So, I might be going to Spain later this year. Might.One good reason not to go is that I am on a new mission to be as frugal as possible. I'm hardly a spendthrift, but I still owe a considerable amount in student loans (and unlike some people, I'm paying them back), and given that I've already been to Spain, it seems foolish to spend money like that. Especially since this trip would include my champagne-tastes mother. However, I wouldn't be going for the whole time -- mom and one auntie will be there for three weeks, but I and another auntie would just meet them there for the last week. Luckily, Auntie D. has the same beer budget I do, so we were thinking of renting a holiday apartment or hotel room there of which there are ten gazillion there, including ones run by a company I used before on my first trip to Spain, www.cheaperthanhotels.co.uk.
This first visit to Spain was a slightly unusual one, I was accompanying a friend who went there for weight-loss surgery. Because I'm a good friend like that. And I speak Spanish. That meant the first week of that 'vacation' was spent in a clinica in a sleepy, but beautiful little town in the interior. That was different, and strangely enough, fun in its own way. The next week was spent in Alicante, on the Costa del Sol. There are a lot of Alicante Hotels on the www.cheaperthanhotels.co.uk, including the one I stayed at before. Alicante was lovely, but I find myself leaning towards staying in Benidorm because 1.) If you look at Benidorm Hotels you see it's pretty cheap and 2.) Sylvia Plath lived there for a summer. But the same goes for the Costa Brava Hotels and the Costa del Sol Hotels so in theory we could stay anywhere in that area.
I would, however, like to go someplace I haven't already been if I'm going re-visit a country, so I'd personally like to go to Barcelona (which can be expensive, but there are cheaper areas like Las Ramblas, or at least it looks that way from Barcelona Las Ramblas Hotels). Yeah, these places are most assuredly "European-style hotels" but seriously, I love that. It's so different than what we have here. In the U.S., you've stayed at one BlahBlah Inn, you've stayed at them all. Not so in Europe.
I have a feeling though that Alicante it will be, which is hardly the worst outcome. It's one of the more beautiful places I've been, and helpful for the non-Spanish speaking among us (Mom. Aunt A. Aunt D.) is the fact that there is a MASSIVE influx of Brits there, as it's an incredibly popular holiday destination for them, and most of the locals speak enough English for the non-polyglots to get along. And, in certain quarters, you can actually get authentic British pub food. THAT is how many Brits holiday there! Aunt D. was a little worried about what these places "are like" but I have assured here they are perfectly clean and as safe as anywhere is likely to be. My friend and I ended up staying in a HUGE holiday flat right next to the beach for then then-equivalent of $30 each per night. Try finding that in the states. So, we'll see if my love for travel overcomes my need to be cheap.
If I do go, I would love to bring Dancing in Socks guy with, because he's never been and it is just so beautiful and romantic and lovely there. I really can't describe it -- you wake up in the morning to the smell of the ocean and the sound of tourists, normally annoying but somehow not in that place. You eat breakfast, you go down to the beautiful white sand beaches, you maybe walk around town, you have a siesta, you wake up and eat again, then walk on the beach and watch the incredible sunsets, then go to sleep again to the sound of the ocean and the smell of the salt air. That's it, but it's more than enough. And if you pick the right travel service (hint, think like a British person and use a travel service like www.cheaperthanhotels
Elle
