont name and shame. Sorry.

What is your current favourite restaurant in Alicante?

The Kings are coming!!!

As mentioned in my previous posts, the Christmas festive period goes on for a little longer in Spain than in the UK.  The Twelfth Night (or Day), or the Epiphany (6th January), is usually a family celebration here.

Actually the eve of the Epiphany is when most of the action happens.  There is a procession early evening through the streets of towns and cities with the Three Kings arriving in many different ways to greet the children and hand out sweets or gifts.  Some come on horseback, on foot, on camels or, as I write from the village in Granada where I am right now, on a tractor!  This is called the Cabalgata de los Reyes.  It's a magical event for children and they write letters to the Kings with a list of gifts they would like to receive, just like the letters to Father Christmas.

Usually a family dinner is enjoyed this evening and then when the children go to bed they leave shoes at the foot of the bed, or a stocking hanging from the chimney if they have one...  so that the Kings can fill them with presents when they visit each house.

Roscón de Reyes

The traditional roscón de Reyes is enjoyed together with the family of the 5th or 6th of January.  This 'Kings cake' is a brioche-like sweet dough made into a large ring shape with candied fruit on the top.  It is baked traditionally with a small porcelain figure somewhere inside and a dried bean.  When cut, whoever finds the figure in their piece is crowned king with the paper crown that is usually included with the roscón.  The person who finds the bean has to pay for the cake!

Roscón de Reyes, image courtesy of springhotelsmagazine.com

Quite often nowadays,  the cake is baked and then cut in half horizontally and then the 'prizes' are put inside, and filled with squirty cream.

Roscón de Reyes, image courtesy of  rgarciaandsons.com

This year I wasn't crowned king for the evening, nor did I have to pay for the cake, but I did get to enjoy my piece of cake!

Seeing in the New Year in Alicante

This will be just a short post to wish you all a happy and healthy new year 2014 and to let you know how it is celebrated here.

New Year's Eve - Noche Vieja

The 31st of December is a normal working day here until about 6pm when shops start to close early to prepare for the family dinner (cena).  The day is quite busy with people going to the local market and supermarkets for last-minute provisions and preparations.

The evening meal is generally a family affair and could start at around 9pm or 10pm.  For this special occasion, seafood like prawns or lobster is usually on the menu and there are various courses hot and cold.

At midnight, people turn on their televisions to see the clock at the central Madrid square called la Puerta del Sol start chiming, first the four quarterly chimes and then the twelve individual bongs marking the hour.  On each of the twelve chimes, a grape is eaten (and has to be done rather quickly!) as a tradition.  Then there are certain other superstitions or actions that some do like:

-wear something red when the clock strikes

-put suitcases by the front door (if you would like to travel during the coming year)

-eat the grapes while standing on one leg only then hop onto the other leg when you have finished (to start off the new year on a good foot)

-write wishes and desires (deseos) on a piece of paper and burn it

-put something gold in your celebration glass, etc.

One year we went to the town hall square in Alicante expecting to hear the chimes and maybe see something special happen, but there wasn't even an hourly bell so we didn't really know when 12 o'clock was!  Won't be doing that again!

The Spanish (sort of) equivalent of Champagne is called cava and is popped open and drank to celebrate or a bubbly cider is used if preferred.

Once all of the well-wishing is over, the party continues or the younger people go out to a bar or nightclub to get together with friends.

Example of a Cotillón pack.  Courtesy of diy.ahorro.net

It is quite common here to go to organised dinner celebrations where you pay a one-off price which covers all of the food, alcohol and some paper party decorations (cotillón) like a garland, a hat, streamers and a hooter.  Lots of nightclubs also charge a fixed price for entry and a quantity of drinks (consumición) and maybe a cotillón too.  Nightclubs are usually open until 6am or 7am.

New Year's Day - dia del Nuevo Año

As with most people around the world, today is spent recovering from the night before, relaxing or visiting family.  The shops are not open here and there are usually no activities organised.  People go back to work on the 2nd of January if it is a weekday and start to get ready for the next fiesta on the 5th & 6th of January when the Reyes Magos (the Three Kings) come and visit...

A Spanish Christmas

Christmas time is slightly different in Spain than in the UK.

Noche Buena

The most important night for the family celebrations here is on the 24^th of December, which is called Noche Buena.  As you know we call it Christmas Eve in English but it is not the direct translation.

The family dinner is usually at 9pm and includes seafood or shellfish.  They don’t traditionally eat stuffed turkey with veg like we do on Christmas day or anything like that.  There will be cava or cider or something to clink glasses with and wish each and everyone best wishes for Christmas.

Polvorones and other sweets are eaten like we eat our boxes of Quality Street and Roses, although I see them frequently on a decorative tray I don’t see many people eating them!  They are sweet, crumbly shortbreads made of almonds with icing sugar on the top which give them their name because polvo means dust.

Image courtesy of http://www.vinogastro.com/Turron.html

There is a church service late at night, like our Midnight Mass, that is called the Misa del gallo because it goes on until quite late (or early).  The service in the village here included a Christmas story acted out by local children.

El dia de la Navidad

Christmas day is usually spent visiting the rest of the family like aunties, uncles and cousins.  There is no traditional dish that is eaten on this day that I know of.  Shops and businesses are not open on Christmas Day.  In the UK we have the holiday of Boxing Day, although nowadays lots of shops open and start their sales.  In Spain, the 26^th of December is a normal day and lots of people return to work.

