Alicante, Spain: in 2 hours and love it!

We only had a few hours walking around Alicante as we have to pick up our friends at the airport.  And in that few hours, I can say, I love the place...check it out!

lovely square

 

 

And the weather was lovely.

 

 

 
 And yes, the beach is by the road or the road is by the beach. :)

Even the drive home to Denia was wonderful.  How could HT wife not love the place.  :)

Next...Valencia...the birthplace of Paella valenciana...stay tune guys!

 

Denia, Spain: Relaxing, Lazy holiday

Hello blogworld!  HT couple is back.

Yes!  We've been busy lately and here's what we were up to:

Renting a vacation home for a week or 2 somewhere south of Europe is a thing for most western Europeans.  You can't blame them as i've experienced a super long winter season and at some point you just had enough.  Therefore, i joined this advocacy.

We rented a place in Denia, Spain....heerlijk weer (great weather!).  It's not too hot, dry and just a bit chilly at night.

Our home for 1 week.  It is huge!  (8 of us stayed in this place).  Travel agencies in Europe always have brochures or offering this type of houses for minimum of 1 week rent.

 

 

my favorite place in the house...(this is where lunch and dinner were served)

 

 

 

 

 

We rented a car so we can go around on some days outside Denia.  (more about it in the succeeding posts!)

It's pretty cheap for 1 week rent (more or less 250 euros) for a stationwagon.  There are numerous car rentals both in Valencia/Alicante airport (which are the cities we flew in).

 

Spain has always been a haven for me because of its' food!

Pimientos de Padrón - love it!  It's a type of pepper which are small and exudes sweetness.  It's normally eaten as tapas in Spain - can be deep-fried or grilled, sprinkled with salt and voila!

Biri Biri - orange liqeur is the famous drink in this area due to its numerous orange plantation.  It was my drink everyday during the happy hour.

Carne Membrillo (on the small plate) - is a jam-like made from fruits extract and is eaten together with cheese (typically manchego) but it works well even with brie.  Just put a slice of the membrillo on top of the cheese and you're up for a treat.

Longganiza - chorizo - this was a must every dinner.  It was delicious, lip smacking, fatty (i'm pretty cautious about fats, but this one is addictive!)  Lamb liver (beside the sausages) were also easy to find in the supermarket.

Our grand dessert by H.  Sticky date pudding, Pave and chocolate cake with orange sorbet...yum!

 

My tummy was sooo happy during this vacation (as you can see).  And the best thing is, having friends who love cooking!  Ahhh, i'm just so lucky.

 

We had the time to go around the center of Denia

Just love the huge markets in Spain.

yes, the ladies went shopping!

in one of those narrow streets are the tapas bars and restaurants.  It was simple and not crowded - it was a great place to chill out.

battered cod

pork liver

 



baby squid

 



And of course we have to wash it down with sangria and caña(beer).

 by the harbor...

on our last day, we met this wild cat.  Cute, isn't she?

 

The only sad thing in this trip is that there's no internet.  Yes, i'm sure you do agree that life is a bit boring nowadays without internet.  Therefore, just a thing to take note of when booking.

 

Stay tune for more posts about our 1-week Spain vacation!  Up next, Valencia and Alicante, Spain. :)



 

Mayrhofen, Austria: HT couple goes skiing!

Ever since HT couple moved here in the Netherlands, our dive vacation became ski vacation.  It's not because Netherlands has mountains that can be covered by snow (basically, the country is mostly below sea level, thanks to the ever famous dikes of the said country - which keeps the country from not drowning. :D), it's because it's easier to drive to the alps than flying to a worth-diving open water.

Most people from Southeast Asia just like HT wife has no clue how ski vacation works.  And it's not just simply you go up to the mountain and ski down.  Here are some insights on HT Couple goes skiing in Austria!

just like any other vacation, you have to rent a place to stay.  Most apartments only accept 1 week booking but there are also hotels around the area which i'm sure they allow for less than a week stay.  For Europeans, most people drive to the ski destination for long hours therefore, it's worth to stay for a week.  We booked almost a year in advance to get one of those big and relaxing villas.

Next to take care of is the ski pass.  Each lift going up has a machine wherein you need to tap your ski pass to enter.  It would be convenient if your ski jacket has a pocket on your wrist then you can enter easily without twisting your body around to tap as you have enough items to balance yourself with(and not to mention being on those ski shoes).

What to wear: you need ski jacket, ski pants, ski gloves (make sure to have thin gloves with you as well in case the sun is shining), ski goggles (sunglasses are good enough if it's not snowing) and a helmet (optional) - but better be safe than sorry.  And dont' forget the ski shoes! I bought my own this year and the only criterion i considered is that...it's comfortable.  I'll be walking/skiing with it all day and for the whole week so better

What we have rented: There's a lot of ski shops where you can rent your skis,  and it always comes with the sticks which i used to push myself when the slope is not downwards.  (Believe me, it's hardwork :D)

this is the worst event of skiing - wearing your ski shoes...and the best is...taking it off :D

 

if you're not staying  near the lift station, usually ski areas has a bus ride for skiers' convenience.  Do check the timings and plan your ski days accordingly.  Bus stop is a good consideration when booking your place of stay.

 the map! - ok i can't read maps but make sure you have somebody like HT hubbie who can follow it.  You wouldn't want to get lost on the mountains or stumble into an area where you can only ski down on a black slope (steepest type of slope).

and once we've oriented ourselves with the area, make sure to look at these signs.  BLUE - for beginners; RED - for experienced and TOO-confident beginners; BLACK - is for adrenaline seekers and for beginners who thinks they can conquer it all.  With my bad sense of direction, I have accidentally stopped on a steep red slope and there's no way of going down (no lifts around) other than to ski down on it.  After that incident, suddenly i saw the light on how to follow directions.

 

the lifts are life savers on the mountains.  It brings you up but it can also bring you down but skiing down is much better and you wouldn't be the talk of the town that you're the only one who took the ski lift down that day.  As i've mentioned on what to wear earlier...i stand corrected...you can wear anything you want.

 

 I was not born to ski.  But what always motivates me to go up to the mountain is after  a few hours of hard work, is getting a nice lunch on the mountain.  Meat, meat, meat!!! Yum.  And if you prefer having booze for breakfast up there, the cafes made sure that supply and demand theory is also applicable no matter how high they are.

And lastly on your last day of skiing, make sure to treat yourself with a glass or 2 of alpine booze such as bombardino(egg liquor)

and keep up with the motto...ski and drink 'till you drop!

Hope you enjoyed our ski 2013 journey.  Below are more pictures from the trip.

'Til our next ski holiday...now time to enjoy spring and summer!