All in on Alicante

Looking for a little calm after the Fallas "storm", we jumped on a southbound train to Alicante for a couple of days.

Excited to explore and discover more about this Mediterranean gem, we tackled the arduous hike up to the Castell de Santa Barbara and Batería Costera dela Castill. Known for breathtaking views of the city, the marina, and the Mediterranean Sea, it was an outstanding reward for our efforts to reach the peak.

An adorable "cathedral kitty" wandered through the plaza and into several photos during our time spent admiring the Basilica de Santa Maria. It's the oldest church in the city dating from the 1500s and was built on the site of the former main mosque.

The Playa de Postiguet, adjacent to the city center, was packed with sun worshippers making the people-watching superb, despite it being mid-week with temps only topping out around 18°C/65°F. That's chilly for these southern gals.

Aiming to walk on as many beaches as possible, we took the tram ~20 mins north to check out Playa de San Juan. Our visit coincided with fierce winds, so we flipped up our collars and soldiered on. Thankfully, blowing sand wasn't an issue.

MACA Contemporary Art Museum is open late so we stopped in for a quick look at an exhibition by Soledad Sevilla, a Valencian artist known for her large scale geometric abstraction works.

Having heard folks sing the city's praises, now we understand their admiration. Alicante and the cathedral kitty charmed us as well. 🖼️🐱🐾🌊🌴😎☀️🥰