Perfect Alicante Weekend

This past weekend was quite honestly, the perfect weekend here in Alicante. Filled with fun, friends, and la playa! It started Friday after we finished our intensive course. My first two weeks here were spent taking an intensive Spanish course- 4 hours a day, 4 days a week, and 2 exams. After our second exam wrapped up on Friday, we went on a group trip to a local winery- La Bodega de Santa Margarita.We had a nice visit where we got to learn a bit about wine making and sample some local wines.

Grapes!

La Bodega.

Some fancy piece of equipment used to make wine- our guide only spoke Spanish.

Wine tasting!

Everyone was tired for the ride back.

One of my favorite parts of the trip, and one of my favorite parts of Spain, was the castles. I love castles, some people love to travel and see ruins, some people art, for me it is castles. On the hour drive to the winery we pasted five, nearly every city has its own castle. I of course took several pictures out of the bus window.

Castle #2

Castle #3

Castle #4

Saturday morning a couple friends and I visited a local mercadillo in town. This was a flea market with clothes, shoes, plants, and vegetables. It was huge! Very big and very popular with a lot of local flavor. Then it was home for lunch and to Alicante beach. There is a beach right here in Alicante, maybe a ten minute walk from my place. It is smaller than many of the surrounding beaches, but it is close and there is just something special about swimming in the Mediterranean Sea while starring up at the Castillo de Santa Barbara. It was a great afternoon on the beach, not too hot after 3pm and the water was, as always, perfect. We stopped to get ice cream on the way back for dinner, and then in the evening it was out on the town to hang with friends.

The Mercadillo.

Perfect- sand, sun, and Castle.

Sunday, a friend and I decided to take a day trip to El Campello. A small town about a 25 minute tram ride outside Alicante. The Tram in Alicante is a great, easy way to get around Alicante and out to surrounding areas. El Campello was much smaller than Alicante and had a great beach. It was smaller and a lot less crowded- the perfect place for a relaxing Sunday. We stopped at a seaside cafe to get some cold drinks and then returned to Alicante for the evening.

El Campello.

Seaside Cafes.

Another perfect beach.

It was such a full weekend, that I couldn't even get the energy to write this post til Tuesday. But this weekend was full of new adventures and relaxation. With many more weekends here I am excited to see what other adventures I can find in Alicante!

Hasta Luego,
Kelsey