Rest, relaxation and a bit of rain in Spain COMPLETE 11/10 About This Page:

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures! And what a great deal on dinner!

[Minnie Lor]

Such beautiful photos. Looks very peaceful. Glad that you got in a swim. Hopefully there's opportuntity for that everyday of your trip so you build back up your strength. Your meal sounds delish but Wow! what a bargain! I love hazelnut anything so your liquor sounds like right up my alley. Looking forward to more.

[Disneybine]

Yay, another Cheryl TR! Love the pics of Spain!

[pamcarey]

Great update! What a great deal on dinner!!

[BritDisFan]

Great update! The black bulls that you see in Spain are called Osborne bulls, they are made by the Osborne Sherry Company near Cadiz. Years ago they used to have Osborne printed on them but now they are just black, so they are an advertisement of sorts.

I went on a college trip to Spain years ago and got told this by our guide.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by BritDisFan

Great update! The black bulls that you see in Spain are called Osborne bulls, they are made by the Osborne Sherry Company near Cadiz. Years ago they used to have Osborne printed on them but now they are just black, so they are an advertisement of sorts.

I went on a college trip to Spain years ago and got told this by our guide.

Thanks for that - that's answered a question that none of us knew the answer to!

[chezp]

Sunday 11 October – part one: this looks like a war zone!

We were both up early, as again, I don’t think either of us slept that brilliantly. It was a very pleasant change from our last visit here to discover some British TV channels, so at least we could keep in touch with the news, which is something I do always like to do whenever I’m not in the UK.

After breakfast, Geoff and Jan came to meet us and we headed off towards Benidorm, getting some photos on the way:





When we got to Benidorm, we followed Geoff and Jan down a tiny and exceptionally narrow road. The fields around it looked like a war zone and we did wonder where on earth we’d come to. Sadly, I couldn’t quite get the shot of a caravan with a shed at the front of it – but you start to get the idea of the sights we saw!




But, in fairness, it did bring us right out by the market and, my goodness, this place was packed!



Trying to find a parking space was a nightmare, so Dave ended up dropping us right by the market and then went to find somewhere to park.





We all met up and started going up and down each row of the market. Soon I was able to find a cheap pair of sunglasses for just 2.99€ (about $4.50), but it wasn’t long before I started to feel pretty tired. Barb’s back was hurting her, so we agreed that the three of us would work our way back to the entrance of the market and then try and find a seat. On the way down that row, we saw a fish stall – my goodness, the smell from that was horrendous!



The real impression that the market left me with was the fact that it was packed. In places, it was so crowded that you just couldn’t move anywhere and that was a bit disturbing. Crowds don’t bother me, but we had been warned that pickpockets were rife here and to keep a careful eye – and in fact hand – on any pockets that had valuables in. That’s why I had deliberately not brought my bag with me, but I was still warned to keep a hand on my pocket, which at halfway down my leg, I thought would be fairly safe, but apparently not. : Fortunately, we all escaped unscathed with all valuables intact, but when you have to walk around, clutching those things, it doesn’t exactly make you relaxed.

We headed over the road, which was coned off at that point, and managed to find a seat, with a man sitting in the middle. I sat at one end and Barb sat at the other, but after a few minutes, an elderly Spanish woman managed to barge her way in. There was another older woman, who I’m sure was glaring at me for sitting there, but there was no way I was going to move for anyone. :

About 10 minutes later, Mark spotted a table and managed to beat the old woman to it, but just as he grabbed the table, someone nicked one of the chairs. You certainly had to move quickly here and make sure that you hung on to a table and chairs! Three chairs acquired, we all sat down to enjoy a cold drink and there we sat for the next hour or so. It was very relaxing and we got to see some sights as we sat there.

There were a couple of pan pipe players nearby, selling CDs and they were playing away for an hour or so and, at one point, a rather drunk woman came up in front of them and started to dance around and even play air guitar! It was quite a sight and it was a bit of a shame when the pan pipe players asked her to be on her way..

Sadly, I missed her, as I was laughing so much and people kept walking in front of her (very inconsiderate ), but I did get a shot of the pan pipe players:



I also got one of this character, who was advertising some theme park or other – what made us laugh was that the same character had been featured on the comedy programme Benidorm the night before we flew out – and the section with him was very funny!



Finally, Dave found us, followed not long after by Geoff and Jan and then we headed off to the restaurant that Geoff had booked for lunch. Some photos on the way back to the car:








Next: a great lunch and interesting views....

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures! Sounds like an interesting time in Benidorm!

[KMB733]

Wonderful updates! I can't believe how crowded the market was. Beautiful pictures too.

[chezp]

Sunday 11 October – part two: a great lunch and interesting views....

It was quite a drive of about 15 – 20 minutes and highlighted what a big town this place is. As we drove, we couldn’t help but talk about the architecture here and the role that British tourism played in the creation of some of it. Benidorm really exploded in the 1970s with the British coming here on cheap package holidays, attracted by the weather, the beach – and perhaps most tellingly – the plentiful supply of cheap alcohol. As a result, many high-rise hotels appeared from the earth and blighted the landscape forever, followed by similar style apartments. As a result, this place is now built up beyond belief and doesn’t really like a Spanish town any longer.

The seafront is pretty nice though, especially with the colourful paving they’ve put in there:



We managed to get a parking spot near the restaurant and wandered there. By now, the sun really was blistering. The temperatures were amazing and we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were actually in mid October. I dread to think how hot this place is in the summer. One thing’s for sure, it would be too hot for me!



The restaurant was almost deserted when we got there, but it was a great choice. We all got the menu of the day for just 11€ (about $7.40), which consisted of four courses. I was very proud of myself, as I ordered all of my courses in Spanish, the only one to do so. We also got three bottles of wine to share between the six of us.


The view from the restaurant

The rest of our party – clockwise from bottom left, Barb, Geoff, Janet, Dave and Mark


I went for the fish soup, which was out of this world. The mussels in it were just perfectly cooked and the whole thing was wonderful. When the guy came out to collect our dishes, I told him that I had really enjoyed it in Spanish and got a smile from him, as I had rightly figured out he didn’t speak any English. Mark had crab cocktail, or crabs cocktail, as the English translation of the menu billed it and it was pretty small when it arrived, but I didn’t hear any complaints from him about it. : For some odd reason, I didn’t photograph Mark’s appetiser. Maybe I expected him to do it?

Serving up the fish soup


The second course for me was white asparagus (now why is it I always laugh whenever I think about this? Something to do with a PassPorter trip report me thinks… ) and Mark had the spaghetti bolognese.



I had to get a photo of Barb’s course – the shrimps, look at the size of those!



While we were there, I saw the waitress serving up paella for another table (it sadly wasn’t an option on the menu we were eating from) and had to get a shot of it:



For main course, I went for the squid, which was very nice, while Mark made up for his small appetiser with a huge chunk of roast chicken. I’m told his was very good.



Then, we had a choice of dessert and I went for ice cream (what else!?) which turned out to be three flavours of ice cream sandwiched between waffles and Mark had the lemon cake. By now, we were all feeling pretty merry, with Mark and I having polished off the best part of a bottle of wine each!

The whole meal came to 77€ (about $115) for the six of us, which again was excellent value for a very good meal.

I have to say something there about the view from the table. We were at one of the outside tables, although most outdoor tables are covered by blinds above and we had a view of one of Benidorm’s many beaches. This place was absolutely packed – you seriously looked like you couldn’t move on it! I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as it was a weekend and a holiday weekend at that, as Dave and Barb had told us that tomorrow was a national holiday in Spain, something I had no clue of that until that point.

The other thing I did notice was quite a few women were on the beach topless. While that doesn’t shock me, as it’s a common enough sight on some of Europe’s beaches, I was surprised, as it’s a sight I associate more with further along the coast in France. As we’d driven along, and indeed at the market earlier today, we’d seen men wandering around with no tops on and here on the beach, of course you expect to see that, but perhaps not in town. It was interesting how laid back everyone seemed to be about how little they wore.

Next: stormy skies, sun, swimming and sangria

[bonphil]

Wonderful photos!

[BritDisFan]

What a great lunch!

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great meal! That beach is packed!

[MinnieJen]

That soup looks so good! I love all the pictures. Great TR.

[KMB733]

Great pictures!!!!