A mixed bag this week, with the main event the installation of what is allegedly the world’s largest nativity display in front of Alicante’s city hall. Besides that, I cycled to Agost, we had a BBQ with our friends, and life went on.
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But I start with an afternoon picture from the beach, with a couple sitting in the sand, illuminated by the setting sun:
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Then we move to the centre of Alicante. Every year, a huge nativity scene is erected, with statues up to 19 meters tall. It is allegedly the largest such display in the world. In any event, it is impressive, and I went to have a look on the day it was officially inaugurated for this season:
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Inside the city hall there is a more traditional nativity display:
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Given Alicante’s location on the Mediterranean coast, the nativity display has a maritime theme:
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Opposite the nativity scene there are these statues of two royal couples, one Moorish and one Christian, representing the heritage of this part of Spain:
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I like this ornate staircase and the sculpture by Salvador Dalí:
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Looking out through the entrance to the city hall:
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While I had been inside the city hall, darkness began falling and the giant nativity display outside was now illuminated:
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Admiring a selfie they had just made:
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The city hall is also impressively decorated:
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On Wednesday morning (Wednesday was a public holiday in Spain, so no work) I was out on two wheels again, stopping in Verdegás to check on the cats. But I also took this picture of the small church, which I find better in black & white:
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The cats were there as always:
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In Agost, I found the usually sleepy square teeming with activity; the Christmas market was on:
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The fountain at the centre of the square was decorated with various old artifacts and messages about sustainability. The connection between the messages and the objects was rather unclear:
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Teenage girls dress the same way in Agost as everywhere else:
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Many of the stands were selling things to benefit various charities. Here is one that I support, Felinos Lo Morant, a group that looks after homeless cats in a part of Alicante:
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On the way out of Agost, I saw this cat surveying his territory:
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In the afternoon, we were again at the house of Eliot and Assumpta for lunch. This time, as opposed to last week, the focus was very much on meat. Here are the Argentine father and son minding the BBQ:
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A very interested Balu was hanging around the grill:
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He apparently liked the smells:
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I also took Thursday and Friday off, and on Friday I went to the centre to buy some supplies at the Asian grocery near Plaza Seneca. On the square itself, I saw a sight I always enjoy, children playing on the air raid shelters from the Civil War that have been preserved as historical monuments. A true case of “swords to plowshares”, so to speak:
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