Lloret de Mar - Fira Americanos

There is another full day of entertainment today in Lloret just by the town hall, the day started at 10am with the opening of  El Floridita, a replica of the famous bar of the same name in Cuba, and also the arrival of the sailing ship El Far de Barcelona.

Lloret de Mar-Fira Americanos

 We got some lovely photos from the Fira dels Americano parade today. There was a small group of people who were dressed in reproduction costumes just as the wealthy people of Lloret would have done way back in the 19th century when they had returned to Lloret after earning their fortunes over in the West Indies and Cuba.

Lloret de Mar, a day at Marineland

For a fantastic family day out from Lloret de Mar (or just about any resort in the area) you can be sure to be entertained from the moment you step through the gate to stepping back out at the end of your visit to Marineland. Advertised as '2 parks in 1' you first of all have the parrot show and then the sea lions and dolpin shows - all great fun from start to finish. The waterpark features will keep all the family amused for the rest of the day, see more photos and videos from a day at MARINELAND HERE

Lloret Events - Americanos Fair

A photo from the Americano Fair 2011

 A full programme is planned for this coming weekend which will transport Lloret de Mar back to the days of the Americanos. The Americanos are the people from Lloret who went over to Cuba and the West Indies during the 19th centuary in order to try earn their fortunes. Below is the full itinerary  of what you can see Saturday 2nd June. Another full days entertainment will again take place on Sunday, starting at 10 a.m. with the arrival of the El Far de Barcelona ship at Lloret Beach.
 SATURDAYS ITINERARY
10 a.m. Opening of the Indiano market.
Passeig Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer
10 a.m. Opening of the El Floridita de Lloret bar.
Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
10 a.m. Opening of the exhibition of the
Brotherhood of Sant Elm.
Chapel of Els Sants Metges (Doctor Saints)
10 a.m. Salsa dance workshop.
Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
11 a.m. Indiano trail.
Departing from the Maritime Museum
11 a.m. Street entertainment by Quantus Theatre
11 a.m. Rueda cubana (Cuban wheel) dance
workshop. Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
12 p.m. Cocktail making demonstration.
Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
12 p.m. Special live radio programme by Nova
Ràdio Lloret. Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
1.30 p.m. Street entertainment by Quantus Theatre
5 p.m. Street entertainment by Quantus Theatre
5 p.m. Daiquiri workshop.
Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
5 p.m. Guided tour of the exhibition
of the Chapel of Els Sants Metges (Doctor
Saints) by Agustí Blanch
6 p.m. Street entertainment by Quantus Theatre
5 p.m. Merengue dance workshop.
Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
6 p.m. Josep Ball·llatinas dramatised tour.
Maritime Museum
7 p.m. Talk: Return journey with coffee by Pere
Cornellà. Plenary Hall of the Town Council
7.30 p.m. Street entertainment by Quantus Theatre
8 p.m. Narcís Gelats dramatised tour.
Maritime Museum
8 p.m. Cocktail making demonstration.
Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
8 p.m. Closure of the exhibition of the
Brotherhood of Sant Elm. Chapel of
Els Sants Metges (Doctor Saints)
8.30 p.m. Rueda de casino (Casino wheel) dance
workshop. Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
9.30 p.m. Salsatheque. Plaça de la Vila (Town Square)
10 p.m. Closure of the Indiano market

Lloret de Mar Nudist Beach

 Not many holiday makers are aware that just about 2.5km from Lloret de Mar's main beach is a very popular nudist beach, this is Boadella beach set in a stunning unspoiled location surrounded by woodland. To see more photos and videos of Lloret beaches visit  LloretdeMarStuff.com

Fenals Beach in Lloret de Mar

Here we have a short video showing Fenals Beach, always a great place to do your sunbathing if you like a more relaxing atmosphere than the main beach of Lloret de Mar.

More Rain in Spain!

You wouldn't believe the weather here could be so changeable here! After been kept awake most of Saturday night by the storm, it did eventually stop and gave us the chance to have a walk out in the warm sun until again the dark clouds came and then the rain started again along with hailstones and thunder & lightening! Today however we have the sun again but more rain is forecast for later...

The Rain in Spain!

Stormy skies over Lloret again! Last night we were kept awake most of the night with a massive thunder storm, which hopefully may clear the skies for a much needed change in the weather...the month of May hasn't been very good at all, with more rain and possible storms to come!

Lloret de Mar Maritime Museum

Lloret's Maritime Museum is located opposite the beach and just a short walk from the town hall. The main theme of the museum tells the story of how the people of Lloret made their living from the sea, both by fishing and ship building. Scale models of the ships built are on show, along with the stories of how the towns folk sailed to Cuba and the West Indies to trade, returning to Lloret when they had earned their fortunes. The museum is housed in one of the few original buildings left which were built by those who returned to Lloret, almost all of those grand buildings were demolished in order to make way for the much needed hotels for start of the tourist trade back in the 1950s....the new idea of bringing money to the town!

Opening times - June to Sept
Monday to Saturday from 10.00 to 13.00 and from 16.00 to 20.00
Sunday from 10.00 to 13.00 and from 16.00 to 19.00
Price: 4€ Reduced: 2 €

Lloret de Mar Beach Views

We took a short video of Lloret beach yesterday, although it was a beautiful day its still very quiet in town for the time of year!

Views of Catalonia!

I've just found this video on YouTube, turn up the sound and just sit back and watch for 4 minutes!

Lloret de Mar in bloom!

