Ah! What a perfect weekend in Alicante. It was just what I needed in terms of relaxing and sleeping. My computer has decided to no longer connect to the Internet so I will only be able to post when one is available for me to use. Brother, I may need your help figuring out what is wrong with it. So, while Tori is allowing me to borrow her laptop, let me tell you about my beach vacation...
I wrote Thursday night that we walked out of our hotel down to the beach, which was more like a jetty. So Friday morning we woke up around 9am (two hours later than usual which was wonderful) and headed out in search of the sand. Our hotel was connected to a "supermercado"
that ended up being our "Wal-Mart" for the weekend. (MumMum, it was kind of like Papa's Torr's!) We went in together on an ice chest, powerades, fruit and sandwich groceries and hauled it all down to the beach. We were lucky find the true sandy beach within 5 minutes walking. I absolutely enjoy the spontaneity of this journey. We did not know where the beach was. We had no idea how much sand Alicante had. Actually, we were not even sure how to pronounce the name until Saturday! But again, an address and an open mind is all you need. right? We bought a baguette, ham, cheese, and mustard, trusting that even if we had to eat it on the side of the road, it would still be a great lunch. But again, The Lord has blessed this experience with such beauty. Look at the gorgeous beach we discovered! It was absolutely perfect. And that sandwich was killer too!
After feeling the effects of being much closer to the equator, we shook off our towels and headed back to our swanky Albahia Hotel to shower and dress for dinner. We, like any group of girls at the beach, of course went down to take pictures with the boulders of Alicante (I would love to see a group of guys taking pics at the beach all dressed up... yeah right). And afterwards jumped on the bus to find shopping and food. We did the same on Saturday, just applied more sunblock.
Alicante ended up being an adorable city. It was the perfect size. Everything was within walking distance and we were cushioned between Spanish mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. I do not think we could have chosen a better free weekend destination. After we split the hotel 5 ways, we each paid 68 euros for 3 nights. I think it was a pretty inexpensive trip.
Our train left for Madrid this afternoon at 12pm. Knowing we were only 5 minutes from the train station, we checked out of our hotel at 11am and headed up the mountain for the bus stop. The girls began to worry when after 15 minutes, the bus had not come. We then learned that on Sundays, the bus only runs every half hour. We ended up making it to our train but the rush involved running across streets without cross-walks, luggage in hand, lots of sprinting, yelling, and laughing. The train doors shut 2 minutes before departure. Good thing we made it at 11:57!
One of the best parts of this weekend was coming "home" today to Teresa's. She had dinner waiting for us. That part was awesome because we had not eaten anything expect a croissant all day when we arrived home at 5:30pm. Dinner was sooooo delicious. Paneed chicken in tri-colored pasta with tomato sauce, salad, bread, and chocolate mousse for dessert. She was out with a friend for all of the day so we heated the food ourselves. Afterward, I washed dishes!!!! Why am I so happy about that? Because it felt like home! I guess using a sink, liquid soap, and a sponge has more sentimental power than one realizes. It was also great to eat earlier than usual. It allowed me time to catch up on facebook messages after dinner and then spend an hour in the park. Today was the best run I've had yet in Spain. I followed the gate along the perimeter of the park and it took me 30 minutes to make it all the way around. It's huge! I love it.
We are unpacking our beach bags now and trying to write the three page paper we have due on Tuesday. We also have the mid-term exam on Tuesday so the next 36 hours will be all Espanol parami. My instructor asked me to start blogging in Spanish, but I thought mom and dad may not read it then. I am still unsure where I will travel to this weekend. My two options right now are staying in Madrid to do something cool like horseback riding (I could stay in the park all weekend and be happy!) or traveling to Grenada with a group of students. I better decide soon!
Here are the top things I miss (things, not people. I miss all my American people...):
- Crescent City
-Purple Parrot
-ICE (Europe kicks America's tail when it comes to being resourceful and not wasting energy, so I would not expect them to have ice makers... but why not find a porous surface to fill with water and place in freezer? I really don't mind drinking water without ice. That's no problem. It's just when I think about Crystal Light or a 2 liter diet coke with ice that I long for The States.)
-American movies. Not that I watch that many, but I would love to right now.
