My first time making Paella de Marisco...

Well, it was a quite a challeange for me to do by my self paella without any help:) and its also not the only one recept for do a paella :)
Paella can be made in a many different forms. You can do paella with meat like also with fishes and sea fruits or also mix of both....

I chose the paella de Marisco .. as I love seafood, I went to shop and bought a frozen seafood specially selected to prepare paella.


    If you buy a frozen seafood you can defrost them before start the cook Paella but not necessarily.

Those with which I bought had an opcion to start to cook without defrost them before ...










1. So i take out of the package all mussels, shrimp, calamari and octopus to the strainer and rinsed with cold water ....

2. Later pour the olive oil in a paellera or a normal frying pan (be carrefoul not to burn the olive!)

3. ....and i added onion, garlic and sea food......

 4. When the clams and mussels  opened  I prepared broth- i prepares vegetable broth but you can prepare also a fish-based broth....

 5. Into boiling broth I added rice (more or less on each person one cup)

5. ....and I left the lid to get cooked about 15-20 minutes....( to rice gathered the whole broth)

6. When the rice is already cooked I add tomate frito and cooking for a little time and Paella a la Agnes ready :))))

For remember- one more time, step by step, my preparation of Paella:

Castillo de Santa Barbara & San Fernando en Alicante

Castel of Santa Barbaba in Alicante is a place which I thoroughly recommend ... From the top of the mountain where is Castell you can see an extraordinary view on the city and beach of Alicante.
You can get there by car or go by walk, as also take a lift which cost around 3 euros.
My first and last time of visiting i went there by car, second time i go walk and the third i get there by lift.

Honestly I dont really know which method I recommend to get there but if you have enough of strength and energy probably rather go on foot and during walking admire the views. If you are more lazy take an elevator :)
Of course, the way in car is the shortest and most convenient. However, if you are an active turist I recommend going to the castle on foot :)

View from the top of the Castel Santa Barbara

City Centre of Alicante

Wonderfull view of the beach Postiguet and partly of the port

   

Panoramic picture of the view of beach form the Castell

With my Erasmus friends wiev of the back city of Alicante

Amazing view of the beach from the top of the mountain de Castillo Santa Barbara

View of the mountain where is Castel de Stanta Barbara from the other side of center 

View of Castel Santa Barbara and beach Postingam at night

As a difference I would like to describe little bit the less visited by tourists place which is Castel of San Fernando. While I was there I didn't meet so many tourists visiting like in the castle of Santa Barbara but anyway the view is nice. From this place you can see the city in a different side. Below some pictures of the view from Castle of San Fernandes. 

View from the top of the San Fernando Castillo, on the left of the picture is Castel Santa Barbara which I described at the beginning

View for another part of city Alicante

Isla de Tabarca.....

 Tabarca Island is situated on an island in the Mediterranean Sea 20 km far from Alicante ... we can also get there from other cities near Alicante like for example Santa Pola. Personally recommended the way from Santa Pola because the road is only 8 km. The route I chose going to Tabarca in summer 2012 was from Santa Pola too :)
It is said that the city belongs to the city of Alicante and has it various parts ... one part uninhabited by people, surrounded by nature and also other part inhabited by people but mainlduring the holidays :)

Beach on the Isla Tabarca its small but really beautiful :) i would recommended to take diving equipment !!! its lots of fun :D

Summer Houses in Tabarca

More dangerous place on Isla Tabarca full of stones - as you can see its  requied to have a special shoes if you want to go to this part of Tabarca because the rocks are very slippery in this area       

I ❤ Costa Blanca- Calpe, Altea, Benidorm

Benidorm, Calpe and Altea- thise 3 cities are on the coast of Costa Blanca..... Are perfect place to spend holiday...many people especially, older, retired comming here from Germany, England or even Russia for live...

 In those places you can find a peace and enjoy life .... wonderful climate, weather condicions and abiente make this place perfect for relax from the cities and work stress....

Calpe

Calpe

Calpe is around 60 km far from Alicante city and its tipical for its mountain- stone which you can see on the picture on the right and below.The economy of those cities are based mostly on turism.

As i said before mostly because of its good weather, beaches and like in for example Altea the labyrinthine streets with whitewashed house-fronts that characterize the town.

Altea

Altea is a city located between Benidorm and Calpe....
and it is characterized by a specific architecture...

Altea

Altea- view on the labyrinthine streets

Altea- one of the streets

 Benidorm is a city around 40 km far from Alicante. In past it was a small village. Today it stands out for its hotel industry, beaches and clubs......We can read in internet that people used to call Benidorm a ,,Spanish Las Vegas" or ,,Spanish New York". Personally I disagree with this opinion. Benidorm is nothing like either New York or Las Vegas.Maybe from the road you can see some similarity because of hight buldings there - mostly hotels, but when we are walking on the Benidorm's street its completely different. 

Like most of the cities bigger and smaller along the coast of Costa Blanca have access to the beach and the sea .. like and Benidorm ...  Definitely worth seeing is the terrace in Benidorm, with its breathtaking view of the sea ..... ...along the beach is a lot of clubs and bars and restuauracji...where you can find young people like and older... :))))

Tarrace and views from the tarrace :)))

Beautiful View from the tarrace in Benidorm

Mediterranean food - simplemente delicioso!!!!

 As you know Spanish food its a typical, full of seafood and fishes.... Especially in the area where i live - Alicante its a typical to eat snails and shells  :) and its just delicious !!! :)))

 Picture on the right shows a little snail on my plate which many people would say ,,omg how you can eat it" but for me its just a kind of culture, being and living here on the Costa Blanca its a part of trying also dishes of this area.

Mussels also are delicious and whenever I go out to eat I can not resist to taste them again and again..... :))) we can also buy in shops special, ready to eat mussels....

...............and of course famous PAELLA..........