quote monday

                                                             Life is like a book.
                                                                           Each day is a new page.
                                                       May your book be a bestseller
                                                                 with adventures to tell,
                                                                                 lessons to learn
                                                         and tales of good deeds to remember.
                                                                                                           -unknown

Happy Monday
 ~norma~


Photo taken at a used bookstore/library in Barcelona, Spain. I took this picture for my sister Helen, who loves reading books. 

quote monday

                                                                    Let us be
                                                                                 grateful
                                                                             to people
                                                                    who make us HAPPY.
                                                     THEY are the charming GARDENERS 
                                                         who make our souls
                                                      BLOSSOM.  
                                                                                                  -Marcel
                                                                                                      Proust




Happy Monday
  ~norma~


photo taken in Valencia, Spain... where they had trees full of blossoms like this

quote monday

                          Rainbows apologize for angry skies.
                                                                                                           ~Sylvia Voirol





Austin took this panoramic photo of the double rainbow in our yard a couple of weeks ago. It rained throughout the day yesterday, last night and still this morning. The rain is a welcome sight here. 
We certainly need more rainbows in the skies... all around the world. 


Happy Monday!
~norma~

Tabarca Island, Spain

While we were in Alicante we decided to buy a boat. 

Just kidding. We didn't really buy a boat...but there sure were some big ones parked at the marina!
We did, however, ride a boat. This one to be exact. We took it to the island of Tabarca, which is just about 11 nautical miles or an hour from Alicante.  That was just about as long as I could handle,  since the water ended up getting a wee bit choppy and we were rolling with the waves!

                        Leah and I were all smiles while still parked at the marina.

As we pulled away from the dock, we had a nice view of the Santa Barbara Castle that we toured the day before. You can see the walls that surround the castle and go down the side of the mountain. I found the visual layers to be interesting...the sea, the boats, the buildings (some new and some old) and the castle on top of the mountain.

                        We were past the small light house and on towards the island!

The water was fairly calm at this point, but this was a slow moving vessel, so the swells and sways were noticeable!

 And then the water got a little more choppy and my breakfast started feeling a little less than swell. In fact, all three of us got a little quiet for the rest of the ride. It was really quite pretty and we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were on a boat heading out across the Mediterranean Sea!

 We arrived on the island and got off the boat and decided to take a quick walk up towards some ruins that we could see in the distance. First stop... a happy pose! The area in the background is the inhabited part of the island, whereas in the other direction it is uninhabited and is where the old lookout tower stands.

 The San Jose Tower.

 It was originally built as a lookout tower in 1789. The island was a refuge for the Barbury pirates up until the end of the 18th century. It was a hideaway and base for them to plunder passing vessels. Later, King Carlos III used the tower  for prisoners and the pirates were eventually run off. Today, it is empty and closed to the public. We were able to climb the steps up to the old metal door.

             
                                                                    The steps.

We made our way over to the ruins. We aren't sure what they were in their better years...but we thought they were pretty neat.

Parts of the structures looked much newer than others. 

                                 And then I spotted this cool tile. Perfect photo opportunity!

We made our way to the other end of the island where there were a few restaurants, homes, and a very old church. The island is actually a marine reserve where fishing & tourism drive the economy. In the summer months, as many as 2 to 3,000 people visit daily. It is a popular spot for scuba diving and snorkeling. Their are only about 50 permanent residents in the winter months.

The streets are narrow and quaint and while we were there... very quiet. It seemed almost deserted. It was just row after row of small flat buildings, the only distinction between "homes" were a different colored door or window and sometimes a tile number or family name.  We paused by this one for a picture ( staring straight into the bright sun), because the number 33 is the number of years we have been married this year!

I thought this was interesting how the plants were on the windowsill on the outside of the window but the inside of the ironwork. Many of the windows and doors in Spain open to the inside, with shutters or pull down shades as the outer layer.

                                                          Ezequiel Valeta's house.

These two little girls were so cute with their flags. They were spinning and twirling down the middle of the street.

At the end of the street we came upon one of three entrances or gateways. King Carlos III built stone defensive walls around the town in 1769.This is one of the gateways that led us out to the water. 

                                                                         Hello!

                                                Daughter daddy discussion going on here.

                                Here is the view of the gateway looking towards the town.

                                                                      The church.
                           It was under renovation so we weren't able to get very close or go in.

                                                     Leah spotted this buried shell.
         There weren't very many shells on any of the beaches at all so it was fun to see this one.

                          We sat out on these big rocks to just sit and stare at the water.

Lunch was at a small restaurant overlooking the water. If you order Sangria in Spain, you are never sure how much you will get. This particular place had a big pitcher!! They have about a cup of sugar that they pour in the bottom first and it is your task to stir it up. Sweet!

                                                                     Cheers!

                                        It was a beautiful day on the isle of Tabarca!

Santa Barbara Castle

Towering over the city of Alicante, the Santa Barbara Castle is one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe. It sits on Mount Benacantil, overlooking the city below.

You can see it from many areas of the city, here peeking between tall buildings. This was a daily view as we walked from our apartment towards the beach. I loved the pastel colors on these apartment buildings.

The castle dates back to the 9th century, at the time under Muslim control of the Iberian Peninsula. It was captured by Castilian forces led by Alfonso of Castile on December 4, 1248 and named for Saint Barbara, whose feast day was the day the castle was recaptured from the Arabs. After the 18th century, its role in the military had declined and it was sometimes used as a prison. Then, it remained abandoned  until 1963 when it was opened to the public.

We chose to do the hike up to the castle rather than the elevator lifts that are available on a different side. The path leading to the nice trail was very near where we were staying. Here is the sign at the beginning of the urban trail.

And here was the beginning of the many steps up the mountain. I mentioned that we took a lot of steps while in Spain. A whole bunch.

 We made our way to the top and were amazed at all the different levels of buildings and interesting things to see. There originally was a palace, dungeons, a small church and even a moat. Besides what ever else may have been there over the years. To me, it is just interesting to imagine all the different people that had walked those paths before us.

Here is one of the lookout towers. The views from these were amazing.

You could see the sea, the city and the walls below that surrounded and protected the castle. It was quite windy this particular day and was most noticeable while out on these corners. Notice how packed in the buildings are. Now you can really appreciate how narrow most of the streets are!

Another lookout tower from a different angle. They had some medieval statues positioned just right. At some angles from below, they looked quite real. Again, makes you imagine how it truly looked at one time.

The lowest arches were actually where we entered the castles interior. As I said, there were many levels and structures that led to a higher point.

Another wonderful medieval soldier ready to protect the castle!

Yep, it was windy and yep, we gingerly made our way to sit along this wall for a photo. It was a long way down to the next level below! They could really 'sea' a long way for any enemy ships that might have made their way towards the castle.

We were somewhat surprised to see the plant life was just like our backyard. Leah had told us that Alicante was a mix of Phoenix and parts of California and she was right. All of these exact plants are in our yard!

                                        I do love a little rust and a great piece of metal!

They had a small museum in one of the buildings. In this particular hallway, they had photographs of years gone by in Alicante. It was so neat to see the candid daily life photos and actually recognize some of the streets and buildings. Again, how many generations of people walking the same streets. I know it is like that in many places, but hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years is pretty amazing.

 Evidently, there was a flood at some point and I love the ladies playing their instruments.

                                       A group of people walking the path to the castle.

                                      Some spanish dancers perhaps?  Love the fans!
                                  And look...today we would call him a photo bomber!

It is definitely a fishing area with seafood being very popular. They still prepare a dish with little fish like those in the baskets. They fry them whole and you are suppose to eat the whole thing. Me? Not so adventurous. 

                  This room had some artifacts on display and the doors led out to another level.

This was a wall of broken pottery pieces. Really quite lovely and fascinating to look at the different patterns.

                        Can you just imagine someone sneaking through here in the dark of night?

                                            The beautiful Mediterranean Sea for miles.

                                                            And city for miles too.

A view of the port of Alicante. 

                                    Another view of the castle grounds from above.

   They had these sketches on display showing how the grounds had slightly changes over the years.
                                                             The year 1575.

   
                                                                             1709

                                                                                 1986

                                                     Here we are fighting the wind.
                                                  Having changed slightly from 1986.