A Week-end in Lloret de Mar

This time of year is when we see lots of week-end visitors coming to the Costa Brava. Many of them come from France as Lloret is just a little over an hours drive from the French border. Also though, with the ease of a direct journey from Girona airport it is just as easy to come to Lloret de Mar for a long week-end from the UK.

If you were here for a short break this week- end then you wont have been disappointed with the weather. As these photos taken last Friday show, it is still warm enough for the beach and also to have a drink and a snack out doors.

 

So this time of year you get all the benefits of the good weather but without all the hassle of the crowded beaches and streets as you do in July or August!

Lloret de Mar Today

Just a short film clip showing Lloret de Mar beach today, 2nd October and the temp was 24c.

Lloret de Mar Today

Several photos from today, showing the boats still working, although not as busy as August still quite a few holiday makers here and making the most of the sun. Also the lifeguard is still on duty watching out, but it looks as though the para sailing and banana boat has finished for the season in Fenals.

Lloret de Mar Weather

Here is the weather forecast for next week. Last week lots of rain was forecast which we didnt really get. Although it was much cooler with quite a lot of cloud. No rain is forecast for next week, so lets see how right they are.
To get the weather forecast for your area go to the Weather Bug Website.

Sunday

28/09/2008

Hi: 22°

Lo: 16°

More sun than clouds. Cool. Temperature of 22°C. Winds 17km E. Humidity will be 52% with a dewpoint of 10° and comfort level of 25°C.

Monday

29/09/2008

Hi: 23°

Lo: 15°

Mostly sunny. Cool, Comfortable. Temperature of 23°C. Winds 12km ESE. Humidity will be 50% with a dewpoint of 11° and comfort level of 25°C.

Tuesday

30/09/2008

Hi: 23°

Lo: 16°

Mostly sunny. Mild, Comfortable. Temperature of 23°C. Winds 13km NNE. Humidity will be 43% with a dewpoint of 9° and comfort level of 25°C.

Wednesday

01/10/2008

Hi: 23°

Lo: 16°

More sun than clouds. Mild, Comfortable. Temperature of 23°C. Winds 7km N. Humidity will be 49% with a dewpoint of 11° and comfort level of 25°C

Thursday

02/10/2008

Hi: 23°

Lo: 16°

Morning clouds. Mild, Comfortable. Temperature of 23°C. Winds 3km SSE. Humidity will be 51% with a dewpoint of 11° and comfort level of 25°C.

Friday

03/10/2008

Hi: 20°

Lo: 15°

Morning clouds. Cool. Temperature of 20°C. Winds 24km N. Humidity will be 53% with a dewpoint of 9° and comfort level of 20°C.

Saturday

04/10/2008

Hi: 21°

Lo: 14°

Sunny. Cool, Windy. Temperature of 21°C. Winds 39km N. Humidity will be 52% with a dewpoint of 6° and comfort level of 21°C.

Lloret de Mar Shopping

These colourful stalls are photographed at the market held on the 2nd Sunday of the month in Lloret. If you click on the photos you will then be able to see the prices of the items. The ceramic stall has some very good bargains, all ideal to take back to the UK for presents for the family.

Lloret de Mar Weather

After receiving several emails through the summer from people asking about the weather, I've decided to publish a weekly forecast for Lloret de Mar. So you can check the local conditions here. I will try to make this a weekly feature for the site.

Hopefully the forecast for next week will be wrong...its not looking good at all !

Sunday

21/09/2008

Hi: 23°

Lo: 17°

Drizzle. More sun than clouds. Cool. Temperature of 23°C. Winds 11km E. Humidity will be 64% with a dewpoint of 14° and comfort level of 25°C. There is a 30% chance of precipitation.

Monday

22/09/2008

Hi: 20°

Lo: 17°

Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy. Cool. Temperature of 20°C. Winds 13km E. Humidity will be 79% with a dewpoint of 15° and comfort level of 20°C. There is a 50% chance of precipitation.

Tuesday

23/09/2008

Hi: 21°

Lo: 16°

Numerous showers. Mostly cloudy. Cool. Temperature of 21°C. Winds 21km N. Humidity will be 82% with a dewpoint of 13° and comfort level of 21°C. There is a 83% chance of precipitation.

Wednesday

24/09/2008

Hi: 19°

Lo: 17°

Numerous showers. Mostly cloudy. Cool. Temperature of 19°C. Winds 21km NE. Humidity will be 84% with a dewpoint of 15° and comfort level of 19°C. There is a 94% chance of precipitation.

Thursday

25/09/2008

Hi: 23°

Lo: 17°

A few showers. Partly sunny. Mild. Temperature of 23°C. Winds 21km E. Humidity will be 80% with a dewpoint of 16° and comfort level of 25°C. There is a 42% chance of precipitation.

