discover-alicante.com

Do You Recognize This Benidorm?

2010-08-19T14:55:15Z

My wife had a major back operation in July last year and part of her recuperation is to walk

slowly on the flat. So this morning we jumped in the car and drove from our house in La Nucia to the outskirts

of the Terra Mitica Theme Park near Benidorm. It takes 10 minutes.

Lovely Views Of Terra Mitica

The area around the park is extremely attractive and ideal for a slow stroll (as in our case), for jogging

or cycling as 10 years ago (year 2000) 10 kilometers of new avenues were constructed and landscaped.

There are wide coloured pavements (for walks) red lanes (for cycling), car parks, picnic areas and over 1,000

street lights of modern attractive designs.

The roundabouts are truly breathtaking also. There are six (known as glorietas) which represent Earth, Fire, Water

Air, Gravity & Reason and when we have visitors it is fun for the grandchildren to work out which is which. We

passed Earth this morning which is pictured.

As we walk towards Alicante in the distance on our left is the 5 star Villaitana Hotel and Golf Complex overlooking

Benidorm.

After a fifteen minute stroll and 5 minute rest we cross the road facing Terra Mitica and walk back to the car.

The theme park was opened in July 2000 and includes water rides, roller coasters, carousel swings and many more

for the very young, the timid and the more adventurous.

Holiday makers can reach the area where we walked by catching the 41 bus from Benidorm old town or, if you have one,

you can land your helicopter at the nearby Heliport!!

We stopped for coffee on the way home and, on reflection, had a lovely hour out in the fresh air - and what a difference to yesterday when we had to stay in to avoid a hailstorm!

www.discover-alicante.com has more information on what to do and Alicante Car Hire

Geraniums And Their Care

2010-05-15T19:25:58Z

Another post from my dad!

There is nothing more visibly striking than deep red geraniums in full bloom against a bright white terrace wall.

Geraniums Against Terrace

In my experience I have found that a crop of geraniums will give a mass of strong colour throughout the year with a little care and attention.

Three aspects to bear in mind are: watering, feeding and the African geranium moth. Water sparingly over the growing season so that the soil or compost does not become too wet (or the plants will rot from bottom upwards). Feed a general fertilizer in pellet form which releases nutrients slowly over a long period. Spray with an appropriate insecticide every two weeks to keep away the geranium moth.

To propogate I find the best time to take cuttings is between February and May before the temperatures rise. I normally take 12/14 cuttings from the parent plants with a view to a success rate of 75%. Invariably 3 or 4 will not take for one reason or another.

Cuttings should be left to dry out for 3 or 4 days before potting. If possible dip the cut end in cigarette ash or ash from a wood fire as this stimulates root growth. Any flower buds should be removed because cuttings cannot make roots and flowers at the same time and, initially, it’s the roots that are important!

Cuttings potted in February should begin to flower mid-May.

Also beware hailstones because only last week we had a dramatic surprise hailstorm which devastated my plants - all the soft petals and leaves were just blasted away as if peppered by a shotgun! They are now in recovery.

You are not going to believe this but as I write (14th May) we have another hailstorm. What weather - when will it settle down!!

Keeping Your Spanish Villa Warm

2010-08-19T14:58:01Z

It isn’t always warm when you live in Spain!

Yes the Summers are exquisite but the winters can be cold. The Spanish villas are built to keep the warm out and the cold in and the one thing that my parents aren’t used too is living in a Villa with no central heating!

Yes they have their air conditioning units that keep the house cool in the Summer and warm in the winter but running these can be expensive and so my father has looked for ways in which to keep his Spanish villa warm and the following information is what he recommends.

Up until the winter of 2008 I used to search the woods in the foothills of the mountains near La Nucia on the Costa Blanca to collect broken branches from fallen trees - my source of

fuel for our wood burning fire.

Then on 24th January 2009 high winds brought down a pylon close by and the whole mountainside was lit

up - my supplies went up in smoke literally.

I lost my supplies!

Shortly afterwards my wife saw an advert for a “BRIQUETTE MAKER” in a magazine. “That’s the answer”, she said,

“from now on you must make your own logs”.

