Vaxacation in Spain

February - March 2022

With many people now fully vaccinated against Covid, "vaxacation" is a candidate for 2021's dictionary of new words. I seized the opportunity to take a break in Spain with some friends, my first exit from the UK in 2 years. Read more

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Traveler Vaxacation in Spain
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- Feb 23, 2022, 4:00pm
- ☁️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 24 m
- Spain Valencia Paiporta 39.422403, -0.42751239°25’21” N 0°25’39” W
Day 1
Spanish stroll
February 23, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
The first picture says it all: the two stamps in my passport are the first for two years, and a side-effect of Brexit before which they were superfluous. Regulations require proof of full vaccination and a Spanish health control form but with the most techie-savvy of my three companions completing this on our behalf, we're good to go.

We've chosen Valencia because a friend of one of my companions lives quite near there and we're due to visit him in the coming days. Valencia stands up as a major attraction in its own right. As Spain's third-largest city, it's bursting with culture and vivacity. An important Roman port, it later became a border town between the Spanish and Moorish regimes and was recaptured in the 13th century.

The obligatory "room with a view" is the subject of the second picture, showing an ancient university building in early morning light. No. 3 is Plaza Ayuntamiento (City Hall), the scene of peaceful demonstrations and sometimes fiestas nearly every day. Nearby is an example of the fantastic Modernista architectural style, dating from around 1900, a fine mish-mash of Renaissance, Baroque and who knows what else.

Needless to say, walking made us thirsty, so we had to slip into a hole-in-the wall restaurant. Set lunch was a vegetable paella from the "menu del dia" and a bottle shown in no. 6, named after Valencia's river.Read more
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- Feb 27, 2022, 12:00pm
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Altitude: 2 m
- Spain Valencia Benidorm Racó de l'Oix 38.527775, -0.10681938°31’40” N 0°6’25” W
Day 5
A lottery in Benners
February 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Benidorm? Benidorm! Porque no (why not? With all its rep for morning fry-ups and fish 'n'chips, it DOES have two beautiful beaches, which are what started it all in the 1950s. And with lingering Covid hesitancy and the schools back from half term, we have them almost to ourselves. The Poniente (sunset) stretches a couple of miles to the west and the foliage makes us feel half-way to Africa.

Although there are numerous English voices in the town centre, they're outnumbered by Spanish voices and evidence of traditions remain. Masks out of doors are no longer obligatory but about half the people still wear them out of caution and courtesy. Evening entertainment is still ramping up but we find an English-speaking bar and watch the League Cup final, a goalless thriller (not an oxymoron) in which Liverpool defeat the now-disgraced Chelsea. We drown our sorrows at a ribald Blackpool-style club where a "comedian" sends me to sleep but Sticky Vicky (don't ask) wakes me up. Better class is to come with a highly competent Beatles tribute act, who remind me what great rockers "I saw her standing there" and "Day tripper" are.

More comedy follows a day later when we travel by tram east to another resort town, Calpe. We'd intended to break the journey home at another beachy place, Altea, but running out of time, go for a straight return from Calpe. At Calpe station the booking office is closed but a man is selling tickets outside the station. They look a bit like lottery tickets but I put this down to a promotion of local attractions. Back at Benidorm, we find out that they ARE lottery tickets (compare these with the proper tram tickets). Much confusion ensues, with the punchline that each ticket wins the grand sum of 1.50 euros---enough to buy a replacement lottery ticket that's worth a big fat zero!Read more
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- Mar 2, 2022, 12:00pm
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 57 m
- Spain Valencia Alicante Barrio Benalúa Estadio Municipal de Atletismo 38.357014, -0.49953938°21’25” N 0°29’58” W
Day 8
Not Alican't but Alican
March 2, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
No tram glitches this time as we travel the other way to Alicante for the day. It's about half the size of Valencia and having been ancient even in Roman times, it blends ancient with modern. The day of our visit sees the best weather of our trip and the cafes along the Esplanada are jammed.

The third image shows the market, an intriguing mixture of Gothic and Art Deco, while in the alleys behind the sea front, the Mediterranean sun pierces the shadows. We note again how ancient streets are often better preserved in Spain than in Britain, without much of the 1960s Brutalism that we get here. Finally, we see some lovely tile work that's typical of the city.Read more
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- Mar 3, 2022, 12:00pm
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 7 m
- Spain Valencia Camins Al Grau Albors 39.469147, -0.351439°28’9” N 0°21’5” W
Day 9
Room with another view
March 3, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
It's our final full day in Spain as we take a coach back to Valencia. The city centre is closed down, not through terrorism or Covid but the annual Mascleta ceremony which culminates on St. Joseph's Day in mid-March. Our hotel overlooks the Plaza Ayuntamiento where the fireworks have just gone off.

The back streets are rich in quirky attractions. In the second picture we see one of the most outrageous baroque buildings in Valencia, now converted into a ceramics gallery. The ice cream and pastry shop shows what we in Britain are missing with our chain-store franchises, even though it might not be good for the waistband.

Probing deeper into the Barrio Carmen, we come across more small-scale delights. It's one of the more bohemian quarters of the city, reminiscent of parts of Havana (or maybe, Havana is reminiscent of Valencia).

All too soon we have to get the flight back to Gatwick. We didn't get to see the Mascleta properly but maybe some other time. With gritted teeth we acknowledge the contributions of everyone: Dave for organising the trip, Russell for his techie skills with the bureaucracy, myself as interpreter and Alan for his uncanny knack of spotting empty seats in bars and homing in on them faster than Usain Bolt. Team work!

The passenger locator forms for re-entering the UK have worked but technology has eluded me at the automatic immigration gate at Gatwick and I have to wait for a human being to check me in. Maybe the recent haircut to match my current appearance with the passport photo was a waste of time!Read more
Speak, World Wow, you found some really quirky places! I never thought of going to visit Valencia before but now it seems really tempting. There might be some nice small towns nearby as well. I liked the description of your teamwork. The techie and the interpreter were the most important people, obviously.
3/14/22Reply
Speak, World Also, this was really a good move, getting out of the UK for the first time in such a long lock-in. I’ve always enjoyed Spain, and have found great variety. You certainly inspired me, because the morning after reading this I booked a trip to Mexico City at the end of March 2022. Hooray!
3/14/22Reply
Traveler Yes, this is just one part of Spain which is rich in cultural pleasures. The city of Valencia alone would repay several more days of exploration, and the fact that we didn't get to see much of the hinterland only whetted the appetite.I'm sure you'll love revisiting Mexico City.
3/15/22Reply
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Vaxacation in Spain

Spanish stroll

A lottery in Benners

Not Alican't but Alican

Room with another view