Never mind the weather eat drink and be merry

See the san Juan celebration http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygexeM2QokQ


...Stop press... Spain beat Russia 3-0 in the eurocup last night. We suspected as much when the fireworks were set off for 2 hours last night and cars were driving around and around tooting their horns and people shouting and singing. Wonder what they will do if they win on Sunday?

Its getting warm now. 32 C today here but inland there are warnings about the heat its going to be as high as 41C in Cordoba.

The problem with ex-pat brits, the weather is never right. August "its too hot, I can't stand this heat", September "Its still hot" October "The temperature is getting better but its still hot. November "We came to Spain to get away from the rain", December "its getting chilly at night now", January "I need a coat on and we have got the duvet out now". February, "This is as bad as being in England, rain and cold too". March "still a bit rainy but at least its getting warmer". April "Its getting a bit nicer now, but not warm enough yet". May. "It should soon be summer, its been cold long enough". June. "Its getting flippin hot now". July "This is too hot I can't stand the heat". Now to any brit reading this imagine being in England.
January/February/March/April/May/June/July/August/September/October/November/December. "its wet, cold and windy". So enjoy Spain!

Another good part of being in Spain is fresh vegetables. The Friday market was on today and my wife Ange went to buy some fruit and veg. She got apples, pears, oranges, plums, bananas, kiwi fruit and tomatoes, and the veg were, radish, carrots, celery, lettuce, spring onions, potatoes and garlic. For this the bill came to 20 Euros or approx £16. That will keep us going until the next market day. You can also buy cooked fresh chicken, jamon (ham) many different cooked meats and confectionery too. People come from the other side of Benidorm for this market. The one thing I item I can't get is a pair of shoes, I am size 12 and the biggest they do here is 11. So I have to get them from England when I go there or ask someone to get me a pair and bring them over when they come on holiday.

For clothes there is carrefour a French owned supermarket chain. T-Shirts for 5 euros which may last a year but they are great value, most of the year we wear shorts vests or T-Shirts and sandals, so clothing is not expensive. Admittedly white goods and electrical stuff is expensive, but these days fridges last a good while, and because its so nice who needs a telly we go out. And if you want football then just go to a bar and watch it.

Eating out is very affordable. There are some excellent restaurants. Paneils in the Old town is arguably the best. Owned and run by Patrick and Neil, they do a menu of the day for 14 euros which includes as an option a steak with pepper sauce. They also have an a la carte menu. The menu del dia is 3 courses. Patrick is the front of house meet and greet guy and does a superb job, everyone feels welcome and special and is assisted by Lynn. In the kitchen is Neil who performs his magic with the assistance of Dee and Paul. Together they make a good team and if you don't have a good experience then your standards are greater than I have ever experienced.

To get the real flavour of Spain you need to visit Benidorm's Tapas ally. There are some marvellous dishes to be had. Calamari, mussels in chilli sauce, albondigas (similar to meatballs), squid, sepia a la plancha (cuttle fish done on a hot plate), chupitos (baby octopus) morcilla (like black pudding but with rice instead of fat) various fish, hake, sole, cod etc. chorizo (spicy red sausage) and many other dishes. The Spanish like to drink red Cava with tapas, and very nice it is too.

And as a final thought for those of you who like to have a good feed after a skin full of beer on the avenida Mediteraneo, there is an excellent kebab shop with chilli sauce and salad in a pitta bread. We have it all and sun...