Another week at the office and on two wheels on the surrounding mountain roads.
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For the second week in a row, I start with morning photos from the beach–it is just so pretty at this time of the year:
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A chiringuito:
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Morning run:
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Lili the Swiss goat cheese pusher from Tibi came to the office on Wednesday morning to deliver the orders (including mine), with her two little helpers:
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Our deputy director Andrea moved to another department in the office, so we had the usual leaving do, complete with presents and an oversized card:
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And the usual munchies:
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And drinks:
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A conversation, but Stephanie has seen me:
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At the weekend, I cycled one of my harder routes. As usual, I stopped for a brief rest before the road crosses under the motorway and climbs at a 10% grade for around 1.5 km. I took a shadow selfie pointing to where I was going:
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After that climb, there is a few more km of uphill riding, followed by a 11 km descent to a town called Agost. Just before entering the town, I stopped to photograph the local vineyards:
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On the central square of Agost there was a surprise. Some kind of arts and crafts competition was in full swing:
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Delighted with the unexpected photo opportunity during my brief break, I wandered around the square for a few minutes to get a closer look at the action:
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After taking in the crafts in Agost, I continued on my way home. In San Vicente, a town that houses the University of Alicante, I happened upon some kind of procession; I never found out what it was about–most likely fiestas patronales of the town:
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The Magic Cactus, inherited from my mother in 2001, rewarded us with the first flowers since moving to our new house in August:
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The next day I was out cycling again, this time closer to home, in Aigües. One of the many cats living there; I think he belongs to the people in the house (or the other way round…). I often see him in this spot:
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I took a small road up from the centre of Aigües to the surrounding hills:
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The road leads to an abandoned building with a long history. It was originally built as a hospital for tuberculosis patients, at a time when the disease was largely incurable:
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The facility was closed in the early 1960s and has been deteriorating ever since. The surrounding park is a popular picnic spot among the locals:
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Later that day, I went to our mercadillo to buy some stuff. Someone had posted this declaration of love on the fence:
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As usual, I walked around a bit, taking in the stands and the people shopping:
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Aside from the weather and some of the fruit and veg on offer, this scene could be in Denmark or the Netherlands:
