My Spanish Adventure

Hola, I am very sad to report that I am officially back in England and home from Española. I had the most amazing holiday and am slightly suffering from the holiday blues now I am back. Thought I would give you all the inside information on what I got up to.

Flight booze

Me and Joe flew to Alicante airport from Leeds Bradford. It was somewhat a dive in comparison to the lovely Gatwick, people were trying to smoke and were lying on the floor, I suspect from being too drunk to stand. As I mentioned before I went I am not the best at flying, I feel that as I am getting older my fears are getting worse. I hated take off! I would probably say this was the worst bit of the whole flight. In order to survive my anxiety filled ordeal we brought a wide selection of alcohol to keep me going.

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view from blacony



Alicante beach



We spent our first two days in Alicante, at a hotel called Hotel Maya. It was lush. It was three stars, but for three stars you couldn’t ask for more. The staff was friendly enough, not that we could understand them and the facilities included everything we needed. The best bit about the hotel was the balcony and its sea view. It was stunning! The hotel also had a lovely pool and a great bar so no complaints there. One thing I loved about Spain is their vodka measures, they don’t have them. They just pour freely till your cup is half full, that’s my kind of measures. We spent Joe’s birthday on Alicante beach, and I have to say I think this was my favourite beach and favourite day. The beach was proper sand, they had comfy sun loungers and the sea was clean. We had our first Spanish meal of Paella

before eating baby octopus

when we got there, and I was slightly mortified to discover I had eaten octopus tentacle. By the last few days of the holiday I was feeling like a local by then and managed to muster the courage to be more adventurous with my taste buds. I actually tried baby octopus! I wouldn’t eat it again in a hurry, it was chewy and very fishy, but I am proud to say I tried it. My favourite food of the holiday was their Spanish croquettes. They are a thousand times better than our boring potato croquettes. They were filled with cheese and ham and its making me upset that I can’t pop to the shop and gets them here. A must try if you go to Spain!

Joe on villa balcony

tram

Joe - Compello beach

Benidorm beach

After two days we went to stay in a villa in a village called Coveta Fuma. This is a village in between Alicante and Benidorm and it was lovely! The villa was perfect for us, with another stunning balcony, sun terrace and a pool. I didn’t rent a car this holiday but Coveta had a great tram service, and I have to admit that without it me and Stringer would have been a tad lost. Most days was 39 degrees, so even though I am a total sun worshiper I couldn’t stand to lay in it all day so loved the beach. It was breezy and I spent lots of time in the sea. We visited the nearest town El Compello. The beach there was lovely except they didn’t have sun loungers. I think it was more of a local thing and they were fine without so we went along with it. The sea had massive waves so just spent most of my day drowning a little bit. We also plotted ourselves in an English bar there, where we had a good 8 hour drinking sesh. I found my favourite drink of the holiday which was called “Don Simon”. Highly recommend it if you ever go to Spain, it tastes like red wine and lemonade and it is addictive! I have to admit I have smuggled a large bottle home in my suitcase. Stringer managed to get absolutely paro on pints of Fosters for 2 euros and staggered home. We was stranded for a bit but managed to get a taxi back to the villa at about half 3, we wasn’t to know local taxis don’t run in Compello on a Sunday. We visited Benidorm whilst we was there as well, and I must be honest I was disappointed! The people were inbred like no other I have ever seen before. I didn’t even know these sorts of people existed! The bars and clubs looked like they were shat all over by the English; it’s no surprise if the Spanish don’t like us there. It’s just like the TV programme. The beach on the other hand was lovely! We spent most of our day there and love the beach side snack bars. One problem I had was the sea was full of sea weed, it wrapping around my legs made me feel sick so I didn’t venture in there much. We also went for the day at Aqualandia, the water park in Benidorm. Like I said despite the people it was fantastic! I braved a couple of the fast slides and Joe went on the massive drop. My favourite ride was the double ring, where me and Stringer could go on together. It was in complete darkness; I was screaming the whole way and very nearly wet myself. One thing I was disappointed with their lazy river as you couldn’t be very lazy. They had waterfalls pouring down all over the place, with freezing cold water.

All in all we had a fantastic time and it was a hugely depressing day, when we arrived at the airport to come home. I would definitely go back again both to the villa in Coveta and Alicante. I have spotted a hotel I liked the look of in Alicante and have been dropping subtle hints to Joe, so hopefully he gets the message!

I am however already planning my next adventure. Sadly due to me starting working late August I don’t think this will be until my birthday in November. I am feeling a city break next. I have never been on a city break holiday before and have loads of places I want to go. It’s a toss-up between Paris, bonus points for the fact I don’t have to fly and can get the euro star or Poland Krakow, where I can do the Auschwitz tour. Either way I will keep you updated.

I have been trying to keep up-to-date with news whilst I have been away, as the only channel we could pick up was BBC News. The main stories I followed was the phone hacking plots. Big LOL at Murdoch getting hit with a shaving foam pie, more impressive his better half who floored the culprit of pie gate. She took him out classic! I couldn’t believe my eyes when the Norway terrorism plot unfolded. I watched it from the point when only three were announced dead, such a tragedy! I think the numbers are around 100 now and my thoughts go out to the families of those who have lost their lives. Everyone in Norway must be feeling it at the moment. I remember when the 7/7 bombings were announced in London, the frantic calls I put in to all my family and friends. The relief nobody you knew was hurt but the sadness made you feel like you had lost anyway. I just hope they can pull together as a country and stay strong. Finally, Amy Winehouse dying. I must admit even though she was self-destructive I was still shocked! She was so talented and soulful and I personally loved her music. I listen to her Back to Black album all the time and I think the album was genius. I don’t know if you can class it as a tragedy because I suppose she chose to risk her life with the lifestyle she chose to lead. However, it is such a wasted talent and I am sad that she won’t be making anymore music.

Until next time xxxxxxxxxxx