The Guideless Traveller: Espana: Days 24 & 25

Day 24:
Remember that stage I mentioned workers building right outside our place? Well, the event is taking place today, Saturday 30th July, 2016 and last night they were doing sounds checks and lighting checks so I knew what we were in for....

Consider this the "before" picture...meaning before the madness

All week I kept saying to Scott that we need to get out of town because this event is going to be crazy and not only will I not like all the noise, Coco certainly will not. Well, we never came up with a plan so we ended up trying to get far away on foot. There is a restaurant near the tram station in El Campello that Scott has been wanting to try so we went there hoping it would take us far enough away from the beach. I need to point out that it is extremely hot on this day and I have a debilitating headache. You know those headaches when it hurts to have your eyes open? The ones that bring you to tears? Yes, that was me. I couldn't really go rest at home because home is being overtaken by pop music, screaming teenagers and lots more noise. Anyways, we made it to La Terra and found a table outside (because Coco comes everywhere!) The umbrella near us was not up so we asked them to put it up for us. Well the waiter did and walked away. He had to have known it wasn't sturdy. The wind was blowing (hot wind) and the umbrella kept turning and rocking. I told Scott, I really dont think it's very secure but nothing was done until the thing broke off/tipped over and Scott almost broke his back to save it. The obnoxious group at the tables next to us were just laughing and finally the waiter came out and said, oh it must be broken. Yeah, no shit. It could have seriously injured one of us but no one really gave a shit. So we were able to move to another table under a working umbrella that recently opened up. Unfortunately the obnoxious crew kept being more obnoxious, screaming, laughing, banging on the table and they were probably only a little younger than me. Keep in mind I'm already 30. As I began to look at the menu, nothing appealed to me but maybe it's because I had such a headache and was quite turned off by the madness around me. I'll definitely give this place another try at some point. I ended up getting asparagus and patatas bravas. Not much of a meal but again, I was in a funk. Scott got the hamburger he has been wanting and he loved it! The patatas were great as well.

Asparagus with salt at La Terra

Patatas Bravas at La Terra

Hamburger at La Terra

From there Scott wanted to bring me to a store I might like, filled with home goods and whatnot. The store was pretty close by but once we got there, it was closed for siesta. It's supposed to open up again at 5pm so we decided to drink in the area and come back. Our first drink stop was at Ferrocarril 1870 where we had some wine and really yummy churros. I think Scott knew I needed these and it made me happy.

Chocolate con Churros at Ferrocarril

After that we walked back toward the home goods shop and sat at Els Xiquets to have a pitcher of sangria. The sangria was ok...I'm not sure that I actually finished it.

Ok sangria at Els Xiquets

Ok so now for the moment of excitement...Grandocean, the home goods store. Well, Coco could not come in so Scott had to wait outside with her while I browse. This store was no different than all the other Chinese ferretería shops we've been to close to home. So disappointing. Scott wouldn't know this though because he's only seen from the outside and I must admit, they do a decent job merchandising their windows! I bought 2 dish towels for 2€...they didnt have pillows, which is what I really need.
So, we went home.
The evening entertainment outside our home is taking place thanks to Coca-Cola and their 2nd annual Music Experience on the Beach. I just wonder how they benefit from this. I mean, think about it, an entire crew if workers (stage setup/breakdown, sound, lighting, waste management, booths setup/breakdown), the musical performances (about 15 acts), the host, marketing materials (giveaways of sackpacks, t-shirts, fans to each person) oh and the entry was FREE! On top of that, the pop concert is targeted to ages 14-20 (guesstimate) meaning they are not going to sell much alcohol. Anyways, it was interesting to see the excitement of these teeny bopper Spaniards from afar. We were amazed that the whole crowd knew every word to every song!

Crowd at Coca-Cola Music Experience on the Beach in El Campello's Playa Carrer la Mar

A block away from us is my favorite pizza and pasta place, il Cuore di Napoli Pizzeria Restaurante, so we went over for some food and drinks! Cynthia, I believe she owns the place with her husband, was so excited to see us. Her children were in the area and all came by. Cynthia introduced us to her 5 kids ranging from ages 3 to 19. Her oldest daughter takes care of the youngest a lot, you could just tell. I got the courage to ask Cynthia "usted es de Espana o Italia?" Are you from Spain or Italy? She replied (in Spainsh), neither! She's from Argentina! Well that makes sense...there are a lot of Italians in Argentina so I'm sure her roots are Italian 😉

Sangria with a sugar and kiwi twist at il Cuore di Napoli

Back at home base, the final act was about to begin. Tony Aguilar, radio personality and the host of the Coca-Cola Music Experience on the Beach, was getting the crowd pumped up. Scott and I enjoyed watching from afar. Finally when the band, AURYN, got on stage, the crowd seemed to start leaving. It was about 12:30am so maybe some of the teens had to get home? Half the crowd was gone but the music wasn't over. This boy band didn't seem very exciting. We read a little bit about them and found out that they are a "British-style" boy band of 5 members from Spain. They were each on different talent or singing competitions in Spain and randomly formed this group called AURYN. Oh and the spelling of the name is in all caps, I'm not voluntarily doing that.