So that’s what happened - I bought a BRIQUETTE MAKER and since then friends and neighbours have accumalated

newspapers for me and I now make my own logs. Here’s how:

Crumple 32 sheets of newspaper (Daily Mail size) or 22 sheets (Daily Telegraph size) in a standard washing up

bowl and cover with water. Stir and leave for 24 hours.

Soaking

Give the mixture another good stir effectively making papier mache and transfer to BRIQUETTE MAKER.

Press down hard on arms to extract water.

Turn over and release log.

Dry in a warm place (easy to find in Spain but not so easy in Britain).

I told a friend of mine about the log maker so he bought one. But he told me later that living in South

Wales was not condusive to drying the logs so they were spread all around the house as close to radiators as possible!!

Each log burns for at least 2 hours and provides a clean, odour free flame.

My aim is to make at least 200 during the next few months to have a recession beating warm winter!

For more information about Alicante please refer to our home page.

Alicante Airport - Volcanic Ash Update

2010-08-19T14:58:32Z

I have taken the following information from the aena website today;

“According to information provided by Eurocontrol about the evolution of the volcanic ash cloud, all airports in the Aena network are open. Valencia airport, which has been closed during the early morning, is operational from 8:00 p.m.

Also, you can get more information calling the Aena’s telephone support numbers:

902 404 704

(+34) 91 321 10 00

For more information about Alicante please visit our homepage.

Spanish Flight Disruption due to Volcanic Ash

2010-08-19T14:59:43Z

Once again the Iceland’s Volcanic ash is causing flight disruption in Europe, this time in Spain. Barcelona, the second biggest airport in Spain is among those affected totalling 19 airports that have now closed. All of these are in the north of Spain. At the moment, these airports will be closed until 18.00.

The following airports are affected :-

Barcelona, Girona, Sabadell, Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria, Zaragoza, Huesca, Pamplona, Logrono, Santiago, La Coruna, Vigo, Asturias, Santander, Leon, Valladolid, Burgos and Salamanca.

Check with your airlines if you use any of these airports.

Also please check flights into Alicante and Madrid from Gatwick as these may also be impacted.

Check here to see current arrivals and departures from Alicante Airport

Monarch Discounts

2009-08-23T13:11:27Z

I opened my email to find a promotional email from Monarch advising that there is now a sale on flights. They are currently offering at least £10 off 1.8 million seats.

Initially I thought ‘big deal £10 is hardly an offer’ but I thought I would look into it and see what ‘bargains’ they are offering.

Firstly I have looked at the October half term from the 24th to 31st October for 2 adults and 2 children (under 12). By ticking the box ‘I am flexible with these dates’ you get to see the prices of the flights on other days. Disappointly the fares are quite high over the half term period but really no surprise there.

I received the following quote for flying Sat 24th Oct returning Sat 31st oct.

Saturday, 24 Oct 09 London Luton to Alicante

- fare

£219.96
- infant/s

£0.00
- taxes & chgs

£114.24

Saturday, 31 Oct 09 Alicante to London Luton

- fare

£259.96
- infant/s

£0.00
- taxes & chgs

£58.20

Total Price £652.36

I then moved the outgoing flight to a day early on the Friday 24th October and the return flight to Friday 30th October

Friday, 23 Oct 09 London Luton to Alicante (15:05 18:35)

- fare

£119.96

- infant/s

£0.00

- taxes & chgs

£114.24

Friday, 30 Oct 09 Alicante to London Luton 19:05 20:35

- fare

£179.96

- infant/s

£0.00

- taxes & chgs

£58.20

Total Price £472.36

and as you can see there is £180 saving just from moving the flights forward by one day!

Flying outside Half Term

If you are able to fly outside half term then I found that there really are some great savings.

Compare the above with flying on the 11th and 18th October

Sunday, 11 Oct 09 London Luton to Alicante

- fare

£23.96
- infant/s

£0.00
- taxes & chgs

£114.24

Sunday, 18 Oct 09 Alicante to London Luton

- fare

£31.96
- infant/s

£0.00
- taxes & chgs

£58.20

Total Price £228.36

that price is for a family of 4 which is an amazing price.

For two adults travelling on these dates then you can get a flight for

Sunday, 11 Oct 09 London Luton to Alicante

- fare

£11.98
- infant/s

£0.00
- taxes & chgs

£57.12

Sunday, 18 Oct 09 Alicante to London Luton

- fare

£15.98
- infant/s

£0.00
- taxes & chgs

£29.10

Total Price £114.18

Now that is a bargain but not one that we would be able to take up which is disappointing. But hopefully this post will point someone in the direction of a great saving!

Costa Blanca Sandcastles

2009-08-17T10:29:06Z

Amazing Spanish Sandcastles

Do you remember the days when you would amble to the beach with your bucket and spade and the highlight of your day was building a very simple sandcastle? And you felt pure joy if your sandcastle stayed up and didn’t crumble? I remember my father getting very creative one year and buiding a speedboat in the sand, which naturally we were all very excited about and thought he was marvellously creative but looking back on it it was two holes dug in the sand with the bucket as a steerring wheel! Not so impressive when compared to the photos I have for you in the video below…..

Building sandcastles these days seems to have got a little bit more extreme and such that even the most competitive of dads can’t compete with these ones!

When you visit the Costa Blanca coast and Alicante and Benidorm in particular you will see some stunning ’sandcastles’ or ’sand sculptures’ built by talented artists. These amaze me and I have put together a little tribute to them in the video below.

Enjoy!

If you would like further information about visiting Alicante please see our main site www.discover-alicante.com

BMI Baby Flight Sale 2009

2009-08-12T18:26:43Z

BMI Baby have a sale on at the moment for flights that are booked for travel between 1st September to 16th December 2009.

There is an opportunity to get up to 40% off any flights that you book.

If your child isn’t returning to school until the 7th September (and there are a few) then you might be able to get a cheap flight into Alicante and have a last minute holiday in the first week of September.

Or you may be looking to book a cheap flight to Alicante over the October half term. Well now is your chance to grab a flight at a 40% discount.

So if you are lucky enough to be able to travel from one of the following airports

Birmingham
Cardiff
East Midlands
Manchester

Then it might be worthwhile looking into whether you can grab a bargain flight to Alicante.

Terms and conditions are available on the bmibaby website but a summary of them are below;

Fares may rise throughout the promotional period.
For travel from 1st September until 16th December 2009
Bookings made using a debit card are subject to a processing fee of £2.75 per passenger per one way flight.
Bookings made using a credit card are subject to a processing fee of £3.75 per passenger per one way flight.
There is no charge for payments made using a Visa Electron card.
fares are subject to availability
limited availability during school holidays
no refunds permitted
conditions apply

I hope you manage to grab a bargain!

Flybe and A Free £40 Wine offer

2009-07-22T07:13:01Z

Todays blog was going to be advising you about Flybe’s special offer but it has turned into a ‘how to get £40 of free wine‘ blog.

Firstly I will start with the Flybe offer. They have today released 7 million seats that are discounted. These seats are priced from £21.99 one-way including taxes.

I understood that as part of the offer you were to also receive a £40 voucher to use towards a case of wine from Virgin wines if you book your flight before July 23rd.

But it seems that if you visit flybe.com and click on their advert promoting this offer that it takes you straight through to Virgin Wines. Virgin Wines then credit you with the £40 voucher and you don’t even have to buy the flight!

This voucher can only be used against a case of 12 bottles with a minimum basket value of £79.99 (ex p&p) and it needs to be used by November 2009.

So if you go ahead you can actually get 12 bottles of wine for about £3.50 per bottle.

Seems a good deal to me, I am on my way to order my 12 bottles of wine right now

The information for Virgin Wines voucher is as follows
CODE: FLYBE40WB
PASSWORD: WINEBANK

If you do find a cheap flight via flybe then be aware that

There may be a 21-day advance purchase necessary on some routes.
Travel before October 31.
Book via Flybe’s website (www.flybe.com) so you don’t incur the telephone-booking charge.
Be aware of the booking fees: debit cards - £1.50 with a minimum charge of £2 per transaction except if paying by Electron, credit cards - £2 on all bookings with a minimum charge of £3.50 per transaction.