A week with many interesting things going on. An outdoor Sunday market is 600 m up the street from our house. It was there when we moved to this neighbourhood in 2018, but a few years later it closed, and the large space lay barren. But a couple of months ago it was re-opened under new management, and this week we made our first visit (and walked home with heavy bags of veggies and fruits). Our book club held its monthly meeting, and we also opened a new art exhibition at the office, by the Italian painter Luigi Raffael, a part-time resident of Alicante.
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As always, the week started on Sunday morning with a walk on the beach with Mochi. I am getting a bit bored with the pretty sunrises, so instead I focus on what the sun is illuminating, like here:
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Sand and walkway:
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Another contre-jour image:
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Mochi’s pawprints in the sand:
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Later, I did my usual Sunday bike ride, and then we walked to the outdoor market. We loved seeing the fresh and inexpensive produce and the many people shopping:
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Artichokes are in season now:
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As opposed to indoor shopping places, dogs are welcome here:
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And this being Spain, no market is complete without a bar:
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On Tuesday evening we had the monthly book club meeting, at a bar in the centre called Palmito. On the way from the parking to the bar I noticed this graffiti, with a new phrase added “Who are you without art?”:
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The literary crowd at the Palmito:
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Our book of the month was the Dutch classic “The Dinner” by Herman Koch. We took the traditional photo. This time we had the book in the original Dutch, as well as in English and Finnish:
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Eri, Yasen and Charline, our Belgian trainee:
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We have another new member, a trainee from Turkey, Gülgun. She got to choose the book for March:
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The sun is not always shining here in Alicante:
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My photo club in Brussels has “reflections” as its theme for April, so I have been looking for suitable images during my beach walks:
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I like this image, it is a reflection, but different from the classic sky-in-the-water reflection:
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A close-up at the water’s edge:
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The remaining photos are from the opening of the Luigi Raffael exhibition at the office art gallery. As part of the opening, we were treated to a short recital by a well-known local singer Marvin Labara, son of a recently retired colleague Wilma:
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Not sure why this guy was frowning, Marvin plays and sings beautifully:
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Enjoying the performance:
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The end of the performance, Marvin enjoys the applause:
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Kari (president of our art club), Raffael, Eri (she knows Raffael, that is how we got him to exhibit at our office) and Marvin posing after the performance:
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Then Kari introduced Raffael to the audience:
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I took a peek through the door of the exhibition space:
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Raffael’s paintings are characterised by vivid colours, and the red nose is a common element:
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After Raffael had delivered a short speech (in Italian) explaining his art, people went inside the small gallery to have a look:
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The artist with two admirers:
