The main event in the last full week of November was Thanksgiving. We celebrate this American holiday in a slightly modified way since it is obviously not a holiday here in Spain. So in some years we have done it on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. This year we did on the actual day, Thursday, in the evening. As always, we invited our Spanish friends for some “exotic” food.
Besides Thanksgiving, there was the usual cycling, a stormy night, and the last Friday of the month at the office.
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As usual, I started the week with a nice long ride, this time to Relleu. The road between Aigües and Relleu is one of the prettiest routes in this area:
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From the highest point on the route there was a great view of the mountains and Benidorm in the distance:
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The following day I found myself in the village of Verdegás. I usually take a break on the modest square in front of the church. This time the door of the church was open, which piqued my curiosity:
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So I peeked inside. A really modest church, matching the village it serves:
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Then the working week arrived, including a day of strong rain and wind. I tried to make the best of it at the office:
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The next morning I stopped at the beach to have a look at the aftermath. The sky was still quite dramatic at sunrise:
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A family of three on the beach:
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Then I turned my attention to the ground. The rain and wind had made for some interesting patterns in the sand:
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This is as close to white stuff as we ever get. There was some strong hail early in the morning, and it had not yet melted away:
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In the office, my Basque colleague Blanca, making the best of the mask requirement, always stylish and coordinated:
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Then Thursday arrived, thus Thanksgiving. I had important meetings, so I was not able to take the day off to help my wife with the preparations. I came home from work to a party just beginning:
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People sat down at the table and started nibbling on the appetisers:
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My wife brings in the turkey. This is the kind of exotic food our local friends enjoy:
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The bird has been dissected, and we are getting down to business:
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The pecan pie to finish the meal:
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The next day was the last Friday of the month at the office, so we did our usual midday drink and nibble, but complying with Covid restrictions on social gatherings in the office, we did it outside:
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At the weekend, I cycled south to the seaside town of Santa Pola. I stopped for a brief break at Urbanova, a beach south of Alicante, close to my office and the airport. There was a nice view of Alicante from the beach:
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It was cold, sunny and windy:
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Some German football supporters had been here:
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The beach in Santa Pola was also largely empty, except for this treasure hunter:
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In the afternoon, our friends Eliot and Assumpta invited us for paella. Normally, one cooks those outside, but the wind was too strong, so the paellera was installed in the kitchen:
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Stirring:
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Little Loch Ness monsters in the paella:
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Meanwhile, the table is being set, with Balu monitoring the proceedings:
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On the table, ready to eat. No more photos:
