Torrevieja

Today marks the first time that I will travel abroad since I was 18. That was *cough* 19 years ago. We are Torrevieja bound! Last week we were so bored of the wet and damp weather in Yorkshire that we embarked on a mission for warmer climates. What we didn’t realise was that the weather was going to get much better in the UK too just as we were due to leave. Typical! That being said as we drove down to Gatwick airport yesterday ready for our flight this morning, we were driving into a reported 60 hour thunderstorm that was sweeping its way northwards.

M25. Always a pleasure!

As per usual the M25 decided to be slow moving and seemed just down to the amount of traffic rather than accidents. It gave us plenty of time to watch the planes taking off from Heathrow and imagine how we would be feeling in just 12 hours time!We arrived at my brother’s and parked Chewy on his drive with about an inch to spare before kissing the gutter. We checked we had our passports about 20 times and had a shower before heading to bed. It was only on the last round of checks that I thought about doing the bag up and realised the carry on bag I had chosen had a broken zip. It’s 11pm and we have to be up at 2:30…We scan the guest bedroom in a panic as we can’t be slamming the van doors at this time. Spying a sports bag on the wardrobe -we borrow/steal it. I make a note to tell my brother in the morning!As night sets in, so do the storms. At 2:30 we awake to thunder and lightning. A rumble that fills us with a little bit of worry. Taking off in a thunderstorm is not ideal! The journey to the airport came free with a light show but luckily by the time we arrived at Gatwick it was passing. It was almost dawn but already the airport was buzzing with people all excited to be flying today.Check in went well with just a small technical hitch over my hair gel being in a bottle that was too big, even though it was almost empty. I hadn’t realised it’s not on the quantity left in the bottle that counts, it’s the bottle size. Noted for next time. We headed through security and Louise told me we were going to the No1 lounge. She had booked us in as a surprise. As I haven’t travelled around very much I hadn’t experienced a lounge before and I loved it! How relaxing! And a prosecco at 5am isn’t a bad start to the day!Soon we were boarding the plane via a short shuttle bus ride from the gate to the plane. A Boeing 737. Smaller than Louise would like but just happy it didn’t have propellers! Taxiing to the runway we felt the excitement and suspense build as the rain was just stopping but the clouds were still dark. The captain said there may be some initial turbulence but should be a good flight. Norwegian airlines have in flight WiFi and an app that let you see where you are on your journey as well as speed and height.

Where did we fly?

According to the captain our flight took us out over Brighton to the English channel and across to France. We coasted down past Bordeaux and over the Pyrenees mountains. Even in June they were topped with snow still! After a quick trolly dash up the aisle with drinks and duty free, our two hour 20 minute journey was over just as quick as it had begun. Coming in to land in Alicante was a delight as we descended close to the mountains and were able to see the stunning landscape unfold before our eyes. It seems the captain was also distracted by the scenery as his landing was quite sudden but safely down, we were able to disembark.

To Torrevieja

We are heading to the Spanish mainland city of Torrevieja. It’s a sunny city on the Costa Blanca. Known for its Mediterranean climate and sandy beaches. Torrevieja translates to Old Town and was once a town demolished by an earthquake in the 1800’s. A recent renovation initiative has seen a brand new city emerge built for tourism. It has the largest market on the mainland every Friday and we can’t wait to go! We were very lucky to have had a lift to our villa and we were given a small guided tour along the way. We drove past some stunning salt lakes where the flamingos hang out before moving on.

The villa

So here we are. Having found our way to the local Aldi (I know… We flew to Spain to go to Aldi but we needed food!) We made ourselves a fresh lunch with meat and cheese, salad and pickles. No bread, cakes or crisps! A glass of wine to toast our arrival and lots of plans to be made. We decided it was far too hot, 30 degrees in the shade, so went for a little walk to find the swimming pool. How beautiful it was with palm trees tapping in the breeze, colourful flowers a small pool for the local residents of this villa block. The water was nice and cool but not cold, so was a delight to cool off after the belting rays of the sun. After a short swim we took advantage of the sunshine and basked in her heat, talking about destinations we want to visit and that we could easily fall in love with Spain!It’s day one of our trip to Torrevieja. We are so excited to experience the rest of what is on offer and will keep you up to date on our adventures. Right now, time for a short nap before we BBQ some fresh fish! Please comment, share and tag your friends. Let us know where to visit below if you have any suggestions for us!