Murcia

May 18th - May 22nd 2011

Wednesday 18th May 2011

Home

I was at G:Fest in London and Nikki had a patient so a bit of a disjointed start to our holiday. Mum and Dad arrived in Calvert first closely followed by Ann.

By the time I’d got back to Leighton Buzzard station the talk had already moved towards tea! 

I got home around 19.30 with Nikki coming in around 20.45.

We were having pizza, new potatoes and salad with fresh strawberries and cream so Mum & Ann got that sorted. 

Did a bit of car shuffling to make sure we were all set for the morning and headed off to bed about 22.30 after an impromptu foot session in the lounge for those who needed it!

Thursday 19th May 2011

Home to Murcia

Up around 07.15 and Mum, Nikki and Ann were already up! Had a leisurely breakfast before being dispatched to the newsagent for a paper for Dad. As soon as I returned I was then dispatched again – this time for shaving foam and stamps. I know my place. 

Everyone was showered, dressed, packed and ready by 10.35 so I figured we’d make an earlier than planned start. Ann had volunteered her large car for the journey to the airport so I managed to get 5 cases, one wheelchair, one laptop bag and various other bags into that before we headed off.

Uneventful and straight-forward journey up to Luton Airport. Arrived around 11.30 and went to the valet parking area. Chap was waiting for us. I went off and got a trolley while everyone else got themselves ready. Once out of the car we walked up the short slope to the airport with Dad pushing the chair and me pushing the trolley. 

Very quiet at the airport – no queue at the Ryanair desk so we sailed through check-in. Got given a form which I needed to show to Special Assistance so I went off to do that – leaving four people stood/sat near the lift to departures. By the time I came back with a chair for Dad – two of the people had disappeared off to the loo. I went to round them up and we made our way through. 

We had Priority Pass through security which made things quite simple. Once through we went to Est for some lunch. Me and Dad made a quick detour to W.H. Smith to buy a Sudoku book and the other three got us a table. Very nice lunch. I had an omelette, Mum, Nikki and Ann shared a sandwich and Dad had a banana sandwich he’d brought from home! Very nice coffee and good service. 

We went back to the Special Assistance desk and got our orders – as it was Ryanair we needed to make our own way to the gate. We were going from Gate 3 in the old part of the airport which is quite a trek so we set off. Found it without any problems and sat in the seating area at the front. Special Assistance turned up and got us loaded on the Ambu-Lift to take us out to the plane. We loaded through the back door and our seats two rows from the back had already been reserved for us. 

Quite a quick flight down to Murcia – I listened to my i-Pod, Nikki and Ann chatted while Mum & Dad did some reading. Landing in Murcia was heralded by the annoying RyanAir fanfare telling us we were on time. Yuk! 

We were met by the Special Assistance at Murcia who this time had an Ambu-Lift! Last time we came here Nikki was bumped down the steps on this odd walking chair device. The chaps helping us were excellent – one was a British ex-pat who was very chatty with Dad. 

Through passport control with no problems and on to collect our bags. While we were waiting I got the car sorted. Slight queue with Avis but we got there. The Special Assistance chaps took us right to the car. First class. 

Left the airport and drove up to the Intercontinental. I nipped in and got someone to help with the bags. Got all 3 rooms checked in with no problems. Mum & Dad were upgraded to a VERY nice suite – in fact the same one Stuart had on our last Murcia trip. We had a suite just around the corner with Ann in an Executive room a few doors down. 

Did some unpacking and nipped to Mum & Dad’s room to make sure they were OK. Think they liked the room! 

After a bit of down time we decided to go and see about dinner. Went to the hotel restaurant first which was deserted – plus they didn’t have any veggie. Made our excuses and left – sharpish. 

Walked around the “square” outside the hotel and spotted an Italian place that wasn’t open the previous times we’d been there. The woman on duty managed to squeeze us in and it was a great decision. Bruschetta to start with superb pasta to follow with Ann and Dad going for beef. Really good meal. Think we were all quite tired after this so headed off to bed.

Friday 20th May 2011

Murcia

Up around 07.30 so sat on the balcony having my first cup of coffee of the day. Love the fact this hotel has a kettle and cups etc in every room! Looks like a decent day – perhaps a little windy but the sun is out! 

Started ringing around about 09.00 to see who fancied breakfast. Met by the lifts at about 09.15 and headed down. 

Mum & Dad’s rate included breakfast – me, Nikki and Ann were at €19 a day – we’ll see about that on check-out. I asked if we could move to the closed off bit which was nearer the buffet – the waitress set the table for us so that was that sorted. Excellent breakfast. Dad went for fruit and then a selection of breads, cheeses and meats – I went for some fruit, orange juice and then an omelette – very nice indeed. 

After breakfast we went back up stairs so I could shower and get ready for our road trip to Torrevieja. 

Forgot to ask for the car to be brought round so had a short wait in the sunshine while that was sorted. Back out onto the dual carriageway for a southbound run to San Javier and then east to Torrevieja. 

I came off the motorway too early and we found ourselves in some back streets. After a bit of driving around I managed to figure where we were and got us into the town. We parked outside the shop and me and Dad went in to find out about a stroller. The chap had a customer there so we looked around until he was ready to serve us. Very good deal meaning we got the brand new stroller along with collection from La Torre for €46. 

Armed with his new stroller Dad set off with Mum for a quick walk down to the front. Nikki and Ann got back into the car and I dropped them outside a café on the front before going to park in the underground car park opposite. 

Had a nice coffee and a chat in the café watching the world go by. We even had some Abba courtesy of some pretty ropey buskers! 

Back into the car and back up to La Torre for lunch. We stopped off at the supermarket and got bread, cream cheese, meat for Dad, tomatoes, crisps, milk and biscuits. Headed up to Mum & Dad’s suite for lunch. Very enjoyable. 

