Made in Spain

First Light in Jávea

• Made in Spain

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First light hits Spain in Javea, and that’s where our day begins: a deliberate detour off the motorway, a coastline that rewards patience, and a kayak glide into La Cova de la Granadella where the water lights up like stained glass. We map Javea’s three faces – the fortress old town, the working port, and the Arenal’s soft sand  – and share the small facts that change how you travel: the easternmost sunrise, pirate alarms woven into church walls, and a raisin trade once called “black gold.”

Curiosity pulls us inland to a narrow street and The Archives, a mother–son vintage boutique with a philosophy that feels both stylish and sane. Deborah restores luxury handbags by hand, while Manoa decodes the craft of authentication, from stitching and hardware to those quiet LV stamp tells. It’s a masterclass in buying well, repairing better and keeping pieces in circulation because they deserve more years, not more landfills. You’ll hear how to spot fakes, why date codes matter, and how sustainable fashion can still feel glamorous.

We round the night in Benidorm, where Pride’s closing concert turns into a neighbourhood party: tribute acts, kids on shoulders, abuelas down from the flats with beers in hand. The vibe is welcoming, the parade joyful, and yes, not every tribute lands– an uneasy Amy Winehouse moment reminds us homage has edges – but the wider feeling is freedom shared in public. Between scenes we dip into very Spanish comforts: ensaladilla rusa on crisp breadsticks, a friendly debate on whether mayonnaise is Menorcan or French, and a plastic-cup salute with Tinto de Verano because sometimes convenience is the right flavour.

Come for the sunrise, stay for the bag spa, dance for the encore. If this journey made you smile, learn, or plan a trip, tap follow, rate the show, and share it with a friend who loves Spain’s coast and its hidden stories. Your reviews help us keep exploring and bring back the good stuff.

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome everyone to the Made in Spain podcast. My name is Laura Senior Garcia, and I am joined here by my wonderful co-host, Nalini Sharma. We are super excited as always to be here with you today. If you have been following along, and just before we say anything else, we would like to take a moment to ask you to please follow us, subscribe, review, chat with us, all the things. Questions, would love to answer them. Anything. Those interactions and you telling us that you know you are following along and subscribing to the podcast, allow us to continue to grow this project and really continue to bring more quality content to all of our audience and our listeners, which we are delighted about. So really appreciate you all for being here and listening in, and we're super excited for this episode.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, so we've got sort of uh a couple things we're gonna cover today. We're gonna talk about Javia. We're gonna talk about a wonderful store that's super interesting, and I would say very unique for the entire Costa Blanca region. Um, we're gonna talk about Benedorm Pride and our little slice of the day. So why don't you kick it off, Laura? And let's talk a little bit about Javia. First of all, where is it located in relation to you know, let's say Alicante?

SPEAKER_02:

So if you think of Javia, is I would say about halfway between Alicante and Valencia. Right. Now, doing the research for this episode, and you know we've been to Javia many times, uh, it's very interesting. I found a few pieces of information out that I had no idea about Javia. Okay. And it's one of these things that, you know, I've been to Javia as a child, I've taken uh my daughter Valentina there for stuff, but you go in and out of towns and you don't actually, you know, I don't know like the history of these places in many, many situations uh or occasions, but you know, you you find out very unique things when you start digging a little bit, which is I think very cool about the project that we have here is you know, we are able to really kind of explore our curios or curiosity side.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, so tell me the interesting things that you found out because I I've been there many times. For anybody who is interested in going to Havia, if you're visiting here or you know, you've never been, for example, the one thing that I think people should know is that when you see the sign, first of all, if you are driving, let's say from the Alicante side, uh, if you miss that exit, you it's not a good thing. It's not I I've done that. I've missed that exit, it's not a good thing. You have to go incredibly far to loop around to come back. And Javia, what makes it, I think, a little special is that once you exit the highway, you still have a good, I would say, 20 minutes to get into the actual, you know, thick of it, whether you're going to the old town or the beach area. So it's a good distance away from the highway. So just kind of factor that in. It's not like some of the other towns where you're going straight in. You just you know, you see Benadorm and you're like, whoop, I'm there. It's not like that.

SPEAKER_02:

It's not as easy, uh, but definitely a good one for the explorers for many different reasons. So Javia is spelt J-A-V-E-A, and I'm sure you can start hearing, you know, when we do say towns or words in Spanish, we have that wonderful, you know, Javia. And in Valenciano uh is uh shativa with an X. So again, when the in the local language, language, not dialect, because there's literature behind it. So it's a pretty interesting one. Okay, so some cool facts about Javia. Okay, it is the most eastern tip of Spain. It is the first point to see the sunrise in Spain. Really? Really? Wow, I did not know that. Me neither. So think about it. The famous tip, right? It is that first sunrise in Spain, easternmost tip. Interesting. So, and I have to ask you something funny. Or in my head, it's funny. Uh, when you were growing up, you know, when you do like the northeast, southwest, did you ever have a kind of way to remember that?

SPEAKER_03:

No, I was good at geography.

SPEAKER_02:

I wasn't, and I'm not trying to make myself look blonde here. I still get lost when I walk out of a room in a hotel, like every single time I turn the wrong way. And I could I had a very hard time remembering, like you know, north, east, south, and west. And this morning, when I was re-reviewing all our notes preparing for the episode, what came to mind is as a child, I remember I there was a kid in my class called Nathan, and for some reason, the way I remembered that was Nathan eats soup with wheat. Oh, it's just one of these things that came to mind. So Javia is the most eastern point in Spain, so they are the first ones to see the sunrise. So I think that's kind of cool.

SPEAKER_03:

Very interesting.

SPEAKER_02:

Few more things that I think are are very different. Uh, the first kind of signs of settlement from that area are more than 30,000 years old. Oh, so you know that there are some very, very interesting caves to visit in the area. So that would be a very much a recommendation if you're going to go to Javia, and I would say you're a little bit in shape. I wouldn't try and do this if it's your first time ever, but there are these kayak excursions that uh I have done before. I'm still trying to talk Nalini into do it, where you actually take a kayak and it's about two hours total, and the place, uh specific cave, is called La Cova de la Granadella. Yes, it is gorgeous, like blue lagoon, sort of gorgeous, you know. So that's a little bit about the location, geography. It's a like I said, it there's signs of very, very early settlement. So I thought that was pretty interesting. Uh, it is mostly divided into three parts. You have the kind of fortress old town of Javia, then you have the port where you know things are kind of more like you know, the fishing boats and the tapas and all that that are around that area, and you have the Arenal, which is kind of sandy beaches, uh cool little like chiringuitos and chill outs. It's a fun area, yes, there's a lot happening there, and I will say it's kind of like a little bit fancier than a lot of other spots in the Costa Blanca.

SPEAKER_03:

And I feel also that because you it you need to have an intent to go to Javier. It's you're not just going to stumble upon it because you really have to drive from the highway to get in there. So I think once you get there, you know, you the people that live there are probably a little bit more protective of their town, and you get more of, I would think, a local flavor of people who've lived there. Obviously, you're gonna get tourists, etc., but it's not as touristy as some of the other towns. Totally.

SPEAKER_02:

Uh there's a large international community. Yes, they do get a lot of tourism, but they also get a lot of Spanish tourism. Yes. So they get a lot of tourists from Madrid, uh, etc. So it is um, I think I think Java is a really cool place. The other cool fact that Mongo, which is the mountain behind it, uh, is also you sometimes refer to as the elephant because it looks like a laying elephant.

SPEAKER_03:

Have you climbed it? No. I try we tried one Sunday to do a trail with the dogs. The key word is try it. We tried. So we're driving and talking, and of course, the way my husband drives right past the exit. Oh, drove right past the exit and halfway to Valencia. Yeah. And then because in Toronto, for example, when you pass an exit on the highway, there's another exit where you can just get off, loop around, and get back on to you know, your travels. Wouldn't that be nice? Yeah, it doesn't work like that here. You pass the exit, you have to go quite for far, and then you have to take the sort of the local, the N30, whatever it is. N332. Yeah, you have to take that to get so by the time we did all of that, that was another maybe whatever, 20 kilometers out of our way to loop back, and then we finally made it to where we thought we were going to do the walk, and then I just gave up. I said, listen, just park the car and walk the dogs.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like I'll sit here, like relax.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm like, I can see it. We can see it in the background. That's good enough.

SPEAKER_02:

Sleepy elephant.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

I do think it's really funny how most of the mountains in this area, uh, people are very, very strong with their imaginations, I guess, because you know, oh, the sleeping lion, the sleeping lion. Half of the time, I'm like, I'm sorry, but I don't see it. But sometimes I do. Like the sleeping lion in Palop, I can see that. Yeah. This I think is a little bit, a little bit more far-fetched. Okay, only a couple more kind of um fun facts or interesting facts about Javier. Uh, there is a lot of um history around pirates and pirate invasions, and just like Altea, they also used the church at times for praying in the morning and as a refuge in the evening, sometimes when it was like, you know, the pirate invasions were happening. And then finally, that this I thought was very interesting. I had no idea. In the 19th century, apparently, Javier was known around Europe for being the place where you would get these really high-quality raisins from, and they actually referred to them as black gold because they were really, really good. Uh, but this uh disease called Phylloxera or something like that that kind of affects plants just basically wiped uh and that's it. They never went back to that.

SPEAKER_03:

So I think we talked about that during uh when we did a little bit about Kava. Yeah, the reason that was invented is because part of the grapes were wiped out.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, it was and they had to come up with something else. Maybe that was the same time. Yeah, uh, I'm not sure because it was 19th century specifically. Yeah, I think the same. Yeah. So that's a little bit about Javier that I thought was quite interesting. But in terms of what you're gonna see uh for our listeners, what you'd probably see is something kind of similar to Altea if you check that out uh and check pictures or videos out on our socials. You know, what you're gonna see is kind of whitewashed uh walls and you know, seaside town, but still the old town, because it's not so close to the beach, doesn't really feel like have that.

SPEAKER_03:

You can have basically the best of both worlds. You can go spend uh you know the morning on the beach and then you can go to the old town and have a really nice lunch or just walk around, see the shops and stuff like that. It's really it's a uh I've always liked going, it's just a bit of a drive from where we are, but it's a really nice uh way to spend you know a Sunday afternoon going to the beach, and they also do uh every time that I've been there, they they do surfing lessons.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, uh so that's a much better surfing area than where we are.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we don't have that here. But it's if you're interested in that, that is a cool place to kind of give it a go.

SPEAKER_02:

For sure. So we did have you. Yes. So tell us about the archives, which we have had some interesting times to get me to say that word correctly because I kept saying archives until at one point Nalini's like, Laura, a chive is like an onion.

SPEAKER_03:

Like I mean, I can't say anything. My Spanish is horrific. So I want her to correct me. All I said was, just so you know, it's not the archives, it's archives. I I am so happy she corrected me. So it's the archives. The archives. Um, this is a really, really cool town. It's um uh son and his mom, uh, Deborah and Manoa. Manoa. He lovely, they're super nice. I think they've been they've been operating this business now for about two years-ish. Um, it's on a quaint little street in the old town. So it is not a consignment shop, but it they sell vintage clothing. So you have everything from, you know, maybe something that's a little bit middle. I mean, they have a few pieces from Zara and stuff like that that you can buy. Yeah, a few. But they have, you know, higher-end items. Yes, they do, and just very interesting pieces. And they're also Manoa is so he probably knows more about fashion than I I don't know, most people. He's just so well versed in it. So you can go into the shop, you can comb through this stuff. They do have an online website as well. So if you do see something on and their socials are really, really cute. Yeah, but it the fact that they have, you know, they've curated some interesting pieces that you will not, it's not fast fashion there.

SPEAKER_02:

No, and also Deborah, um, you know, I think she has a background, she has a fashion degree. Yes. Even when she showed up the day that we went to visit, uh I loved her outfit. Like, you know, it was super different.

SPEAKER_03:

Super cute, and they're very, I would say Minoa is very honest as well. So if you try something on, he will tell you, um, yeah, that looks good, or help you find something else. I did have a dress to wear, but in the rush of we purchased a few things while we were there, and uh I forgot I left it back by accident, but I will be returning to the store this week. The one of the most unique things that they have, the service that they offer, and they've started it recently, it is a bag spa, and that sounds funny, but it is basically a spa, restoration, you know, tender loving care from a professional. Deborah does the work for your high-end luxury bags. So let's say you buy something or you have something or you've inherited, maybe your grandma gives you, you know, an old Fendi purse, and you think, oh, it's you know, okay, it's vintage.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you, grandma.

SPEAKER_03:

Right. But you know, it's a bit worn. They can refurbish it. And I mean, they're refurbishing it to a really high level, to the point that Deborah will hand paint. She orders the paint. Exact color. The exact match to uh, you know, for the logos or anything that's come off. I mean, they they can't work a miracle, but they've shown us some stuff the before and after. And for the price of the bag, let's say a bag, I mean, these bags are in the thousands. Yeah, maybe you spend a few hundred euros to refurbish it, but now this bag has another 20 years or 30 years that you can um yeah, you can use it. They also I don't know if uh it's a specific service that they offer, but Manoa can authenticate a bag.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, I think basically he he can authenticate a bag, and you know, at one point I was even looking at what it takes to become an authenticator. Uh I think that probably it comes from them wanting to absolutely ensure that the pieces that they have in the store are real.

SPEAKER_03:

Are real, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

But you you know, there are some people who because you know, for example, Neline is like, where did you learn how to do this like industry trade secret? Yeah. You know, he's he's passionate about it. And I think that that's how you get really good at this kind of thing. That's how you get, you know, really great at, you know, knowing what is a fake bag big versus a real bag, or being able to take care of someone's beloved handbag that you know it's been in their family for I don't know how many years. You have to have a passion around it. You know, you like the TLC that they put in, or the tender love and care that they put in, for example, to the bag spa service, I think is very unique.

SPEAKER_03:

It's very unique, and I mean she's doing it by hand. Yes. So they will um I took one of my bags, not a Louis Vuitton, a different brand, but it's a little, you know, kind of a little purse that I have. And I sort of stopped wearing it only because it has a little bit of damage on the corners, and they're so detailed. I mean, they will look at, you know, um, how to fix the so I thought it was just cleaning because the company that I bought the bag from, it's a Tiffany bag. I might as well just say it. It's a Tiffany bag. Um, I went to Tiffany and asked them for a cleaner. Cleaner, a leather clean. You know, they say, Oh, this'll work. And I've tried cleaning that bag a hundred times. It is not, and I like my things very tidy and cleaning. I know you should see her closet. I so I'm really picky about that. But Deborah says what they do is that they repaint so they will clean it, but then they paint the edges, you know. So if you're wearing it across and your jeans scuff it or just the edges get dirty, they actually take and she will paint it by hand, the exact match. So currently my bag is in the spa. It's having a facial. It's having Melanie's bag is having a full body surface, but you know, for the cost of a bag that I would wear, and I love it. It's just it gets dirty, and you want it to look a little bit cleaner. And I've tried to use all kinds of things, it's not working. So I'm really excited to see the outcome of it. Yes. Now, Manoa, we sat outside the shop um and it was really interesting. So we're gonna be posting quite a few videos on our socials.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, there's a three-part series coming out on the anatomy of an LV bag. When I say three-part series, it'll be like one minute long. So, you know, if those of you who like that kind of stuff, look for our TikTok, look for our Instagram, which is the Made in Spain podcast, and you're gonna see Manoa actually describing some of the things that Nalini's gonna share with us now.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, can we Laura has a bag here? Should we take this bag out? Yes, go ahead. Okay, I will just get this.

SPEAKER_02:

So, for those of you who are not watching this on YouTube, uh, who are listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or all the wonderful places, uh, this is coming out of a original Louis Bouton uh bag, and actually it still has the tag on it. It's uh from a store. This one particularly is from a store in Belgium called My New Old Bag. Uh, this was the first vintage bag that I ever got, and I'm actually excited to see it today because I haven't taken it out of the bag for a long time because I'm always very like, I don't know. I love this bag and I want it to, you know, conserve. So it did come when I uh got it with the what do you call this bag? Uh the d the dust bag. The dust bag. Yeah. So it comes with the original dust bag, and it's interesting because see, smell it, Nelini. You could because that is like 30 years old in terms of the actual dust bag, but everything is like original. And in this uh little cute store in Belgium.

SPEAKER_03:

Can I take this out?

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, of course. They did, you can see I do try and conserve it. They did give me this, which I haven't used yet, but maybe you can help me with one of my bags. It's one of those chirli things. Oh, that's nice. So maybe you can help me put that on one of my bags later. So tell us a little bit about what you're seeing there and what I'm trying to remember all the things that he said. Manoa uh talked about we just I just gave uh Nalini not an easy piece because this is a very, very unique uh LV model and it is very old. So you may not see some of the things.

SPEAKER_03:

What did he when you purchased the bag? What did the person who sold it to you tell you about the bag?

SPEAKER_02:

That he told me that it's actually been in a lady's cupboard for a very long time because you see that it's not scuffed, it's not worn out, which is surprising for how old the bag is. Right. You can just tell a little bit because of the smell. Uh he told me about like the feeling of the leather. You can tell that it's very, very nice quality leather and it's kept the vibrancy of the red. Yeah, it's beautiful.

SPEAKER_03:

Um, okay, so briefly what Manoah was teaching us today. He they have a um, if ever anybody's interested, they may still have it. It's a Louis Vuitton backpack. Yes.

SPEAKER_02:

For sale. That is a real Louis Vuitton backpack. It's actually really nice. But I had to kind of like put my hands in my pockets and go, you are not getting it.

SPEAKER_03:

No, and it's not a so yeah, go on their website or call them, but it's uh it's actually a nice piece and it's in pretty good condition. Yeah. Um, so what he started to show me is that when you're trying to see, let's say, you know, you go into a vintage store, and I mean sometimes I mean, we're not we don't know. Sometimes the fakes are really, really, really good.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my goodness, the knockoffs sometimes are so good that even people who are like really good at telling them. Cannot authenticate.

SPEAKER_03:

So you first of all, just you know, buy from a reputable store that has a reputation and you know that they're not selling fakes if there is such a thing. But anyway, you have to at least you know they try the hardest. How's that? Right. So what he was uh teaching us is that you have to look at the stitching. So you have to check that the stitching is very tight, and that let's say on this here, for example, it is double stitched. See, that's shows some, you know, first clue. Consistency as well, right? Consistent. So first clue that this is an authentic bag. So you've got double stitching on either side. Then this bag does not have a lot of hardware, but you would have to check that the hardware is um, you know, like all the the it's joined together, like it's not in like four or five little pieces, and you know, where you know it's cheap, you can feel that it's cheap. So you have that. The stitching, like here, for example, goes all the way around. And one of the things that I found super interesting is that so you have here the Louis Vuitton, you have to look at the actual stamp, yes, and he really broke it down. So the registered, you know, the trademark, the R that's in a circle, that has to be a capital. The L of Louis Vuitton, the L, like the bottom part of the L is a little bit short. The O, it it isn't a particular shape, it's not gonna look like a zero.

SPEAKER_02:

So the O has to look so I have seen fakes that that is the one thing you'll see is like when you look at the uh word like Louis, you think that doesn't look quite right.

SPEAKER_03:

Something is signaling it. Yeah, and then you have um the Paris is capitalized, and then when you have made in France, made in is in lowercase. So and then in the Louis Vuitton, the T's almost touch, but not quite. So your bag's real.

SPEAKER_02:

Yay! According to me, according to me. According to Nalini and a three-minute course on authentication. But I will say this I when I first kind of grabbed a hold of this, it felt real, you know. That's the one thing. And oh, there's I think something else, which I don't think this bag has because of the how old it is.

SPEAKER_03:

And he did say that. So there is a little tag on the inside. Now, if you buy a bag in today's world, apparently it has uh like a chip in it. So you are code. Yeah, they can automatically take it to the store and they can authenticate it on the spot. However, vintage bags, after um, or I guess if you go back, this bag is what 30 years old? So on the inside they would have um a little tag, a leather you know, made in leather, and it's stamped. So on the bag that he showed us had uh the country code for Paris, which is there, it's not like a telephone code, it's the country code for the company that they would be able to say this was made in France. So the bag that he showed us had the country code, which stood for uh was for France, and then the numbers they they separate them. So if it was made in 19, I don't know the exact number, but you'll see it on our TikTok when we finally post it. But they separate the um the year and the month. So let's say the bag he showed us was February 1999. So instead of 0299, it might be 9209. But however, the combination of the numbers that tells you it was produced in February 99 and it was made in um France based on that country code, which is SS something. Um but I I was like so blown away looking at it because I think if we if I went into a vintage store, I probably would not check the stitching. I would not look at those, you know, that consistency. I might look at the hardware as something that, oh, does this feel real, you know? And then I would look to see, does it say where it's made? Does it is there a stamp on it? And that I would leave it at that. But now that you kind of have that, it's just a little bit of knowledge. It doesn't mean it's not going to be a fake necessarily, but the fact that in this little store, in this little street, in this yeah, in this old town, they have this wealth of knowledge. And I think that's one of the it's just like that's a fun part of doing this project, is that we learn so much and there's so much around us, but because this, I would say people here aren't so uh commercially driven, right? Sometimes their story, you know, is a little bit under the radar, and you kind of have story doesn't get told. No, and you have to, you know, discover it. Yeah. So they're a super, you know, nice duo. Um, mom and son, he is very well versed in fashion, and I'm really excited to see what the way my bag looks.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, the way your bag looks, and I'm hoping, uh, you know, again, shout out for Manoa and Deborah that you know their business continues to grow. And you know, I do like this idea of sustainability from the standpoint of look at think of all the pieces, you know, so many so much history, so much cool stuff. Like I tried on one of their Yves Saint Laurent dresses that was, you know, from that was a vintage vintage piece. I think they said like the 60s or the 70s. It was in perfect condition.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and it's a little different.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, today. So I'm wearing a dress from the archives today. Again, if you're seeing it on socials or on YouTube from Marc Jacobs, it's super cute. The original price of this dress is 400 euros. Now, uh, the archives, given that it's being pre-loved by someone else, is 80 euros. Yeah, and you're wearing high quality, like this is like indestructible.

SPEAKER_03:

Also, it's something different. It's not the fast fashion that every you can just and listen, I love fast fashion. It's not I have nothing against it.

SPEAKER_02:

I wore she into a wedding the other day, so yes.

SPEAKER_03:

Is that it's just that sometimes it's nice to have that one little piece, or also know if you do have some pieces in your you know collection that are in good condition, they would probably be very interested in adding to the stuff that they have.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so not just as a shopper, but also something that you know I'm a big believer in. You if you stop wearing something, you haven't worn it for a few years, give it a second live, give it to someone else, sell it, make some money from it, whatever it is, but don't just let it sit in your closet. So that's a little bit about Habia and the Archives. Yes, and we really do hope you'll like the series on socials. And you know, we can't wait. I'm sure we'll visit again, and we can't wait to the the before and after. We've seen the before to see the after of Nalini's handbag. I'm super curious. I feel like I want a bag spaba for myself. Like okay, so today also uh we wanted to talk about Benadorn Pride.

