Las Andreeas and the Spanish adventure

I started to be way too tired lately from a lot of work so when Andreea told me she’s coming to Spain, that was it: the perfect moment for a mini-holiday. Usually we make our reunions in Belgium when I go there for work and she comes for a short visit. This time we changed the country for a bit of more sun, sea and good food.

Despite having a quite short night, my day started at an early hour with the train trip to Alicante. On the way to the beach, I fuelled myself with ice cream and off I went to the beach until Andreea came. Hot sand, warm and clear water: perfect for the start of the holiday!

We came to Murcia for the night and decided for a very Spanish-Romanian, very suitable dinner for the late hour being: Spanish tortilla (potato omelette), Romanian mici (grilled meat) and salad.

The next day, fighting with the heat, we started discovering Murcia bit by bit. Starting from Plaza Circular we saw the Old Prison and headed down to Yacimiento de San Esteban and Porta de San Antonio. Getting back to Granvia we walked towards the bridge, however we turned right to get to Mercado Veronica and the old city murals. We crossed the bridge of Puente de Santiago Calatrava admiring the local ave fauna (ducks and geese among others) and returned on Puente de los Peligros to go back to the old part. Here we have Plaza Glorieta de España with the city hall and behind it Plaza del Cardinal Belluga with the famous Cathedral and Palacio Episcopal. We strolled around the old paved streets and stopped for an almuerzo (between breakfast and lunch) of a bocadillo de jamon (ham sandwich) and churros. After the well deserved break, we set off to Santa Eulalia and Plaza de Toros, Plaza Universidad from Merced, Teatro Romeo and heading back home.

There are other things to see in Murcia, of course, however this tour is easy to do in half a day. If you fancy eating outside, 1 day is enough to discover a bit of everything. If you’re curious about the places, check this article (From Murcia with love) and this for places to eat around (Tasting Murcia).

Leaving Murcia by night behind we head to Torrevieja where we are to spend 1 day and a half at the beach and visiting the city. David cooked for us arroz con pollo or rice with chicken (similar to paella) with a scent of saffron for the taste and colour, accompanied by salad. Having big expectations from its name (Torrevieja – old tower), I must tell you there is no tower there, not old, not new. There’s not much to do there in the city in fact, the history is missing as all the buildings are quite modern in architecture, yet the feria and the little stands with souvenirs and food along the seaside made the night walk pleasant. Not to forget also the full moon we enjoyed reflecting in the sea while playing with the feet in the warm water.

Getting back to Alicante, Andreea tried the seafood dishes, which could not miss from a Mediterranean cuisine after which we started seeing the old city. The first and main objective was seeing the sunset from high above so we started the hiking to the top, where the Santa Barbara Castle is. It was already closed by the time we got there, however we waited on the formal walls from where the view was just right.

Going down we strolled through the old town and stopped by the water for a little “water” connection, ending the night and Andreea’s trip with a dinner with tortilla, jamon and cheese.

Andreea left early in the morning but the adventure continues… in the next article.

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