Torrevieja: the Boardwalk and Chinese food

Sunshade device along the boardwalk

Naomi and I took a day trip to Torrevieja today. I was looking for a Barclays ATM so I could withdraw cash without paying any fees. We wanted to see the salt museum too, but it was closed.

Above is a sunshade. It's an awesome cantilelever, but it doesn't provide much protection from the sun, especially at high noon.

There's no beach in Torrevieja--that's why they have a boardwalk. It's all huge rocks, and the waves crash hard against them. We walked pretty far out. There are a variety of stalls that line the boardwalk, as well as restaurants and shops. It's a huge tourist area--there are even people climbing the rocks to touch the water and feel the spray.

Rocks, no beach

Torrevieja is known as a more international city--which might just mean that there are more Chinese people here. It's a bigger city than Guardamar and more British people live and have their holidays here. Chinese cuisine is rather popular among the British. I mean, who doesn't like Chinese food?!

Most restaurants in Spain offer a "Menu of the Day," which is similar to the lunches at the Pension: bread, first course, second course, a drink, and dessert and/or coffee. It was no different at the Chinese restaurant.

It was cheaper than other restaurants and the familiar flavor was comforting. Back in the US, I never really ate out at Chinese restaurants because the food is Americanized. When I did have Chinese food in a restaurant, I was always with my parents, who knew how to order healthier fare off the Chinese menu. The waitress at this restaurant in Torrevieja offered me the Chinese menu but I couldn't read it--and it was cheaper and simpler to order the Menu of the Day. I had to get Naomi to help me decide on what was safe to order. I got a salad with Asian-style dressing, chow mien, chicken chop suey, and a coffee. I even had leftovers to enjoy for later!

We found a Chinese grocery store near the bus station. There were so many foods--bok choy, tofu, salted duck eggs, mung beans, frozen pot stickers, spices, sauces... I ended up going on a mini shopping spree and getting bok choy, tofu, a barley soup mix that my mom has made before, the salted duck eggs, and umbrella cookies. Yum! (That's a photo of Banlangen, a drink powder that makes a tea good for drinking when you are about to get sick or have a fever.)

Banlangen at the Chinese food store

All in all, it was a successful trip!

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Toyo Ito Relaxation Spa Ruins in Torrevieja

Torrevieja is a city larger than Guardamar and about a 20-minute bus ride away. It's along the coast as well but it lacks a beach. There's a boardwalk instead.

But we weren't interested in the boardwalk. We walked and walked and walked in the 5PM sun, scurrying from shady spot to shady spot, navigating roundabouts, and zigzagging our way from the city center to the edge of town. We passed so many Chinese restaurants. We walked through a neighborhood built for the British, which had no shady spots on the sidewalk because the British love the sun (that's why they vacation in Spain). I'm pretty sure we made it to the edge of town.

We come to a field overgrown with wild plants and see a black mass off in the distance. It's the ruins of a relaxation spa that Toyo Ito designed (here is more information). The mayor of Torrevieja a few years back commissioned several famous architects to build in the city. The relaxation spa was hated by the locals, and when the financial crisis hit and the project was more heavily scrutinized, it was found that the spa was being built on land protected as a nature preserve by the Valencian government (similar to a state government). Construction was halted and what was already built was abandoned.

We climbed into the foundation of the spa and found it eerie. We could tell that it had been burned and the glass had been shattered. This is a photo of me inside of the ruins. The twisting wood formed a shell shape that sat on a concrete foundation. I am standing on a steel floor deck. It was massive and humbling to be inside. It made me realize that even if I become a famous architects, it's still the luck of the draw that determines whether or not your projects will be realized in the end.

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