SPEAKER_03:

We so that was the first week of September. Yes, and that Benadorm Pride is considered the closing uh pride party for the European calendar, which it sounds kind of funny to say that, but I guess uh there is a pride calendar and there are different events uh around not just Europe but also the world. But the one that had takes place in Benedorm, first week of September, that's kind of the you know, the closing summer party, let's say. So I have not been to it before. It's a week-long series of festivities, parties, events. Um I have I think that when we went to the La Tomatina, I heard some guys saying that uh, you know, like cheersing and saying, you know, this is kickoff to our pride celebration. So I think they were doing it before going to pride, going to pride the following week. Yes. Um Yeah, because that was the last Wednesday in August. And uh what did you think of it?

SPEAKER_02:

So, first of all, I want to say something that I think is important to mention. Uh Nalini and I are not a couple. We've said many times, we have said many times, our husbands were married, this and that. Sometimes I think that, you know, like when you're doing this kind of work, and sometimes it's really funny when we're working with different photographers and they're like, look at each other. I'm like, no, it looks like we're doing a romantic shot or something. We're not a couple, okay? So, of course, you know, we go and kind of explore Pride and Benedor, and we show up for some reason, both of us dressed like uh we come from a rodeo. I was like wearing a cowboy hat and Alini's wearing cowboy boots, and I could tell all these people are coming up to us like, oh, you're such a cute couple.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm like, no, I'm not. But we were there for the podcast. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_02:

Absolutely fine. But so a few things. What did I think about it? I think that I'm and I'm not talking about pride in general, I'm just talking about pride in Benedorm. Yes, which is a very specific it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, first Benedorm is specific.

SPEAKER_02:

Benedorm is very specific. So you go pride in Benedorm. I have sometimes heard it referred to, I didn't see it on their kind of advertising, but I've sometimes heard it referred to as mature pride.

SPEAKER_03:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02:

Heard.

SPEAKER_03:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

I didn't hear that this year, and it may be something that's kind of come along from other years. Right.

SPEAKER_03:

So this year was their 15th year.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, this is a 15th year to this year was the 15th year anniversary of Pride in Benedorm. And I think every year it gets bigger and better. They do like this massive show. That's the one that we went to on the last night. And by the way, it's free. So, you know, it's like a bunch of different artists and tributes and uh drag shows and all kinds of stuff. And I was like, and by it was very, very inclusive. And I mean super like that's a big differentiation because we have not been to Pride, but we've seen Pride in other cities, and it wasn't.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I think it was very funny because you were um I think you were on the phone. Yes. So you were on the phone for something, and we were just waiting at the near the car park.

SPEAKER_02:

Trying to find our photographer, that's what I was saying.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, she was on the phone, and I was just standing there waiting, and uh, you know, this these two old ladies came up to me, like you know, grandmas that live in Old Town, and they wanted to know where the parade route was. And I started laughing because I thought, do I I must look like a pride mascot right now? Yes. Because the cowboy boots and she had a look at the cowboy boots.

SPEAKER_02:

We look like for some reason we look dressed up even though that was not the intention.

SPEAKER_03:

No, but it was and then people kept asking us for directions or where's the parade route uh I I I guess around the corner? I don't know. Next year we're gonna wear a t-shirt, Pride Volunteer. But I would say that the part of the parade that we sort of saw it as it turned came around the corner near the town hall before it ended at the you know, where the the concert took place. Um it was just really fun. You had families, you had just you had pretty much everybody there, just music, DJs, bubbles.

SPEAKER_02:

There wasn't a lot of things that I would say, oh my goodness, you could never take your kid there. There were a bunch of people with their kids. There were grandparents with their grandkids. You know, there were people having fun with as much tension as there is in the world right now about a lot of things. It was nice to go to something where it wasn't a polarizing event. It was more about being happy and about celebrating, you know, yourself and celebrating freedom. And it wasn't a political to me, it wasn't a political statement. It was truly, you know, in my head, something that I would take anyone to. Like it's not something, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, honestly, the reality is you can see a lot worse in Benedorm on any given Saturday night.

SPEAKER_02:

Outside of pride.

SPEAKER_03:

Just walking down.

SPEAKER_02:

Things you would not be proud of.

SPEAKER_03:

Things that you cannot unsee. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02:

So I I do think that, yeah, it's something that if you are, you know, someone that wants to be a part of Pride, you know, the Benedome one is a really good one to go and see. Yeah. I will say this. This was kind of this is an odd thing, but I discussed this with a few people uh after the show. The show itself I thought was really interesting. We had to leave before it kind of got to some of the main acts that included Locomia, right, which is a very, very famous band that used to be all kind of the thing to go watch in Seven Ibiza in the 80s. I don't know if it was just like one member of the band that was remaining, but they've got a documentary on Netflix and everything. So it's a pretty big band. But I did think it was interesting. I did speak with a few people that mentioned that they felt very uncomfortable with one of the drag shows because it the the drag queen and I'm again, I'm sure like with all the good intent in the world, was imitating Amy Winehouse. But did we see that? Yes, we did. I don't recall that anyway. So but he was imitating Amy Winehouse like drunk, you know, and like drinking a bunch of stuff. That and ever and I've just a lot of people have mentioned to me afterwards that like man, that just didn't feel right, you know, like it didn't feel right. It was like, ugh, you know, kind of too close to Yeah, I can see. So I thought that was interesting, you know. But other than that, I think the the overall show from what I heard from everyone uh was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I mean again, it's free and it's a lot of the yes, there are a lot of people who come in for Pride. I think about 30,000 is that the number for this past year or years past, yes, um, that attend Pride, but the the crowd itself is just it's just like random. There are people who come down from the apartment buildings, kids, old people, couples, like you name it. They're there, they sit, they watch the show, you get a beer.

