Castillo de Santa Barbara (Alicante) on my birthday!

It was a herculean effort, but we climbed almost all the way (well, much of the way) up to the highest ancient castle in Alicante today.  Originally, the castle appears to have been built as a Moorish dwelling in the 9th century, but was captured in the 13th century by the Spanish king and reconstructed as a fortress.  It has been held by many armies and was a prison during the Spanish Civil War.   But, this is as far as we got today.

These photos show the lovely, fairly gentle incline of the manicured walkway.  We, unfortunately, walked up what was a more ancient path with huge stone steps and very steep inclines.  At one point, I thought "this must be what mountain climbing is like", between laboured breaths, and decided that these walkways were built for horses, not men, because who could comfortably climb steps that are 12 inches high?  That walkway lead to what appeared to be ramparts leading up to the castle and, until we found the path to get down, we thought our hike would never intersect with this beautiful one that we could see people casually sauntering up.  It was quite a climb for two people of a "certain age".  Of course, I was fighting for my life and didn't think of taking a photo of the path itself. (Turns out the elevator I kept looking for opens on the waterfront.  I would never have guessed.)

This is the only shot of the rather challenging "horse path".  Those steps are Huge, I tell you. Notice how far away the castle looks and how steep the incline is.  This was close to the start of our climb.  "Just one more corner..."

The view was breathtaking.  Cliche, but true.

Smiling on the way down, having never "summited" the mountain.

To provide perspective, the Health app on my iPhone says I climbed 21 floors, took 13,739 steps, and walked 6.4 miles today.  Just sayin'

After a cool drink (or two) and some delicious Jamon Iberico (the acorn fed pork that the Spanish adore) at the bottom of the "mountain", we shopped and wandered until we found ourselves back at the waterfront.  This is what we, in the U.S., would call a boardwalk, right next to the beach.  Tiled like the Esplanada de Spana which is across the street, this waterfront walk can jump at you if you look at the walkway too long.  M. C. Escher would be proud.

We capped off the evening with drinks and dinner at the outdoor seating area of a lovely restaurant next to the Esplanada.  We shared a plate of Jamon Iberico appetizer and a large pan of paella (rice and seafood with wonderful seasonings).  Sorry, no pictorial proof.  I was too busy giving the meal the attention it deserved.  It was a beautiful day and birthday in Alicante.

Two more nights in Alicante and we will be on to Madrid.  Maybe we will take another crack at Santa Barbara tomorrow, but I hear there are two smaller castles (read, lower castles) in the city.  Hmmm...

Alicante, Spain - our first sight of España

We arrived safely on Tuesday afternoon and settled into our first whole apartment to ourselves.  Our host, Bea (pronounced bay-ah) is a lovely woman who has helped us with a couple small issues (like difficulty getting the outer door open with the key, not earthshaking).

It took us a day on Wednesday to feel our way around.  The language was a barrier that hit us directly in the face yesterday.  We expected to find an occasional English speaker, but to date, there have been two who sort of spoke English (rather like the way Steve and I sort of speak Spanish, but better) and one really wonderful Brit.  Fortunately, we are learning Spanish and the layout of the city.  Today, Thursday, was much better.

We did take a few pictures yesterday, even in our semi-shocked state.  But, here are the parting shots from England.  First, our Victorian water closet from our Eastbourne AirBnb.  You grasp the rod (that doesn't show up well here) that hangs from the water tank above (on the right) and push it up to flush for solid and pull down for flushing liquid (if you know what I mean).  There was a sort of stick on deodorizer in the bowl that smelled like very strong urinal cake, too.  Visiting the little girl's room was an adventure that made an impression.  The shower and sink were in the larger room next door and was just a variation on what we were used to.  I suppose you could call those two rooms and our bedroom a suite, loosely, but they were all dedicated to just us.  The majority of toilet facilities that I visited in England, anywhere, were pretty much the same.  I read a while back about one lady traveler who explained that Europeans don't fuss over their "bathrooms" as we Americans do and now I understand what she meant.  It's a necessity.  The idea is to keep it simple and get it over with because we are dealing with plumbing in old buildings here.  It's a cultural adjustment that we are starting to make because the pattern continues in Spain, at least in the establishments that we patronize,

I understand that Lewes (pronounced Lewis) is a lovely place and I hope to visit it someday.

