Espana: Days 12-16

Day 12:
It's Monday the 18th of July, 2016 and Scott's first day of school! We both figured he would be home around lunch time before siesta but he got done with his placement testing and they said he'd have to go back (or stay) for the 2pm start time. We were both confused because he requested mornings and this time schedule would put him right smack in the middle of the day. Also, I had my first meeting with my Spanish teacher, Clara. She's in walking distance from me, so that is nice and luckily yesterday I bought some Nike's from this guy off the street for only 20€ so I can wear those if I'm walking longer distances. Clara and I met at 11am and I was so nervous! She quickly realized that I am super beginner and know very little. I then tried to at least say things in Italian and she caught on so she helped me with the Spanish pronunciation or variation of the word I was trying to say! We started with the basics in verbs and I still haven't gotten the hang of it. As most Europeans do, Clara will be on holiday all of August so we wont actually start with the real lessons until September. That gives me some time to try and learn things here and there!
I'm alreay going to recommend her for anyone looking for a not so intense learning experience. I think she charges about 15-20€ per session and a session is 1 hour. She teaches out of her home so it is a relaxed atmosphere. More info on Clara:
http://hispan.es/spanishteacher/

Scott and I wanted to have some lunch before he had to head back to Alicante for class but the timing can make that a bit tricky. He would have to walk to the tram station around 1pm and its already noon. Also, some places dont even open/start serving until 1pm! We ended up stopping at Freiduria El Puerto II and got the yummy patatas bravas (one of the best) as well as what they call Pollo Cajun but really they were like chicken fingers. Not bad, just not what I expected.

Day 13:
Before Scott headed off to class, we were able to stop at a yummy tapas place called Restaurante El Tapeo. We were hesitant at first because one night we ate there and had just ok paella (not much flavor) and really slow service. We enjoyed a picther of very good sangria, patatas bravas and pimientos de padron.

Sangria at El Tapeo

Patatas Bravas with garlic aioli

I was supposed to get my hair done today but I never heard from the lady, Umi, plus I was tired and couldn't walk much with my foot pain and all so I went back home and siesta-d until Scott got back from school which was around 6:30. We planned to go to this nice restaurant that sits on the cliff around the way but when we got there, they were all full on the terrace and that is the only area where we are able to dine with Coco. So, after me pouting a bit, we went elsewhere. We ended up at a place we haven't tried yet and it's at the beginning of the promenade so we figured, por que no? Well why not?

Isaro Cocina Mediterranea is a place I've had my eye on but purely based off of me judging a book by its cover. The seating is a little split up; one part inside and two parts outside. I say two parts because the server has to walk across the promenade to get to you, which can be annoying for every party involved if its a busy night. I really enjoyed my meal albeit the mosquitoes that were present. Attention beef eaters: "size up" or go up one level on how you want your steak to be cooked. Scott asked for medium but he realized he should have asked for medium well because the steak came out kinda rare if I might say so myself . Buuuuut, my food was delicious!!! Actually everything else was delicious....patatas, vino, fish!

Ramon Bilbao Crianza 2013 (Rioja) at Isaro

Patatas Bravas at Isaro

Lubina at Isaro perfectly cooked!

The steak perimeter was good...center bloody

Day 14:
My days have been pretty uneventful since having this foot issue and Scott's school schedule having weird hours, we dont really get to enjoy a relaxed lunch anywhere. Today we just went to one of the closest tapas place (that was open) in hopes that it would be somewhat decent and quick. We dont need to come back here and I took zero pictures because the patatas bravas and sangria at Ca'l Sant are average at best.

When Scott got home from school, he told me we have reservation at La Cova for tonight! Because it sits on the cliff, the view is beautiful! It is also right next to that watch tower I wrote about before, Torre Vigia de la Illeta. On top of such beautiful surroundings, it's nice and peaceful here (minus the annoying loud older French woman at another table....and they say Americans are loud and obnoxious, please). We ended up chatting up this fun British couple at a table next to us. Of course Coco is the one that sparks conversation. Coco was enjoying her surroundings as well. Cats EVERYWHERE! She shows so much interest in cats, in a friendly & curious way. The food and wine here was also enjoyable. I felt the prices were a little higher than they need to be considering we've had such good fish at other places but I think you are paying more for the ambiance and experience.

Cod w/ veggies at La Cova

Steak at La Cova

La Cova recommended red wine: Monastrell

Nightly view of Torre Illeta at La Cova

Day 15:
This afternoon I went to the beach solo since Coco is not allowed and Scott is at school. I dont mind at all though, I love my own company. I decided to go around 3pm because that is when most people are going to take their siesta. I just wanted to be away from crowds for a bit which can be difficult on this beach, Playa Carrer la Mar. One thing I love about a lot of places in Europe is that going topless is normal. No one stares or gives a shit and for me, the least amount of clothes, the better...at least when its scorching hot! So today I enjoyed my topless self.

Playa Carrer la Mar El Campello

Our dinner tonight was possibly one of the best yet! We went back to our place, Restaurante Cavia. I love the service and food here. The same 5 guys work there everyday. That's pretty normal amongst the restaurant industry here. Scott also has to remind me that tipping is much different here because the servers make a salary, and a good one. Unlike the States, they do not rely on tips. These guys make us feel at home! I tried something different this time: Lubina al Horno con patatas. Al Horno means baked. The flavor of the seabass baked with the potatoes was remarkable! So delicious! Scott got a version of al horno too....pollo al horno. Oh and now that the guys here know and love us, they automatically know we want Lambrusco.

