The main events of the week were a visit to an orange plantation, the monthly meeting of our reading club, and some inclement weather in the form of two days of wind with gusts up to 90 km/h–not hurricane strength but enough to make a bit of a mess.
5_1
The week began, as usual, with a Sunday morning walk on the beach. The sunrise was especially spectacular this morning:
5_2
5_3
The buildings along the beachfront road, illuminated by the rising sun:
5_4
On the way home from the beach, we stopped at the bakery for bread. The bakery lady sometimes gives Mochi fresh bread, which he loves:
5_5
Later on Sunday, we drove to a village near Valencia where some friends have an orange plantation. This is not their profession, they actually live in Alicante, but it is also more than just a hobby. They do sell part of their harvest, but also invite friends to descend on the plantation to pick some. My wife loves fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I love to eat fresh oranges, so we came equipped with many bags to fill:
5_6
The oranges were nice and definitely ready to pick:
5_7
5_8
These oranges are packed for delivery to a shop or maybe a bar (fresh-squeezed orange juice is often part of a standard breakfast in Spain):
5_9
Back at work. The department in charge of the physical aspects of our office has started a new programme, the Tuesday market. Every Tuesday, three local vendors are invited to sell their wares to the staff, using a space that once housed a bakery (we used to have several shops in the office, most of which closed after the pandemic when the increase in teleworking meant fewer customers on site on any given day):
5_10
Inma (Inmaculada) buying goat cheese:
5_11
5_12
I also bought some goat cheese and it turned out delicious. It is made by a small producer in Muchamiel, a suburb of Alicante:
5_13
On Tuesday evening our book club WeRead met at a bar in the centre called Palmito. This is now our fixed meeting place, and they reserve a big table for us. This month’s book was “A Man’s Place” by the French 2022 Nobel Prize winner Annie Erneaux, selected by me this time. As usual, we made a photo of the book in the various languages and formats, here French, English and Greek (I also brought a couple of her other books, one of them in Danish):
5_14
Eri talks, Harrie listens:
5_15
A smile:
5_16
Maria is a good friend of Eri (they are both Greek):
5_17
Caroline is the founder and informal leader of the book club:
5_18
My Danish colleague Kirsten:
5_19
Palmito is on a narrow pedestrian street and has some tables outside. Just behind me were these two young women with their dogs:
5_20
After the meeting, I walked back to my car through a rainy Plaza San Cristobal:
5_21
On Wednesday morning, I walked to a different bakery than the usual one because I needed to get out earlier than usual, and this particular bakery (actually, more like a small convenience store) opens at 6:30. A lone woman was having her breakfast:
5_22
We had some strong wind on Wednesday afternoon and evening, and on Thursday morning there were some visible results in the neighbourhood:
5_23
On Friday the wind was blowing again, but that did not keep Mochi and me from our morning walk:
5_24
Finally, by Friday afternoon the wind had died down, and it was possible to stop at 100 Montaditos on my way home from work:
5_25
We are on a bay, so the coast north of Alicante is nicely illuminated by the setting sun. This is El Campello, the suburb where I live, seen from 100 Montaditos:
5_26
Looking still further north, one can see Villajoyosa and Benidorm:
5_27
To the south is Cabo Huertas, an affluent neighbourhood with a small lighthouse:
5_28
The moon was full:
5_29
On Saturday morning, the sea was calm again:
5_30
An amusing sign on the dashboard of a car parked along the beach road:
5_31
In the afternoon, I went to the centre to have a look at the aftermath of the storm in the city. The main seafront promenade, Esplanada de España, had been closed because of the danger of falling trees (as were most of the parks):
5_32
This is quite unusual, so I was not the only person wanting to record it:
5_33
Elsewhere, workers were cleaning up in various places, like here on Plaza Montañeta:
5_34
Graffiti near Plaza Montañeta. There is a lot of concern in cities like Alicante about the impact of tourism on local rents:
5_35
It may be the middle of winter, but enjoying a glass of wine outside is still very possible:
5_36
Just before descending into the underground car park to drive home, I spotted these pigeons neatly lined up:
