Surprise trip to Alicante - May 2017

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It was pretty safe to say that things at home had been rather rocky for a while ? and change was definitely needed. So out of the bag my hubby announced we were going to Alicante for a few days in order to spend some quality time together ☀️ My friend Wendy had offered to look after James, Jemima and the house, so off we went.....✈️



It was very grey and wet in Alfreton ☔️ when we left for the airport so we were definitely looking forward to seeing the sun. Apart from me getting the time of the flight wrong by 35mins all went very smoothly. We had booked car parking at East Midlands Airport due to our late arrival time on the way back. It was all very straightforward. We got the the courtesy bus ok and went through security very quickly. No one even bothered to check the size of our luggage so the weekend worries were needless. The plane was pretty full but thankfully the seats were reasonably comfortable and it seemed like we got extra leg room in the back row ?



We arrived on time and got through passport control in super quick time. Next job was finding the bus to the city centre. All very straightforward and we had approx 30mins to wait. Luckily the weather as predicted was very warm and sunny ☀️ The bus only cost 7.70euros for the pair of us and took about 30mins to get to the harbour ? Thankfully we picked the right stop to get off and only had a short walk to the hotel.



The hotel was down a narrow street right in the city centre and the sight of the crepe and icecream shop opposite were very welcome. However there was also a couple of sex shops which did make us feel a bit apprehensive. The reception at the Hospes Amerigo was very welcoming and we were given a couple of glasses of Cava ? to settle us into our apartment. The apartment itself was very roomy and nicely laid out.



We soon unpacked and headed out to find somewhere for dinner. The local area was awash with restaurants and bars and we soon found ourselves inside this little Italian. More free Cava went down very well with my caesar salad and Andrew's lasagne. The bill was a nice surprise too ? ?



After pigging out we decided to have a short stroll around the city centre. We came across the most amazing trees along the pedestrian walkways. Everywhere was very neat and tidy and thankfully no evidence of any drunken louts. There was an abundance of ice cream everywhere so of course we had to partake ?



It was soon quite late when we collapsed into bed. The bed was actually quite comfortable but sadly the noise from the street below did mean we had a disturbed night so first job in the morning was a change of apartment .?



Andrew bought crepes from over the road for our breakfast which were yummy and very cost effective....that was set then for the rest of the week?.



The hotel were very good about our change of apartment request and we sorted out moving our stuff, this time it was facing the back so hopefully would be much quieter. ?



One of the things that was evident when we looked around Alicante was the abundance of pharmacies ? My Dr had cancelled my prescription hayfever nasal spray a few days earlier ? as it was apparently too expensive and had lumbered me with an ineffective cheaper one instead. I knew that a lot of items were sold over the counter in Spain so I went to take a look. Within minutes I was able to buy my nasal spray and some zopliclone, another tablet my Dr will only prescribe occasionally. I was definitely going to stock up whenever possible on both items before we left to go home. Sadly although my nasal spray was easy to come by, the zopliclone was apparently prescription only. Clearly the first pharmacy didn't realise that but I didn't want to chance my luck by going back.



We then headed off to see the Castell de la Santa Barbara ? which thankfully was accessed by a lift. The lift cost 5.40euros for the two of us but it was certainly a better option than walking up the long winding road to the top. Once we arrived we spent about an hour pottering around. It was a very interesting place but it was definitely the views that made it worth while. The castle itself was free to get into and there was lots of space so it didn't feel crowded at all. The paths around the whole site are very steep in places and I nearly went over a couple of times, but Andrews steady arm saved me - my hero...! ?



When we had finished at the castle we decided to investigate the trams going to Benidorm. As Andrew is a transport enthusiast, getting in as many modes of transport was key and I was intrigued to go and explore Benidorm as it has somewhat of a reputation amongst us Brits and I wanted to see what the fuss was about! Rather annoyingly they had closed the tram line that was by the harbour but the helpful staff there pointed us in the right direction and gave us a timetable and directed us to the new section which serves the centre of town with direct trams to Benidorm.



Firstly though it was lunch time. My tight fisted nature and the convenience of a city centre apartment meant only one thing...pasta back at the apartment ?



Once we had finished it was up to the 'Central Mercado' for the tram to Benidorm ? Thankfully someone was on hand to help us use the self ticketing machines and we got two return tickets to Benidorm for 12.80e. The actual tram ride was long and tedious. There are no facilities on board and the seats were very unforgiving. When we finally arrived approximately 90minutes later, both of us felt like we had been hit by a bus and to make things worse the seafront was actually quite a walk from the tram stop. Thankfully our mood lifted when we came across the row of shops and restaurants on the main road to the sea.



I, for one was very impressed with the shopping in Benidorm. There was plenty of choice for someone of my age and the prices were very reasonable ?



Several carrier bags later ??? and I was totally shattered, so we fell into this posh looking seafront hotel for cocktails ? Our thoughts then turned to dinner ? Sadly at 1830hrs we were too early to eat at the hotel and that seemed to be the case at the majority of the hotels. Luckily we did manage to find a cheap and cheerful cafe where we ate burgers and Spanish omelettes before heading back up the road to the tram. I have to say Benidorm certainly didn't live up to its reputation thankfully and was actually quite pleasant. Shame the same couldn't be said about the tram. By the time we got back to Alicante we were only fit for bed! ?



We were still quite tired the next day, and decided on a gentler day exploring Alicante. After the usual crepes for breakfast, we headed to the Mercado for hopefully more shopping. Gorgeous building but very disappointing inside as we strolled along the endless market stalls selling meat and fish ? Certainly no good for us tourists sadly so next move was to get onto the tourist bus ? At 10e each it was excellent value when compared to other cities. It was certainly a nice relaxing way to see the city and thankfully it wasn't too busy so we managed to get the front seats upstairs. The tour lasted about an hour and we got off where we started at the market.



Now for more exploring as we headed out a bit. To Andrew's delight ? we came across a charity shop where he bought a shirt for 2e!?



Then back to the hotel for more pasta and a bit of R&R.



The plan for the rest of the day was to see the cathedral and go to the seafront for yet more shopping and yacht spotting. The cathedral, sadly was very disappointing ⛪️ It didn't look much from the outside and you could't get inside.



Luckily the seafront market was much better and I came back with yet more baggy trousers and souvenirs for everyone at home ?



After that we decided to treat ourselves for dinner and picked this European restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. We certainly stuffed ourselves and Andrew caused great hilarity with his request for non alcoholic cocktails. Again you couldn't fault the bill...less than 45e for 2 courses with cocktails and the portions were huge! ?



Following this gluttony, a walk around the Marina was needed and we couldn't help but look at the For Sale board. Andrew is still in shock today at the 17million euro price tag on one of the yachts! ? a tad out of our price range especially after all the baggy trouser shopping ?



By this time I was definitely feeling it healthwise ? I was rather tired so back to the hotel for some Breaking Bad and an early night ?



The next day was our last day and time to check out of the hotel. We had our usual crepes and got organised. Luckily the hotel were good enough to let us leave our bags as our flight wasn't until 2230hrs.



In order to fill the quota for transport we decided on a train trip to Murcia ? Unfortunately both of us had forgotten to pack the FIP cards ? for Andrew to get free travel but thankfully the train tickets only cost 17.70e for both of us for a return. The train was surprisingly comfortable and not too crowded so it was a pleasant hour and a bit trip into Murcia. The railway station was sadly out of the way a bit and it took about 30 minutes to walk into the centre of the city ?‍♀️



The city itself was very beautiful and had a lovely river flowing through it. We were blown away by the gorgeous architecture and narrow streets ❤️



First thing first though was lunch. There are plenty of restaurants but unfortunately most of them were only serving tapas, which were small things on bread, none of which appealed at all. We finally did find a self service type place where you ordered food just like you would at Argos! We found it very complicated as you can imagine and of course more food came than was required. On the plus side it was very cheap and I was certainly delighted at the 0.80e beer ?



After munching it was time to explore. The weather was still quite hot ? by this point I was certainly feeling it healthwise so this last part was a challenge to say the least ?. To make things worse we had managed to go out of the city somewhat so it ended up just being an exercise to get back to the Railway Station in time for the train home. Needless to say I slept most of the way back and in order to get the final tick in the transport log we opted for a taxi back to the hotel. At 5e it was worth every penny in a very comfortable Skoda Superb ?



It was then time to say goodbye to Alicante ☹️ it was a surprising city with lots of decent amenities and hardly any tourists! It came as quite a shock that most of the locals didn't speak English but we managed to get by.



So back onto the airport bus which again was straightforward, cheap and uneventful. Security was quick and we soon found ourselves having time to kill. Rather annoyingly the good value didn't extend to the airport and we paid quite a lot of euros ? ? for a very mediocre pizza ? but as we had got off lightly all week, we couldn't really moan. Thankfully the plane set off on time and we soon found ourselves back in a very wet England...✈️ ☔️

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