2025 has started well with us going to Alicante for a month. Every day I attended the Enforex language school in the morning which was great fun. Really surprised with Alicante, very easy to get to. We flew from Norwich with Ryan Air. Very busy place with lots of tourists even though it was January, but I guess with Ryan Air flying in from lots of UK airports and with so many North European expats living in the area I shouldn't have been surprised. The Mercado Centrale was amazing, fantastic products. The meat and fish quality was really special. They eat the whole animal here with sheep and pigs head on the counters along with traditional Iberico ham, cheeses etc.
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The restaurants were all pretty special as well. Seafood is a big deal here along with Arroz dishes a type of paella without the saffron or dyed rice. Also a type of soupy rice dish as well.
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The local cafe next to the Mercado Centrale, which was pretty basic and had the usual tortilla and hams served me a dish of Callos which turned out to be tripe. it was really delicious. The price of food was cheaper than the UK, not really sure why. The wine and beer was half the UK price and that was in the centre of Alicante. As usual the marina frontage and beach front restaurants were more expensive, but the quality of the couple we tried was still good.
We went to restaurant bar called Manero Molla it was a classic sit down tapas bar. It deserved its Michelin guide recommendation.
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Manero Mollo Restaurant
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During our third week we were joined by Sophie and Allan. We went to a restaurant recommended by Bryan called El Bodegón Taperia-Arroceria. We caught the little tram and went into the suburbs to find this hidden gem. The arroz dishes were amazing.
For our final week in Alicante I completed my Dayskipper practical with 5 days of tution from Costa Blanca Sailing. Really enjoyed putting the theory into practice, Walter Henderson our skipper was a great bloke with loads of experience. I now have a Dayskipper qualification!
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