Weekly talent show at Levi's Showboat in Benidorm

We live in the age of television talent shows - millions tune in every Saturday night to watch BGT. Ordinary people like you and me of varying ages and talent hope that its their chance of being catapulted to stardom. The UK has "Britain's Got Talent" but not to be outdone, here we now have "Benidorm's Got Talent". 

Every Monday night starting at 10pm head to the "Levi's Showboat" where you can showcase your talent and stand to win 100€! 

I headed down to the Showboat last Monday to see what it was all about - starting my evening with a meal at Florence Rose Restaurant... amazing choice (12 starters and 19 mains) and value - only 10€ for a 3 course meal! Wayne asks if you'd like a table reserved for the show during your meal which means you don't have to hurry your food down, a nice touch. 

Compare for the night Shane

Shane is the compare for the evening - giving Wayne his 1 night off  from performing. Shane goes around the tables collecting names for entry to the contest and making a note of what they are planning on doing. Literally anything goes - but all of that evenings entrants were singers. It states that the contest is judged by the audience so I was curious to find out how that worked ... was it a clapometer, harking back to the days of "Opportunity Knocks" - how many of you remember that show I wonder! No its a very clever system. For every drink you buy at the bar you are given a raffle ticket - and each raffle equals a vote!  

Contestants waiting for their votes

The previous weeks winner, 84 year old Gracie was there and treated everyone to another song - but not as an entrant, just for the pleasure. There were 15 participants of varying ages and songs ranged from Elvis to Kings of Leon. In between the performers singing Shane entertained with a few songs ... just as well that he isn't allowed to enter as he has a fabulous voice. The first round lasted aprox 2 hours. Once everyone had sung their song they all went up onto the stage and Shane handed them all a bucket. The audience then went up and placed their raffle tickets into the bucket of their favorite performer. Its a little bit like the Eurovision Song contest here with a lot of block voting going on - if you come with a big group of friends then the chances are you'll straight away be at an advantage ... or so I though! Shane then goes through the buckets and the top 4 go through to round 2 - one poor contestant didn't get any votes and she came in with "friends", which goes to show that its not guaranteed that you'll get your groups vote!

In Round 2 they sing another song and the same voting process picks a winner - which last week was Paul who sang an amazing rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" - and he only came in with his partner, which goes to show anyone can win! 

Winner Paul sings "My Way"

So for all of you heading out to Benidorm for your holidays start practicing your act - it would be lovely to see some other talents too such as dancers, comedians etc. The stage is yours for your 2 minutes or so of stardom and who knows, you may come out richer than you went in!

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Terra Mitica theme park in Benidorm opens

The new season starts today when Terra Mitica opens its doors for the first time this year. The company went through a long dispute with employees after nearly half of last years workforce were sacked, reducing this years staff to under 200.
The park will be open every day from 10am until 8pm over the 2 week Easter period (until Sunday 15th April) but then reverts to opening only over long weekends - starting Friday, Saturday, Sunday then extending gradually until it is open daily from 18th June. This must make it extremely difficult for the staff as they only work full time for less than 3 months as the last full week of opening is the first week of September, after which it is only weekend openings.

Gladiator scene with Janice from last years series

This year they have introduced a new attraction - an open air hydrotherapy area with a jacuzzi type pool and water cannons! This area is free to use so remember to bring your swimming costumes ... but it won't be open until the park opens full time in June - as the water is not heated it will be too cold.
Even ITV filmed at Terra Mitica for the comedy "Benidorm" during series 4... it was great publicy for the park and last year they used Terra Natura, the wildlife park next door.
Look out for the many discount vouchers available throughout the resort offering money off the entrance prices.

