Prowling my world, camera in hand

9 June 2016

Week 23: eating and drinking well in Alicante and Benidorm

Filed under: — Administrator @ 14:55

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.

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On 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:
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This is roughly the view from the spot of the first picture when the sun is setting:
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This 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:
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This one is most certainly interested in the food:
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Once 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:
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On 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:
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This 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 talking about his wine:
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…getting down to business:
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…helping serve the next wine to be tasted:
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Takis studies the label:
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He likes what he sees (and tastes) and takes a note, the way one takes notes these days:
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Takis 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:
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This week’s morning dog walk picture, at our local post office. The truck gets loaded with the outgoing mail every morning around 7:30:
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On 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:
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The weather was perfect, so everybody was sitting outside:
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And of course if you sit outside, your four-legged family member can be with you:
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On 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:
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This road is a service road along the motorway leading from Alicante to Alcoy, and it is a popular cycling route:
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This is the landscape near Tibi, my destination for the ride:
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Not 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:
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The rest of the images are from a double birthday party hosted by friends in La Nucia near Benidorm.

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The party started around 2 p.m., with salads and other goodies to start:
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The host is a master paella cook:
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Friendly conversation:
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The rice was delicious:
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The cat seems to agree:
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Elio’s son Luka and his girlfriend, a delightful young couple:
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An impromptu performance:
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In mid-afternoon, I went for a walk in the neighbourhood. Here is a marriage proposal on the asphalt:
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A subdivision with a nice background:
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Late afternoon light:
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Back at the party:
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As evening fell, Elio the Argentine King of BBQ, started preparing the grill for the evening meal:
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The cones have a high energy content, he explained:
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Cleaning the grill:
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The raw materials:
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The raw materials, now much less raw:
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Checking the heat:
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Argentine voodoo?
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Enjoying the fruits of his labour:
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And finally an informal portrait of the hostess:
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A fuller account of the preparation of the paella can be seen here.

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