-Coffee in the mornings. Teresa makes a full pot at night and then heats a cup up in the microwave. I am still very thankful for it though!
-Honey mustard. Not sure what I want to eat it on, but I want it!
-Crossfit workouts... even though the park is amazing.
-Mexican restaurants and their chips and salsa that never end.
-Only having to plug an electronic device into one outlet, rather than finding an adapter, converter, and sometime prong extender just to charge a camera battery.
Here are the things I do not miss:
-Driving. I love not having a car and getting everywhere I need to go via public transit or my own two feet. Sometimes I think that is how we were meant to live. You feel much more connected to the community when you walk through it everyday as opposed to speed through it at 55mph. Okay Dad, you can sell it. :)
-Lack of recycling. Spain does it well!
-TIPPING! Sorry servers, but when the menu price of the meal is 10.50... all you have to pay is 10.50. It is awesome to not have to factor in other costs. Tax is included so the price on the tag is all you pay. Its actually considered insulting to leave a tip.
-Filling up at a gas station.
-Hattiesburg humidity. Somehow the weather here is perfect; I never sweat (ha) and its always the perfect temperature.
That's it. I like Spain. I love Hattiesburg, MS. I think it is important to appreciate both. I better get on that paper now... or at least decide on a topic! I'll leave you with a funny quote a friend
said the other night. In a conversation about one of our professors, someone mentioned that he has a girlfriend. I said, "Yes, I think he said she's from Venezuela." Jordan replies, "He does look like he'd date an Asian."
Ha ha. I told her I would never let her live that down. We're working on Spanish and geography.
I hope your week is full of coffee in the morning, honey mustard, ice in your glasses, and maybe even a meal at Crescent City. (Michael did not ask me to plug that.) Thanks again for caring
what I'm up to. God has answered every prayer and continues to
I wrote Thursday night that we walked out of our hotel down to the beach, which was more like a jetty. So Friday morning we woke up around 9am (two hours later than usual which was wonderful) and headed out in search of the sand. Our hotel was connected to a "supermercado"
that ended up being our "Wal-Mart" for the weekend. (MumMum, it was kind of like Papa's Torr's!) We went in together on an ice chest, powerades, fruit and sandwich groceries and hauled it all down to the beach. We were lucky find the true sandy beach within 5 minutes walking. I absolutely enjoy the spontaneity of this journey. We did not know where the beach was. We had no idea how much sand Alicante had. Actually, we were not even sure how to pronounce the name until Saturday! But again, an address and an open mind is all you need. right? We bought a baguette, ham, cheese, and mustard, trusting that even if we had to eat it on the side of the road, it would still be a great lunch. But again, The Lord has blessed this experience with such beauty. Look at the gorgeous beach we discovered! It was absolutely perfect. And that sandwich was killer too!
After feeling the effects of being much closer to the equator, we shook off our towels and headed back to our swanky Albahia Hotel to shower and dress for dinner. We, like any group of girls at the beach, of course went down to take pictures with the boulders of Alicante (I would love to see a group of guys taking pics at the beach all dressed up... yeah right). And afterwards jumped on the bus to find shopping and food. We did the same on Saturday, just applied more sunblock.
Alicante ended up being an adorable city. It was the perfect size. Everything was within walking distance and we were cushioned between Spanish mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. I do not think we could have chosen a better free weekend destination. After we split the hotel 5 ways, we each paid 68 euros for 3 nights. I think it was a pretty inexpensive trip.
Our train left for Madrid this afternoon at 12pm. Knowing we were only 5 minutes from the train station, we checked out of our hotel at 11am and headed up the mountain for the bus stop. The girls began to worry when after 15 minutes, the bus had not come. We then learned that on Sundays, the bus only runs every half hour. We ended up making it to our train but the rush involved running across streets without cross-walks, luggage in hand, lots of sprinting, yelling, and laughing. The train doors shut 2 minutes before departure. Good thing we made it at 11:57!One of the best parts of this weekend was coming "home" today to Teresa's. She had dinner waiting for us. That part was awesome because we had not eaten anything expect a croissant all day when we arrived home at 5:30pm. Dinner was sooooo delicious. Paneed chicken in tri-colored pasta with tomato sauce, salad, bread, and chocolate mousse for dessert. She was out with a friend for all of the day so we heated the food ourselves. Afterward, I washed dishes!!!! Why am I so happy about that? Because it felt like home! I guess using a sink, liquid soap, and a sponge has more sentimental power than one realizes. It was also great to eat earlier than usual. It allowed me time to catch up on facebook messages after dinner and then spend an hour in the park. Today was the best run I've had yet in Spain. I followed the gate along the perimeter of the park and it took me 30 minutes to make it all the way around. It's huge! I love it.
We are unpacking our beach bags now and trying to write the three page paper we have due on Tuesday. We also have the mid-term exam on Tuesday so the next 36 hours will be all Espanol parami. My instructor asked me to start blogging in Spanish, but I thought mom and dad may not read it then. I am still unsure where I will travel to this weekend. My two options right now are staying in Madrid to do something cool like horseback riding (I could stay in the park all weekend and be happy!) or traveling to Grenada with a group of students. I better decide soon!
Here are the top things I miss (things, not people. I miss all my American people...):
- Crescent City
-Purple Parrot
-ICE (Europe kicks America's tail when it comes to being resourceful and not wasting energy, so I would not expect them to have ice makers... but why not find a porous surface to fill with water and place in freezer? I really don't mind drinking water without ice. That's no problem. It's just when I think about Crystal Light or a 2 liter diet coke with ice that I long for The States.)
-American movies. Not that I watch that many, but I would love to right now.
-Coffee in the mornings. Teresa makes a full pot at night and then heats a cup up in the microwave. I am still very thankful for it though!
-Honey mustard. Not sure what I want to eat it on, but I want it!
-Crossfit workouts... even though the park is amazing.
-Mexican restaurants and their chips and salsa that never end.
-Only having to plug an electronic device into one outlet, rather than finding an adapter, converter, and sometime prong extender just to charge a camera battery.
Here are the things I do not miss:
-Driving. I love not having a car and getting everywhere I need to go via public transit or my own two feet. Sometimes I think that is how we were meant to live. You feel much more connected to the community when you walk through it everyday as opposed to speed through it at 55mph. Okay Dad, you can sell it. :)
-Lack of recycling. Spain does it well!
-TIPPING! Sorry servers, but when the menu price of the meal is 10.50... all you have to pay is 10.50. It is awesome to not have to factor in other costs. Tax is included so the price on the tag is all you pay. Its actually considered insulting to leave a tip.
-Filling up at a gas station.
-Hattiesburg humidity. Somehow the weather here is perfect; I never sweat (ha) and its always the perfect temperature.
That's it. I like Spain. I love Hattiesburg, MS. I think it is important to appreciate both. I better get on that paper now... or at least decide on a topic! I'll leave you with a funny quote a friend
said the other night. In a conversation about one of our professors, someone mentioned that he has a girlfriend. I said, "Yes, I think he said she's from Venezuela." Jordan replies, "He does look like he'd date an Asian."Ha ha. I told her I would never let her live that down. We're working on Spanish and geography.
I hope your week is full of coffee in the morning, honey mustard, ice in your glasses, and maybe even a meal at Crescent City. (Michael did not ask me to plug that.) Thanks again for caring
what I'm up to. God has answered every prayer and continues to surround me in everyday moments.
Twenty nine more days...
Twenty nine more days...
Hey sweetie, So glad that your weekend was wonderful. Your pictures are great but I want to see more. I can't wait until you can load some on our computer. Your list of "misses" is so YOU! I would have a hard time with the lack of ice, too. But there are many nice things to be grateful for aren't there.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I stopped the previous blog comment to try to help Mum and Papa try to sign in as a follower but I couldn't help them by phone. They want to reply to you so maybe in a day or so we will get it to work. We have been following Ole Miss and USM in the regional baseball play. Both teams won 2 games and lost today. Each team plays again tomorrow. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteLearn to cook some of that Spanish food. It sounds sooooo good.
Dad starts working out of his new office on Wednesday. It has a big sign on the front. Looks nice.
I washed and vacuumed your car today. You will need it when you get back. No convenient public transit in H'burg.
We love and miss you! I changed the calendar to June and there it is on the very bottom...Melissa comes home. I can see it now.