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Holiday in August 2014

23/8/2014

Out to Spain on the 23rd of August, to the 9th of September. Weather was great very hot and good for the beach and swimming in the pool. I was on pool opening duty, and it was great to have our 1st swim of the day at nine in the morning. Met Nazim, one of the property owners and had good times with him and his family around the pool, I did an ice bucket challenge (bit of a cheat as it was about 32C at the time) see video below:

We also found a new shopping / restaurant complex called the Filton Centre, which is in Los Balcones (just up from the Torrevieja Hospital) The restaurant that we have eaten at several time is the Alingui which gets good reviews. the food is really nice and you get plenty of it. The menu of the day is 3 courses for 7.90 Euros. There are also several other restaurants in this complex and we hope to try them all.
We met a couple on holiday called Aaron and Chereen, a very nice young couple that were budding actors, we spent quite a few pleasant hours passing the time and day with them, around the pool, going out for meals and visiting the local Zoco market. (the Zoco market is near the town of Benijófar and is a great place to get your veggies and fruit, plus lots of other stalls)
We had great weather for the 17 days we were there with temperatures always in the 30's and up to 39C.

Our Holiday in April 2014

31/3/2014

Went out for our 1st holiday of the year, I went out on the 24th of March, with Julie following me out later on the 30th of March. My son Tom was coming out for a week as well, plus our cousin Adam and his wife Ems was coming out after my son had gone home. Quite a busy time. I got to Spain OK, but Tom (who was coming from London) overslept and missed his flight - had to book for the next day (an expensive lie in). Picked Tom up from the airport OK the next day. We had a good time, weather was OK, not hot but reasonably warm and WE eat out a lot, plus I walked Toms legs off showing him around Torrevieja and other places. (I think he was glad when Julie arrived and he could just relax on the roof terrace and read his book) We eat at the new Argentinian restaurant at La Zenia Boulevard and that was an experience, I had to give in quite early (they keep coming round with more meat) but Tom carried for quite a time, I do not know where he puts it as he is quite skinny. Julie arrived on the 30th to begin her holiday. Tom was going back on the 1st of April and Adam & Ems where coming on the same day about an hour apart, so very convenient for us, dropped Tom off and picked Adam up at the same time. Had a most enjoyable time with Ems and Adam, sowed them lots of places etc. and had many good meals, including chicken wings at the Abbey Tavern (50 cents with a small beer - great value)

We left on the 5th of April, leaving Adam & Ems to carry on with their holiday. They returned on the 11th April. I am sure they had a good time.

Our Holiday in May-June

30/5/2013

Another holiday, this holiday we met up with quite a few friends. We went over to La marina and visited Margaret and Derek Beardsmore, we had a nice day, finished off with a wonderful meal at a local La Marina restaurant called Los Carmelos. It is a Bodega / Tapas bar and both the food and wine are great. (see pictures below)

After that we met up Bert and Yvonne who we knew from town twinning. Funnily enough they only live a few minutes from us in the UK and they own a property just a few minutes from us in Spain! We went up to Benidorm with them and had a good trip and nice look around in Benidorm. Julie was ecstatic as we went into the hotel were they were filming the TV sitcom "Benidorm" We saw quite a few of the actors and Julie went for a swim in the pool. We had lunch there and although the food isnt great there it was OK.

Towards the end of our holiday our friends Marion and Ivor came over to Spain, they were staying in our place for a month (lucky them). We were going to stay for one day with them just to show them around. this got extended by 3 days as our flight home was cancelled due to the French air-traffic controllers going on strike, and we had to re-book our flights. Still we got a few more days holiday out of it. Weather was great and enjoyed the holiday as always.

Holiday April 2013

19/4/2013

Had a great holiday in April. Weather was warm during the day and a bit cool at night, but not too bad.

We had neighbours LJ and Steve (and mom Peggy) and Tracey and Chris there as well and it was good to meet up and chat. We had a BBQ in the front garden one night and I think that was enjoyed by all. As it got cool at night we all sat in the downstairs "Cabana" and that worked really well.

We went up to Benidorm one day, had a good time looking around, went into the "Solana Hotel" that they were filming the TV show "Benidorm" and had a good look around, they were not filming in the hotel, but they had the area were they do the filming cordoned off. I didn't realise how big a hotel it was, it actually has 3 large pools. We had lunch there and thoroughly enjoyed looking around. Later on we went just up the street and saw the "Neptune's Bar" they were filming inside, but we couldn't see much from the outside. We went round the back to have a look, they were setting up the stage area, but we didn't see any of the actors.

We walked into the Old town and had a good look around. This has a real nice feel to it and was well worth the visit.

We also met up with some old friends "Posh Coffee" (AKA Margaret and Derek Beardsmore) who also have an property in Spain (near La Marina) and we had a nice day with an evening meal at "Dave's Sports Bar"

Time flew by and we were back all too quickly but it was a nice holiday. Have put some pictures below.

Looking forward to our next vist

22/2/2013

We are planning our next vist to Casa Julip on the 10th of April so if any of our friends or neighbours are around then, please let us know. Really looking forward to having a chill out and some nice sunshine, we are fed up with the weather in the UK at the moment.

October 2012

1/10/2012

Had another great holiday in casa Julip. We could not believe how good the weather was in October, we had several days of over 30c and managed to have a swim just about every day.

We had some nice tiles put into the ground floor cabana and some lockable sliding glass doors fitted, so now it make a great room to relax in downstairs, with the doors open in the summer it gives you a nice cool spot to enjoy out of the sun, and in the winter months you can close the doors and enjoy the downstairs garden without and wind bothering you.

The new shopping centre near la Zenia has now opened and it is a great place to visit. Lots of nice shops, a good entertainment area (stage and large video screen) numerous quite reasonable coffee bars and snack bars and on the upper floor there are a lot of eating places and a large childrens play area. It is set out like a small town centre, and one unique feature is that above each shop there are jets that spray out a fine mist of water which is really nice and cooling when it is hot. (it seems to be temperature controlled as one day we visited and it was a bit cooler the jets where not operating.) here is a promotional video of the centre.

Another great place to go for a drink or a meal is the Abbey Tavern, we went with our friends Tony and June and had a really nice meal plus some good entertainment, and for October is was very busy and had a great atmosphere.

June - July 2012

6/7/2012

Came over on the 27th for Julies birthday (30th). Weather was great over 30 deg every day. Went swimming in the pools several times each day and down in the sea at the local beach. Had some good meals, Both captains table and Daves sports bar, 12 Euros for two steak dinners and a bottle of wine. Chinese next door to the Captains Table also good, 3 courses (spicy duck is lovely) and bottle of wine for 6.5 euros. Couldn't cook it any cheaper.
The cheapest flight home was from Malaga, so drove down there and stayed in a hotel (really nice could recommend it, it was called Posadas de Espana Malaga and was only 25 Euros including breakfast. The drive down was pretty easy and the roads were good.

We spent the day in Torremolinos and had a good time looking around and lazing on the beach.

Torremolinos Harbour

Torremolinos Harbour

Jules at Torremolinos

April 2012

17/4/2012

Came over for a quick holiday and had the little hut on our ground floor made a bit more substantial, with brick pillars and a tiled roof. It looks great now and is a great place to site and relax. We may get some glass doors put on the front so that it will be a self contained room.

The weather was OK but not as warm as we like it, although Julie did manage to swim in the pool with a bit of encouragement.

October 2011

3/10/2011

Went over for 10 days, primary to attend our community AGM and do a bit of maintenance. The AGM was good and we had a great party at night in the community gardens, with a hog roast and a singer for entertainment. Enjoyed by all and most people got up and had a dance to the entertainment. Weather was brilliant, in the high 20's and low 30's every day. went to the beach most days and swum in sea and the pool.
We found a new restaurant in Los Montesinos (a nice town a few kilometers from the apartment.) We went with our neighbours Tony and June and had the menu of the day that cost 6.50 Euros, which consisted of a starter of varous types of Tapas, a main course of fish and chips, and a choice of sweet, we had an almond tart that was lovely. Included in the tarif was a drink and we each had a jug of Sangria. Nice meal and can recommend it.

We did mange to get some painting done. (the grills and door on at front of the apartment and the door on the downstairs cupboard.) We also installed a large BBQ in the front garden. Overall a great holiday with lovely weather, just what we needed to set us up for the coming winter months.

July 2011

5/7/2011

We have raised flowerbeds built in our downstairs garden area, and we will plant flowers and shrubs in them to make the area more attractive and private. We are also having the under-stairs area built in to provide a secure storage area. We are also planning to put a brick BBQ downstairs. But that may have to wait a bit

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