A week at the office and at home, with some cycling of course, but also walking around the city and getting together with friends. And February 28th was the last Friday of February, so we had the customary drink at the office.
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On Sunday, we walked to the nearby market to buy some fruit and veg:
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I always enjoy looking at (and photographing) the fruit and vegetables on offer. No plastic wrap here:
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It is the season for oranges around here (just south of Alicante, mainly):
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Monica made a friend:
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Monica certainly hit the doggie’s sweet spot:
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Clothes and greens:
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A fruit vendor demonstrates a pineapple-peeling (or rather, flesh-extracting) device to my wife:
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In the afternoon, we went for lunch at our friends Assumpta and Eliot. They lost their little dog Chlöe due to illness a couple of months ago. Now they have just acquired an adorable puppy from a shelter, just 2 months old:
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Eliot with the baby:
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My daughter Monica was with us as well, and she of course went completely gaga playing with the puppy:
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Eliot’s son Lucas:
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And Lucas’s girlfriend. Everyone took turns with the adorable little furball:
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On Wednesday morning I drove to the beach in the centre of El Campello, about 4 km north of my house. I was up early anyway, and the light seemed particularly nice. This is the delta of Río Seco, usually dry, but not this morning, following heavy rains a few weeks ago:
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Fishing at sunrise:
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UFO cloud:
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On Thursday, I had an errand in the city during the lunch break, and walked around Plaza Seneca a bit. This building used to be Alicante’s main bus station, now it is an exhibition hall and the former bus parking is an urban park:
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This man was writing in his notebook. I wondered if some great novel or poetry was in the works:
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Funny graffiti/social media on a column:
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Then Friday arrived, and since it was the last Friday of February, the customary mid-day drink at the office took place. It was particularly well attended and well supplied this time, so there was no need to have lunch afterwards:
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A drink spread reflecting the international nature of our office, and the many trips we make, both privately and professionally. From left to right, the bottles are from Japan, Poland, Denmark, France, Romania and Finland:
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As usual, I pointed my camera at my co-workers. Here are Anne-Sophie, Franciska and María:
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Francisco and Stephanie:
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Charo and Anne-Sophie in apparently serious conversation, but with wine in hand:
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Juan brought a typical cake from the region of Murcia, similar to the panettone, and is very concentrated cutting it up:
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Evangelia with one of our trainees:
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More conversation:
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On Saturday, I took a ride on my mountainbike, on the Vía Verde del Maigmó. To get to the starting point, I cycle past the University of Alicante campus. I noticed a new piece of graffiti, calling for more Marx & Engels and fewer social media influencers:
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The last few km to the start of the trail (it is a total of 25 km from my house) are on a field path with nice views of almond trees and the mountains:
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On the Vía Verde itself, I stopped to photograph what was once a railroad overpass; some road cyclists were passing above:
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Naked vineyards; not much life in evidence here, but this is part of the natural cycle:
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But the almond trees are in bloom:
And that was the last photo of the ride. I had miscalculated my food and water requirements, and was frankly knackered when I came home. 72 km on a mountainbike is harder than 100 km on a regular road bike, and I felt it.