Gothic Sainte-Chapelle stained glass A shooting involving a terrorist at Paris’ Orly Airport, while I was going through the security check there, was an anticlimactic end to my 60th birthday celebration in Venice and Paris with my middle son, Michael. Orly is France’s second largest airport. Just before I was scheduled to board my flight home to Alicante, Spain, I noticed the departure gate had…
16 of My Favorite Spanish Foods
I have decided to revisit some of my favorite meals and foods here in the Costa Blanca area of Spain: First course beachside at La Maja grilled artichokes Chopitos (fried baby squid) Flan Composed salad with goat cheese Cocido con pelotas (traditional regional favorite) Sample of tapas served complimentarily with wine or beer Paté plate Salad with cheese and ham John Dory fish with salad and…
Ayuntamiento (town hall) with sliver of Santa Barbara castle 1893 ceramic business sign Ornate door with plays of shadow and light Statue on top floor of building Charming house Old town buildings with original materials and signature blue decorations Decorative historic door Architecturally interesting building Old door
Historic and Tasty Jijona: Costa Blanca Day Trip
Jijona (Xixona) Another great day trip in the Costa Blanca area of Spain is a day in Jijona, a short drive in the hills northwest of Alicante. Jijona, also known in Valenciano as Xixona, is famous for its Turrón, an almond-based nougat. Turrón is particularly popular at Christmas time in Spain. Jijona has a yearly four-day Christmas festival, which obviously features turrón, along with other…
Overnight train from Dijon to Venice As I am planning a trip to Venice and Paris soon with my middle son and am in the process of making transportation reservations, I am reminded of our disastrous overnight train ride from Lyon France to Venice. I had always fantasized about a nostalgic overnight train trip. Thus, on my last trip to Europe before moving to Spain, I was determined to realize that…
Inside Secrets to Spain: Top 3 Tips
Here is the article about Spain which was just published in Insiders Abroad: http://www.insidersabroad.com/spain/blogs/inside-secrets-to-spain/posts/gallery-thumb-thumb-thumb-expat-spotlight-dawns-top-3-tips-for-spain
Is There Customer Service in Spain?
I love most things about living in Spain, but customer service is not one of them. I have even contended they should remove the Spanish words for customer service, “atención al cliente,” from the lexicon. I have previously recounted my problems in receiving packages with my personal belongings from California. When I first reported no monetary value for the old personal items mailed to me, the…
Taxi Travel Perils and Moros y Cristianos in Altea Spain
Moros “The taxi driver wouldn’t follow the directions you provided. He said, ‘Moros y Cristianos’ and ‘impossible,’ then stopped, unloaded our luggage and told us to get out. We don’t know where we are.” This was the first comment from my friend who had just arrived in Altea from California. In addition, the WhatsApp wouldn’t work for her, so I hadn’t gotten any of her prior calls. Having not…
Enjoying Xiringuito Ton-Tin with Sandie Sheppard With so many interesting places and events here on the Costa Blanca in Spain, I have decided to start taking short trips to some of these spots. Serendipitously, I met a woman at a local jazz fusion concert, who also is a live music fan. While we shared a table, I was expressing my frustration about the difficulty finding information on the…
Summer in Altea’s Casco Antiguo with craft booths While Altea (Spain) always has many entertaining activities, summer brings additional fun offerings. Ever a music fan, I appreciate the variety of city-sponsored live bands playing at various outdoor venues, including 40’s style Big Band, jazz fusion with a Mohawk-sporting accordion and keyboard player, flamenco, regional (Valenciano) folk music,…