- The start of our Pan European Sojourn
- And we’re off — first stop Palma de Mallorca!
- Alicante, Spain
- Sète and Aigues Mortes, France
- St. Tropez and Gassin, France
- Portofino and Camogli, Italy
- Paris and Angers, France
- Bucharest, Romania
- Into the Carpathian Mountains — Peles Castle
- Brasov and Sighisoara, Romania
- Bran Castle and the legend of Dracula!
- Vidin, Bulgaria
- Valiko Tarnavo and Arbanasi, Bulgaria
- Rolling down the (Danube) river and Golubac Fortress, Serbia
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Novi Sad, Serbia and Vukovar, Croatia
- Pécs, Hungary
- Budapest, Vienna, and end of trip
Today we headed east to visit Alicante, which is a port city on Spain’s southeastern Costa Blanca and the capital. Some 800 – 900 years ago, Alicante marked the frontier between the Muslims and Christian, which led to the building a chain of castles and fort along the city. While the city has gone through periods of feast and famine, it has always been a significant trading port, selling the many varieties of rice and oranges from the region. Starting in the late 1950s, Alicante’s fortunes became more and more tied to tourism and a boom in vacation homes. Given that it gets over 300 days of sunshine per year and has wide, expansive beaches, this probably isn’t a surprise. People flock here to come to the beaches and then go to the clubs or casino at night. We went ashore to walk around and look at both the architecture and beach esplanade. The biggest and most convenient beach is the Playa de Postiguet. It was a typical Mediterranean beach, resplendent with lounges, cabana beds, beach bars, and a volleyball court all along the tawny beach. We walked through the area before 9:00 am and the beach concessions were still pretty quiet. Apparently, people don’t seem to get up until about 11:00 am. But one thing was clear — without a cloud in the sky, it was heating up quickly. After looking at some of the interesting architecture in the area, we made our way to the city’s biggest draw — the medieval Castillo de Santa Barbara which sits on a steep hilltop promontory atop Mount Benacantil. Today, there are mostly ruins of what was one of Spain’s largest forts, but it also houses a museum, a cafe, and even a venue where you can taste local delicacies. Seeing the whole castle takes a few hours and involves a lot of climbing. Without any meaningful shade, standing out in the broiling sun did us in. By the time we came down the elevator that gets you to the castle, the line was about half a block long and the beaches were packed. We had hoped to visit the old part of the city and the Central Market, but we ended up coming back to the ship to chill out — literally. Last night we had dinner with Camilla Tominey, the Associate Editor of The Daily Mail and her daughter. Camila covers politics and the Royals for the paper and was aboard to give a talk. We had a fabulous, wide ranging discussion that lasted until midnight! Fun!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