In the Catholic faith, presents are given at Reyes at the beginning of January (I will post about this), not on Christmas Day, and Santa Claus is not a part of the festivities.  However, I know many families who now not only give gifts at Reyes, but they also give something on Christmas Day.  This is especially typical for children because if they wait until the 6th of January to receive their presents they don't get much time to enjoy them as the kids go back to school the next day on the 7th of January.

The weather at Christmas

Where I am today in the province of Granada it's raining and quite cold so probably not much different to many places in the UK.  In the mountains around here, especially in the Sierra Nevada where there is a ski resort, the mountains are snowy.  During the day when the sun is out it gets quite warm but quickly goes cold when the sun goes down. 

How do you celebrate Christmas with your family or loved-ones?

Christmas Nazareth-style market in Alicante

One of the various markets that are installed in Alicante city for the holidays this year is the mercado Nazareno in the Plaza Gabriel Miro.

There are stalls with home-made goods and crafts...

Artisans...

Musicians and dancers...

Freshly baked bread and cakes from a log-fired oven...

And a live animal or two...

There is also a real Bethlehem scene, where you can visit the Virgin Mary in the stable where Jesus is born. 

Its on for a few days only and totally free to wander around and enjoy the atmosphere.

What kind of markets do the put up for the Christmas period where you live?

Rice at Ros

Whenever we get visitors who want to go to a restaurant to eat rice from this area, or a paella (three syllables pronounced 'pa-aye-ya'), we usually take them to Restaurante Ros.

I like this restaurant for various reasons - the do really good, freshly prepared and cooked paellas and rices, the nice view out over the bay of Albufereta towards Alicante, the service is good and it is very reasonably priced.

The view from Restaurante Ros, Albufereta, Alicante

The restaurant is situated within the Club Náutico Alicante Costa Blanca (Nautical Club) of Albufereta and you have to make a reservation.  The decoration inside is not the most modern but the view and the food make up for it.

What we usually order

To start with, we usually order some slices of toasted fresh bread with crushed tomatoes  a and garlic mayonnaise (pan con tomate y aioli).  You spread them both on the toast and its a really tasty combination.  Then a house salad (ensalada de la casa), with the basic Mediterranean ingredients.  To lots of you, the tomatoes may look green and under-ripe but that is actually how the salad tomatoes grown over here are at their best - and I guarantee you they are nicer than your regular tomatoes you buy from the supermarkets in the UK.

Ensalada de la Casa at Ros

We also order calamares a La Romana (squid rings in a light batter and fried) to share.

Calamares a La Romana at Ros

Paellas and rices have to be ordered for a minimum of 2 people and we always order 2 different types of rice: one with meat, specifically pork, and vegetables (arroz con magro y verduras), and the other with a liquidy fish stock (arroz a banda).  Arroz a banda is a typical rice dish of Alicante which originated from when the fishermen sold off their best catch and kept the leftovers to make a stock to cook the rice in for themselves.  It is cooked in a deeper paella pan and is served with the garlic mayonnaise called aioli, or spelt here quite often as alioli.

Arroz con magro y verduras at Ros

Arroz a banda at Ros

We usually have some of both types of rice on our plates...

I saw someone else's rice just come straight out of the kitchen.  This is a seafood paella with mussels, prawns and langostinos, which are like crayfish or small lobster.

Finally, we have helado de turrón which is ice cream made with pieces of the nougat-type confectionery especially from this area of Spain called turrón de Jijona and is made with honey and almonds... and a coffee.

Price per head

This is around 22€ per head for what we had with our drinks.

Views and activities

It's a relaxing place to be and you can watch people taking out their boats, learning to sail, navigate and row amongst other activities.  I'll leave you with some photos I took of the view.

  

Do you fancy a date? - (the edible type). And 'Delicias de Elche'

Palm trees originated in the Middle East and are very common in the hot Mediterranean countries like Spain.

The view from the gardens of my friend's summer apartment in the Playa de San Juan - El Campello.  You can see the 'Sierra de Aitana' in the background which is the mountain range just behind Benidorm.

There are different types of palm tree and in this area of Alicante the date palm has an important commercial value.  In Elche (which is a town about 20km south of Alicante city), for instance, there is a palm park and local cultivators which produce dates that are supplied to the Spanish royal family.

The dates grow on separate stalks just under the fronds at the top of the tree.  This photo was taken in the summer when the dates are green and unripe.

There are 2 possible times to harvest the dates - they can be harvested when they are yellow and crunchy in August to October time and then ripened.  Or they can be left to ripen on the tree until about October to December when they are soft and brown.  Post harvest, the dates are dried to preserve their quality and at this stage become very sweet naturally.

Natural dates still on the stem.  The skin and flesh become very sticky and sweet.

It is quite common to eat dates at Christmas time here but they are available throughout the whole year.  You can buy them at the market or supermarket in packets and can be pitted - the stone removed - (deshuesado) or with the stone left inside (con hueso).  I have eaten them directly from the tree in the yellow stage and I quite enjoyed them like that because, curiously, they tasted like chestnuts.  Once ripened, they taste totally different and are sweet and sticky.

A date sliced open.  You can see the long stone inside and the natural stickiness of the flesh.

There is a delicacy in this area called la Delicia de Elche which is a ripened and pitted date stuffed with an almond, then wrapped in pancetta or a strip of bacon, a cocktail stick inserted through the middle to hold everything in place and then fried.  I really like these because of the contrasting saltiness of the bacon and the sweetness of the date... and here are some I made earlier!

Have you tried dates before and have you used them in any recipes?