First travels

Last weekend, we had our "province day trip" that took us to Villajoyosa and Guadalest. The weather conditions were less than ideal, but probably could have been worse, at least in Villajoyosa.

We hopped on the bus and our first stop was a beautiful beachy town called Villajoyosa. We wandered around inside the walls of the city, learned some history of the city regarding pirates, saw the beach, and also saw the town's church. A tour guide talked us through the history of the church, but she spoke pretty damn fast and so I honestly didn't really get a good grasp of what she was saying. Oh well.

Next stop was Guadalest. This is a town in the mountains. Very few of us dressed weather-appropriately and were not-so-pleasantly surprised with the high winds and little bit of rain. However, after heading up the mountain a little bit, we toured the Casa Orduña and the Castillo de Guadalest, both of which provided insights of Spain that we wouldn't have otherwise seen, since we live at the beach.

After regaining feeling in our extremities while we had lunch at a small café atop the mountain, we got back on the bus. The next stop was Campello, easily accessible to Alicante via the Tram. The point of this stop was for many to have their first experience with churros y chocolate. Michelle and I had already sampled them from the same restaurant in Alicante, but neither of us were complaining about eating them again. There was also a really nice beach in Campello where we hung out to digest our churros before reembarking the bus and going home to Alicante.

In addition to the excitement of our first trip with the program, this past week was also important for yours truly in the exercising realm. I have been running pretty consistently just along the beach and La Explanada, which is a nice, flat run that I can usually make last about a half hour (shown in the first two photos that follow). However, thanks to some of the exercise crazies in my program, I was convinced to take a run to the top of the Castillo (shown in the third photo). I've always fancied myself fairly athletic and in shape, especially now that I was running consistently. However, I had to stop and walk for...well...most of the way up to the castle. Twenty percent grades are kind of tricky, unless you're Allison from San Francisco who's used to the hills.

So that's what I've been up to! Lots of walking, a bit of running, some traveling, and a TON of food. Next weekend, I'm headed to MADRID!!! to see some major museums, restaurants, and other touristy things. This will be my first trip sans the coordination of CIEE...nos vemos...!