Lambrusco Rosato "Ensena" 

A patatas treat on the house at Cavia!!!

Tortilla Espanola at Restaurante Cavia

Lubina al Horno (baked seabass)

Part of the Restaurante Cavia crew!

My meal at Cavia, ready to eat!

Pollo al Horno (baked chicken)

Feed the beast...

Restaurante Cavia

Day 16:
It's Friday and we've been planning a trip to Valencia all week! After much frustration in trying to secure a rental car for the weekend, Scott got an automatic (very rare in Europe) from one of the rental car companies in Alicante. He took the tram there in the morning and Coco and I were ready to roll when he brought it back. The car, made by Opal, is so comfortable! The one drawback is the beeping sound it makes anytime you are close to anything. You know when you have to stop and take a ticket at a toll booth or parking garage? Well, the beeping does not stop....it actually gets worse!
So off to Valencia we went! It is only like a 1 1/2 hour drive along the coast and through the hills. What a beautiful drive! During the drive, I was trying to do some research on the best paella in Valencia because it is said to be the place where paella was invented. I found one that is situated on the beach promenade or "passeig de Neptu," called La Pepica. After a lot of getting lost due to stupid roundabouts, we found the beach La Malvarosa and parked. Unfortunately, they could not seat us a5lt La Pepica. Even though there was no one there, every single table was reserved. Yet again, after much pouting and disappointment, we went to another place along the passeig called Gabbana. We quickly ordered a pitcher of Sangria! We also had some patatas, Scott had pasta and I had fish. All pretty good although nothing to really write home about....

Sangria at Gabbana

Patatas st Gabbana

Me at Gabbana

Macaroni w/ mozzarella & eggplant

After lunch we attempted to get to our hotel. We go round and round roundabouts as we listen to the hilarious pronunciation of street names that our Google Maps lady is saying. Although it's no longer a laughing matter because we cannot drive in this city. Running through red lights and getting honked at and nearly hit by other cars are all contributors to my anxiety of being a passenger driving in Valencia. So finally we find our hotel, which is super dog friendly, Hotel Hospes Palau de la Mar! Scott parked the car right across the street as we checked in. It seemed like an ok spot for the time being however, when Scott went to move the car to a more permanent spot, he saw a ticket 😣. Coco and I were getting ready to meet him outside to walk on our next adventure and when he finally showed up, he was so frustrated and still with the car....On top of the ticket and not finding parking, Scott had to give in and valet the car with the hotel. The plan from here was to go on a very long adventure. It was unfortunate that Scott had such a bad experience because I wanted this to be a fun adventure, walking to my cannabis club from the research I did. It wasn't close (approx 45 min walk) but I thought we could stop at places along the way, have a drink and continue walking. Scott was so down about all the money wasted with this parking mishap experience that it was nearly impossible to get him out of the funk. I decided we should walk through the park because I know Scott loves parks, and it was nice (except for the flies buggin') until we had to depart from the park and move on to the next set of directions. But for now let's enjoy views of the park called Jardines del Real or Viveros....

Jardines del Real or Viveros

A walk in the park Jardines del Real or Viveros

Sportin' my new kicks for this long walk...

The rest of our walk to the cannabis club, ACC Valencia Nort-Horta Nord, was painful, hot, silent and moody. There weren't really any outdoor cafes to have drinks at along the way which made it even worse. As we were getting somewhat close on our destination, Scott turned to me and said, "do you know where we are?" At first I thought he meant in relation to my Google map directions and then he said we are in the projects. I was completely clueless to that and didnt really care....I felt comfortable with it. Once we got to the street Google maps said this place was at, I was a bit nervous at the possibility it didnt even exist because there were not many addresses listed on the buildings. I found the one I thought it could be (no sign if course...that would be too easy) and rang the door bell to the frosted windowed office. Shortly after, a gentleman came to the door and let us in but spoke no English. Scott talked to him a little in Spanish and found that we could not gain access because we have to go through the member sign up process and the person who speaks some English wasn't there so the man took down my phone number and said they would call when the English guy was there. Such a bummer to know we were so close yet still so far from making this happen. I had no plan b except to have a drink at the local bar a couple doors down called Bar U.K.
This place really brought our spirits up. We had a pitcher of sangria and relaxed as we just observed life here. There was such a sense of community...everyone knew eachother and they tried to make conversation with us but we don't speak enough Spanish to carry-on. I tried to secretly video the experience but you cant really get the full effect without being there.

We caught a cab back to the hotel and ate at the restaurant there called, Restaurante Ampar. The meal was superb and the wine refreshing!

Lopez de Haro Crianza 2013 at Ampar

Lubina (seabass) at Ampar

Gluten Free spaghetti at Ampar

Patatas Ampar!

We decided to leave Coco in the room for a bit while we went to the port/beach, La Malvarosa because we were told by our cabbie that's where everyone goes out on a Friday night. Neither of us actually wanted to go out but it was kind of the last ditch effort in the city to find some cannabis. It is so fascinating how different the party scene is here vs the U.S. I mean, I've never been one to go out but I know I've never seen anything like this. It's 12:30, maybe 1am and it looks like the clubs arent even open yet. I quickly learned that this is the time when everyone "pre-games" (as we called it back home) on the streets and dont go into the clubs until much later. Open bottles and partiers everywhere! There are officers all around but this is not what they care about so I think its more civilized because of this unspoken agreement between community and policia. We ended up NOT going into any clubs, rather, we remained along the promenade and enjoyed the scene.