{"id":1775,"date":"2017-01-04T21:04:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-04T20:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=1775"},"modified":"2017-01-04T23:15:13","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T22:15:13","slug":"week-53-holidays-in-alicante","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/?page_id=1775","title":{"rendered":"Week 53: Holidays in Alicante"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last week of 2016 began on Christmas morning and ended on New Year’s Eve. We spent the holidays at home, except for our son, who for the first time in his 27 years was not with us–he spent Christmas in Miami with his girlfriend. And of course the four-legged contingent of the family was also reduced since our kitty Taco passed away in March. So it was a little bitter-sweet this year. But we still had a good week, which I present here chronologically.<\/p>\n

53_1<\/strong>
\nCalle Britannia at dawn on Christmas morning:
\n\"DSF0170\"<\/p>\n

The next four images I group under the theme “abundance” – the simple pleasures of life.<\/p>\n

53_2<\/strong>
\nOur lemon tree is yielding generously this season:
\n\"DSF0171\"<\/p>\n

53_3<\/strong>
\nMy wife got a bunch of these from a friend:
\n\"DSF0176\"<\/p>\n

53_4<\/strong>
\nMy wife’s almond pie:
\n\"DSF0175\"<\/p>\n

53_5<\/strong>
\nCheese made with raw milk is always the best:
\n\"DSF0177\"<\/p>\n

53_6<\/strong>
\nAfter breakfast, Monica and Cheeta are ready for the presents:
\n\"DSF0187\"<\/p>\n

53_7<\/strong>
\nA wish fulfilled:
\n\"DSF0197\"<\/p>\n

53_8<\/strong>
\nOpening a present from her brother:
\n\"DSF0199\"<\/p>\n

53_9<\/strong>
\nMoses may be on the other side of the Atlantic but he still arranged for presents for us. A bit of ocean between us is no match for our bonds:
\n\"DSF0209\"<\/p>\n

53_10<\/strong>
\nMajorica is a Spanish jewellery brand, and one of my wife’s favourites. Makes Santa’s job easier, every time:
\n\"DSF0208\"<\/p>\n

53_11<\/strong>
\nA present from her son:
\n\"DSF0211\"<\/p>\n

53_12<\/strong>
\nMeanwhile, Cheeta just takes a snooze:
\n\"DSF0189\"<\/p>\n

53_13<\/strong>
\nBut then it is her turn:
\n\"DSF0217\"<\/p>\n

53_14<\/strong>
\nCheeta does need assistance opening her presents:
\n\"DSF0219\"<\/p>\n

53_15<\/strong>
\nGetting a taste of her treats:
\n\"DSF0222\"<\/p>\n

53_16<\/strong>
\nLooking for more:
\n\"DSF0225\"<\/p>\n

53_17<\/strong>
\nOnce all the presents have been distributed, the official family photo is taken, using a tripod and the self-timer function of the camera:
\n\"R000914\"<\/p>\n

53_18<\/strong>
\nOf course I also went cycling during the Christmas period, taking advantage of the good weather and made more enjoyable by the light traffic. On the way home from Santa Pola, I came across these paddle surfers:
\n\"R000934\"<\/p>\n

53_19<\/strong>
\n…and an appropriately dressed photographer on the shore:
\n\"R000932\"<\/p>\n

53_20<\/strong>
\nA reminder of the need to drive carefully, on the road to Aigues:
\n\"R000918\"<\/p>\n

53_21<\/strong>
\nOn Boxing Day, we went downtown to have lunch at a newly opened Thai restaurant and walk around a bit. I posed my two women for this portrait near the parking garage:
\n\"DSF0227\"<\/p>\n

53_22<\/strong>
\nLove on Plaza Monta\u00c3\u00b1eta:
\n\"DSF0235\"<\/p>\n

53_23<\/strong>
\nA slightly cheesy Christmas thingie. For 3 \u00e2\u201a\u00ac, you can have your picture taken inside a bubble:
\n\"DSF0238\"<\/p>\n

