Elche

Elche is one of the larger towns 15 km from where we are staying and it is the 'home of the palm tree'.  The existance of date palm trees in Elche goes back 2,500-3,000 years.  They were brought over by the Phoenicians.  Now, in their municipal park, which is only one of many parks there, they estimate there are 200,000-300,000 palm trees.........that's an awful lot of trees folks!

Today we decided to have a day exploring the parks there, (which is only fitting as today is our last Sunday in this part of Spain, and we spent our first Sunday here in October in Elche).

We had a lovely day.  The weather excelled itself, we started off in trousers and shirts and ended in shorts and t-shirts. 

Apart from the beautiful gardens what really amazed me was the amount of Spanish families out together enjoying the sunshine and their environment.  All the children were dressed like children (girls in pretty dresses and socks, and the boys in shorts and jumpers/cardigans) and everyone seemed to have their Sunday best on.  It was like going back into the 50's in England (so I'm told as I'm too young to remember!)

Below are some of the photos I took of the gardens.  They really were enchanting, and a gardeners delight.