Journal

Return to Salou

Sunday May 22nd 2011

In August 1999, Fliss & I took our first holiday together in Salou in Northern Spain. For two weeks we ate badly and sparingly, having taken a self-catering package deal with Thompsons to cut costs. Ironically, we spent a small fortune on food & drink over those 14 days, but ultimately enjoyed the experience.

When we were searching for a holiday to take over easter this year, we stumbled upon Eurocamp Cambrils, near Salou, and thought it would be cool to come back and visit the area again. We knew the weather would be decent, and probably not as searingly hot at this time of year as it was when we went in late summer. We also knew the rough layout of Salou, and that the beaches were long & sandy.

Having gained two children since we last went, it was also an added bonus that the flight from Glasgow is just two and a half hours. Eurocamp Cambrils is a little further out of Salou itself than we would have liked, but it is within (long) walking distance and is more suited for families. We quite enjoyed staying in the self-contained resort in Fuerteventura last year, too, so Eurocamp seemed like a good fit.

So, what follows is a detailed account of the highs and lows of our first holiday as a family of four. For those of you who want the short version: it was a mixed bag, but ultimately good fun!

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Post-a-week 2011 failed!

Tuesday April 5th 2011

Unfortunately, due to a heavy workload recently, I couldn’t keep up with the pace of posting every week – especially when I didn’t think there was anything worthwhile to post about.

Events as mundane as, say, ordering a new sofa last week, don’t really motivate me to blog about them even if it was the highlight of that particular week. It’s a nice enough event in itself, and when the new sofa & chairs arrive it’ll be great because the old ones have been bordering on uncomfortable for some time. But worthy of a full on post that’s in the spirit of the post a week challenge?

Not really.

It’s disappointing to fail a challenge so early on, but I’d rather call time on it than keep it going with half hearted updates.

On a positive note, it has made me think more about what’s worthy of a blog post and what isn’t. I occasionally look back and read the things that I wrote on here five or more years ago, and smile at the ramblings of a younger version of me I only vaguely recognise. Those posts are a better read when I’ve tackled something worthwhile, too, as not only are they a more entertaining, but I can spot a mile away when I’ve been posting filler masquerading as content!

It’s a pity that this particular post falls into the former category, so for the rest of the year my challenge is to make every post worthwhile.

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Holidays and get aways

Monday March 14th 2011

After selling our house a month or so back, I began to wonder if I could attend the Indy 500 in a way that wouldn’t be completely selfish. Doing this involved fitting a family holiday in Florida alongside my trip to Indianapolis.

Initially, it didn’t appear as if it would be too difficult, with the hotels around Miami not being prohibitively expensive at the end of May. Some of them were a little further north than we would like, but most of the ones we looked at put the beach within walking distance. That aspect was somewhat critical for the four days I’d be up at the race, so that Fliss & the kids could get to the boardwalk with the minimum of hassle.

However, another problem was that as well as the date of the race being a fixed point, we had to be back on the 1st of June with Fliss having a wedding shoot to do on the 3rd. That left only a couple of days upon my return from the race to enjoy what was left of the family holiday.

The more we tried to make it work, the more we came to the realisation that too many compromises were being made on a holiday that was getting too pricey by virtue of that.

Fortunately, as my accomodation in Indy was being taken care of by an internet friend, it means the price of my trip is relatively low – flights and whatever I spend. So the solution we came to was to have a seperate holiday for the family about a month before I go to Indy.

The family holiday fits well with the “free” holidays I get at Easter and for the royal wedding – two events I’d quite happily avoid to miss their symbolism and hype.

After some brief research by Fliss, we decided on a week in Salou, having fond memories of the place, as we’d taken our first holiday there together nearly 12 years ago. A a nice family holiday resort has been built there in the meantime – complete with child friendly pools and activities that should provide entertainment across their five year age gap. We figured it was ideal, and cheaper than a week in Centre Parcs would be.

The only downside is that there are Spanish air traffic controller strikes planned for the same time. We’ll fly out on a day with no strike scheduled, but there’s one pencilled in for the day we return unless they come to an agreement. All we can do is hope they’re as quick at coming to a solution as we’ve been!

It’s great to have two holidays booked up for so early in the year. Our first holiday as a family of four will be memorable for sure, and I’m so much looking forward to attending my first Indy 500 on the 100th anniversary of the first race.

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