R. Doug Wicker — Author

In April of this year Ursula and I left on an extended journey that began with a transatlantic cruise to Civitavecchia via Alicante in the Valencian Community of Spain. From there we took transporation into Rome and flew first to Istanbul, and next to Abu Dhabi. After our stay in these two locations we took a bus to Dubai. Over the next several weeks/months I’ll be showing you all these destinations starting with Alicante and a tour we took from there to El Castell de Guadalest (or simply Guadalest), then back to Alicante to traipse around Castell de Santa Bàrbara.

This Mediterranean port city along Spain’s southeast coast is a charming destination with lots to see and photograph. Even the port is picturesque, as you can see from this view aboard our cruiseship:

We met up with our tour group and immediately headed into town. One of our stops was Alicante City Hall (Ajuntament d’Alacant), where a work from one of my favorite artists was on display — a modernist statue of Saint John by Salvador Dalí:

The City Hall is itself an impressive structure:

But inside is equally impressive. And on this particular day there were even people in period costume lurking about some of the rooms:

As for nearby sights, the following photographs were snapped within 10 minutes walk of City Hall:

Look for more on Alicante this Wednesday and Friday. After that I’ll take you on a visual journey to Guadelest and Castell de Santa Bàrbara.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)