This was our first visit to Elche, and we were surprised
what a lovely city it is. We knew it
was famous for its palm trees, but were not prepared for the large area of the
city taken over by the Palm Grove. Not
on the outskirts, but in the very centre.
It was not however our first coach trip with the U3A. They arrange a lot of day trips to local
towns of particular interest, as well as more adventurous four day holidays to
the Costa del Sol and Barcelona. We
have joined quite a few, and find it a trouble free way to see different parts
of Spain.
We joined the coach in Jalon at 8.15am, which required a
much earlier than usual alarm call. I
doubt if we were the only ones to have a snooze during the 90 minute drive
to Elche. After a short break for coffee at a
convenient bar, the trip started with a visit to the famous Huerto del Cura
(Priests Orchard).
We had an English speaking guide for our tour of the grounds
with its world famous collection of Palm trees. She explained that the gardens had been
created by a chaplain Castano is the late 19th century.
The commentary added much to our enjoyment of the visit, but
could not compete with this busy mother duck who was giving noisy instructions
to her off spring.
It is the custom to have a wish as you walk under this low
arch created by two palm trees, presumably the most popular wish is not to hit
your head.
The
visit ended with a film show in this very rustic cinema, with its own peacock
on the roof
The film show was a general description of the gardens on
the centre screen, and a film of our own visit on the two side screens. One of the staff had taken a cine film of
our visit, which was now available for a very reasonable 15 euro per CD.
The next item was a tour of the city on this land
train. Normally we would prefer a
walking tour, but as this was the hottest day of the year so far we were quite
happy to be driven around
We then had three hours free time to explore the city. There is lots to see from interesting street
furniture to a wide selection of museums and parks.
But after our busy morning we were soon contented to find a
shaded seat to sit and watch the world go by.
Or better still shaded bar with a very cold drink.
Final visit of the day was to the Pikolinos shoe museum and
factory. This proved much more popular
with the ladies than the gents.
A very interest trip, and well worth the early morning
start.
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