Summer in Spain - MOnths 7, 8 and 9 of ex-pat living

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Being a traveller can have its downsides sometimes. It takes moments like seeing a friend’s event on facebook, or photos from a night out you could have been at to realise it. And then there’s skyping your mum, aunt and sister one Saturday afternoon and thinking how much you miss being able to see them face to face and being part of the family birthday celebration meals. It’s these moments you miss and sacrifice as a fidgety, adventurous and care-free traveller. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t swap our new lives for anything, and I also know when I’m back home I am bored within a matter of days. But there are still days when I’d love nothing more than to have a night out with my longest standing and bestest mates and just be myself, or pop into my mum and dads for a Sunday roast and cup of tea, or into Greg’s parent’s house for a few drinks and a sing song in the backroom whilst wee Stephanie runs about daft at 3am. Anyway, let’s focus on the positives and the rest of our exciting adventures for now!

Well, it’s now right in the heart of summer and the temperature has completely gone off the charts. Apparently it’s been one of the hottest summers in 30 years, and everyone keeps telling us how “oh it wasn’t this hot last year”. That helps! I can’t really complain, but trying to sleep when it’s still 27 degrees outside and you have no aircon is not fun. I’ve actually resorted to going into a cold shower at night with my pyjamas on so I can feel a little bit cooler in bed (yes the covers do get soaked but what can you do). And we’ve had at least one or two late night swims in the swimming pool at 3am…. At least I’m not milk bottle white anymore and look slightly less like a guire (tourist).

It’s been weird not being able to pop down to the flat in Playa Flamenca at the moment because ‘tis the season of the holiday rentals. I miss being able to spend a night there watching mind-numbing british telly (our guilty pleasure) and going for a wee drink in our local Conciertos (where a glass of house wine is a mere 1 euro 20). However, it’s meant we’ve had more time to explore our local area in Playa San Juan which is such a cool wee place, especially at the moment as everything is open late. We’ve discovered a few really awesome tapas bars on our doorstep, and even spent one Monday evening doing salsa in a local bar. Of course we thought we looked cool shimming our bums to the music (we’d perhaps had one or two by then) but in reality we probably looked like a right pair of numpties.

In other news, Charlie the Clio is undergoing a change from British car to Spanish (when he will officially become little Carlos), but unfortunately he’s still in the in- between stages. Poor wee thing doesn’t know who he is at the moment and so we have nicknamed him ‘Charlos’ the transgender car. It’s been a bit of a process and not cheap either, but at least it’s now in motion, so hopefully in a few weeks we can celebrate his new identity and legality in Spain!

Work is mental for us both, but for me in particular as I am working 6 days a week now. I thought I could handle it because I did 7 days a week in Ibiza, but how easily you forget how tough it is and I am struggling ever so slightly (plus add on an extra 4 years of age on top of that- I ain’t a spring chicken any more!). It’s been fun getting back behind the bar again where I feel I belong, but mostly having English-speaking customers means it’s been hard to keep up with practising and learning Spanish. But on the plus side, British people do tip well so it means we can afford a few little luxuries we never used to be able to, such as going for a nice meal or buying new clothes etc. However, it does mean our social life has become all but non-existent. Roll on September when we have lots of visitors and hopefully our work starts to calm down and it gets a wee bit cooler (but not too much!).



