June 30 - July 3

These past few days have been amazing. The south of Spain is absolutely beautiful and the weather is fantastic. We are staying at a place called the La Dorada Club in a district of Torreviaja called Plaje Los Locos (Place of the crazies!), but there is nothing crazy about this place. The place is built like a Spanish villa with beautifully plastered arches and wooden beams. All the beds and shelves are essentially built into the villa which is something I have never seen before. It certainly has a wonderful charm to it. The beaches are also amazing and quite different from the states. Here women regularly prance around topless and the men wear the infamous "Speedo" which I can't seem to get use to. However, the water is wonderfully luke warm and I try to take advantage of it. We have spent many of our days either swimming at the beach or in this spectacular pool at the La Dorada Club. The pool is amazing with bridges built in, a bar, and is surrounded by palm trees and beautiful Spanish style villas.
A few days ago on friday we went to the local friday bazaar and saw all the crafts, clothes, and things that are sold locally. The bazaar held in Torreviaja is the largest in Spain and I picked up a FC Barcelona hat for like 10 euros. At night we take a stroll near the coastline (As many of the locals like to do) and saw many similar vendors selling their wares. This traditional walk is done in the evening and called "the promenade" usually with their dogs. It is not unusual to see people eating dinner outside late into the evening. The coast is absolutely beautiful at night and is well lit with all the coastal restaurants, bars, and "heladerias" (ice cream stores). We even saw some live pan flutists playing many songs. Last night, on one of of our walks we sampled some Spanish pastries. Spain is famous for its chorizo (spicy sausage) and one pastry containing sausage and cheese inside a bun was particularly tasty.
Unfortunately this week saw the end to Argentina's campaign in the world cup, but on the bright side Portugal won. It will be exciting to visit Portugal next week as they take on France for the chance to be in the world cup finals. As a side note, I bought some "Futball" jerseys and another cap since we don't get them in the states. I picked up a FC Barcelona and Manchester United jersey as well as a Argentina cap. Enjoy the photo that was taken from the coast of Torreviaja. Today we leave for Portugal via Madrid, Spain. More to follow...