Benimont ... What is it?

You have probably seen the ad on taxis in Benidorm, but do you know what the place is? Let me explain.

The Benimont is a Club of high standards and ambience, where you can discuss business or relax with friends; where you can enjoy pleasant food and drinks, or spend time in the delightful spa with hostesses.

It is located on the outskirts of Benidorm heading towards La Nucia, and takes into account the privacy expected by its customers with a walled parking area. For those who  prefer not to drive to the Club so drinks and entertainment can be fully enjoyed, they offer a free English speaking taxi service covering all local areas.

The Benimont has an elaborate kitchen and serves food of a superb quality from an extensive menu in the rustic restaurant setting, with liqueurs and coffee served in the tranquil environment of the lounge.

There is an air of exclusivity about the Benimont, with a decor of cool marbles, rich woods and  intense red carpets. The combination of  gentle background music and subdued lighting work together to create an atmosphere for seduction. 

The Club is set on two levels boasting a choice of two bar areas, each attended by  beautiful hostesses. In the top bar, you can take your drinks across to one of the enormous red upholstered chairs to relax with your chosen hostess, or chat with friends if you have come in a group. Alternatively, you can go downstairs to the lower area where the second bar is located with an American pool table and large spa pool, decorated in a Roman decor.

The rooms are true suites, featuring 2x2 m  beds, televisions, wardrobes, a bath and shower, clean towels and air conditioning.

The hostesses are gorgeous and  majority speak English, leaving you with memories of a very pleasant evening.

For more info go to the website at  http://www.benimont.es/

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Benidorm's Kinky Karen

What I hate at Chrismas

I hate it when you've been sending a card to someone year after year - yet you haven't seen them since cousin Jack's wedding in 1975. But they always send you one  (invariably a rather ostentacious thing that tells you a penny has been donated to a Llama sanctuary in Nepal), so you feel obliged to send one back (only one of those glittery ones that won't stand up, but at least you're doing the decent thing). Then one year (Hooray) you did'nt get one and it cheers you up no end untill it occurs to you that something dreadful might have happened to them and you wonder if you should phone them up... but you know that if you did - and if they answered, it might look as if you liked them - so the whole pointless rigmarole would start all over again (worse still they might invite themselves  to come and visit you , which is the stuff of nightmares).
So you keep quiet, relieved at leastone pointless anual ritual has finally ground to a halt. Then the next year you don't send them one, and you guessed it (this is what I hate), their wretchered card  is deliverd to the post box on Chrismas Eve, leaving you embarrased and exasperated.

Ultimate disabled vehicle

You don't see many Hummers with  a disabled badge, but here is one in Benidorm. Awesome! Drove there to pick up the turkey.

Christmas celebrations

Christmas Eve is called Nochebuena in Spanish (Goodnight) and it is the most important family gathering of the year. In the evening people often meet early for a few drinks with friends then return home to enjoy a meal with the family. Most bars and restaurants close in the evening. Prawns, lobster and  fish soup  as starters,  followed by roast lamb would be a typical meal rounded off with a typically Christmas sweet called turrón which is a nougat made of toasted sweet almonds. Another typical festive sweet is called Polvorones which is made from almonds, flour and sugar. Cava, Catalan champagne, would be the chosen drink for the Christmas toast though plenty fine Spanish wines will also be consumed with the meal.
Children may receive a small gift on Nochebuena or  Chrismas Day but the day for presents is 6th January, Epiphany, when the Three Kings bring gifts for the children. Christmas Day is a national holiday in Spain so shops are closed yet it is not a day of great celebration but rather a calm day when people go out for a walk, drop into a bar, etc. Another large family meal at lunchtime is common though it's becoming more common to see families eating out on the afternoon of Christmas day.

Some pictures of  seafood available at ther supermarkets.

Smoking ban in bars and restaurants

Spain's smoke-filled bars, corner cafes and restaurants are on the verge of extinction after lawmakers yesterday approved a tough new anti-smoking law that will rid the country of its reputation  as one of Western Europe's easiest places to light up.

From January 2, the interiors of all bars and restaurants will be transformed into no-smoking zones, bringing Spain in line with the European Union's strictest anti-smoking nations. The law will make Spain a tougher place to smoke than EU countries where bars and restaurants are still allowed to have smoking sections.  Bar and cafe owners will now lose the  privilege of deciding whether  to allow smoking or not,  and larger restaurants that have separate smoking sections will have to get rid of them.

Smokers will still be allowed to light up on open-air terraces, which many Spanish bars have, often setting up tables and chairs on the pavement.

Christmas Lights

Most people that visit Benidorm for summer holidays, never get a chance to see the Xmas lights around the town. Here are some for you to enjoy.

New Albir market

As promised the new Sunday Albir market was opened today, in time for Christmas, despite the damp start.
About 30 stall holders opened for business, but there will be room for over a 100 stalls.
General merchandise as well as fruit and veg, and the obligatory roast chicken stalls vere plentifull. The
No. 10 bus passes the market, which is convinient for people without cars.

Update on bridge construction

The fabricated steel beams have arrived and are being lifted into place by a giant crane.
Diversions around the construction are are causing traffic jams, but it's in a good cause as taller trucks will be able to pass under the new bridgw without getting stuck.