Month 8 of ex-pat living- eat, sleep, work, repeat

What’s a weekend? And what’s a social life? July and August seem to have just crept up and punched us both in the face! We are both working crazy hours, everywhere is jumping with people (and kids!) and the temperature has hit the high 30’s for more than 30 consecutive days now making everything twice as difficult. Honestly, it feels like I’ve ran a marathon every time I walk more than 10 steps. Please don’t tut and shake your head that we are complaining about the temperature, but believe me, a hot bar without central heating is not the best place to be when it’s that hot. I’m sporting a permanently shiny face/slicked back hair look which I’m sure is very attractive! And Greg looks like Daniel son from Karate kid with his bandana on in the sweaty kitchen (also without aircon- I think he definitely got the bum deal). And it’s not like we get the chance to really enjoy the sunshine due to the fact we are working so much. In fact it’s a form of torture watching happy families sit and have a relaxing cocktail or cold beer in the sunshine while you are slaving away. And on our one day off we are so knackered it is hard to drag ourselves out of bed to actually do anything (oh woe us lol). And by the time we do drag ourselves out of bed it is the heat of the day and far too warm to actually enjoy sitting outside! I knew it would be hot but well I didn’t realise it would be this hot! I guess we’ve also learned that next year we will need to invest in an apartment with air conditioning, or buy a portable air conditioning unit, as it is near impossible to sleep with just a normal fan blowing hot air at you. One of the saving graces about the high temperature is that it seems to be too hot for the cockroaches who have all but disappeared. And even the mosquitos have given in for the time being.

I do like the fact that there is a lot more happening in and around Alicante, and the place seems to have come alive with live gigs on the beach and bustling market stalls along the promenade (shame we’re working so much we don’t really get a chance to enjoy it all). You can go out for a beer after work even though its 2am because the bars are still open. And a walk along the beach becomes more interesting with all the people watching, and people actually say hello to you as you pass. We’ve also continued to frequent our wee salsa bar on a Monday night, so after a few beers we head along to have a little dance, and you’d be convinced we were contestants on strictly come dancing we feel we are that good (oh how I would love to see a video of what we ACUALLY look like). Who would’ve thought we would ever be spending our night off in a bar dancing to salsa??? And for those doubters out there, Greg actually does have some moves!

Month 9 0f ex-pat living in Spain – September is the new august

Everything in Spain is annoying me this month. The continuously hot weather, the never-ending stream of drunken tourists, the terrible and often dangerous driving of pretty much every Spanish person (including the cops), and the fact you need documentation on you all the time to do anything (buying something as simple as a sim card, or trying to deposit money in the bank). I thought things would be starting to calm down a bit now both with work and the weather but it doesn’t seem like it is. Well, that is until our wedding anniversary week when it decided to torrentially rain for a week (no change there then, looks like we picked a great time to get married in Spain!). Speaking of which, I can’t believe it has been a year already since we got married. How time flies! Fortunately we both managed to get a day off work to celebrate, so we spend the day with Greg’s mum and dad and then go out on our own for some tapas and a cocktail in the evening. Then we fly out to Ibiza the next day for a few days holiday!

Greg’s mum and dad haven’t been the only visitors this month as we’ve had some of our friends over as well as my sister and her partner Brian. We felt like real locals being able to take them to some of our favourite local tapas bars and introduce them to some more varied tapas you wouldn’t get in La Tasca! (Grilled cheese with petal jam, dates wrapped in bacon and thinly sliced patatas bravas topped with padron peppers, jamon and quail’s eggs to name but a few of our favourites). As I have mentioned before, Alicante has so much to offer, both in sightseeing terms and the range of shops, restaurants, etc it has. We spend a few afternoons showing everyone around our favourite haunts, including the castle, mushroom street and the bustling promenade. We even get to see a few places we’ve never been to before including the pirate ship (which is pretty awesome inside) and the casino with it’s surrounding bars. We even manage to venture outside of Alicante to Albir, Altea, La Marina and Benidorm (well, the water park so technically it counts!). Thankfully the weather stays nice for us and everyone seems to enjoy it (especially the bar with 90 cent tapas and 60 cent beer!).

Thankfully now it’s time for a break! As much as we love having people over, it is very full-on, especially as we are working so much at the same time. But as of next month we will both be working less hours so we will get a chance to sit back and enjoy the autumn sun (how nice is it saying that) sitting in a café sipping on café con leches and munching on tortilla espanola and albondigas. Not a bad way to end the summer! We will definitely need to tighten the purse strings a bit, but that's the beauty of Spain - you can enjoy a full day out on very little money. It's all about relaxing in the midday sun, having a wee drink and a chat and admiring the views. Hmmm, I think I can muster that.

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