Espana: Days 1-4

Our first days in El Campello have been lovely...and hot!

Day 1:
It was actually a little cloudy with light rain and humidity but we were hungry so we went on our first food find. There is a boardwalk along the beach that has many restaurants and shops so we stopped at one of the closer places (I was extremely hungry) and it was a success!

In Spain, the eating schedule is way different...lunch time is usually between 1 and 2:30 and dinner is typically 9 to midnight. With that said, we were attempting to eat at 3:30. Right in the middle of siesta!

At Freiduria El Puerto II, the staff was so welcoming. We wanted to try the Lambrusco but they were out so we went with the house Rioja which was pretty good but I know we'll be back to try the Lambrusco. We ordered Patatas Bravas for our starter (always a must for us) and a Seafood Paella. I will say that the Patatas Bravas are the best we've had so far (I'm writing this on day 6).

More restaurant details in the restaurants section.
Toward the end of our meal, it starting raining a little bit heavier than before even though it was still hot as fuck, so we made our way back home.

I remember nothing after this because I think we all passed out from being so exhausted with the time change and travelling. Los Angeles is 9 hours behind and even though we were on the East Coast for some time before, our clocks were still messed up. Oh and I should mention it doesn't really get dark here until after 9:30pm. Crazy!

Day 2:
As Bey would say, 🎶I woke up like this🎶 and I woke up to this...

The view to our right, El Campello Beaches

When we look to the left, we get the boats of El Campello

Today we were on the hunt for several household items like our own towels, soap and a barrier for the balcony so Coco doesnt fall 12 stories down. Being jet-lagged and it being hot, we weren't thinking clearly. Walking around town, we were trying to get ideas of how to create a barrier. The first thing that came to mind was a noodle. Yes, a noodle...you know, those pool noodles? We found the thickest one, brought it back but it was too thin to block anything off (yes, I'm still talking about the pool noodle😉). So, the hunt continues..

Some bad news...I packed my beloved Nespresso machine and it made it here all in 1 piece but keep in mind the plug difference. We have converters and adapters for the European plug outlets so I went ahead and used one for my Nespresso machine! POP💥goes the Nespresso machine. A sad day for me.
Not to worry, my knight in shinning armour always comes to the rescue. He found out there is a Nespresso boutique in the city of Alicante (20 mins from us) so he plans to get me a new one when we go into the city!!!
For anyone travelling to Europe, please pay attention to the plugs, get yourself some converters and adapters, PAY ATTENTION to your voltage and know when to use a converter vs an adapter.
My favorite adaptor was from mile-high.net but I'm not finding that website anymore. I have some others that are just as awesome from Tumi....http://www.tumi.com/p/electric-grounded-adaptor-014395D
And this one:
http://www.tumi.com/p/4-port-usb-travel-adaptor-0114409D?cs=true

European outlet

Adaptor

US phone charger w/ adaptor

Today's lunch was eh but the Sangria was the best thus far! The place we ate at is called Jova...another one along the boardwalk. We walked around the town for a bit discovering other shops and a dog beach. I already found my favorite shop and its so good, they dont even need a name. At least no name listed outside. The receipt said Elite

My favorite store!

We also came across a place that has fake grass so we went in to make an appointment to get Coco hooked up for our balcony. They will have someone come to our place to do some measurements.
I also found a nail salon, a supermarket and a language school really close by.

One of my greatest finds was a shop that sells sim cards so I can get a local number and be able to use all my apps. We learned the guy who was helping us owns the shop and is from the states but he lives here now and met his wife here. He has a beautiful boxer named Jack so I asked if there is a vet around that he could recommend. Our fellow ex-pat, Paul, has been extremely helpful!

We ended up finding a place that has exactly what we need for Coco-proofing our balcony!

Once it was almost dinner time (9:30), we ventured out for food and stopped at this Italian place literally on the next block from us. More restaurant details for il Cuore di Napoli in the restaurants section...I loved everything about this place and so far they have had the best Lambrusco Tinto! We learned that there are actually 3 different options when it comes to Lambrusco: blanco (white), rosado (rose) and tinto (red).

Lambrusco Tinto "Gabriele y Margherita"

Day 3:
It's Saturday and hot! Trying to keep hydrated is difficult for all 3 of us and we keep having to buy more water. I wake every hour to go pee and then drink more water, which makes me have to pee even more of course!
Back on the boardwalk this afternoon, we stopped for lunch at Restaurante Cavia where we've had the best paella so far!!! It was simple and perfect....Chicken and peppers (again more details in the dedicated section)

Arroz con pollo y pimientos at Cavia

After lunch we went to my favorite store again, Elite, and I got 2 pairs of linen, Made in Italy shorts and a pair of sandals, all for less than $70 USD. Thats unheard of in the states (at least where I like to shop 😉)! Scott was a huge supporter in the purchase and the woman working there (maybe the owner?) absolutely loooved Coco!

My purchases from Elite!

Scott and I ended up dropping off Coco at home so we could go in the ocean for a little bit. The water felt so nice and it was pretty calm that day. It also helped that it was hot as hell. We stayed out there for about 30 mins and came back to the Coco babes and passed out for siesta and didnt wake until pretty late so we just skipped dinner because we weren't even that hungry (believe it or not!)

We did want to go out to the boardwalk to see what a Saturday night was like so we decided to grab drinks at multiple places along the way. We were amazed by the amount of families out and about at 11pm. Families with small children but I guess this is the norm, part of the culture. The boardwalk was packed all night till at least 12:30!
Another great thing about this night was that shops were open super late (but then again, they usually are) so I suggested we go back to my shop, Elite, to get a Dream catcher!

Day 4:
My sleep is still funky, but I guess thats normal when you are an insomniac. This Sunday morning, I just let myself get up at 6 am (or whatever time it was) and enjoyed the sunrise...

El Campello sunrise from our balcony

For lunch we went to another italian place on the boardwalk called da Riccardo de Maria and had some good dishes. Once again we started off with patatas bravas and I had the risotto! Coco has been enjoying her time at all of these outdoor dining places and she is so well behaved.

Risotto Napolitana

                        

Patatas Bravas

Coco relaxing at da Riccardo de Maria

After lunch, I wanted to take a dip in the ocean so Scott and Coco waited for me! We went home and then I actually went back out to the ocean because it just felt so good! Coco tries to show me how to siesta when I got back....

The rest of the evening we just chilled, heated up some yummy leftovers and had a couple glasses of red wine compliments of El Campello Rentals!
El Campello Rentals is the site that we found this wonderful apartment from and Marie, our contact there, has been helpful in our arrival and anything additional we need. If ever visiting El Campello, go to their site to book! Very similar to Air bnb...
http://m.elcampellorentals.com/en/