Home and Garden exhibition in La Nucia

This coming weekend there will be a 3 day Home and Garden exhibition at the "Grupo Navarro Garden Centre" on the L'Alberca Industrial Estate in La Nucia - (the site of the Sunday La Nucia rastro) with the opportunity of winning 2 tickets to the Formula 1 race in Valencia!
The exhibition officially opens at 12 Noon on Friday 30th and throughout the 3 days there are various demonstrations and workshops to watch and take part in. At 4pm on Friday there is a "Flower arranging workshop" and then at 6.30pm a "Mediterranean Cooking demonstration" given by a local restaurant - "Ca L'Angels". To keep the little ones amused Sponge Bob Square Pants will be there at 6pm.
On Saturday the doors open at 10am and at 11am there is a talk about gardening in the Spanish climate followed at 12 with a workshop on medicinal ointments. At 4pm you can find out about planting vegetable seeds then at 4.30pm restaurant El Xato are running a competition whereby you have to identify various spices! In the early evening La Nucia Sport Xperience will be demonstrating some of its activities. Doors close at 9.30pm. Mickey and Minnie will visit at 5pm for the younger guests.
The final day, Sunday 1st April doors open earlier at 9am - so for those that are going down to the rastro you can pop in. At 11am there will be a demonstration on how to install and maintain an aquarium followed at 12 noon with a wine presentation given by the President of the Valencian Wine Somelliers association. Buzz Light-Year and Woody will pop by at 1pm.
On entry to the exhibition you will be asked to fill out a form which will go into the raffle for the chance to win a pair of tickets to the Formula 1 race - its FREE to enter. There is a space asking where you heard about the exhibition so fill out "Benidorm All Year Round Blog"....
We have also managed to obtain a special 10% discount off all goods & services offered by Grupo Navarro - they have a huge garden centre selling a vast array of plants, trees and garden furniture. Again mention the blogsite to get this, which was offered to our readers by  boss Vicente Ripoll.
There are a vast range of local businesses that will be showcasing their products and services such as Marc from Toldos Aitana, who has also promised to give readers a 10% discount on any awnings or windbreaks; Creativ Cocinas- kitchen design & fitting; San Jorge - glass curtains to encase balconies; Terra Mar -built in fireplaces; Soul Wood - wood flooring are among the 25 companies that will be present. Many have offered various discounts so make sure you mention us if you plan on making any purchases so that you don't miss out!a
It is an ideal opportunity to view a host of reliable local trades and businesses all in one location, set within a luxurious gardens - you will be as suprised as I was at how big it is, with innovative plant designs!

Parking fines in Benidorm

That dreaded moment ...

You know that feeling when you're rushing back to the car and just praying that the traffic warden hasn't been because your ticket has expired ... well I'll let you in on a little secret.
Its not get back to the car quicker or shorten your lunch by the way - that's simply out of the question!
So you're literally a few minutes over the pay and display time on the ticket and are faced with a rather hefty fine. How many of you are aware that you can cancel the fine  if you are within 1 hour of the expiry time for a nominal 3 euro's?

I spoke to a Benidorm traffic warden to confirm this was the case, so here goes.
You are required to "Pay and Display" if you park within a blue painted parking bay. The white ones off the Avd Mediterraneo are free - but these have usually been taken by the locals working nearby. If you happen to come across a white bay park there. Parking charges apply between 9.00 - 14.00 then again between 16.00 - 21.00. There is no charge over the 2 hour lunch break so if you put money into the machine it will not include that period - how civilized. Minimum charge is 30 cents for 30 minutes up to a maximum of 1.20€ for 2 hours. So if you put 60 cents (1 hours worth)  in at 1.45pm the ticket would show an expiry time of 4.45pm... or better still, if you put in 1.20€ at 20.30 and go out for a drinking spree you don't have to worry about waking up early to move the car as the ticket will be valid until 10.30am - what a clever machine! I wonder whether Westminster City Council in London would consider such a machine....
Now what to do if you return to your car and you find the dreaded parking fine. If you are within 1 hour of the expiry time follow these steps.
Go to the ticket machine, insert 3€ and press the RED button - ""Anulacion Denuncia" which means cancel fine! You will get a print out similar the pay and display ticket.
Take you parking fine and  peel off the double sided sticky tape underneath the printed receipt which the traffic warden has given and attach your 3€ receipt.

Post your "paid" fine in here

Fold it in half and "post it" into the flap at the bottom of the machine. I bet that you always wondered what that little flap was for ... well now you know!
So don't panic too much, however if you are over 1 hour then I'm afraid that you'll have to pay the full fine.
This is particularly useful for those on holiday with hire cars as the car hire company will still debit your credit card PLUS extra admin on top of the fine, possibly months after your return home.

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Elvis Festival comes to Benidorm

Elvis swaggering down the Levante beach front!

If you want to be "All Shook Up" then Benidorm is the place to be this coming weekend. From Friday 30th until Sunday 1st there is a 3 day "Elvis Fest" bought here by the organisers of Porthcawl - THE largest Elvis festival in Europe. Now in its 9th year there it attracts over 30,000 fans every September.
I met up with Peter, the brains behind the operation to find out what was on the agenda for the weekends partying. "Last year was our first dip in the water in Benidorm and we were delighted with the turnout. This year it will be twice as big and who knows in 5 years time .... look what happened at Porthcawl, a small seaside town on the South coast of Wales!" I admitted I had never even heard of Porthcawl before and asked why he chose it as I am sure that I wasn't alone .... "It was a spoof originally made for radio and just went barmy" - had he known how successful it would become he would possibly have picked somewhere more prominent. Having said that its put Porthcawl on the map and done wonders for local trade over the 3 days - but its like a tornado hitting the town every year.
So onto Benidorm ... next years dates have already been decided, which are 12-14th April 2013. So whats in stall for Elvis fans this weekend - put it this way, you'll need a holiday afterwards to recover!
Things kick off on Friday at 2pm in the Melia Hotel - where registration takes place. There will be a 2 hour preview and welcome party by the hotel poolside then the partying moves onto 2 local bars in the Rincon from 4.30pm until 8.30pm which will host an Irish and a German Elvis tribute act. Then its back to the Melia at 10pm for the "Big Vegas Show" until 1am THEN if you still have an energy left there are the Aftershow Parties which will carry on until 4am! And that's only the first day....

Saturday morning you can catch up on some much needed sleep then things start again at 1pm with an Elvis themed family fortunes game. 2pm by the Melia poolside is "Elvis at The Movies" then at 5pm the finals of a Spanish Elvis competition. The official Elvis Presley fan club of Spain have been running a competition over the last 6 months to find the best Spanish Elvis. It is now down to the last 6 and the final is happening here... the winner will be headlining at the Porthcawl festival. Imagine, performing in front of 30,000 fans - wow, that's an honour and achievement for the winner and certainly something that he'll never forget!
Sunday 1pm is Elvis quiz time at The Melia followed by an Elvis Gospel show.
Dave Rowlands, DJ on a local British radio station in Benidorm will be comparing in Spanish and English over the course of the weekend - he'll certainly be needed with the decent of all the Spanish fans on Saturday in particular!

Elvis - aka Simon Patrick with fans

All events be at closed venues, meaning access is only available to ticket holders. The general public will not be admitted. Last year you could only buy a ticket for the entire event but this year Peter told me they have made a slight change. Last year many people could only attend for 1 day so they have bowed to demand and this year bought out daily tickets alongside the 3 day pass. These are available to purchase from the Round Town Travel shops and also at the Elvis registration desk of the Melia hotel on the day for 30€... but be warned that only a limited amount of 1 day tickets were printed so if you want one its best not to leave it till the last moment and be disappointed.
After the hectic 3 days I assumed that Peter would be kicking off his "Blue Suede Shoes" and relaxing ... you must be joking. He has written 2 books - his first was a biography of Richard Martin and the second about the Prisoner of War escape from Bridge End. He is now writing a film script based on his second book - which is a true life factual event of how 3 prisoners escaped through a tunnel that they dug although this was and is denied by the government. Another on going project is a radio documentary for BBC Wales and the Welsh involvement in the Spanish Civil War. There is a strong link between Wales and Spain ... 1500 Welsh miners helped the Asturias miners generations ago - and why you will find Welsh descendants living in Asturias and Galicia!  Maybe why Peter has Spanish blood running through his veins and subconsciously chosen Benidorm !

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Benidorm does "Help for Heros"

Yesterday saw a great turnout for the third sponsored High Heel Hike for Help for Heros. Samantha Hurren, who is the founder and originally started this annual event flew over specially from the UK, as she relocated back there last year - however she has been integral in the organisation. The sun was shining and spirits were high ... literally by the end of the day!
Once again the imagination for some of the costumes was fascinating... quite where they get the ideas from is beyond me. The "serious" walkers started from Bar El Niu in Alfaz setting off just after 10.30am - in all about 30 and made there way to Camping Benidorm to the official start line which set of at 12 Noon.

Early starters from Alfaz

The local police sat upon their motorbikes smirking, probably never having seen such a sight and escorted the walkers along to the first pit-stop for refreshments. It was nice to see families with children also taking part in the event. Collection buckets were rattled to any passer bys and motorists who slowed down to look and by the end of the day those tins and buckets looked heavy! There was even a television crew there from "TVCostas" to record the events of the day.

Me with organiser Samantha Hurren.

Beer and Cigarettes cheaper in Benidorm than the UK

Typical Benidorm prices - yes 1.50€ a pint!

Drinkers and smokers faced added misery following the budget this week as the Chancellor announced another duty rise on alcohol and cigarettes.

A packet of cigarettes will go up by an astonishing 37 pence and alcohol will increase by 5% - seeing the price of a pint of beer rise by as much as 10 pence. Since 2008, the price of beer has risen by an eye watering 40%. To add further misery for beer drinkers, prices could rise again due to a drought across the south of England which may lead to a shortage of hops and barley.

Carton of Benson & Hedges is 42.50€

The price of a packet of cigarettes is now on average £7.46 - in Benidorm they are 4.25€ which at today's exchange rate of 1.16 makes them £3.66. That is less than HALF the price! I popped into one of the  cigarette shops and there were so many British holiday makers in there stocking up it was unbelievable - but I can't say I blame them. Make sure you purchase them in town in an official "Tobacos" shop and NOT at the airport as they are more expensive in the "Duty Free" shop. 

The price of beer is substantially cheaper here too - most bars sell a pint for 1.50€ which is ap £1.29. Its hardly suprising then that you get large groups coming over for a long weekend and making the most of these prices - especially if they manage to get a cheap flight. Some places will put the prices up slightly after 8pm but its still going to be a lot cheaper here than in the UK. With the days getting warmer and longer - remember that the clocks go forward by 1 hour tonight you can be sure that everyone will be out having a good time.... and it will be substantially cheaper doing it here in Benidorm than back in Blighty.

So come on, what are you waiting for - come and enjoy the Benidorm experience!


Just a word of advice to smokers - do not be tempted to buy your cigarettes from anywhere. Stick to the official Tobacos shops - they have a brown and yellow sign hanging outside. In the past few months there have been many police raids on bars in Benidorm - especially British ones, where they have been selling cheap cigarettes. These are counterfeits generally made in China and contain harmful ingredients. 


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Tapas week in Benidorm - Gastronomy 2012

The Department of Tourism in Benidorm is hosting the second annual "Tapas and Pinchos" competition commencing on Monday 26th March and finishing on Sunday 1st April.
An amazing 37 establishments are taking part which are all located in the Old Town - 14 of which can be found down Calle Santo Domingo - famously known as Tapas Alley. Each of the participating competitors has a "Concurso Tapa y Pincho" poster in its window.

The idea is for people to sample a vast range of traditional, as well as innovative Spanish tapas. The price per portion is only 2 euros whichever establishment you go into. You are then invited to vote for your favorite via sms text - 626 357 507 with the name of the establishment (so don't have too many glasses of vino before texting). There are 3 categories - the most avant-guard; the most traditional - both of these are chosen by a panel but the third category is chosen by the public. There is no monitory prize but just a plaque and the prestige of being a winner.... and so hopefully lots of extra business!

I popped down to Tapas Alley and spoke to Christine, owner of L'Alberca and she was very excited about the competition. "It is all very good publicity for the Old Town and allows the tourists to savor a taste of what Spain has to offer" she said. 

The tapas entry which I sampled was truly amazing .... it was fillet of pork flambe in a cream and cognac sauce. A few of those and I would have been over the drink drive limit I think. This was served with some bread to mop up the sauce. As my parking ticket was running out I had to make a dash for it and get there before the traffic warden so unfortunately didn't get the chance to sample any more.

"La Boheme" is offering Cha-cha-cha de pulpo. This is a ravioli of squid and avocado which is cooked then coated and fried and served with a spicy sauce.

"Taberna Tamboril" are offering Churros de manitas which are fritters of pork. potato, leek and carrot served with a pepper and cream sauce.

"Braseria Aurrera"  has Escabeche de atun rojo y lentejillas pardinas. This is red tuna served over a bed of baby lettuce with carrot, leek, garlic  and lentils dressed in a olive oil, white wine and specially selected herbs.

"Bodegon Aurrara" has Tigre de alcachofa rella which is artichoke heart with gratinated mussels and an ali oli dressing.

"L'Alberca" has the one I sampled - Solomillo de cerdo flambeado al cognac - fillet of pork flambe with a cream and cognac sauce. Truly yum but I mustn't bias you!

There are another 32 for you to try and savor ... this is just a taster  and I think that you'll need the entire week to get through them all! 

In addition, on the 29th March there is also a day of "wine culture" for you to enjoy. Salud!

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Fire crisis in Benidorm

The Benidorm Fallas located at the Rincon

The traditional  Burning of the Fallas on Monday night almost didn't take place in Benidorm! The City Council owe the fire service 549,000 euros from 2011 and last Friday the Provincial Fire agency sent a fax to the Town Hall announcing that they would not be sending fire crews to the annual burning's until it had been paid. The following day they rellented as they were informed that the socialist Mayor of the town, Augustin Navarro had promised to pay the debt "immediately" on Tuesday morning - literally with cash to avoid this crisis. This would have been a disaster for the town and for all those that had come to Benidorm specially to watch the burning at midnight. This does not affect normal cover of emergencies - only "special events" such as this and other occasions where the "bomberos" are required. Can you imagine the embarrassment to the Council if they had had to cancel the burning due to an unpaid bill and what the press would have made of it!

Plaza Triangular 

Well Tuesday morning arrived but surprise surprise, or perhaps not, the Mayor didn't show up. The president of the Provincial Fire Institute Luisa Pastor was somewhat puzzled that firstly he didn't show and even more annoyed that he had not even bothered to call and cancel.
The Mayor gave a different version of events and denied that he had made a promise to pay the outstanding debt claiming to have called to cancel the meeting and re-schedule for today, Thursday. Navarro is due in Alicante at 11.30am but will he turn up is anyone's guess.
The City Council also have outstanding debts with the fire service from 2010 and the total amount stands at 820,000 euro's. The Mayor stated that in a meeting held in December it was agreed that they were granted an extension until April to pay the outstanding amount due - quite where they plan on finding this money is any ones guess.

Fire fighter tending to a burning palm in Valencia

The Council owe money to a host agencies and suppliers including the electricity companies - many schools have no heating or lighting for part of the day and Town Hall workers have to personally go to the Post Office to send official documentation and pay in cash!
Its somewhat worrying to see what will happen with the Fire department and whether they can, or will stop providing "special event" services until paid. It will certainly have a damaging effect on the town if it is not sorted out quickly.

Hotels in Benidorm filling up

Monday, 19th March was a Bank Holiday here in Spain - St Joseph's Day and  Dia del Padre - Father's Day, where it was also celebrated in Belgium, Italy and Portugal. In the UK it does not fall until Sunday 17th June but looking at other European countries it falls on a variety of dates. It is also the same with Mother's Day - in the UK it has just been but much of Europe does not celebrate until May, obviously on different Sundays. Wouldn't it be SO simple if Father's Day was on the same date everywhere and the same for Mother's Day? No confusion then ... but I know, life isn't so simple.

Busy Benidorm skyline 

This was the first bank holiday of the year in Spain and hoteliers in Benidorm were delighted to report an average occupancy rate of 90% which has injected some optimism into the tourism sector. However, hoteliers are still cautious as many have had to adjust rates in a battle to stem the decline of customers and some have even admitted that rooms are 30% cheaper than five years ago! But overall occupancy has gone very well despite selling on Winter prices to attract customers. Hosbec have just released occupancy rates for the first 2 weeks of March  (1-15th) and they show 69.1% - but this does not include the busy Bank Holiday weekend just gone. Spanish customers accounted for 50.7% which equals 210,000 rooms and the next biggest market was the British at 38%, taking 157,000 rooms over the first fifteen days of March. With only 10 days left till the end of March, the monthly figures look to be 2.3% above 2011. They also showed occupancy of hotels by star ratings; 2 star 61%, 3 star 76.7% and 4 star with 62.2%.

Striking Gran Bali hotel

However, the director of the prestigious 4 star Gran Hotel Bali, located in La Cala Benidorm was delighted that he could hang the "FULL" sign up over the weekend - all 776 rooms being occupied. Many Spaniards flock to Benidorm, especially from Madrid - they regard it as "their local beach" - being only a 4 hour drive away. The weather over this Bank Holiday was glorious with wall to wall sunshine and the City dwellers were looking for their first few days of sun and sand of the season. The tourist sector is now concentrating its efforts on attracting tourists for the next big Bank Holiday - Easter, which falls on Sunday 8th April. A source at "Hosbec", the hoteliers association said "People wait until the last minute to book, sometimes even waiting until the day before travelling". Therefore none of the hotels surveyed dared to predict occupancy rates over this long weekend, but it is anticipated that prices will increase with rates similar to those of high season. Airfares are already inflated over this period - even if you don't have children you can always tell when there is a school break as the prices go up sharply for that period then go back down. Its a difficult decision faced by parents ... do they take them out of school  a few days early to save, sometimes hundreds of pounds if its a family of 4 or be penalized ?

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Weekend cricket from the Woodbridge Oval in Albir

Both sides enjoying cricket teas at the half way stage

Well there couldn't have been a better weekend weather wise for a touring side from the UK. Leaving behind the grey skies and arriving here was just what the doctor ordered - however, it didn't seem to improve their performance on Saturday where the score was  SACC 1st XI 256 for 0 beating the Nomads CC 254 for 8.
The Nomads return year after year - sometimes more than once to enjoy the grounds in Albir. So onto Saturday's game .... The Nomads batted first, expecting to see a large total but the Alfaz bowlers were determined to stop this happening! Pennick starting from the top end got his man on the second ball, Hussey falling to a good slip catch by Spancer. Brown at the far end bowled a maiden. Pennick continued to trouble the Nomad batsmen, unlucky not to take more wickets as the ball flew through the slips regularly, his figures of 1 for 47 not showing his quality today. Brown ended with 1 for 17 off his 6 overs - a great spell from the youngster. Ashraf replaced Brown and again bowled well in his first season at this level. Fletcher came on and got 2 wickets in his first over, Latchman caught behind by Morgan and next ball a simple LBW against Patel, filling him with confidence which helped him get through a great spell - 2 for 40 from 8.

Regular spectators & cheerleaders  Ray and Eve

Howden also got in with a good spell, removing Shawl with a yorker, 1 for 51 from 6. Spencer and Laundon ended the SACC bowling session with 1 wicket each. Spencer sending Brockton back stumped after a well played 65; Laundon bowling Blumberg with the last ball and Reeve ending on 73 unbeaten by the SACC team. 254 for 8 from 40.
Pennick and Spencer opened for Alfaz and both walked back in after hitting excellent hundreds had SACC reach the total in the 27 over - Shawl not finding his day a happy one, his spell finished with 0 wickets and 76 well taken runs from the Nomad quickie.  Reeve, maybe feeling the effect of his long batting innings, also felt the wrath of the Alfaz apir, his 4 over spell going for 29.
Spinner Weyman not getting it right today and also going at 10 an over, his 6 ending 0 for 59. Skipper Brockton finding the Alfaz pair too good, also going 9 per over. Hussey removed the pads and gloves to give his slow spin a go but found the SACC openers too well set to be fooled into something daft and also went at 9 per over. 255 for 0 wickets in 27 overs must be a club record - well done to the two Centurions!

Bars busy in Benidorm

Drinkers enjoying the beer and weather in equal measures

Despite recent reports that passenger numbers flying into El Altet (Alicante) airport have fallen over the last two months, business in Benidorm appeared brisk and busy over the weekend.
Walking down the Avd Mediterraneo you would be forgiven for believing the reports but turn onto the Calle Gerona and surrounding streets and it was positively heaving.

Calle Gerona runs parallel to the Avd Mediterraneo and following a successful trial last summer where the last part was pedestrianised, the mayor is wanting to extend this to the entire street. It is an ambitious project and in the current financial climate probably unlikely to happen soon.

 The wonderfully warm Saturday afternoon obviously helped but drinkers were literally spilling onto the street. There were plenty of stag parties among the St Patrick Day revelers and rugby fans, waiting for kick off of the six nations final. But it was all lighthearted and no sign of any trouble - just holiday makers having fun and enjoying themselves.
And the bar owners certainly weren't complaining after the quiet Winter season - I bet that they are just hoping the good weather continues.

Busy Tiki Beach bar on the beach front

Even taking a walk along the promenade on the Levante beach front was an obstacle course. The hugely popular Tiki Beach bar and Daytona Rock bar was attracting many punters, especially with the live music playing.

The locals stop mystified at the crowds spilling out of these places but you can see them tapping their feet to the music after a few moments. The older Spanish take walks along the promenade well wrapped up and dressed in all their finery looking aghast at what they deem "semi naked" people - to them its still fairly chilly at 20 degrees but to the Brits its positively Summer like. Shorts, flip flops and t-shirts are worn by everyone here as you can see by all the pictures!
If you are heading out here for Easter then everything will be in full swing - the bar staff are getting their practice in now.

And for those of you that are staying near the Avd Mediterraneo at the Rincon end you will be pleased to know that a Carrefour Express is being opened - especially handy if you are not at an all inclusive hotel. The planned opening is for 28th March and it is located next to the walkway where the joke shop and Cumberland bar are - almost opposite the Hotel Ambassador on Calle Gerona.
It will be similar to a Tesco Express in the UK so you don't need to worry about bringing heavy bottles of shampoo and shower gels which will weigh down your luggage - just buy it when you get here instead.

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