The week started in Le Mans and ended back home in Alicante.
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I started Monday, our last full day in Le Mans, with my customary morning walk. I ended up in the oldest part of Le Mans, with many nice corners and great morning light:
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I continued my walk, focusing on details as I usually do, like this urban fauna:
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Pink flamingos is something one normally associates with Florida, but here is a Le Mans version:
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As in every French city, there are periodic reminders of the dark years 1940-45:
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I stopped for a coffee at this bakery, and bought some bread to take back to the hotel (breakfast at the hotel cost an obscene amount of money, so I would get bread, pastries and coffee every morning and bring it to the room):
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On Monday afternoon I was back at Place de République, enjoying a cold beer and looking at the children and parents around the carrousel:
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Young people cooling off in the mist:
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On my way back to the hotel, I stopped for another beer at an Irish bar; fittingly the group of young women at the neighbouring table included this redhead, something I associate with Ireland and England:
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My uncle Zev was flying back to Florida very early Tuesday morning, so goodbyes were said on Monday evening:
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We were also going home on Tuesday, driving back to Alicante. My morning walk was down Avenue Général Leclerc:
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My goal was this butcher, where I bought some jars of rillettes, for us and to share with my French colleague Claire at the office. She happens to be from Le Mans, so I knew that she would really appreciate it:
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My last photo in Le Mans was this event organiser outfit, with a nice poke at French pronunciation:
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At home, we were greeted by the magic cactus:
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On Saturday morning I cycled down to Santa Pola, enjoying a break at the harbour:
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Conversation:
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I noticed the Stars & Stripes on this small boat. I have no idea if the owner is American, or just likes the flag:
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I was amused by this man’s shirt, an obvious parody of the Adidas logo, and I asked him to pose for me:
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Seagull, pontificating from up high:
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When returning home from Santa Pola, I always head north on this lovely coastal road:
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I always am amused by this re-purposing of toilet bowls in a garden along the road:
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There are a couple of small roadside chapels like this one:
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And high above the road there are some subdivisions with seriously nice views:
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While our tourist season this year is still just a shadow of its normal self, this parking lot at the Urbanova beach indicates that there are quite a few people on the beaches, albeit mostly people from elsewhere in Spain, especially Madrid:
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We finished the day at our own beach. I sometimes join my wife in the sand, although I generally avoid water. I prefer to sit in my beach chair, read, drink a beer, and look at the other beach goers:
