Sunny Spain!

 I love roundabouts.  No one has more roundabouts than Spain.  Really I saw a list.  I went to Alicante Spain, number four on the list.  It was dizzying.  

I went to Spain with Karen for her birthday.  that's how we celebrate.  get out of town.  it was a last minute trip so I had a to juggle a bit.  I landed in Madrid on my own and took myself on a little walking tour.  there's nowhere better to soak in culture than Europe.  Everything is 1000 years old if not older.  churches, palaces, plazas, markets, espresso.  then of course in Spain you have dead bulls.  

I want to talk about the Monasterio Del Corpus Christi and the secret cookies.  Picture the scene.  a sweaty tired American tourist is walking down a cobble stone street.  It's a sunny day but shadows abound in the closed in alley.  is this the right place?  Google maps says yes, but there's no sign but for some cryptic writing near three buzzers next to an old wooden door.  The local on a bicycle assures her is ok.  go, go, push any button.  sure enough she's granted entrance.  still without guidance she follows the hall the only way there is to go.  it ends in a dark alcove.  she's looking for cookies.  this does not feel like a place for cookies.  is that a voice?  a small paper is tacked to the wall with a list of cookies.  there's that voice again!  what's happening?  it seems to be eminating from this lazy susan.  the tourist tentatively asks for almond cookies.  the voice seems to say that is not an option.  finally the discomfort is too much.  the cookies aren't that important.  She simply leaves.  

Ok, so here's the deal.  the place is run by nuns who have taken vows of silence.  They speak as little as possible and keep themselves hidden.  I was supposed to put money in the lazy susan and it would have rotated thus providing me with cookies.  I read all this later.  

I walked a lot and saw a lot, but let's stick to the highlights.  Lastly, I boarded the bullet train to Alicante!  it's fast.  300 km/hour.  I find that exciting!  What I didn't see a lot of was decent A/C.  Even our place in Alicante only had two rooms with AC.  with all the walking, not much sleeping, lots of sun, no sunscreen, rich food and wine, then finally sleeping in that hot room, it's no wonder I woke up with a migraine and puking.  heat stroke?  maybe.  I wouldn't have changed a thing about my day though.  A small price to pay for a little adventure.  I slept in the cool living room after that.  

My favorite was swimming at the foot of the Waterfall Algar.  The water was freezing!  But being at the foot of the loud outpouring of spring water was breath taking!  Beautiful and powerful.  Waterfalls are thrilling, right?  what more can one say.  

My second favorite was wine tasting and olive oil tasting at Bodegas Faelo.  They have laser burned barrels made from French oak trees planted in 1860.  Let that "soak" in.  Old barrels.  new technology.  doesn't that just feel European?  and that's the experience we're chasing.  We stopped here on a whim after a hike.  they were kind enough to take our money!  the food pairing was excellent and vegetarian options seem easy everywhere.  The feel of old farms and old vineyards make me feel nostalgic.  Being a kid on my uncle's farm holds fond memories for me.  It's what I feel like Europe should feel like.  Family and booze.