The Road to Valencia

We left Alicante and headed north to Valencia. One of the first things we saw as we left Alicante was a mountain just north of the city.  Raphael had told us a story about the mountain. He said a giant lived on the other side of the mountain and he fell in love with a girl from Alicante.  He wanted to take her to meet his family on the other side of the mountain, but she changed her mind and water to go home.  So he got so made he kicked a chunk out of the mountain...

 and it landed in the bay near Benidorm, forming a small island:

We decided to take the coast road north, instead of the tollway, because we wanted to be able to take our time and enjoy the scenery.  There were so many gorgeous little villages and towns along the way, built right up into the hills.

There were great views out to the sea as well, with little ancient lookout towers and crumbling castles everywhere we looked.

We even came across an impromptu Tour de Espana bike race down the winding coast road.  Everyone driving cars just pulls to the side to let the bikes go past.  Totally different than in the US, where they try to run them off the road!

We also found a really cool church/monastery on the coast road.  It was painted so brightly and had gold all over it.  It was shining in the sun from miles away so we stopped to check it out.  Of course, it was closed.

We continued along the coast - more gorgeous cities, houses, churches and castles!

And eventually, a McDonald's!

There were also acres and acres of orange groves - Valencia oranges!  They were planted in such straight lines, all up and down the hills as far as the eye could see, and clear down to the beaches.

It was an absolutely gorgeous drive all along the coast!  So much beauty in Spain and it always surprises me to come around a corner and see another castle perched on a hill.