The week started with a champagne brunch hosted by us, with the usual gang of friends attending, and continued with the arrival of my sister and brother-in-law from Poland, making their annual autumn visit here.
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On Sunday morning, I stopped at an outdoors market in El Campello on my way home from the bicycle ride. It is just a simple setup in a parking lot, where (mostly) locally grown produce is sold on Fridays and Sundays:
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It is crowded, friendly and a bit hectic. I really liked it:
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I came home, our friends arrived, and several hours of eating, drinking and fun began. Iñaki serves up the goodies:
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Assumpta brought these delicious shrimp:
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My wife made a quiche:
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Someone brought rillettes-yum!
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And we also had a Sunday roast:
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The table is set up:
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And the action begins:
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Side conversation:
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Dessert being served; Cheeta is interested too:
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Monday it was back to work. I went out for lunch in the centre and as usual had the camera around my neck. It is autumn but the weather is still nice and the outside tables are in use:
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Crossing the street near the Mercado Central:
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About once a week I go to have lunch at L’Indret, a vegan restaurant near the Mercado Central. For €11.50, you get this awesome salad bar with home-baked bread, followed by two hot dishes, dessert and a drink. A real treat, regardless of your culinary orientation:
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Then, on Wednesday evening my sister and brother-in-law arrived on the Ryanair flight from Wrocław:
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The next morning, my sister joined me in walking Cheeta:
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A rare act of stupid vandalism in my neighbourhood:
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A “rat with wings” as I call them, looking to steal the food I leave for the cats:
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Spider in the park:
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Later in the week, we stopped by the park to show my sister the pet memorial tree:
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“Always with us”:
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On Saturday, I took a drive in the mountains with my sister and brother-in-law. They really love the fact that there is both sea and mountains so close to us. We drove along some of my cycling routes, stopping for a walk in Jijona:
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The sign indicated No Parking on either side of this street. Given its width, it is not surprising:
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Jijona street corner:
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Plaque on the wall of Jijona’s town hall commemorating the 700th anniversary of the death of Jaume I, the king who conquered the Valencia region from the Moors in the 13th century. The plaque is in Valenciano, the official language in our region but one that is used only in small inland towns like this one, rarely in the bigger cities like Alicante:
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One has to be in good shape to live in a place like Jijona:
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This pizzeria sign is amusing to an English speaker. However, in Spanish “crack” refers to someone who is really good at what he does, e.g. “Ronaldo es un crack”:
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Jijona is the place where turrón is made, and you can get it in various forms, including as ice cream:
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We then drove on to Tibi. One of the nice things about driving rather than cycling was that I had more camera equipment with me and so was able to take this view of the town with a longer lens than I usually have with me:
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And finally we paid a visit to Lili the Cheese Lady in her Quesería del Valle de Tibi, bought some delicious goat cheese from her and drove home:
