Alicante, Spain

I revisited my old stomping grounds in Spain this weekend. I stayed with my friend Cecilia at her place in Campello, which is just outside of Alicante, where I studied in college. I met Cecilia through my friend Amy who lives in Michigan (some of you have met her), who I was in school with in Alicante, and she lived with Cecilia's family while studying there. Anyways, Cecilia and her boyfriend, Jose Luis, have a gorgeous place just off the beach and were kind enough to let me stay with them. After checking out Cecilia's office at the hospital and meeting some of her friends, she and her boyfriend took me out and treated me to a delicious typical Spanish lunch, the food was amazing and there was a lot of it. Things I would love to try to cook, but as Cecilia informed me, it never tastes the same at home. I indulged in a siesta on the beach and then we picked up Cecilia's 15-year old niece, Paula, and went out for a tour of downtown Alicante. It was pretty much just as I remembered it, which was nice. Took a walk down by the port, checked out the beach, enjoyed a typical Spanish dinner sampling different tapas. I still don't know what one of the items was, but I liked it, so I figure I just won't ask. It was a lot of fun to relive some of the memories I have of running around Alicante. It's a beautiful place, very touristy according to the Spaniards, but that's because the city center is so close to the beach. It's got the best of both worlds right next to each other. We took a quick tour of the castle the next morning, which I never went to when I studied there (great views of the city), and then walked around checking out the local markets and such. We finished up the afternoon stuffing ourselves with paella at a great place on the beach. Absolutely beautiful day. The weather has been amazing! It was a quick trip, as I flew out that night, but I loved every minute of it. We even got to make a surprise phone call to Amy, just to make her jealous (ha-ha, kidding Amy, we wish you were with us!).

A special thank-you to Cecilia, Jose Luis, and Paula, thank you so much for showing me around your city and treating me to a wonderful weekend. Can't wait to host you in New York!

Happy birthday Erin!

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