A Casual Jaunt to Murcia, Part 1.

So yeah. My friend Jai and I went on a trip to Spain last week on a girly venture to boost tans, chillax, eat, drink and get a bit cultured - this is what happened!

Day 1

First off, as much as a Spanish summer holiday is totes worth rising at 2.43am for, forcing myself up off of Jai’s sofa bed and stumbling across the room to turn off my teeth-grindingly awful alarm after about 10 minutes worth of sleep is not the one. Hair askew and coffee in hand, I slapped on some makeup (don’t ask) and hauled my suitcase to my car and pro-plussed it up, ready to depart. After several minutes of trying to shoe-horn the suitcases into my tiny yet trusty Daewoo Matiz, we set off towards Bristol Airport.

All was running smoothly and the Sat Nav was behaving up until the moment we reached Box, where the roadwork people apparently felt the need to be a complete pain in the arse and send us on a massive detour, not providing nearly enough diversion signage for my liking. Eventually we managed to figure out how to get to the motorway and we made it to the airport with only a few minor hiccups.

Once there, we were surprised to see that the shops were, in fact, open, which allowed us to indulge in a Starbucks brekkie and browse the duty-free, looking through things which the airport though we might need for our journey. 

Nothing particularly exciting happened on the plane, unless you count the commencement of my puzzle book, bought in the airport WHSmith which should have been made of gold for the price they wrangled out of me for it. Other than that, all was of the norm and we got off the plane, experiencing that marvelous hit-you-in-the-face-heat-feeling most of us crave before our holidays. 

We were collected from Murcia airport by the loverly Scottish Carol, the key holder of my Parents house in the small Colsta Calida town of Balsicas. She took us to a supermarket in the town of San Javier so that we could get some water and food for the 5 days that we were staying in the region. It was here that we found some magnificent seafood for only €5 which later became a delicious Paella. We also found these, which are quite a lot like straight yumyums, with a equally comical name...

After this, we headed to the house and aside from a bit of a kerfuffle derived from my Dad not giving me all of the keys that we needed, we settled in immediately and were by (and in) the pool by 12am (TAN ME!). 

Following this we decided to have paella, cooked by Jai using the aforementioned bargain seafood and we settled down with some homemade sangria and a high brow film (I'm kidding - we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

Day 2

After a long and leisurely lie in, we got up, had pan au chocolat (because you have to, even if you are not in France) and readied ourselves for the beach. This all took a mysteriously long time, meaning that by the time we got to the bus stop, it was siesta time and there were no buses. Handy. Considering our lack for hire car (as we are both giant wusses), we decided to defer the beach idea and instead did much as we did the day before - sunbathe, eat and be merry.

(I'm reading Miranda Hart's 'Is it Just Me', by the way, which is HILARE)

 

 

 Jai also took this opportunity to take some scenic photographs of the floor...

Bit weird.

That evening, we decided to indulge in the local culture and Spanish cuisine by going joining a whole host of other brits at the Wok Buffet, a wonderful (and bargintastic - all you can eat for about €10) Chinese buffet where you choose your raw ingredients and take them to the chef. They also give you free shots at the end of your meal which is a bonus!

 

We were planning to go to a bar afterwards which didn't end up happening due to an unfortunate amount of Spanish Brandy, causing me to almost fall over and being very silly around the fit, Ricky Martin-alike taxi driver with lovely tattooey arms.

Day 3

And on the third day, the lord made the water park. In this case, this water park/ zoo combo in Murcia (very easy to get to on the train from the village and then a taxi). It's a bit pricey at £25 per person, but it's great fun and the tickets are valid for 3 days, so you can do the zoo on a separate day if so desired (we didn't on this occasion). Despite the annoying kids in the lazy river (I'm such a pensioner), this childish day out was a bit of a giggle, and it did wonders for my tan (although it did give Jai sun stroke) as it was HOT up there on the hill. We also got a bit of a workout by taking part in a pool Zumba class (it seems a lot more acceptable to thrust around in public if it's in the name of fitness). 

After this mini adventure, we went back to the house and decided to go out in the village for a drink. After about 20 minutes wandering around looking for somewhere nice to go, we plumped for a nice little Spanish bar with an outside seating area. Cue very strong, cheap drinks and Jai flexing her Spanish language skills, leaving me spending much of the evening looking flabbergasted and confused and a bit drunk! Very impressed by her bi-lingual-ism however, especially considering I dropped French in year 9. Go Jai!

 

OK, so that's probably enough for this little escapade for now, as I can tell that you have either already stopped reading or you are currently praying for this to end! Stay tuned (actually don't, that would be a bit pointless and tedious) for the next installation to this marvelous tale. 

Until next time my dears =).

  

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