53_24<\/strong>
\nAn employee photobombs the shoot:
\n\"DSF0239\"<\/p>\n

53_25<\/strong>
\nAfter lunch, we went for dessert at Canada Coffee. As the name implies, it is a caf\u00c3\u00a9 owned by two Canadian guys. The coffee is great, and they have many vegan cupcakes and pastries, so Monica is always happy there:
\n\"DSF0253\"<\/p>\n

53_26<\/strong>
\nThe counter at Canada Coffee:
\n\"DSF0255\"<\/p>\n

53_27<\/strong>
\nA vegan cupcake, along with the signalling device used to indicate that the coffee you have ordered is ready:
\n\"DSF0254\"<\/p>\n

53_28<\/strong>
\nThe next day I cycled up to Aigues and took in this scene in front of the town’s church:
\n\"R000941\"<\/p>\n

53_29<\/strong>
\nPeople in Aigues decorate their windows and balconies for Christmas:
\n\"R000942\"<\/p>\n

The next three images are from my kitchen, cooking a vegan dinner, something I always enjoy even though I am an omnivore myself.<\/p>\n

53_30<\/strong>
\nPickled red onions, recipe from a Danish vegan blogger, M\u00c3\u00a5nebarnet (“moon child”):
\n\"R000938\"<\/p>\n

53_31<\/strong>
\nRoasted cauliflower in tomato sauce, recipe from Jamie Oliver:
\n\"R000945\"<\/p>\n

53_32<\/strong>
\nFrikadeller, recipe from another Danish blog, Plantepusherne (the Plant Pushers):
\n\"R000946\"<\/p>\n

On the 28th, I received a new lens, the 2.8\/90mm Fuji. I proceeded to test it, not by taking pictures of newspapers taped to a wall or test charts, but simply by using it to take pictures.<\/p>\n

53_33<\/strong>
\nThe view of the mountains from my roof:
\n\"DSF0258\"<\/p>\n

53_34<\/strong>
\nMy beloved doggie’s face, close-up:
\n\"DSF0257\"<\/p>\n

53_35<\/strong>
\nI drove to El Campello to take a walk around the harbour and check on the cats living there:
\n\"DSF0266\"<\/p>\n

53_36<\/strong>
\n\"DSF0269\"<\/p>\n

53_37<\/strong>
\nThis is why the cats thrive there:
\n\"DSF0271\"<\/p>\n

53_38<\/strong>
\nNets:
\n\"DSF0274\"<\/p>\n

53_39<\/strong>
\nInside the fish auction house, El Campello:
\n\"DSF0275\"<\/p>\n

53_40<\/strong>
\nThe pleasure boats, El Campello:
\n\"DSF0278\"<\/p>\n

Based on this evidence, I conclude that the 90mm is an excellent lens.<\/p>\n

53_41<\/strong>
\nMy wife did some online shopping to replenish our whisky altar:
\n\"R000962\"<\/p>\n

53_42<\/strong>
\nThe last day of 2016 started in the usual manner, by walking Cheeta. We were being watched:
\n\"DSF0280\"<\/p>\n

53_43<\/strong>
\nThen I did my bike ride, had lunch, and went to the park to hang another ribbon on the pet memorial tree:
\n\"DSF0285\"<\/p>\n

53_44<\/strong>
\nOur beloved kitty is gone but he is indeed forever in our hearts:
\n\"DSF0282\"<\/p>\n

53_45<\/strong>
\nAnd in the evening, we said goodbye to 2016 in the company of good friends:
\n\"R000999\"<\/p>\n

More pictures from that party can be seen here<\/a>. And now on to 2017 and my 18th year of weekly photo blogs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last week of 2016 began on Christmas morning and ended on New Year’s Eve. We spent the holidays at home, except for our son, who for the first time in his 27 years was not with us–he spent Christmas in Miami with his girlfriend. And of course the four-legged contingent of the family was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1535,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1775"}],"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=1775"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1775\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1778,"href":"http:\/\/www.fotocycle.dk\/paws\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1775\/revisions\/1778"}],"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=1775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}