After lunch it was time for some down-time. Went back to bed and read for a bit before dozing. When I woke up Nikki was on the balcony enjoying the sun. Had some coffee and got my laptop working. Nipped down to Ann’s room to make sure she was OK – she’d been sat on the balcony reading and dozing but was annoyed by four loud men sat outside just below her. I suggested a jug of water! 

I’d been looking at where we could go for dinner. Thanks to TripAdvisor I’d found a restaurant called Viva in the nearby town of Los Nietos – well I say nearby. You have to remember La Torre is in the middle of nowhere so anywhere “nearby” is about 20 minutes by car! 

Got directions worked out using Google Earth and headed off there around 19.00. Easy drive and for once our directions worked out perfectly – only one U turn needed. 

Nikki had called ahead so they were expecting us. Very welcoming hostess – restaurant was on a very blowy sea-front in Los Nietos. There were kite-surfers on the bay as we went in. We were the only ones there as they’re not in high season yet. And the meal was incredible. I had a veggie lasagne, Dad and Ann had beef which they both agreed was one of the best they’ve had – and desert was to die for. I had the most stunning vanilla cheesecake. Everything had obviously been made by hand and was gorgeous. Thanked our hostess very much and complimented her (and her husband by proxy) on the quality of their food. If they opened this restaurant in a busier town they’d make a fortune! Can see why it was number one on TripAdvisor.

Back to the hotel and everyone ready for bed by about 22.30

Saturday 21st May 2011

Murcia

 

Again a quiet start – all up and ready for breakfast by 09.00ish. We were put on a table for 5 in the main dining room this morning. Very attentive waitress who looked after us. 

After breakfast we nipped back up to the rooms to wash off the jam I had up to my elbows and headed out on our second road trip. Today was Cartagena – an old Roman town. 

Easy drive to get there – I like these Spanish roads. No potholes and hardly any traffic. Dropped my four fellow travellers off at the corner of the main square and parked in the underground car park opposite. Mum & Dad went in to the Roman ruins – me, Nikki and Ann went for a wander up the main street. Stopped for some postcards and then set up camp outside a café on the main street. 

3 café con leches later we decided to walk up further until we came to the second square. I doubled back to meet Mum & Dad who’d come out of the ruins. There was some kind of protest going on in the square – I later found out it was to do with the Spanish local elections. 

Met up with Ann and Nikki at the top of the town and went for a coffee and some biscuits in a side-street. Really nice to sit there in the warm as people ambled by – seemingly with nowhere to go in a hurry! 

Walked back down and I got the car before we went back to La Torre. Lunch in Mum & Dad’s suite and then time for a nap! 

We met up again at about 18.30 – heading back to Cartagena – this time for dinner. Last time we’d been here we’d found a decent Italian near the Roman ruins. When we got there it hadn’t opened for the evening so I told them we were coming back and we went into the main square to have a pre-dinner coffee. Dad ordered his usual hot chocolate – but it was literally a cup of melted chocolate. He passed on that! I went up to the pharmacy to get some tablets and then we went back up to La Tagliatella. In all honesty I wish we hadn’t bothered.  

They were quite sniffy and when the food came out it was totally awful. Actually to be fair the starter of broccoli soup was OK but the pasta dish for the main course was literally covered in salt. It has to be the only meal I’ve eaten where I could still taste salt 3 hours later. I explained to the manager that we weren’t paying for that and we decided to call it a night at that point. This was supposed to be a special dinner for Ann’s birthday but it was rather let down by the atrocious food. 

Back to La Torre and in bed by 23.00

Sunday 22nd May 2011

Murcia to Home

Up at normal time and had a leisurely breakfast. Me, Nikki and Ann were going home today but on a late flight. I’d arranged 15.00 check-out for our two rooms so we just kind of mooched around. 

Back in the room I had another doze and then we did some half-hearted packing before going to Mum & Dad’s room for lunch. Mum had already prepared it! We sat and chatted for a while before going back to tackle the packing properly. We left Mum & Dad our chopping board and coffee so our case was a little lighter! 

Man came for the bags at 15.00 and we bade our farewells to Mum & Dad. 

Quick drive down to San Javier – stopped for petrol near the airport and I dropped Nikki & Ann off at the front of the terminal building before dropping the car off with Avis. 

Now something that’s never happened to us before – we were the first there. The check-in desk hadn’t even opened! We went to the Special Assistance desk and got ourselves registered there and then sat for about 20 minutes until the Ryanair person turned up to check us in. We were at the front of the queue so by the time we got checked in and walked around to security there was no queue at all. 

Decided we were peckish by this point so we went for a Subway. It started getting busier as more people came through for the Stansted flight – plus they were soon joined by a Madrid and Dublin flight as well. We had a quick look around the 2 shops on offer and plonked ourselves down by the gate. 

Our Special Assistance man turned up and said he’d be back for us. There was short delay of about 15 minutes on the incoming aircraft. But by the time it was visible on the horizon there was already a queue at the gate! We waited for the SA man who took us through and out on to the tarmac. He pushed Nikki’s chair out and got us into the Ambu-Lift and we took up our usual position in the 2nd row from the back of the plane – very efficient indeed. 

Flight home felt quite long. Lots of cloud over France and looked quite gloomy as we flew over the Channel but it brightened up as we got in to Luton. We were late arriving so they couldn’t play the “On Time” fanfare! 

They were quite swift getting us off the plane and we were through security and collecting our bags in no time at all. 

We picked up the car outside and drove home. Rang Mum on the way to see how they were getting on and it sounded like they’d had a nice, relaxing afternoon. Got home around 21.45 and had some toast and coffee before bed! 

Excellent trip yet again!