Y VIVA ESPAGNA

Best ice-cream I have ever tasted in my life:

enough said. That is AWESOMENESS par excellence.I remember the time and the place: October 12th 2018, in Alicante, Spain. Now, I will hand it to you and say that my taste buds and palate were literally spoiled by the delicious flavors of the best ice-cream ever, but I will also add that so was my occipital lobe: not only did that ice-cream cup taste amazing it looked amazing too. Take my word or check the photos. So I remember the exact time and place of an awesome ice-cream. However, my brain did not necessarily generate some kind of magic mnemonic helping me store such details: It’s a lot easier than that: I offered myself the pleasure of devouring that magic ice-cream on the very National Day of Spain: October 12th 2018. La Fiesta de la Hispanidad!

Did anybody say Fiesta?

Now I have lived through some amazing National Days in my life: 14th of July in France, 21st of July in Belgium and December 1st in my wonderful native Romania.

I mean you would think that if anybody knows anything about FIESTA, it would be the Spaniards, right? Well, alas, was I in for a major deception: I put on my Desigual dress and my green matching pendientes ( Spanish for rings, wink) and bravely headed downtown Alicante, on the very Explanada de Espana, the iconic seafront boulevard in Alicante expecting to be run down by a tidal wave of people ready for the party, a mere appetizer for the fireworks that were going to light up the Mediterranean.

Except, it didn’t happen like that. And I must say I was disappointed.

I mean I did enjoy the best ice-cream and the weather was as pleasant as ever. As were the people. But then, I am not telling you anything you did not know: Spaniards are cool and Spain is a lovely country.  Even if there’s rain on your parade. Except there was no rain (good) and no parade ( not so good). But I am not complaining.

I still enjoyed my day to the max, strolling along the beautiful palm-tree bordered boulevard and walking around the stands of the Fashion Market. Speaking of Market and spending money, Spain is a great place for shopping. But you knew that already. So many famous brands started in Spain/: Zara, Desigual and the likes of it have set the bar very high and expectations even higher.

So, I kind of knew what to expect. But what I did not know is that Alicante is such an amazing place for shopping. It really is. Starting with the neighborhood shops and going all the way to the Outlet Store located a tram stop away from the University, in the Saint Vicent de Raspeig part of the city. 

You will find plenty of shops and great promotions for a good bargain anytime of the year! And not just in Alicante, but just about anywhere in Spain. And you will find so much more than just good opportunities for shopping and fabulous ice-cream.

Whatever the occasion, any pretext is good to travel to Spain, anytime of the year!

Even if during the summer it may be sweltering hot in some parts of the country and even if you may feel slightly  disappointed by the fiesta that you might expect on their national holiday. Anytime of the year and anywhere you go, Spain is a fabulous country, welcoming and colorful, so VIVA ESPAGNA all year round, not just on the 12th of October! Ole!