A very festive weekend in Alicante
Who would have thought that celebrating Three Kings Day in Spain is the best thing ever.
Being in Alicante, Spain at the beginning of January is like a warm hug - honestly. Three Kings Day comes with the feeling of something magical in the air. Starting with the long-awaited parade through Roscón de Reyes to simply amazing weather outside. Thanks to all of these things, you can fall in love with this place so easily.
Let’s start with breakfast
It takes no time really to notice that Spanish people are into toasted bread with various toppings. I, more specifically, was on a hunt for the tomato one. A toasted piece of bread with garlic, freshly grated tomatoes, salt, and olive oil. It’s called pan con tomate or tostada con tomate or pa amb tomaquet. With a slight sense of cheating, I got it but with a sliced tomato instead. Still tasty, still amazing. (Jevole Coffee, C. José Gutiérrez Petén, 29, Alicante)
If you are into sweet options for breakfast — Roscón de Reyes. Originally a vegetarian cake topped with dried and candied fruits baked in time for Three Kings Day. Very orangey but in the most delicious way.
To start your day in a fully vegan place, you need to visit Vegan Bombon Sin Gluten located at C. Canalejas, 8, Alicante. It’s a plant-based and gluten-free bakery with a beautiful selection of cakes, pastries, and other savory options.
Find a local tapas bar
Tapas — small Spanish dishes (appetizers, snacks); hot or cold, can be combined into a full meal.
Sometimes you discover the coolest and lively places by accident. For a tapas bar, I didn’t do any research before the trip; just entered a random one that looked friendly enough from the street. And let me tell you - it was full of people despite the late hour.
All tapas places offer - more or less, the same small dishes. It may differ in some sort or lack of something specific that you want to try. What I would recommend is chocolate con churros, pimientos de padrón, and patatas bravas. To make the chocolate vegan, you can ask if it could be prepared with water, not milk.
Something healthier for dinner
Most of the Spanish tapas are not the easiest to digest - and you cannot eat tomato sandwiches all day long, sadly — so, you may want to have a healthier dinner during the visit. This one time, I went to Bodhigreen (C. San Fernando, 46). An incredibly nice restaurant that takes your food allergies into account. I treated myself to a vegan + gluten-free lasagne and it was great.
Non-food recommendations: Santa Bárbara Castle, San Juan Playa, the Mushroom Street, and Santa Cruz neighborhood.