Bicidorm

Bicidorm or rent a a bike is a service that was started by Benidorm Town Hall in August. There are 10 pickup/dropoff points in Benidorm. You can rent the bike using a credit card or SMS text. More information on their web site at  http://www.bicidorm.org/

Polop Market on Sundays (Car boot without the cars!)

 If you are a car booter then Polop Rastro is one NOT to be missed. It is located just outside of Benidorm but very easy to find. The market is set up on streets of on an industrial estate just at the back of La Nucia. There are also many fruit and veg stalls grouped together. When you feel peckish, there are plenty of fast food  outlets. A good Sunday Morning outing..... but be early (7am) to get the real bargains. The market is on till about 1pm.

                                     

Aladdin

A new one for Benidorm in this festive season is ALADDIN. Produced by Larger than Life Productions, with  a celebrity cast  and assisted by the Broadway Perfomance Academy. The perfomers from this Academy are all local kids who  spend their free time learning the trade. This pantomine gives them a chance to show their stage skills.

The venue for Aladdin is the circus tent at Benidorm Palace. It is more intimate than the large stage, so affords a good view  for the audience, which can interact with the cast. Also as it has taken weeks to prepare, it was a shame to do the show once only, so the performances have been increesed to five, to allow more people to come and see it.

The Production Company which includes Jimbo, has a good track record of producing shows. Last year the company did Take That show at the same venue,  Jimbo has also worked with The Moscow State Circus for four years and now has a  radioshow on FAB FM.

Tickets to the panto are 12.50euros and 8.50 euros for kids and the show starts on the 16th Decenber.

Aladdin will also be repeated in February, but all the cast will be from the Broadway Performance Academy.

Open all hours or change in working practises

The information in this blog is taken from "The Costa Blanca News"

According to research by Eurostat, full -time employees in Spain work 232 hours a year more than anyone else on the continent, and yet Spain is the least productive nation in Europe.

Long lazy lunches, siestas, and coffee breaks have taken the toll on the economy. Now there is a Commission in Spain  which does not see the sense in traditional 40-minute "breakfast break" often leading to a mass exodus in the office and nobody to attend to customers. An hour, or even less, is plenty enough for lunch and more than adequate time to eat a healthy meal.  It also adds that working hours should be more flexible to suit the individual.  "Sieasta hour" is bad for business.

If the Commission For Reasonable Working Hours has its way, it will probably have a fight on its hands in areas where traditions prevails. Business owners outside the major cities and tourist areas will resist such radical changes. One cafe owner in Oliva was asked why he closed at 13.00 untill 17.00 on weekdays.

"Because that's lunchtime and we want to have our lunch".

Surprisingly, a number of expats are actually in favour of keeping business hours just as they are. They believe they came here as guests and should accept life as the Spanish wish to have it.

Life has gradually eroded  in the UK for the workers and their families as hours were extended and contracts adjusted to cover new hours. Shopping has become a leisure activity for the English, instead of spending quality time with the family. In Spain people seem to lead a real family life. It's annoying  when you realise a certauin shop is shut for siesta, but overall it's a better quality of life here, and you can cope with it.

Local Radio Station FAB FM

When in the UK, "Loose Women" the lunchtime talk show on ITV is a must ! So why miss out when you arrive here..... tune into FAB Fm radio on 99.5fm Monday -Friday 12 noon till 1pm and listen to "Here come the Girls"

Fab FM is based in Alfaz del Pi, and broadcastst to large area in the Costa Blanca region. "Here come the Girls" is a talk show hosted by Jerry Lane, an impresario whose career has spanned three decades and was a favorite of the late Danny La Rue.  

The "girls" are all ex-pats living in the local area with varying backgrounds and a gift of the gab who are not shy in airing their not so "politically correct" views. The station distances itself from these views by playing regular disclaimers... but hey, this is the land of free speech!





                               3 of the girls - Lynn, Christine and Irena with Jerry.

You can also listen to the station online at http://www.fabfmspain.com/ and click on the "listen live now" tab

A sunny week

The weather this week is very mild in Benidorm. Temperatures are reaching 23 deg. Lots of people are taking advantage of the sun to top up their suntans for Xmas.  Pity for the people who are stranded in the snow in Scotland.  

Ice skating at the Town Hall

An artificial ice rink has been erected by the Town Hall  for the Festive period. It started on the 4th December and runs till the 9th of January. Lots of kids were enjoing themselves today on the rink as it is a national holiday.  The price is 6 euros for an hour which includes rental of the boots.

Anyone for a giant paella?

Last Sunday in Alfaz del Pi, they had a giant FREE paella for everyone! You could watch it being made by an army of chefs. The Valencian paella consists of meat such as chicken, rabbit and pork along with veg.

It was then served with a  chunk of baguette to mop up the rice.

The finished product.

New bridge

At long last the bridge in the center of Benidorm is being replaced by a higher one. 

So many of lorries and vans had driven into the old one and got stuck under it causing a

grid lock in the town.

The new one "should" be ready by the new year  2011...

Bernard's exhibition " Acrylic Reflections"

An exhibition in Alfaz del Pi  by local artist Bernard Makinson.  The pictures are painted from photos taken  on his travel around the world. He also has shows exhibiting his 3D photographs on a large screen.

Introduction

Living  near Benidorm all year round, I would like to share with followers the atmosphere and event that go on. Most people visit in summer for a few days holiday and enjoy their stay. Continuing the ongoings after they leave is the object of these blogs, both in video, pictures or text formats.

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