Studying abroad with CEA CAPA, you can take part in excursions throughout your program along with various cultural immersion workshops. As part of my program, we not only get to explore Alicante, but we get to take trips to surrounding areas in Spain. In my program, there are four different day trips along with weekly activities that the various CEA CAPA students are invited to participate in. The day trips consist of taking a ferry to a little island off Spain known as Tabarca, traveling to Albir and Benidorm, and going to Valencia. Each week there are also workshops or tours that you’re free to attend. Some consist of tours through museums or around Alicante, cooking classes, and wine tastings. 

Cooking Workshop 

In the first few weeks of being in Alicante, we participated in a seafood paella cooking workshop. Paella is a popular dish in Spain. It consists of rice along with a variety of seafood. Garlic and salt are used to season the paella, but other than that, there are typically no other seasonings or spices included.  

Our paella making group. All are members of CEA CAPA Alicante and are able to participate in the workshops. We completed the workshop at Restaurante Darseña in the Port of Alicante. 

Throughout the workshop, we were not only making the paella with step-by-step guidance, but we were given appetizers along with champagne throughout cooking. These appetizers consisted of a variety of things on their menu such as a caramelized apricot filled with peanut butter. To conclude cooking the paella, we sat down and ate the one that we cooked along with ice cream for dessert.  

Each group was provided all the ingredients in a dish. From here, we were told each step of making the dish. What surprised me the most were the fish. The whole fish went into the bowl to be sauteed, and we just dumped it into the pan. 

Wine Tasting 

We also got the opportunity to attend a wine tasting where we got to taste two white wines and three red wines, all made around Alicante. Throughout the wine tasting, we learned about the individual wines and how they’re made.  

In Urban Cellar, where we participated in the wine tasting, all their bottles of wine were for sale. They only make one batch of wine, so when the bottles run out, there will be no more of that specific wine made. 

With each wine, we were given an appetizer to snack on. Each of the appetizers were specifically paired for the wine. There was a tuna salad, crackers, a meat and cheese tray, chips and peanuts, and a salad.  

Our meat and cheese tray that was provided to us during our wine tasting with one of our red wines. Three different kinds of cheese along with meat, crackers, walnuts, and raisins were on the tray. 

Tabarca 

So far, we visited Tabarca for a day trip with our CEA CAPA group. To get to Tabarca, we took a 50-minute ferry across the Mediterranean Sea.  

From the island of Tabarca, you can see Spain. From Alicante, it was about a 50-minute ferry trip. 

While in Tabarca, we walked around, learning about the history and culture of the island.  

In Tabarca, we had eight people sharing the chicken paella on our day trip. Overall, the paella was not able to be finished because it was SO big! 

After we finished our short walk, we sat down and had lunch at a restaurant. There, we were served appetizers and our choice of seafood or chicken paella. The more people eat the paella, the bigger the dish. A small group of CEA CAPA students also took part in the walking tour where we learned about the city's history.  

 One of the many coves at Tabarca where people swim. Most are not sandy beaches; rather, they are just rocks. 

Walking Tour  

One of the first weeks in Spain, we went on a walking tour of the Old Town of Alicante. Throughout walking through all the historical places in the city, we walked through cute neighborhoods. This house is known for its blue pots, pictured here with all of them hanging from the walls and on the sidewalk. 

One of the first weeks in Spain, we went on a walking tour of the Old Town of Alicante. 

Through the buildings is Alicante’s La Castilla de Santa Barbara, which has a few different historical legends written about it. One of the local legends includes the mountain and says that the far-left side has a face of a man. It may be hard to see, but it is a side profile of the mythical legend.  

Alicante’s La Castilla de Santa Barbara 

On our walk through the Old Town of Alicante, we walked through the cute neighborhoods where there are no streets for cars to drive on, just sidewalks.