My sister and brother-in-law were still with us last week, and thankfully, as the Thursday was a public holiday, I was able to take Friday off and have a long weekend with them, part of which we used for a trip to Toledo, a city I had never visited before despite living in Spain since 2007.
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But I start with a couple of pictures from work. The construction of our new building, as seen from the top floor of the existing building:
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Francisco explains things to our new Italian trainee Francesco:
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One of the traditions when my sister visits is that she makes pierogi, Polish dumplings. I came home from work one day to capture the last stages of preparation (and to eat them, of course). Here is a batch, boiled:
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The are then fried on a pan:
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…and served with fried onion:
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Another evening we went to the harbour in El Campello to see the cats and to have a beer in one of the many bars along the beach promenade. We came across several groups of French people playing pétanque on the beach. Here, a player takes aim:
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The shot on the way:
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The players gather around the balls to determine whose ball is closest to the cochonet, the little round ball that is the object of the game:
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We then went to check on the cats in the harbour:
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A fisherman mending his nets:
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We then sat down to have a beer on the promenade while watching the moonrise:
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A big part of the pleasure is to watch the people walking by, young and old:
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As usual, I was out on my bicycle several mornings. Part of the pleasure is to watch the sunrise, this time from the bridge over RÃo Seco in El Campello:
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On Thursday, we drove the 420 km to Toledo, a city which my Spanish friends had been telling me about during the seven years I have lived here, but which I had never gotten around to visiting, until now. The place turned out to be wonderful, starting with our hotel, Cigarral de Caravantes, on a hill overlooking the river and the city:
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The cathedral is truly magnificent:
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Shadow and light:
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Another church we visited, Iglesia del Salvador. Like many churches in Spain, this building was a mosque during Moorish rule:
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As is my habit when visiting a city, I looked for little details when I walked around Toledo:
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Don’t park here!:
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Opening for business:
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We had several rainy spells which we spent either looking at indoor attractions like churches and museums, or just sitting in a bar, looking out:
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Of course, city streets in rain are quite photogenic:
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Street conversation:
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This is where we had lunch on Friday, before heading back to Alicante:
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On Saturday we went to the centre to have a look at the people who had come to watch the start of the Volvo Ocean Race. I have absolutely no interest in sailing, so I just looked at the people who had come to watch the boats. I have no idea what this helicopter was doing:
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Restaurant guests at the Plaza Puerta del Mar, human and non-human:
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Michelin lady on the back of a scooter (picture taken while driving home from the centre):
More Toledo pictures can be seen here.