Holey moley I did not sleep last night. Laid awake trying to tire myself out until 6am! Needless to say I expect to pass out tonight!
I started the day with a light breakfast with Carmen. Meals are fun so far because even though most of the food is recognizable, they prepare them slightly differently. For instance this morning Carmen heated up a glass of vanilla soy milk to go with my fruit, and it was surprisingly delicious!
Orientation at the hotel was what anyone would expect, and then we took a bus to la Universidad de Alicante for a quick tour. The campus is beauuuutiful but we were on a time crunch so I’ll get pictures tomorrow. It used to be a military base, then an airport, and now a campus. It has 33k students and is shaped in a large cross and is super spacious with lots of grass, modern buildings and mini gardens (I passed a cactus one and palm tree one).
Here’s a selfie with one of the sculptures!
After the tour I came back and had lunch with Carmen. She made me a refreshing tomato and cucumber salad and some magical tasting dish of rice, chicken and peas yumyum. Then I took a walk to the beach which Carmen claimed was “ten minutos” but was closer to 30 haha. It was good though! I walked along the pier on the way there and through the city on the way back. The beach (a topless one!) was pretty with a nice circular view of the city and a large historical castle in the background which we’ll visit soon (you can kinda see it behind me). It was super crowded though so in the future I’ll more likely take the 15 minute train to the tourist-free small beach up north.
The city is full of retail shopping, outdoor restaurants, public sitting areas near foliage and lots and lots of gelato which I’m sure I will appreciate as I spend time in 80 degree weather!
