Day 1
We arrived at Leeds Bradford Airport on Sunday morning and
headed straight for the bar! It wasn’t quite the Old
Bridge at Ripponden but it did have some character.
Kev has obviously done this before – he managed to
secure the best seats on the plane (at the back – more
leg room, next to the loos, and first to get served!).
Jet2 was a great service, leather seats etc.
Once
we were in the air, Kevin brought out a bag of pies.
Threy were delicious, and we all had our photograph
taken eating one on the plane.Kevin had pre-booked a
hire car at Alicante Airport. “Don’t worry”, he said,
“I’ve booked a Ford Ka but we’re bound to get upgraded
to a Mondeo estate.” Kev’s optimism was ill-conceived –
but these weren’t quite the words we used when we saw
him returning with the keys to a VW Polo! Having
squeezed all our luggage into a VW Polo (John and
Richard carrying the parcel shelf on their knees) Pete
took the wheel and headed in the wrong direction up the
motorway. A daring U-turn and we were back on track..
First stop was the Chinese restaurant in Cala
Finistrad. We were booked in the hotel for dinner, but
this was too good to miss, even at 3.00pm – all you
could eat with wine for 15 euros, between the four of
us!. We got back in the car and Richard remembered he’d
left his passport in the restaurant. This was to be the
first of many humorous mis-haps on this Pie Club trip..
After a few coffees and beers at Kev’s cousin Tony’s
house, we carried on to the hotel, - 10th floor rooms,
with balconies and stunning views over the other hotels!
Hotel Pelicana is a first class hotel in a prime
location..
After unpacking we went for dinner, and then on the
town, which was buzzing. After lots of bars (including
Richard on karaoke) we settled in one to see the famous
Sticky Vicki magic show. (An illusionist with a
difference). Pete was singled out to assist the
illusion. Back to the hotel for a coffee..
Day 2
John was sharing a room with Kev, and out of
consideration for the air they were sharing, John
decided to use the public toilets in the hotel. Thinking
he might be in for a long session, he took some Euro
notes to read! Disaster – John later realised that he
had left his wallet in the hotel toilet. It must have
slipped out of his trouser pocket. He went back to look
for it, but without success. De nada.
After a walk along the front in gorgeous sunshine and
watching the senior citizens beach aerobics, we had a
look at the old town. Pete just wanted to read his
Sunday paper, but Kev persuaded us all to get in the car
and go wine tasting. We went to the Jalon valley. It was
fantastic – 2 litres of red wine for 3 Euros, and as
many oranges as you can fit in a Polo!.
Kev then took us to another of his favourite eating
places – the Rio Rou restaurant. Another delicious al
fresco meal, with wine and lovely views. What more could
we ask for (except for John to find his wallet!).
We continued on to another café/wine/gift shop and
bought some more goodies, had a coffee and watched the
patron perform tricks by pouring wine down his forehead
into his mouth.
We returned to Benidorm for our evening meal, then had
a mooch around the old town and the famous tapas bars.
More beers! Then we hit the town again. Not what you
might call fast action – we had a coffee with the blue
rinse set whilst watching Only Fools and Horses, but
then we discovered the legendary drummer, Eric Delaney,
playing in one of the bars. 80 years old but still a
fantastic performer! Pete and Richard turned in at
around midnight, leaving Kev and John to have more beers
and chips at around 3.00am..
Day 3
After breakfast we checked out, and went into
town to do some shopping. Suddenly we lost Kev and
started panicking as he’d got the plane tickets! “He’s
bound to be on the front, watching the senior citizens’
aerobics”, said John, so we headed towards the beach and
split up to look for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Kev found us
again several hours later soaking up the
sun next to the hotel pool. “You b******s”, he said
“I’ve been stood waiting for you in town.” Once we’d got
the misunderstanding cleared up it was time to get in
the car and head for the airport. By now, Pete (who was
our driver), was getting used to interpreting Kev’s
instructions. “Turn left” usually meant turn right, and
was usually accompanied by Kev pointing to the right.
“Up there” was more difficult as it could mean left or
right, as could “Down there”! In fact the car events had
been like an episode of the Chuckle Brothers from the
start, but the best was yet to come!
As we came within 10 miles of the airport Kev said it
was time to fill up the hire car. We pulled into a
service station – the only car on the forecourt. 20
minutes later we pulled out, having finally managed to
get 2 gallons of petrol in! We reached the airport, did
our duty free shopping and went to the boarding gate.
Pete was refused entry! Somehow he had managed to pick
up someone else’s ticket at the check-in. Having held up
a queue of passengers for 10 minutes he eventually got
through, and we took our seats on the plane, with some
relief!.
We were all ready for lunch, and Jet 2 were serving
sandwiches. “Don’t buy any yet” said Kev, “They always
reduce them towards the end of the flight”. He
definitely knows all the angles and sure enough he was
right, and we all had discounted sandwiches before we
arrived back in Leeds/Bradford.
It was a great outing – good fun, good food, and great
service from Jet 2 and Sentinel car park at
Leeds/Bradford.
Roll on the next Pie Club outing!!!!!
|