Salou '15
Monday, August 17, 2015
First of all, I just want to say a big thank you for the feedback on my last post. It was very unexpected and pleasantly surprising! If any of you have any ideas on things you want to me to post about, or which kinds of posts you prefer, make sure you leave a comment underneath any of my posts and I will gladly consider.
So as Summer is coming to an end, sadly, I decided I would talk about my highlights this Summer. And it so happens to be that my holiday to Salou, Spain this year was my biggest (so far)! I flew out of this Summer mocking country that I like to call Ireland on the 30th of June and headed to somewhere where the sun is actually happy to make an appearance, a place that goes by the name of Spain.
I had been to Spain 5 years ago and pronounced it as my favourite holiday yet, so I was delighted when I found out we were going again. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of my outfit to the airport but just believe me when I say it was nice.
Upon arriving, we took a bus to our hotel except the funny thing was every time my mam would tell the bus driver the name of the hotel, he would repeat another name that we had no clue meant! So we were basically taking a risk of going on a bus to somewhere we didn't know in a foreign country. Now that I think about it, that sounds very much like me. However, it was at times like this that I regretted taking French instead of Spanish at school. (Don't tell my French teacher I said that, I'd be sent to the guillotine).
We got to a stop and he started beckoning us to get down but we could see no sign whatsoever of our hotel. He began to try and point us down to the road where it was but we had 4 suitcases and after waking up at 3am, nobody in my family was ready to start dragging those corpses around to who knows where. My mam resolved to getting a taxi and it turned out to be very funny because it was a 2 minute drive as the hotel really was right there.
Now it came to the afternoon and the heat was absolutely scorching and of COURSE my sister left the sunscreen in the car in Ireland. And I'm just thinking...you had one job...but okay that's cool I'll just roast out here, bit of UV rays can't kill you right? Nope. Wrong decision. You do not make decisions like that when you happen to be in one of the hottest countries in Europe during the reportedly hottest week in Summer. I repeat, you do not make decisions like that. So we of course had to go to the local supermarket and get us some sun cream before the sun made us scream.
In the hotel we were staying at, they had shows every night and they were brilliant! They ranged from pool parties, to magic shows, to a woman dancing with fire, to old couples doing the salsa to a Spanish DJ. It was very interesting to say the least and it really made me appreciate the holiday. At the hotel's restaurant, I decided I would try something new every day and my goodness. I thought I had tasted good food before; I was wrong.
A lovely old lady led us to the big market one day, as it was quite a distance from our hotel and we didn't know how to get there. The experience at the market taught me that you can definitely bargain things down if you try, my mam being an expert at that. I was purchasing one gorgeous bikini when the guy that was selling it to me starts saying with a smile on his face that I look like Lady Gaga and I was like...um, what. I didn't know if that was supposed to be an insult or a compliment until he then quickly said he meant Naomi Campbell, which I found very funny.
We also spent a few days at the Portaventura theme park and water park. That again was extremely fun. As it was it's 20 year anniversary, the park was much better than it was the last time I had visited. There were certain shows that went on at the different areas of the park like Chinatown and Hawaii. They were very fun to watch and also participate in. One thing I love about holidays is you don't have to care who can see you, because you don't know anyone!
The rides we went on were also very fun, minus the fact that I couldn't go on any rollercoasters as I seemingly am the only person in my family who is not afraid of them. However, the first thing we planned to do was go on a train around the park to see everything there and we queued for 30 minutes I believe before everyone queuing realised there was a sign that said it was closed for the day. Very embarrassing.
This photo probably isn't necessary and you'll probably be thinking "Okay Sophie..." when you see this but anybody who knows me knows that I love elephants so this photo was not a choice for me to include. The dress I am wearing is from H&M.
When we wanted to leave the park, we realised it was more like a maze than anything else. We had no idea where we were going and were exhausted and hot and that is not a great combination, trust me. Nobody we spoke to seemed to understand English so I resolved to speaking French to people and thankfully, they understood and I understood the information they told me (French teacher would be proud of me) and we at last found our way out. It was a wonderful experience.
We spent a few days at the beach where I learnt that tourists really like to stare at people, and so I also learnt to not care who's looking. I played football with my brother in the sea and played jump rope with the waves.
On out last day, we didn't know quite what to do so we started looking up different tourist attractions that mornings. So we made the decision to go and watch the fishermen fishing in a closeby town. However, once arriving, we realised the fishing does not start until over 4 hours and were very disappointed. So we walked about for a bit until we came to a stall where they were selling tickets to a small cruise over the Mediterranean sea. This was a tricky decision to make as we didn't bring any swimming clothing and there was no time to go back to pick them up, so we quickly bought some from a nearby shop and went on the cruise. Best decision ever.
During the cruise, we had a BBQ and later got to swim in the sea. My mum, however, made us wear lifejackets as it was obviously very deep and promised we would start swimming lessons immediately when we were back. She wasn't lying. I am in a class with 8 year olds right now and get uncomfortable stares from parents..
It was such a brilliant experience though, especially for our last day and I will definitely not forget it. Turns out we never actually went to watch the fishermen. Too tired. But we found this very creative shop and I fell in love with close to everything in it. It reminded me of how much I love art but sadly, I believe my phone had died at that stage so I took no pictures.
Overall, I think it is fair to say that I did have a great time at Spain and I would definitely go again if I had the opportunity. There is so much to do and so many places to go and so much to buy! I must go about looking for some European restaurants now as once you go black (as the sun made me), you don't go back. Hope you enjoyed this post. Have a lovely day!
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline."
2 Timothy 1:7
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