Friday

26/09/2008

Hi: 22°

Lo: 19°

Numerous showers. Mostly cloudy. Cool, Muggy. Temperature of 22°C. Winds 33km E. Humidity will be 84% with a dewpoint of 18° and comfort level of 23°C. There is a 88% chance of precipitation.

Saturday

27/09/2008

Hi: 22°

Lo: 20°

Heavy rain. Mostly cloudy. Cool, Windy. Temperature of 22°C. Winds 38km ESE. Humidity will be 83% with a dewpoint of 18° and comfort level of 23°C. There is a 100% chance of precipitation.

Barcelona, a new way to get around !

A new idea for getting around for a spot of sight-seeing has come to Barcelona. Already in the major cities of San Diego, San Francisco and Miami, the little 49cc Gocar is getting rave reviews from all who travel in them!
This bright yellow 3 wheeler has a top speed of 30mph, with no roof and no doors your view is not hindered at all. The talking car gives you directions to all the best sights in Barcelona as you drive along after you have chosen your preferred route.
You are given a quick lesson when you hire the vehicle, the only 'qualifications' needed are - you must be over 21 years of age, with a drivers licence. Helmets must be worn but these are provided free with the rental fee.
The cost for a full day's hire is €99, but it is possible to rent for as little as 1hr, visit the GOCARS website for more details.

Lloret de Mar Weather

 

These photos of the beach in Fenals were taken yesterday. Still plenty of holiday makers about but not quite as crowded as August. The weather was very good, temperatures were about 25-26c. Rain was forecast but we didnt get it here on the coast.

Lloret de Mar Events

In Lloret de Mar on the second Sunday of the month there's a small collection of classic cars on show in the square opposite the Xaine Park Hotel, along side the flea market. Today was a good day for the market, the weather was good with just a few clouds about which kept the temperatures down slightly.

Here's a few of the cars on show today, all nicely washed and polished for their day out!

Cheap Flights to Girona

The latest special offer on flights by RYANAIR for travel during October and November was supposed to end at midnight last night. The cost of flights were £5 each way, the offer has now been extended to finish midnight on Wednesday, at a new cost of £10. This is still very cheap as there are no extra charges included.

Cheap Flights to Girona.

If you are sick and tired of the rain in the UK this year, it may be a good time to think about trying to catch a bit of sun. You have until midnight tomorrow to get a cheap flight from Ryanair.

The flights are for travel during October and November, and the cost of most journeys are only

£5 each way. This is the total cost with no taxes or any other charges, apart from your insurance or baggage which you have to pay extra for these days. The good weather here in Lloret is expected to last until late in the year owing to all the rain we had at the start of the season.

Weather in Lloret de Mar.

The weather this month here on the Costa Brava has been very hot & humid, making it very difficult for some people to cope.
OK, we all like to have a nice tan when we return home from holiday but there is no need to suffer in able to achieve it!
At the first sign of any discomfort in the sun is the time to get out of it, trying to stay there will only cause more problems which your body wont be able to cope with. You will then not only end up with badly sun burnt skin but worse still possibly sunstroke and dehydration which can cause dizziness and vomiting. This will then keep you out of the sun for the next 2 or 3 days at least.
So the best thing is to take things steady and not try get your tan in the first few hours of arriving in your holiday resort, until you have built up some resistance to the harsh sun and heavy humidity which we have in Lloret de Mar.
No matter where you are going around town its always advisable to take a bottle of water, even the steadiest of walks can cause heat exhaustion. Just a few sips every few minutes can help stop you suffering from any ill effects in the heat.
Sun creams of at least factor 15 should be applied before you venture out at any time of day. Even while walking round the shops looking for your gifts to take back home, you will be getting more sun than you realise!
While sunbathing on the beach, if you start to feel uncomfortable and sweaty and you don't like taking a dip in the sea, just a quick dip under the shower will cool you off and keep your body temperature down.
Sunglasses also help protect your eyes from the sunlight, even in not so bright conditions without them you could still get glare from the sea which may cause headaches.
Clothing should be loose and light, but make sure that the material is not too thin or see through as the sun's rays can pass straight through and you can then end up with sunburn without realising it.

Steve's 50th in Buzzby's

Another 50th birthday party in Lloret de Mar !
Happy Birthday to Steve, who is one of the longest reigning workers still here in Lloret. We all had a good night in Buzzbys to celebrate his birthday. Here is a slide show of the photos taken, with a few faces from the past and present !

The Beatles - Abbey Road

The last of the Clon Festival tribute bands played in Lloret de Mar last night. All day the weather was cloudy and looked as though it would rain at any time, but it held off ... that is until the band came on stage!

Owing to the wind part of the framework which house's the stage lights couldn't be erected so it made it almost impossible to get photos with out large lumps of metal in the foreground.

As usual they came on stage at 10.30, and then it started lightening over the sea, After 30-40 minutes it started to rain quite heavy so they couldn't possibly carry on and had to stop the show and cover all their equipment. What we saw though, they were brilliant...

