{"id":1632,"date":"2016-06-09T14:55:30","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T13:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=1632"},"modified":"2016-06-09T14:55:30","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T13:55:30","slug":"week-23-eating-and-drinking-well-in-alicante-and-benidorm","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=1632","title":{"rendered":"Week 23: eating and drinking well in Alicante and Benidorm"},"content":{"rendered":"

I assure the reader that I spent most of the week working, but the reality is that the office is not that conducive to photography. So instead, you get a highly skewed view of the week, focused on friends, eating and drinking. <\/p>\n

23_1<\/strong>
\nOn Sunday afternoon, our English friends from Switzerland came to visit. They have a vacation home in Moraira, about 70 km up the coast from here, so when they are here, we usually get together. This is Georgina in relaxed conversation on our back terrace:
\n\"1010729\"<\/p>\n

23_2<\/strong>
\nThis is roughly the view from the spot of the first picture when the sun is setting:
\n\"1010731\"<\/p>\n

23_3<\/strong>
\nThis cat hangs out on the golf course, but he seems uninterested in the food I put out. It is as if he just wants to roam. I have the feeling that he is not actually homeless:
\n\"1010735\"<\/p>\n

23_4<\/strong>
\nThis one is most certainly interested in the food:
\n\"1010742\"<\/p>\n

23_5<\/strong>
\n\"1010743\"<\/p>\n

23_6<\/strong>
\nOnce or twice a week, I go out for lunch to a restaurant near the Mercado Central, and if I have time, I walk through the market and photograph a bit. At this point business is very much winding down:
\n\"1010737\"<\/p>\n

23_7<\/strong>
\nOn Thursday evening we had our monthly wine tasting at the office. Here is Fernando, president of our wine club Bacchus, introducing the evening’s presenter:
\n\"1010746\"<\/p>\n

23_8<\/strong>
\nThis evening, the tasting was excellent. The bodega from the D.O. Toro is called Estancia Piedra. It is a little known denomination in the north of Spain, but the wines were great and the prices very democratic. Here is the bodeguero <\/em>talking about his wine:
\n\"1010750\"<\/p>\n

23_9<\/strong>
\n…getting down to business:
\n\"1010763\"<\/p>\n

23_10<\/strong>
\n…helping serve the next wine to be tasted:
\n\"1010759\"<\/p>\n

23_11<\/strong>
\nTakis studies the label:
\n\"1010757\"<\/p>\n

23_12<\/strong>
\nHe likes what he sees (and tastes) and takes a note, the way one takes notes these days:
\n\"1010758\"<\/p>\n

23_13<\/strong>
\nTakis retired last year or in 2014, but he comes to the office often and certainly when there is a wine tasting. In general, retirees can participate in all social clubs at the office, and many do:
\n\"1010765\"<\/p>\n

23_14<\/strong>
\nThis week’s morning dog walk picture, at our local post office. The truck gets loaded with the outgoing mail every morning around 7:30:
\n\"1010766\"<\/p>\n

23_15<\/strong>
\nOn Friday, we had a visit from our ex-trainee Antanina. She is now doing her PhD in economics in Italy, although right now she is spending a semester in London, working with a well-known professor in the economics of IP. It always pleases me to see our ex-trainees doing well after their stint in my team. We went for lunch at Moments, the nicest restaurant in the vicinity:
\n\"1010770\"<\/p>\n

23_16<\/strong>
\nThe weather was perfect, so everybody was sitting outside:
\n\"1010772\"<\/p>\n

23_17<\/strong>
\nAnd of course if you sit outside, your four-legged family member can be with you:
\n\"1010773\"<\/p>\n

23_18<\/strong>
\n\"1010774\"<\/p>\n

23_19<\/strong>
\nOn Saturday morning I went cycling in the mountains, as usual. I don’t know what these yellow flowers are, but they look pretty against the blue sky:
\n\"1010782\"<\/p>\n

23_20<\/strong>
\nThis road is a service road along the motorway leading from Alicante to Alcoy, and it is a popular cycling route:
\n\"1010778\"<\/p>\n

23_21<\/strong>
\nThis is the landscape near Tibi, my destination for the ride:
\n\"1010786\"<\/p>\n

23_22<\/strong>
\nNot exactly a metropolis but a good place to take a break. From here there is a steep 3 km climb from the valley where Tibi is located, followed by about 40 km home via Jijona, much of it downhill:
\n\"1010788\"<\/p>\n

The rest of the images are from a double birthday party hosted by friends in La Nucia near Benidorm.<\/p>\n

23_23<\/strong>
\nThe party started around 2 p.m., with salads and other goodies to start:
\n\"DSF0658\"<\/p>\n

23_24<\/strong>
\nThe host is a master paella cook:
\n\"DSF0689\"<\/p>\n

23_25<\/strong>
\nFriendly conversation:
\n\"DSF0691\"<\/p>\n

23_26<\/strong>
\nThe rice was delicious:
\n\"DSF0698\"<\/p>\n

23_27<\/strong>
\nThe cat seems to agree:
\n\"DSF0706\"<\/p>\n

23_28<\/strong>
\nElio’s son Luka and his girlfriend, a delightful young couple:
\n\"DSF0703\"<\/p>\n

23_29<\/strong>
\nAn impromptu performance:
\n\"DSF0710\"<\/p>\n

23_30<\/strong>
\nIn mid-afternoon, I went for a walk in the neighbourhood. Here is a marriage proposal on the asphalt:
\n\"DSF0718\"<\/p>\n

23_31<\/strong>
\nA subdivision with a nice background:
\n\"DSF0715\"<\/p>\n

23_32<\/strong>
\nLate afternoon light:
\n\"DSF0716\"<\/p>\n

23_33<\/strong>
\nBack at the party:
\n\"DSF0728\"<\/p>\n

23_34<\/strong>
\nAs evening fell, Elio the Argentine King of BBQ, started preparing the grill for the evening meal:
\n\"DSF0736\"<\/p>\n

23_35<\/strong>
\nThe cones have a high energy content, he explained:
\n\"DSF0737\"<\/p>\n

23_36<\/strong>
\nCleaning the grill:
\n\"DSF0745\"<\/p>\n

23_37<\/strong>
\nThe raw materials:
\n\"DSF0747\"<\/p>\n

23_38<\/strong>
\nThe raw materials, now much less raw:
\n\"DSF0760\"<\/p>\n

23_39<\/strong>
\nChecking the heat:
\n\"DSF0753\"<\/p>\n

23_40<\/strong>
\nArgentine voodoo?
\n\"DSF0776\"<\/p>\n

23_41<\/strong>
\nEnjoying the fruits of his labour:
\n\"DSF0762\"<\/p>\n

23_42<\/strong>
\nAnd finally an informal portrait of the hostess:
\n\"DSF0764\"<\/p>\n

A fuller account of the preparation of the paella can be seen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I assure the reader that I spent most of the week working, but the reality is that the office is not that conducive to photography. So instead, you get a highly skewed view of the week, focused on friends, eating and drinking. 23_1 On Sunday afternoon, our English friends from Switzerland came to visit. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1535,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1632"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1633,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1632\/revisions\/1633"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}