SPEAKER_02:

I just think it's really, really funny because you have like Nalini said, the grandmas. Like you literally, the Spanish grandmas that the apartment blocks around where they're doing the show. Right. It's like it's hot, it's noisy because they're doing this thing, so they probably think, you know what? I'm just gonna go join. So they come down in their nighties, some of them. Like, you know, their nighties, they're sitting there, and I'm like, what's going on? And they're sitting there, you know, like Nalini said, with their beer, some of them by themselves, like not even in company. No, they're just watching the show, hanging out, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

And most of the shows, I think, are the tribute acts from Benad Dorm.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, some of them are really good. Yeah, they are really good. Like we've seen Lady Gaga, they're fun.

SPEAKER_03:

It was just fun.

SPEAKER_02:

Harry Styles, you know, it was funny. So I definitely uh, and it was it was a good atmosphere. We were good people and left very early that night. I mean, it would have been one of these nights where you could have like gone on forever. So that was uh, yeah, it was a real I think it was really uh special day. It goes on for a week. We only happen to go for a day.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, and I think what's interesting about us going to all of these events is that you know, as our podcast continues, because we've almost done a whole calendar year now, our podcast going forward, we will be able to talk about it prior to it happening. Um because anything that we do talk about, we've either gone to it, experienced it, seen it. Yeah, you know, tasted it, drank it. Yes, like we are authentic in that way. So next year, before Pride, our episode in August will be about the upcoming Pride. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02:

Alrighty, so we've talked a little bit about Javia, we've talked about Dark Art, and we have talked a little bit about Pride and Benedorm, and we do want to give a shout out to a very special restaurant in Altea called uh Crown of India. Yes. We have um, I think mentioned in the podcast before, but we had a lovely evening, end of the summer, it's not as hot. We got to sit up in the terrace next to the church and have some gorgeous curry. So if you are a fan of Indian food, so not the paya, not the other stuff, you know, and you are in Altea or in this kind of area in the Costa Blanca, and also you want someone somewhere to go that's really pretty. Really very recommended.

SPEAKER_03:

And I I do recommend it after the sun is or at least the sun is setting. So you like it's a little and you must make a reservation because the terrace is always booked, is always booked.

SPEAKER_02:

Great place for a date.

SPEAKER_03:

Very nice place for a date. Yes. Like I guess that we were on.

SPEAKER_02:

Romantic day.

SPEAKER_03:

Romantic day, Laura and myself, and my son, who's our constant sidekick.

SPEAKER_02:

Who's like, okay, can I eat now? Can we order like more curry? No, but it it it is true that you know, if you it's somewhere that you wouldn't think, oh, Altea or the Costa Blanca, I'm gonna go and get like really good Indian food. It doesn't, it's not something that really connects.

SPEAKER_03:

You can every anybody who lives in the area and likes Indian food, they know. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02:

So that's our our little restaurant recommendation for the day. Yeah. So we are going into our slice of slice of life.

SPEAKER_03:

Slice of life. Slice of life. Okay, what are we um first? Should we just acknowledge the la boo-boos? Wait.

SPEAKER_02:

I cannot get that song out of my head. Sorry. Okay, so this is disturbing. Okay. I have to admit I am a 40-year-old woman that, you know, has like an obsession with these little things that I shouldn't have. I know it's stupid, I know it's a fad. I know it's something more appropriate for a 10-year-old, but I cannot stop thinking about getting more labooboos. And literally, my husband's like, what is going on with you? I was like, I don't know, but they're so cute.

SPEAKER_03:

And can you just say where you found these?

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, so I am still trying to determine if these are real laboo-boos or if they're lafufoos or what it is. I think they are real.

SPEAKER_03:

I think they're real too.

SPEAKER_02:

We've checked, because again, these again, this is like the Louis it's like the Louis Vuitton handbag in a way where you know I I went online and I looked at, you know, on YouTube how to tell if they're real or not, and there's like a QR code, it takes you to this website. But in my paranoid mind, I'm thinking, well, maybe they can make a fake website for the QR code. Who knows?

SPEAKER_03:

I mean, I don't I've seen the fake.

SPEAKER_02:

I've seen really bad fakes, but yeah, but this is very funny because I got these labu boos at a gas station in Red Deer in Canada.

SPEAKER_03:

And but did you ask why they were selling labu-boos at a gas station?

SPEAKER_02:

The gentleman was getting very overwhelmed because he worked at the gas station and I kept saying, but are they real? And he's like, Lady, we can't sell things that are not real. I'm like, but I'm taking all of them. There's like six there, and he's just looking at me like, uh.

SPEAKER_03:

Don't you think it's funny that there were six still in the gas station?

SPEAKER_02:

Well, the thing is that I went back the following day and got another five. Because they so I got no, sorry, I got four the first day. Right. And then I got five the following day because then you know I wanted to give one to my sister-in-law, oh, okay, etc. So I got a few for like other people. Okay. My daughter, you know, my mom.

SPEAKER_03:

She got me one.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, but basically, they were way more normal priced than online. Right, right. But I'm like, okay, are these like real? I think they are. I think they're real, but they are so cute. Yeah. And it is super strange how it is a massive fad, but it is, it really is. But there's like these some of these things are going for thousands of dollars in the resale market. Well, this one is um Coca-Cola. It's cute. Which one's that? This one. I don't know the name of it. Does it say someone kind of please put me out of my misery? What is the name of this one?

SPEAKER_03:

It doesn't say on that one.

SPEAKER_02:

This is I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01:

This is this name is uh Coca Collette. Coca Collette. The monsters. The one you got me is um Lichi.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

So anyway, LaBu-Boos. It is uh pretty interesting and it is crazy. Uh if you go on TikTok, you it's like a whole rabbit, you know, hole that you don't want to go down, including the fact that there is now a laboo theme park.

unknown:

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_02:

And they play the Labooboo song all day long. It is crazy.

SPEAKER_03:

It's kind of like the new version of Teletubbies.

SPEAKER_02:

Or Furby's sort of thing. You know, like, but it's it's very smart. If you think about it from a business model standpoint, they create this scarcity, and they're basically saying, Oh, there's secret ones, and there's some that you can only get. There's like one in 72 chances that you get this one because you're pulling them out of a bag and you don't know which one you're gonna get. True. So the kids and apparently adults like myself are going crazy kind of like gambling.

SPEAKER_03:

It is, yeah, like roulette. I don't know what that says about me, but yes. But the, you know, the gas station and red deer, go, yeah. Continue selling the boo-boos, please. Okay, we are for a slice of life today. We always do a little snack or food or and a drink. So we today we have Ensaladia Rusa. Which in English is Russian salad. And I kind of did a deep dive on this yesterday because I think it's a little strange, at least as a foreigner here living here, that why why is this salad popular? I mean, it seems almost every bar. Every bar has this, and it seems to me, in my just looking at it, not very Spanish.

SPEAKER_02:

I don't think it's very Spanish at all.

SPEAKER_03:

However, so it is, it originated in Russia in the 18, mid-1800s. They believe, like with most recipes, it takes a you know, kind of a form of its own and a little bit of myth, but created by possibly a chef uh from France or Belgium working in a restaurant in Moscow. And the original recipe had slightly more expensive, luxurious ingredients. So they they would put grouse in it or caviar or just things that you would not commonly find. You fast forward now, you have the Russian Revolution, people are leaving, and of course, when people leave, chefs leave, ideas leave, recipes leave, it starts to travel westward. This, you know, and it was not called Russian salad, then it was, I think, named after the chef who came up, yeah, came up with it. Okay, so you have that starts to move further and further west, and during the Spanish Civil War, this salad, you know, takes on its own kind of life. So you don't have obviously access to caviar. You have a country in a civil war, you don't have access to a lot of good produce or high-end produce. The salad itself is very simple. It is mayonnaise, tuna, boiled eggs, and specifically here in Spain, they really like to use the canned tuna. Yes, it has to be canned tuna. It's the canned tuna.

SPEAKER_02:

Sometimes uh I have uh tried some really, really tasty recipes that has um it in Spanish it's called escavete. Tuna en escavate en escabete. Okay. So it's a specific type of uh canned tuna and it tastes more vinegary.

SPEAKER_03:

Right, and they also say they like to use the tuna in with the oil. Yes. So it has more flavor. Um you have carrots, you have maybe some green peas. But usually the carrots and all that, it is like a mixed pickle. Right, yeah. So it's it's very simple ingredients, but again, the history of it is that it maybe it started off as like a fancier recipe with you know caviar and cracking. Yeah, all this kind of stuff, and then it starts to move west, you have war, you don't have access to food. This is nutritious, it's filling, it's inexpensive, um, and it just takes on its own life. Almost I would say every bar that you go into has their virginity of it. Yeah, a hundred percent. Every bar, you can go from the highest to the lowest, and it's there. Do you know where mayonnaise comes from? Like the origin of mayonnaise.

SPEAKER_02:

I would say if it doesn't come from Belgium, I'm gonna be really surprised because I've spent a lot of time in Belgium and they I've never seen a country love a sauce so much or a condiment as the Belgians like mayonnaise.

SPEAKER_03:

Really?

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, so my research says it's Spanish. No. What? From the port of Mahon.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_03:

In Menorca.

unknown:

What?

SPEAKER_03:

Sister Island to Majorca.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, so I meant that comment about Belgium. Like, really? Ten minutes of ads, three of them are mayonnaise adverts. Like I've never seen anything like it.

SPEAKER_01:

I would have sworn it was like maybe it's a Belgian thing.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm sorry, I'm eating.

SPEAKER_03:

Can you just say what you would normally eat?

SPEAKER_02:

The ensaladilla with. So the ensaladilla, you normally eat with these like crossini breads that you know they're like uh hard as rock uh breadsticks. They are really, usually, and you kind of stick them in it, and that's how people usually pick it up. So, the mayonnaise.

SPEAKER_03:

What I think is super interesting, as you know, when I first moved here, is that you see the salad pretty much in every bar all over the place. But I had no idea, I I I really didn't understand the popularity of mayonnaise here. And this whole idea, the story goes, is that the British had occupied the island of Minorca in the mid-1700s. There was a battle, the French won the island, occupied it. So as in a celebration, they the the whoever's in charge, you know, wants a celebratory meal, and the chef wants to make this creamy white sauce to go with the meal. They don't have ingredients, so they like a birnace almost? Supposedly, like a creamy white sauce, you know, that you would typically find maybe in French cuisine. The French say is that they invented it there, but the what what do you call people from Menorca? Men Menorquins. Menorquins. I I don't know. Majorquin. Majorquin Menorquin. They say, no, they stole the recipe, that it was their recipe and that they stole it. And that, you know, they eventually left the island. But historians, food historians say that prior to the 1700s, mayonnaise was nowhere to be found in old recipe books or historical references. It wasn't until much later that it became popular in French cuisine. Ooh. Is mayonnaise.

SPEAKER_02:

The wars of the mayo. Kind of sounds like the wars of the paella. And by the way, some people put mayo in their paella. Don't worry about it. That is not uncommon. Okay. Is that alioli or mayo? Like it's not uncommon. And a squeeze of lemon.

SPEAKER_03:

Well, listen, you can't even get upset with that because if you know people from Menorca say they it was invented there. It was their sauce that the French took and popularized. Hmm. Interesting, right?

SPEAKER_02:

Way in, way in. Where is mayo from? France or Spain? But just think about it. Mayonnaise is very common here. Oh, it's extremely common. Right. I actually think you can order mayonnaise as a condiment in McDonald's. Like, even like you can order little packs. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Okay, what are we drinking? We are drinking very cheap Tinto de Verano. You know, we're going on about labour boos and vintage LVs, and then we bring out the tinto de verano from Don Simone. Okay, I don't know the history of Don Simone. I don't know the actual history of the brand, but Okay, let's taste it. Okay, let's taste it.

SPEAKER_03:

This is Salud. Salut. We did not make this. This is from uh plastic.

SPEAKER_01:

It's pre-made Tinto de Verano. It tastes like uh soda. It tastes like vinegar and soda. Okay. Yeah, it tastes like a soda.

SPEAKER_02:

Please hand me the carton of milk. Okay, sonalini. Right. This is the Don Simon, and again, we are not sponsored by Don Simon, probably never will be after this episode, but Don Shimon is uh basically a very affordable. Yes. It's a nice way to say it, right? Affordable.

SPEAKER_03:

How much is that? I've never purchased this.

SPEAKER_02:

I would suspect you would have never purchased this. How much do you think it is? I'm gonna say it's a liter of red wine. Two euro. It's a euro fifty-five. Based on this morning.

SPEAKER_03:

And you went to a pricey grocery store.

SPEAKER_02:

I went to a pricey grocery store.

SPEAKER_03:

So it could possibly be less.

SPEAKER_02:

I think I think growing up I've seen this. I remember seeing this in pesetas. So way back when, before the euro. But this is basically uh very cheap red wine. I'm not saying it's bad. I am not going to ever recommend anyone to have this. To me, you know what Don Simo is good for? If you're gonna mix it with other stuff, right? It's a young kind of geez Louise, 1890. Five generations have gone into this milk carton of wine.

SPEAKER_03:

So it's funny because there's a song, there's actually a song dedicated to it.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, and it's so funny because these guys are actually from the islands. I think they're either from Menorca or from Mallorca. Okay, yes, and I can't say the name of the group because it includes a very, very foul word in the name, but the actual song is called Don Simon.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

And it's basically a kind of ode to the fact that you know, if you don't have money and you want to kind of uh get happy, you can actually like you know drink Don Shimon because it's so cheap, you know, it's like a euro something.

SPEAKER_03:

When I tell people sometimes wine is less expensive than water, it is actually true. But this is interesting and probably you're absolutely right.

SPEAKER_02:

1 euro 55 for a liter, if you uh buy a liter of Fiji water or Evian, it's way more expensive than that.

SPEAKER_03:

This says it's 125 years of history, Laura.

SPEAKER_02:

It's 125 years of history that I'm not sure have resulted in a high quality wine.

SPEAKER_03:

But look according to this side of the carton, it says it is the best selling Spanish wine in the world. Booya. Unbelievable, but believable. Right. And we did see a lot of people with these cartons at La Tomatina. Yes, we did. Also, it's very convenient. If you drop it, it's not gonna break.

SPEAKER_02:

No, true. But I did tell Nalini, okay, my suggestion is we don't sit here and like sip, you know, Don Simon out of a nice glass of so at least we're doing the prepared combo that they sell, which is the Tinto de Verano.

SPEAKER_01:

It's not bad, it just tastes like soda. Yeah, it's like soda on you know, and also it's kind of the end of the summer here, so it's a nice ode to our summer season and moving on.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, so chin chin, we are now doing the sentence of the day. Okay. So today, the sentence of the day is Mas vale ponerse una vez colorado que cento amarillo. Okay, say say it again.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, one colour uh one time color of yellow.

SPEAKER_02:

It's better to get blushed one time instead of two hundred, one hundred, one hundred times yellow.

SPEAKER_03:

Okay, so what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02:

Do you do you want to take a shot or you want me to?

SPEAKER_03:

Uh you take it.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay, so I I I I I know what it means. I know supposedly.

SPEAKER_03:

That's really difficult.

SPEAKER_02:

It's better to get blush one time than to go yellow a hundred times. Uh by the way, there's no racial connotation, so just kind of put it out there. It is about the fact that it's better to suffer the hard moment or the tough moment or the embarrassing moment once than have to go through a hundred moments of discomfort. So like if you have something that is true to yourself, and it's interesting because I couldn't help relate it to the pride thing.

SPEAKER_04:

Right.

SPEAKER_02:

You know, it's like it's sometimes it's better to just be, you know, like whatever it is that you don't want to hide from the world, right? Just come out with it instead of having to suffer for a hundred times. And they it uses the color. Sometimes they say uh vale rojo, yeah like red, not colorado, blushed once than yellow a hundred times because it's associated also with the color yellow as feeling like sick and not feeling well, uh, and you kind of you know, you kind of feel yellow. That's kind of where it comes from. But I thought it's kind of cool. It's like, oh, it's kind of like empowering, you know.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that's a good one.

SPEAKER_02:

It's like just come out with it instead of like having to suffer through discomfort a hundred times. So yeah, so that's our uh episode. That's our episode for today coming up. We have so many good things, really interesting episodes coming up, including a visit to the Royal Equestrian School of Jerez in the south of Spain, which in for those of you who like horses, but also who you know like very, very, very unique places, I think you'll love hearing about that. So we are going south. We are going Cádiz, Cadiz, uh Murcia, Sevilla, Sevilla, and we also have an episode coming up on Alicante as the gastronomic city of Spain in 2025.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, we're gonna do a little food tour. So we're looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_02:

So we get to eat and tell you about it. So please don't forget, as mentioned, to subscribe, follow, leave us your comments. We are going towards the south for this next uh few episodes and for the beginning of the next season. But if you want us to explore a particular city or a particular uh monument, museum, something specific, please let us know. Let us know. Drop us a line.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03:

Thanks for listening. Bye for now.

SPEAKER_02:

Bye.

SPEAKER_00:

The Made in Spain podcast is an everything's rosy production with executive producers and host Nalini Sharma and Laura Senior, with special thanks to production assistant Ayrton North.