Banned?

 Something must happen in the heat of Benidorm to bring out naughtiness. While on a day trip out with Justin and Jamie, Jamie and I found our new calling in life.

We inexplicably found ourselves in a clothes store called Bellaminis. That doesn’t sound unusual. I hear you cry, no it isn’t! But before we knew it we were spotting Spanish fashion items we just couldn’t resist.  

This is where the unusual (for us at least) came in… 

We started with a little leather number.

Then found a skirt to go with it

Jamie judged these a little dull for me, so we moved onto the sparkles! However the wise woman that she is, suggested the UK Parliament could do with a few more sparkly women, so I’m trying it out to gauge interest… 

Fearing for gravity defying exposure we spotted a stunning denim diamante number that might work for a party night. However it felt a bit too plain - clearly not enough glitz. 

Would this be better we wondered?

Although this combo did seem much more… me!

Jamie became a little concerned that I’d feel the chill of an evening, as there can be a breeze after sundown, and we wouldn’t want me to catch cold! She thought this stylish Gillet would be suitable and fit right in with my wardrobe.

We did however find a couple of items we just couldn’t identify. For instance, what on earth is this?

Underwear? Outerwear, torture device, compression garment? 

And I’m reminded of long johns grandpa’s used to wear, but this wasn't in the lingerie area… Do people wear this as a complete garment? Is perhaps ice skating  popular here?

Dodging behind clothing rails, giggling like teenagers we hid from the shop staff desperate not to be barred before our mission was complete. Before we knew it we were in the formal wear section and found ourselves singing Defying Gravity, albeit very quietly so we wouldn’t be overheard!

Are you team Glinda or Elphaba? I think you all know I'm Elphaba, right? Jamie having recently watched part one, has said she is definitely a pink sparkles, team Glinda woman.

Anyone who knows me well knows I can’t resist accessories. Namely matching shoes and bags. Here we found a problem. Clearly every one of the previous outfits fitted me perfectly (well, one arm in a leg hole at least), but shoes, nope. I love my pink boots, but a girl can never have enough pink boots and these were perfect; if I didn’t have ‘sturdy nurse’ legs and big feet. Oh how I love these!

There was a rather limited selection of bags available - which was disappointing. However this caught my eye immediately, after all who doesn’t want a handbag in the form of a woodland owl?  

Beaten only by a pumpkin! - I know a few people who would love this, I was tempted!

As we circled the store, we found Ian and Justin pretending they had never met us before, and bore no responsibility for the feral wives we are (if you have seen my Facebook post recently you will understand!)

However, it wouldn’t be right to find a new outfit without finding something for one’s husband.

Ian was not impressed with my choices. Can’t think why!

As we went to leave the store we clearly took a wrong turn, found ourselves heading through the changing room into The Rusty nail, and then when trying to exit, I found myself on the catwalk! 

Were we banned? Not this time, but there is another chapter to this tale that could end in disaster…..

Tune in again soon to find out!

Camping Villamar

 We’re on a different campsite this year, and at first, we really weren’t sure. It’s further out of town, and most people here own a caravan and awning with a permanent pitch. Some live here all year, some have their home in the UK (it’s almost exclusively British people here) and come out for holidays, but we are the only people we have seen in a motorhome, here temporarily.

It means when we first got here we were a bit taken aback with the look of most pitches, they have a frame around the caravan and awning that is covered in sun screen black netting (understandable, but not pretty), they take up the whole pitch, so it feels more enclosed than the usual site we stay on that is mainly motorhomes and touring caravans.

However, it has the most fabulous club house, shop, spotless amenity block with amazing showers and everyone is incredibly friendly. It also has a laundry room where there has always been free washing machines (unheard of on a campsite - it’s usually a free for all!).

There is nothing better than getting the laundry done, a hot shower and hair wash, then sitting in the sun while the washing and hair dries.

Although for us, it has been hot and sunny, it’s clearly not warm enough as the outside pool is closed, so if you fancy a swim, it’s the indoor, heated pool. Such a hardship! 

We’ve been here just over a week now, and it has really grown on us. It’s lovely and quiet, everything is incredibly clean, it feels very safe, as you can’t just walk into the site, there’s a gate with security.

There’s a real sense of community here, it’s clear we are visitors, but unlike many UK sites with caravan owners where our welcome hasn’t always been warm, here, everyone is genuinely pleased to see you, checks you are having a wonderful time, chats, shares ideas and generally welcomes you to ‘their’ holiday park. 

We’ve got used to the location now, we used to go out to eat most nights as we needed decent food as the campsite we were on offered a rather limited menu. Here, it’s wonderful - ok… perhaps not as many vegetables as we’d like, but plenty of salad, and hot freshly cooked food at very reasonable prices. 

There’s a fair few choices too. With a bottle of wine at 5.20 Euro, you can’t go too far wrong. 

We've yet to explore much further as we are enjoying chilling here, but we have ventured out on our new eclectic bike and I survived the journey (I am not a confident rider!).

I’ve been learning embroidery, having been inspired by the Heritage sewing project I took part in at home, and have found it really meditative. I'm not great yet, but I'm really enjoying it. I’m certainly better at it than I was at crochet!

Ian has been learning how to design for and use a new machine he has coming once we get home and his next Hurdy Gurdy design is coming together. So all in all we are keeping busy in our home away from home.

Of course one of the reasons we come here is to see Justin and Jamie. They are such lovely people who have no idea how incredibly talented they are. We went to see them perform, and they have really changed up their show and it’s fabulous (unlike some of the shows we’ve seen!!!). I think I’ll tell you about those in another blog - there is much to say!

Pip and Joy at Cassa Foster

We always have the warmest welcome when we head to Villamartín, it’s beginning to feel a bit like home from home and we always look forward to visiting. As I said previously Ian’s favourite Spanish citizens live here and although he does look forward to the human company, we all accept the pooches come first! Luckily he really isn’t too allergic to Pip and Joy, so although he can’t stroke them, he can spend time with them and play catch - new balls provided, of course.

For those of you who are new here, Vickki and I were at school together, we weren’t best friends, but of course we got on really well, our school was small, and everyone knew everyone. A few years ago, when I mentioned on Facebook we were in Benidorm, Vickki got in touch to say she was living not far away and we should visit. We are both so glad we did. Although a bit camera shy, hence the lack of photos, we always have a fabulous time with them both. 

This time we stayed for several days, joining their brilliant friends group at the bar, explored a few more restaurants and generally wound down after the journey. Ian offered his tech support skills and saved the day for Vickki and her precious files.

It’s funny how as you get older, spending time with people you enjoy being with becomes so much more important than doing stuff or having things. Thank you so much for having us Vickki and Darren (and Pip and Joy) all being well, we’ll be back next year!

It’s only a couple of hours drive (at our speed) from Villamartín to Benidorm, and it’s a pretty journey. Blue sky, turquoise sea, green olive trees and orange groves line the road and before you know it you have the familiar Bull and then Benidorm Island comes into sight… and the next stage of our winter retreat begins.