Here's the view of Lewes beyond the railings.

Then, we arrived in Alicante.

The city bus that took us into Alicante from the airport.

Monument on the dirt paths in the Esplanada next to the waterfront.  The water is on the right from this photo.

Lovely tropical plants - bird of paradise flowers, I think.

Very old looking, many rooted trees.

Lots of boats and yachts for Steve to ogle.

Mount Benecanti, topped by Castillo de Santa Barbara behind the buildings.  It really is in the middle of the city.

Yes, it's almost October and warm enough for people to swim, especially tourists from  colder countries.

Mount Benacantil in the background with Catillo de Santa Barbara on top.

The mosaic pattern can be a little distracting as you walk. Can you see the hills and valleys in the design?  

Route 24 is confusing. Neither route is marked with an N on the buses themselves.  You just have to know.

Mmmm... tapas in our favourite (only) tapas bar. They serve both pinchos and tapas.  You can see some of them under the glass covers on the bar.  But, the staff brings them out fresh from the kitchen (cocina) and offers them at the tables, too.

Tonight, Thursday, after planning our near future and having our dinner, the Esplanada and the waterfront looked different, more relaxed and romantic.  And, maybe more importantly, we found our way back again!

More from our exciting birthday trip tomorrow!  (Actually, I guess I just turned ahem years old a few minutes ago.  I won't dwell. :)  We, also, just made our reservations for a trip to Madrid on Sunday.  We will be staying in another apartment, just us, in the centre of Madrid within walking distance of the Prado, the Plaza Mayor, and a few other attractions.  Can't wait!

Last day in England before flying to Spain!

Flying to Spain!

We are taking a 1 hour train to London Gatwick Airport; hopefully we can get on the 8:18am train, but another leaves at 8:53am.  If you want to track our plane, we are on EasyJet flight EZY8663 that leaves Gatwick at 12:20 pm and arrives in Alicante, Spain at 15:55 pm.  (I have a lot of trouble with the 24 hour times, but that should be 3:55 pm.)

It was our last day today, which was pretty much wiped out with laundry, packing, and a very nice English shave and haircut for Steve.  Oh, and we had our last dinner at Bill's off Terminus Rd, which had been recommended to us.  I ate Shepherd's Pie for the first time, with tiny pieces of lamb, onions, carrots inside and topped with mashed potatoes and cheese.  It was delicious, but enormous!  Over the course of this week, I have learned to appreciate tea, as well.  So far, I've had Lemon and Ginger tea and Camomile tea.  As long as I stay away from the black tea, it doesn't seem to upset my stomach.  We've tried a couple kinds of sausage, had a full English breakfast with baked beans and rashers of bacon (which looked like ham to me).  We have so far missed out on: bangers and mash, bubble and squeak, and tripe.  Let's see what the Spanish have to offer us.

I'll be back soon with some great (or mediocre) photos from Spain.  For now, here are the best of the few I took on my last day in Eastbourne.

There are, of course, more churches in these photos.  I just love the old architecture.

Our Lady of Ransom Parish Church, Roman Catholic. built in 1900. 

Holy Trinity Parish Church in Eastbourne, an evangelical Anglican Church built in 1839.

This is the other side of Holy Trinity Parish Church, with a clock that actually keeps time.

I don't remember ever seeing dark red hydrangeas before.  This home owner must have or have added a lot of iron in the soil. 

That's the famous Eastbourne Pier behind me.

The pier almost looks like it could be in India during the Raj.

The Queen's Hotel must have been really something when it opened in 1880.  It sits on Marine Parade, the street right next to the waterfront, with what must be fantastic views of the channel.

The Afton Hotel looks like it's been there a while, too.  Even thought I can't find any historical info on ti, I like it because it has lovely flower boxes all over it and it carries the name of my favorite mother-in-law.  We miss you, Afton.

The Eastbourne Railway Station where we will bid the city farewell tomorrow.

This is where we stayed.  The red door with the light.  It was lovely and so were our hosts.

My favorite Eastbourne park (Elizabeth's Field).  We walked through this park every single day that we were here.  Very nice people and a beautiful environment.