Today's the day that we meet the lovely Patricia (Christine's mum) in Benidorm. Christine has been before so knows what to expect but James is in for a surprise. Within 10 minutes we have seen at least 10 people with their big white bellies on display, yep we've definitely arrived in Benidorm. Its strange being in Spain and not having to make the effort to speak Spanish, even when James tries to he gets a response in English. After checking into our comfy rooms we head to the sea front for some dinner. Pat is ready to have stern words with someone who is staring at her until she realises it is actually a statue. Benidorm has a lovely beach and we spend the afternoon people watching before walking along to the harbour to see what boat trips we can sign up for.
Time for Benidorm night life, almost every bar is caberet so there's no chance of a quiet night. We see the "British Bulldog of comedy" and are apprehensive but he is actually quite funny and James gets to hear Pat's infamous laugh. It doesn't stop there as we see tributes to The Bay City Rollers, Lionel Ritchie, The Beatles and a very smiley soul group.
The next day the boat man convinces us to have a trip to Calpe and its a fight to grab one of the 10 seats on the top deck. Pat spends the whole trip pointing and laughing at James because he has to sit on his own, I'm sure I heard her shout "Billy no mates!"
Arriving in Calpe we wonder what there is to see. There is pretty beach and a huge rock. That's about it. With 3 hours to kill in the smallest town in Spain we have lunch and then take a dip in the sea. Its a beautiful clear sea and we see fish swimming around our legs.
After a siesta we get picked up by Pat's ex-boss Craig who takes us to Altea where he lives. Its smaller and quieter than Benidorm but still full of English people so we're not getting the Spanish vibe. Its nice to be treated to dinner by Craig and his kids have some entertaining stories for us. We'd better not put them on here in case the police are reading!
More strolling around and shopping today and after spending the last couple of days avoiding thousands of people on disability scooters we're pretty sure that most of them are just lazy (at €6 a day they're not really discouraged from hiring them!) James tries to get Christine to go in the sea but at the sight of 2 waves she declares it "too choppy" and goes in a sulk. We head to the nearby all day karaoke bar to see some errr... talent? The butch barmaid gives James a look that says "I eat geeks like you for breakfast" so its back to the safety of the hotel. More evening entertainment with the Commodores and Take That, you'd think they were the real thing the way some of the drunk women were acting. Stage invasions for a Benidorm tribute act?!
The next day we meet up with Pat's friend Jackie for a walk around the market and a brew. A bit more window shopping (sorry James) and then out for a curry. One of the waiters takes a shine to Christine and serenades her with a Bollywood song. James gets the super glue out and attaches himself to Christine's side. More entertainment at The White Horse, James points out that its ironic that the ex-pats are making jokes about "getting our country back" and the amount of foreigners in England, ermm pot calling kettle mate! I'm sure Benidorm used to be a lovely Spanish town but its definitely been taken over by the British. Still, the beaches are stunning and the people are very friendly so I can see why people like coming here. Thanks to Mama Sealey for an entertaining few days, it was great to see you.
Benidorm, you are one of a kind!
No comments:
Post a Comment