Alicante

Back in Walt's postdoc days in Madison, Wisconsin, an amiable Italian named Paolo joined the research group. We drank beer and partied and he taught us to make a version of spaghetti and clam sauce which we still make although it has morphed a bit over the years to suit our tastes. Eventually we moved to Hawaii and Paolo went back to Europe. He and Walt kept in touch sporatically over the years, and then there was Facebook.

Seeing Paolo again and meeting his wife was one of the highlights of the trip.

We were even looking forward to the 5 hour train ride between Barcelona and Alicante. The Spanish train system is an amazing thing. There's no need to bother with special rail passes if you are buying tickets in advance because first class (Preferente) tickets are often sold at very low prices. Although using the Spanish website, renfe.com, can be challenging, raileurope.com offers tickets at the same price, doesn't crash when you try to pay with a US credit card as renfe.com is prone to do, or suddenly begin serving pages in Spanish when you have requested English. The tickets are usually the cheapest when they are first made available 60 or sometimes 90 days ahead, but if you can't find a good Preferente rate, Tourista (2nd class) is more than satisfactory. The trains are clean, they operate on time, and they are comfortable.

In Preferente class, meals that just about any air passenger would be thrilled to receive are served along with wine. This was our meal on the train to Alicante.

In Alicante, we stayed in a hotel with a view of the beach and the open lot where all the dog owners in the nearby condos gathered in the morning and evening to talk and throw balls for their pets.

Paolo and his wife were taking care of one of those rascally dogs known as Shorty so we sometimes joined them on the lot.

Alicante is a port of call for many of the massive cruise ships that sail the Mediterranean. Tourists disembark and head for the remains of Santa Barbara Castle which sit atop a hill in what is now the center of the city. The castle dates back to the 9th century when Arabs controlled the Iberian Peninsula.

To reach the castle, you can climb the paths that lead up the mountain or enter a very long hallway at the base which ends eventually at a single elevator. I imagine that when many people are visiting, they wait hours until it is their turn to ride to the top or the bottom. Fortunately, there were not many people visiting on the day we were there.

Alicante is mainly known for its beautiful beaches. We visited one at dusk one evening and enjoyed drinks in a cafe along the shore.

Re-connecting with old friends and reminiscing about good times together is always one of the best things about traveling.