|
| |
Torrevieja
Torrevieja
is definitely a growing sunshine resort on the Costa Blanca. With 300 plus blue
sky and blue sea days every year, one can understand why tourists from Barcelona
and Madrid, as well as many European cities make this their summer vacation
destination. Over the years Torrevieja has grown from a sleepy fishing town to
an international tourist resort with it's expanding Marina and more recently the
makeover of the promenade to encompass a safe, sea water swimming pool, as well
as restaurants and bars for wining and dining from lunchtime tapas and snacks to
full a la carte menus in the warm balmy evenings.
 
A spring and
summertime funfair which is great fun for all the family is also there. A market
on Fridays with some 1200 stalls (Salinero Calle - just off the Avda. de Las
Cortes Valencianas) covers a large area of the old town and is a must for everything
from designer clothes and shoes, fruit and vegetables, to bed linen, handbags and jewellery. Every evening in the
summer a craft market is open with some 300 stalls from the piazza to the beginning of the promenade.
The fishing fleet is a sight to behold (if you can be down by the harbour early
enough to see the boats come in with the days catch). A few hours later you
could be eating it! Clubs, bars and restaurants are open until the early
hours of the morning. All in all Torrevieja, the main town for the Guardamar,
Rojales, Beniofar area, within the confines of Alicante and Murcia airports
reaching to Benidorm and Cartegna communities controlled by Valencia Communidad
is a Mediterranean paradise.
  
People from
within Spain
as faraway as Barcelona and Madrid influx the area in summer to stay at the
hotels, apartments and private accommodation on urbanizations such as Ciudad
Quesada. The area in the winter months replaces Spanish
residents with nationalities such as British, Swedish, German, American, Italian
and Dutch. There is a good selection of typically Spanish food and wines on
offer at all times. To be tried are the native Valencian wines as well as Rioja,
Navarra and of course Cava, the Spanish version of Champagne.
   
Plenty of restaurants clustered around
the waterfront offer cheap meals and international menus. For something
more local head for the south side of the old market and the small Plaza Isabel
II (known locally as 'hunger alley') where you can enjoy great grilled fresh
fish whilst sitting out on one of the restaurant terraces. Torrevieja also
abounds in Cafes offering coffee that ranges in excellence from 'bilge water' to
very tasty sips indeed!
Torrevieja like most important Spanish towns has a number of Fiestas. The
procession on the night of Good Friday is one of the most admired on the eastern
coast of Spain. In May the "Ferria de Mayo" is host to 300,000 people & the town
comes to life with music, dance & costume. In June the "Holy Heart Festivities"
are celebrated with children's games, popular dances, & musical performances. On
the 16th July there is the festivity of the "Virgin del Carmen" who is patron
saint of fishermen & seamen. Finally from the 1st - 17th December the "Fiestas
Patronales" (Patron Saints Days) conclude the year's festivities with the main
event, a procession on the night of the 8th.
|