 Now that the summer is well and truly here, there is plenty of colour in Lloret just now. As you walk around the town and through the woods flowers are in full bloom...and talking of flowers, just now in Girona is the annual flower festival taking place 12th - 20th May. Well worth a day trip out there as the city is literally covered with flowers at this time of year!

A day at Blanes Market from Lloret

Just a 20 minute bus journey from Lloret de Mar is Blanes town, where every Monday is market day, and in my opinion is the best market around. Purchase your ticket  from Lloret bus station and jump on the bright yellow L1 bus which drops you right on the beach front in Blanes where the market stretches from one end to the other! For the return journey back to Lloret the bus stops just by the first stall of the market, at present the fare is €1.50 each way.

Lloret de Mar Weather - May

Well it now seems that the weather here in Lloret is improving for this month. During the month of April we have had some very strong winds which felt very cold at times. Many days we hardly saw the sun owing to the dark clouds which brought quite a bit of rain. I'm now pleased to say that yesterday and today (1st - 2nd May) the sun has been shining all day long and there's hardly been a cloud in the sky.....at last!!

Ideal weather for flying your kite

Photos showing the rough sea's from the last day of April....

Lloret Events - Sant Antoni Abad

 Here we have a few photos showing the horses parading around town for yesterdays Sant Antoni event.

Sant Antoni Abad Parade 2012

It was a beautiful day today for the annual horse parade of Sant Antoni. The horses came into town at mid day and made their way down towards the church where they were all blessed as they rode by. Then in usual tradition they rode around the paseo 3 times watched by hundreds of onlookers.

Costa Brava home improvements

If you are living on the Costa brave and are thinking of having some work done on your property then I can recommend a very good company who have recently done some work on our apartment. We were wanting replacement windows and after having got other quotes we decided to get the work done with http://www.costabravapropertysolutions.es/
After phoning Mr Lindsay Jordan he came and measured up, then sent a quote a few days later. After agreeing to the work we were telephoned approx 2 weeks later with a date for the fitting.
The lads who came to do the work did an excellent job, even cleaning up after themselves for the 2 days of fitting. The company have done a first class job and the windows are top quality, looking much better than I could ever imagine!
For any enqiries for your home improvements email Lindsay -lindsay@ventanascrystal.es

mentioning 'Jackie at Lloret de Mar stuff blog'

St George's Day in Lloret

Just as in England today is St George's day in Lloret de Mar.

All along the paseo in front of the town hall there have been stalls selling books of just about every subject you could think of. The local tradition is that the women should buy a book for their husbands and the men should buy a rose for their wife. Dragon ornaments were also on sale so I wonder how many husbands dare take one of those home for their wife!

Roses for the Barca fans!

Rose shaped candles.

From Lloret to the F1 in Barcelona

Many thanks to Carol for writing out this very useful piece for the blog for any Formula 1 fans that are staying in Lloret for the 1st time during the race weekend.....

If you are staying in Fenals, the coach picks up at the petrol station at the top of the road (and if there is a big enough crowd at the Royal Star they usually make a stop there before picking up at the PS), they pick up from all the resorts on the way but I'm not familiar enough with these places to give you an exact point but they are usually very central locations. It is an early start though, so be sure to get to bed early the night before! The Aquarium Hotel opens the restaurant earlier on F1 weekend and you can grab a coffee and some rolls, pastries but nothing cooked. I prefer to go to the Pattisseria on the main road opposite Caprabo and up a bit for a nice coffee "para llevar" and a pastry. The journey is much easier and quicker than it used to be and the Spanish police have it down to a fine art, ensuring coaches get priority into the circuit. Remember, arrivals to the circuit tend to be scattered, when everyone leaves at the end of the race it's not so smooth and quick, but it's a heck of a lot quicker than it used to be. When you arrive, you are dropped at a parking bay in the industrial estate close to the circuit. You return to that same bay after the race. In the estate there is a cracking cafe (I think, but am not sure, it's called the Cafe Vienna), although it's very busy you rarely wait more than a few minutes to be served. They have a really efficient ticket system, so rarely will you wait more than 5 minutes - unless you are really hungry or are with a really big crowd - and there are toilets which are usually immaculate, seating inside and out. We always have a hot sandwich and coffee there.
At the circuit, if you have allocated seating, you are lucky. Each stand has it's own toilet block and small bar selling cold beers, water and soft drinks underneath the stand. Also during the race there will be someone coming round with drinks in a container full of ice. If you have General Admission tickets there are plenty of toilets and stands selling refreshments dotted about but they usually are very busy and the toilets tend not to be so clean.
..... I hope the above will help you if people need info for the F1 Grand Prix (or indeed any event at the circuit). These are my views and might not be the views of everyone who attends but they are honest observations. I can't praise the Spanish authorities enough at how efficient they have become over the years. It's so efficient and quick getting in and as efficient as it can be leaving. Hope this helps with any inquiries you get.

Whats this over Lloret?

Just seen this 'object' flying over Fenals and Lloret this morning at about 9.30, is it a bird (no) is it a plane (no) so what is it....does anyone out there have a clue what it could be??

It first appeared over the sea and hovered for a 1 or 2 minutes before going down behind the hotel Surf Mar it then reappeared above the trees and headland between Fenals and Lloret.

Lloret de Mar Weather

This week ends weather isn't being too kind to the Costa Brave Rally drivers, yesterday we had intermittent showers throughout the day. Today has been more settled but then the storm clouds came rolling in and we have just had a heavy downpour with rumbles of thunder, The photos here were taken this evening (14th April) at about 7pm, lets hope that Sunday is a better day for the Rally!