Alicante – Page 2 – Chasing Butterflies

Photowalk: Alicante

If you read my post last Sunday, “Time to make my return to writing”, then you might recall that I mentioned a new found love for photography. During my absence from the world of blogging I sought pleasure and comfort in photography. I found that photography opened up a new world for me. It allowed me to focus on the beauty and joy that surrounded me.
That said, I started learning about editing photos and then, after humming and hawing for at least a month, I took the plunge and opened an Instagram account. I started off slowly, uploading maybe one picture a week, but as I got more involved in the community I got braver and started uploading one a day. Suddenly I was addicted, my passion for photos and photography had been ignited again.
So, on Saturday, I took this addiction to a new level, did something I had never done before and went along to a photo day in Alicante. The photo day was fantastic. There were some talks in the morning which covered everything from different techniques and editing software to how to make the most of social networks. Fascinating, especially for someone like me; ignorant to the world of social media.

After these talks the photo walk commenced. It covered all the main tourist areas of Alicante. The idea was to apply what you had learned from the talks and, basically, snap to your hearts content. And then, to finish off the day, there was a prize giving ceremony in a winery! What more could you ask for?
To make the day even better they are holding a competition for the best photo taken on the day. So not only did I learn about photography, make some new friends, experience a fantastic day looking at the beauty of Alicante but, I get to enter a competition! Fantastic!
So, still filled with the joy of yesterday, I decided to share some of my photos with you all. Bare in mind I’m not a professional, nor do I believe I have the talent required to be a professional, but it’s something that I enjoy doing; it brings a smile to my face. Therefore, I wanted to share my joy with you. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Photo Day in Alicante.

Hope you all have had a fantastic weekend.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you in my next post.

Giana xoxo

Travel Theme: Red

So this is a week of firsts for me; I took on the weekly photo challenge, I visited Cartagena and now I´m going to give Ailsa´s travel theme a go. This week, if you hadn´t guessed from the title, the theme is red! A perfect travel theme for Spain! So come with me as I show off Spain at its best, lets paint the country red!

Red theme one: Love.

One thing has to be said about Spanish people; they really do love their country, and who can blame them really? What´s not to love?

The only thing that they love as much as their country, if not more, is football. So you can only imagine what happens when you combine the two in lets say an event like, o I don´t know, something small like…the world cup for instance. Now that´s when you see their love for both at its finest, there is so much love it´s contagious! The following images were taken in “Las Tendillas” in Córdoba just after Spain’s world cup win! The atmosphere was just electric. I feel that these images capture their pride, their joy and their love for their country perfectly.

Spain; world cup win! — There was honestly no better place to be than Spain when they won the world cup, the Spanish really do know how to celebrate a victory!

Red Theme two: Passion.

Another thing the Spanish are famous for is their passion. Whether it´s the latin blood pumping through their veins that causes it or not I don´t know but to me, as long as it´s not over powering, passion is a great quality to have.

One of the best demonstrations of their passion is through the world of Flamenco. Flamenco is an emotionally intense style of Spanish guitar music which is always accompanied by either dancers or singers. They say that Flamenco means “to have the quality of fire”, in my eyes, there is not a better explanation of passion than this!

The following photos, taken at a show near Quesada, capture the emotional intensity and the passion of this dance.

Spanish Dance — An emotionally intense preformance in Quesada

The next photo was taken in Córdoba in July 2011 at the launch of the guitar festival.

Theme red 3 — The launch of the guitar festival in Córdoba 2011.

Red theme: Powerful.

Imagery, religion and love for thyself and thy neighbour are all important parts of the Spanish culture, here is a festival that incorporates all these elements into one celebration:

Las Cruces, or Crosses, is a popular competition of crosses which is held every year in Córdoba. In this competition each barrio dedicates time and money in order to create these beautifully artistic floral crosses. Each cross is a representation of the pride and spirit in the barrio and are typically surrounded by potted plants and flowers in colours that complement the unique attributes of each zone. The crosses bring the community out in force in order to honour the work that has gone into making these elaborate and colourful crosses while also delighting in the possibility that their cross could earn them the much sought after title of Best Cross! To find out more about this years competition click here and here!

One of the elaborate crosses in this competition!

Theme red 11 — One of the many beautiful crosses on display in Córdoba this year!

Red Theme: Joy:

The last few images I have decided to share with you show the joyful, fun side of the Spanish culture, a side that is often forgotten about or ignored. Spanish people are an amazing group of people filled with love, passion, sensitivity, joy, vigor and romance. Some of the greatest most interesting people I have met are Spanish, so this last part is to share the joy.

Theme red 4 — One of the beautiful sweet stands at one of the many medieval markets held around the country!

Theme red 12 — An unusual party I attended in Alicante where the remains of one of the hogueras was hanging from the ceiling and live bands preformed around it!

Theme red 2 — The last image is to remind you to smile!

To see other bloggers interpretations of the theme check out Ailsa´s blog here.

Have you ever been to Spain? What did you think?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far.

For todays photo challenge I decided to feature the area my family live in: Gran Alacant, Spain. My family is truly blessed in the fact that they live beside a lighthouse. Why you may ask, well there are several reasons really.

Firstly, their view can never be destroyed. Because they live near the lighthouse it means that they live at the top of a very steep hill. No development that is ever built can ruin their inspirational view of the beach, dunes, rugged little village areas and the wildlife park. Now that´s something to smile about!

Secondly, the area is preserved. The area that surrounds the lighthouse is a preserved area, nothing can be built on this area, meaning that it´s beauty will always remain intact.

Thirdly, the area is amazing. Words fail to describe the beauty of this rugged, undeveloped part of Gran Alacant. It´s peacefulness and tranquility is something that´s hard to be beaten. Apart from the odd cyclist and dog walker the area is deserted. It´s the best place to go to switch off from the world, to put things into perspective. I love it there.

And Lastly, you will never have trouble finding your way home! Okay, as you can tell, this one is a joke! But all joking aside, there is something about the glow from the lighthouse that is calming and beautiful. While my family and I would never use it to find our way home, we do use it to find some calm in the storms!

Hope you enjoy the pictures. To me, they really capture the theme near and far, not only through pictures but the lighthouse itself is a great symbol of near and far, it´s purpose is to warn ships far out at sea of what is near!

Lighthouses are more helpful than churches. Benjamin Franklin.

The lighthouse — A final image of the lighthouse, this time a little nearer!

To see what other bloggers have come up with for this weeks challenge click here.

Have you ever been to Gran Alacant? What did you think?

As always, thank you for reading,

Until the next time,

Giana

xoxo

One Day at a time: Finestrat

From brightly coloured houses, fish auctions and chocolate factories to our next destination: Finestart. Finestrat is a beautiful traditional village which seems to have the best of both worlds: the mountains and the beach. This picturesque village hugs the Puig Campana, a majestic rock, which happens to be one of the most emblematic points on the Costa Blanca. Not only does this mountainous village boast spectacular views of the surrounding countryside but it also has its own beach, situated some five minutes from the village itself. Getting excited yet? I hope so! Lets go on and explore some more!

So if you have been following my “One Day at a Time” series, a story of a man, a wheelchair and his family taking on the challenge of exploring the hidden treasures of our area, you must be thinking we´re mad. First we go to a town which has steep, narrow, winding slopes for streets, now this, a mountain village. What can I say? We´re just gluttons for punishment. That, or we really are just mad! Either way the up and down hill battles in this case were most definitely worth it, that pain/ pleasure theory must be true! Anyway – another ramble, sorry – some day I´ll learn, now onto the point: Finestrat!

I would describe Finestrat as a village completely at harmony with its natural enviornment. It is a privilaged little enclave which offers us some extraordinary views which manage to contrast the villages charm with the natural beauty of the area. Words fail to express this villages uniqueness. As Finestrat is an elevated mountainous village, hanging houses, narrow winding streets, quaint corners and gardens are all important characteristics of it, with each one adding to its seductiveness and charm.

Now I must say we did manage to learn a valuable lesson on this journey and that was: wheelchairs + downhill slopes + flip-flops = disaster! I know right now that each of you reading this is thinking: obviously, but I shall explain! Our trip to Finestrat was actually an unexpected one. After deciding that the queue for the chocolate factory in Villajosa was too long we decided to head home. However, on our way out of the town we saw a sign post for Finestrat and, having heard great things about this village, we decided to venture there instead. Great idea but, sadly, it left us rather unprepared for the severity of the mountain slopes this town has to offer. In some places it proved too difficult, and dangerous I might add, to leave P in the wheelchair and he had to disembark and attempt to walk up, or down, some steep steps with the aid of J or I. Poor P!

Apart from this, the village is a delight. You can easily lose yourself while meandering through it´s narrow inclined Moorish streets which are filled with tradition, culture and history. It seems, as you are wandering through the streets, that behind every corner, on every new street, lies something new and more beautiful to discover. In other words: it is a maze of discovery rather than your stereotypical Spanish town.

Apart from its very attractive streets and the enchanting atmosphere it has to offer, one of the most impressive things about this village has to be its scenery. No matter where you are, no matter what street or square you find yourself at, you are presented with the most mind-blowing backdrops of either mountain or countryside and this, in my opinion anyway, money can´t buy. The beauty of this area is astounding. It has remained completely untouched and unspoilt by tourists and the development that usually goes with them. The town has maintained its identity by respecting the splendour of the natural environment around it and chosing to complement it with its Moorish influenced buildings rather than destroy it with modern architecture. With its views from the mountain right down to the sea Finestrat, in my opinion, is most definitely one of a kind.

The atmosphere in this village is relaxed and welcoming. While on our travels, we saw very few people on the streets but those we did bump into all warmly greeted us with a smile. Even the animals gave us a warm welcome, a well-loved and cared for Labrador decided to accompany me as I explored a wheelchair unfriendly part of this charming village, just in case I´d get lonely on my own!

So all that´s left for me to do now is to stop talking and let you sit back and enjoy the beautiful images this area has to offer. Here is a slideshow featuring some of the best photos, out of hundreds, I took that day! It was so difficult to narrow it down this time but, don´t worry, I managed it somehow! Enjoy the show:

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While P, J and I all loved Villajoyosa there was something about Finestrat that stole our hearts. Its traditional rustic feel and charming Moorish architecture won us over and, despite our difficulties getting around the village with the wheelchair, it is a place that filled us with joy, a place we will never forget. And if nothing else it is a trip that we can look back at and laugh because within the beauty that we experienced lies the stupidity of three tourists taking on the mountain village with a wheelchair and flip-flips!

I hope you enjoyed reading about Finestrat and our experience there. I would recommend this village to anyone who enjoys true beauty and splendid scenery. Just remember though, if venturing here with a wheelchair, make sure you are not wearing flip-flops! 🙂

As always, thank you for reading!

Until the next time, take it one day at a time…

Giana xoxo

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