Even the drum had the familiar 'Beatles' name on the front as you can just make out from the photo below! Their excellent web site can be seen HERE

Lloret de Mar - Weather

Last Thursday night we had what can only be described as a mini tornado in Lloret!
The weather had been quite good all day, although cooler than previous days - which was a relief!
We were in Buzzbys in Fenals when it started to look rather stormy, one of the locals came in and said that a storm was on way as he had just come from Girona and had seen the black clouds heading our way.
At about 12.oo it started to rain then without any more warning the heavens opened !
The strong wind was actually blowing the rain sideways. The power went off in the pub and various other places in town.
Then at the top of the street a manhole cover lifted and water came gushing up through this, flooding all the road in seconds ! The water flooded over a low wall opposite the pub into a small piece of land making it look like a lake.
Further away we heard that part of one of the main roads was blocked by fallen trees.
For people who were actually walking through it said it was terrifying, almost as though they were going to drown!
This only lasted for 10 minutes or so, we hate to think what would have happened if it had gone on for much longer.

So the forecast shown on the 8 day chart below was correct...even though it had been a nice day until then.

Weather in Lloret de Mar

This August in Lloret de Mar we have had shade temperatures well into the 30s. The main beach in Lloret has been packed with holiday makers, its almost impossible to find a place these days. Just about every weather forecast link on the web we seem to find here is for Girona, but as this is a few kilometers inland it doesn't always give a true reading of we what get here on the coast. I have found a local forecast which gives us an 8 day weather forecast , you can find the site here...WEATHER

Wish You Were Here?

Last night in Lloret we saw 'Crazy Diamond' the Pink Floyd tribute band. We just didnt know what to expect from this band-could they sound anything like the real thing? We didnt think they would, but we were mistaken!

 They were excellent! Although I was never a fan of Pink Floyd when they were popular, since then I have grown to like a few of their songs, such as Money, Brain Damage, Brick in the Wall and Wish you were here. They came on stage at 10.30 and played for 2 hrs. You can hear Crazy Diamond for yourself on MYSPACE.

Lloret de Mar - Clon Festival Dates

Just a reminder about the Clon festival dates. So far we have had two of the 4 scheduled bands play. The final two bands to play are the Pink Floyd tribute, 'Crazy Diamond'

Then on Aug 22nd is the beatles soundalikes 'Abbey Road'

Should be another 2 nights of excellent entertainment !

British Expats - Go or Stay ?

Every month on the Costa Brava a free English language magazine (The Resident) is published. In this months edition I found a very interesting piece about plans for a new television programme for ITV 1 back in the UK. Here is the article as it appeared in the mag...

Dear Resident,
Every year more and more Brits are giving up their life in the sun to move back to the UK - last year almost 100,000 expats came home. Whether it's because they miss family and friends or are finding it hard to find a job or learn the local language, many Brits are deciding that there's no place like home. The decision to return is a tough one, and can be a huge decision,
and you may feel you've lost touch with what kind of place Britain really is to live in these days. Is it as good as you remember? Or are you better staying put where you are?

ITV1 is making a new day-time documentary series on this subject and we are keen to talk to British expats who live abroad and are considering moving back to the UK. Families who take part will be flown to Britain to test drive the reality of life there.
Its an opportunity to make an informed choice - to remain an expat or realise its time to come back home.
If you are interested in taking part or you know someone who may be suitable, please email: oliver.strous@fevermedia.co.uk or call +44 207 428 4630.

After contacting Oliver to ask if I could include his letter on the my blog I received a very speedy reply granting his permission.

So thank-you once again Oliver!

Fireworks In Lloret de Mar

Last night we went over to Lloret to see the fireworks display, which is held on the beach every year as part of the Santa Cristina Festival. The show lasted 20 mins and was bigger and better than ever!! Last night we were surprised that the display was accompanied by music, to which the fireworks seemed to dance about in the sky to!
We were watching from the cliff tops just above the beach and had a very good view. From there we could see what must have been thousands and thousands of people on the beach, roads and all around us. The road between Fenals and Lloret were completely blocked by cars and mopeds.
Here are the photos from last night put to a slide show with our own choice of music...hope you enjoy it !

Fireworks in Blanes.

This week in Blanes is the annual Fireworks Competition, with a different team taking part each night. These teams come from all over the world to compete.

Thousands of people gather to watch from all the best viewing points all over Blanes, so many in fact that the roads in and out are completely blocked.

The show starts at 10.30pm and last for about 30 mins. The local boat company's who run the daily resort trips, do special excursions to see the displays from out at sea.

Even in Lloret people can watch the display, even though it is a few kilometers down the road to Blanes. We went down to our local beach in Fenals from where we can see the coast at Blanes, and had quite a good view!

This slide show is the result of what we saw