A mix of photos this week, some from the office, some from the city, as always some from my bicycle rides. No big events, just lots of nice activities, such as watching the Nobel prize announcements live with colleagues.
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Sunday’s bike ride took me south to Santa Pola. Unusually for a Sunday, several fishermen were in the harbour, working on their equipment, while the inhabitants of the town enjoyed the nice October weather:
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On the way back, as always I enjoyed the coastal road from Santa Pola to Arenales del Sol. It is a stretch of 5-6 km, with lots of rocky beaches and some sandy ones as well:
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My interpretation of this scene is the wife saying to the husband, “catch us some dinner please”:
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On Sunday evening, the choir of the parents of Alicante’s European School (in which my wife sings even though our daughter graduated in 2013) gave a performance in the Club Náutico in El Campello. My wife is the second singer from the right:
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The choir leader, originally from Cuba, is always very energetic and expressive:
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Our newly started art club at the office (of which I am the treasurer) is going to have an exhibition in November. Eri, who is the instigator of this exhibition, asked me to photograph some of the paintings she will show:
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Despite being Greek, Eri loves tango. She both dances and paints it:
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The last painting she showed me was in black and white, not the usual colour scheme for painters:
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I took advantage of the opportunity to take a black & white portrait of Eri with her painting, an image that has turned out to be one of my most popular photos on Facebook this year:
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This time of the year, sunrise is around 7:45-8:00. I go out on my pre-work bike rides around 7:30, so most days I get to see the sunrise, often with some dramatic clouds to enhance the scene:
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Early morning light is beautiful, not only over the sea but also inland, like here around Busot:
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A snapshot from my neighbourhood, an artsy bottle recycling container:
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On Thursday morning, the Nobel prize in literature was going to be announced. Our newly acquired Swedish colleague, Kaisa, on loan from the Royal Library in Stockholm, had arranged for us to watch the announcement live in a meeting room:
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Kaisa explains something about the protocol of the announcement:
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Listening attentively, almost religiously:
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On Saturday, I cycled to Relleu, stopping in Aigues on my way. There were some artsy preparations on the square:
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The artist responsible for the artwork in the previous image was busy adorning the base of the street lamp in the centre of the square:
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I continued towards Relleu. The 15 km ride from Aigues to Relleu, reaching an elevation of about 500 meters, is one of the prettiest routes around here:
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One of my favourite views, about half-way to Relleu. A beautiful country house amid almond trees:
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Finally, Relleu, a town of about 1100 people, comes into view:
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When I got into the town, I bought a Coke and rode to the central square to drink it on a bench while taking in the calm ambience. This is one of narrow (and steep) streets emanating from the square:
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This dog came back from a walk with his people and was now ready to go back inside:
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On my way home the sky turned decidedly threatening, and in the end I did get some rain for about 10-15 km. Not a big deal as such, except for the need to be careful on the descents:
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Finally, a couple of vignettes from the centre of Alicante on a Saturday afternoon. One of the major streets was turned into a pedestrian street, to the enjoyment of many:
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The police patrol on bicycles on the occasion, and they too seemed to have a good time:
