The holiday commenced in style and great fun with a coach trip to Stansted with our passengers all fired up and ready to go ! The road traffic was also luckily quite smooth and with holiday enthusiasts socialising and getting to know each other on the bus, the 2 hour ride seemed like a breeze!
What followed was a nice afternoon with our group nearly taking over the Weatherspoon’s in Stansted airport, a fairly comfortable flight to Alicante sat in the company of friends and continuing the chat and banter on the flight too.. On our arrival, the pre-arranged airport transfer was waiting for us and we reached the hotel with a quick check in and many retiring for the night to prepare for the days ahead!
Day 2 of the trip started in a typical lazy morning style (far from the busy London morning), which is what holidays are all about right??..a nice long night’s sleep, a late buffet breakfast, a hot shower and then lounging around the hotel, taking group pictures etc. The coach and tour guide arrived at noon to take us through a brief city tour of Benidorm enroute to Mundomar, mainly an aquatic zoo with a number of activities & attractions for entire family…especially the children on the trip loved it !
The rest of the day was spent here watching the animals and birds, watching the animal shows the most spectacular being the dolphin show, a late lunch stopover at the venue itself and ofcourse some shopping for the women at the exit. We then headed back to the hotel in the comfort of the private coach and resumed the evening after a freshen up break at the large bar and live music area at the hotel. The dance enthusiasts were treated to some live Spanish music and learning a few steps from the experienced Spanish dancers on the floor!
Day 3 was also a clear sunny day, you could never go wrong in Spain it seemed. This was Easter Sunday and the Group dress theme was colour blue… It was great to see everyone assembled in the lobby after breakfast in the theme dress code, from adults through to infants ! The customary coach and guide arrived as the previous day and the itinerary for the day was Guadalest Castle and Waterfalls. It was a beautiful scenic ride to the castle, passing through a lot of plantation areas… oranges, lemons, olive farms etc all of which the Spanish region is known for.
The Castle was up a hillock with the usual shopping and touristic attractions. However, the highlight which delighted the group was this mind-blowing view of the valley and azure lake from above the hilltop. You could easily spend a few hours here taking in the views, doing the photoshoots and shopping for memorabilia and souvenirs… exactly what the group did to their heart’s content..
We finished off with a sumptuous Paella lunch and headed back to the hotel for an evening surprise.. an Indian dinner and the discotheque in the hotel offered exclusively for “I for India” where we rocked the night dancing to some choicest Bollywood and Kollywood dance numbers.
To balance the sight-seeing and tours of the previous days, Day 4 was a very relaxed day with people getting to the nearby Lavante beach on their mode of choice… hop-on, hop-off bus, cycle or walk ! Much of the day was lazing around the beach and lots of shopping opportunity in the touristic area around the beach. The evening was also everyone to themselves in the hotel, visiting the viewing galley on it’s 43rd floor offering some stunning views of the beach on one side and hills on the other.
Day 5 began a sense of nostalgia for many about the trip and slightly mixed feelings about the return to London.. Nevertheless the chatter on the hotel transfer coach and on flight in their friends groups kept the groups busy. The coach journey from Stansted back to London was also well spent with constructive and very valuable feedback and reflections from the group on I for India’s maiden voyage. The Group disbanded gradually at the different drop off points, with some very fond memories of the trip and a lot of new friends and acquaintances.