Settling back into our lives in Spain after 6 weeks in the U.S. was always going to be a little bit tricky — we had to conquer jet lag, adjust to working different hours, and get back into routines like going to Spanish class. But one city-wide celebration made the whole thing so much more chaotic. (And meant that things didn’t officially go back to “normal” for us until about 10 days after we got back to Spain.) This celebration, the Hogueras de Alicante, is the city’s biggest annual festival, and I’m so glad we didn’t miss it! [Read more…]

We are finally back in Alicante after six weeks in the U.S., and the city is buzzing with excitement thanks to the annual Hogueras festival. (Look for my next post on that… I’m still figuring out what all it entails.) In the meantime, my little sister Carrie is here visiting, and we wanted to take her to the beach. Alicante actually has its very own beach, Playa del Postiguet, and it’s only a 20-minute walk from here! But it’s not our beach of choice. Instead, when we want to go to the beach, we head out of the city to a smaller town named San Juan.

We’ve now been to San Juan twice, and each was a slightly different experience, but both have been amazing beach days that left me very happy that we decided to go there instead of Postiguet.

So here are 5 reasons why you should visit Playa San Juan. [Read more…]

We’ve been residents of Alicante for just over two months now, and we’ve even had our first visitors! My best friend Hanna came to visit for about 10 days, and then immediately afterwards, Matt’s parents came for a week. Which means we’ve had a good reason to keep exploring our new city and find ways to entertain our guests. Luckily, there are lots of museums in Alicante — many of which cost only €5 or less.

While Alicante may be a typical Costa Blanca beach town for many tourists, the museums are a great way to spend a rainy day, escape the heat or cold, and learn something new. And when the museums are so cheap, what’s not to like?! With that in mind, here are 5 museums in Alicante you can visit for €5 or less. [Read more…]

Two weekends ago, we got to partake in one of Spain’s most exciting traditions for the first time: Carnaval! While Americans may be more familiar with Mardi Gras celebrations, the concept is similar. With the Christian season of Lent starting on Ash Wednesday, Carnaval is typically celebrated in the time leading up, though the exact duration varies from city to city. Here in Alicante, the main celebration was held on Saturday night. And it turns out that Carnaval is Alicante’s second-biggest holiday, so we were really excited to get to experience it all. [Read more…]

As of three weeks ago, I’m officially a resident of Alicante, Spain! Which I think means I’m an “Alicantina” now. 🙂 But I’m still working on getting to know the city, especially now that the matter of finding an apartment is settled, so more to come about my life in Alicante. For today’s blog post, I wanted to share a topic that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while, from my days as a “Madrileña” — the 9 best day trips from Madrid, Spain.

All of these are day trips that I actually took while living in Madrid. Some of them are so quick and easy that you could be back in Madrid in less than an hour, while others are probably better suited to being a two-day trip or more. However, all of them are absolutely doable as day trips! So, here are the 9 best day trips from Madrid, Spain. (Listed in order of shortest to longest distance.)

[Read more…]