A day out from Lloret.

Taking it easy in the gardens!

In Lloret yesterday it was a very nice 25c by far the warmest day of this year so far, so I think we can say that summer is almost here! We set out for the day by first visiting Santa Clotilde where the gardens were the busiest I've seen for a long time. From there onto Santa Cristina where there was some sort of festival going on, there were so many people and cars there it was just impossible to get into the grounds or down to the beach so we gave that a miss.

Views from Santa Clotilde towards Boadella beach and Santa Cristina

 So on we went a little further down the coast and stopped off at Santa Susanna by the Carrefour shopping complex where just to the side was quite a large market, as it was about 2pm by this time sadly most of the stalls were ready to close. I'm not sure if this market is there every Sunday but it is worth a trip down there as it did seem that there were some good bargains about!

Santa Christina

 Over at Santa Christina the workmen have been very busy just lately preparing the grounds all around the church for the summer. The main pathway leading down to the beach is at present been made much safer for walking with a thick layer of gravel/sand being laid. Also through the woods new paths have been made which lead to newly made viewing points giving great views out to sea and along the coast.

Costa Brava Rally 62

Friday and Saturday 14-15th March Lloret de Mar is once again hosting the oldest rally in Spain - Rally Costa Brava 62. The 102 classic cars taking part can be seen at 4pm today along the seafront today so parking restrictions will be in place.

Craig Mallon - An appeal

Would you please spare a few minutes of your time to watch this short video which is hoped will generate more information which may eventually lead to who killed Craig.

Lloret Beach Bars

 The beach bars of Lloret and Fenals are always a pleasing sight the way they are designed and decorated with nice seating areas and flower arrangements etc, especially Punto Garbi at the far end of Fenals beach. Just now though there is a ruling which has been enforced by Madrid which means that these bars now have to be removed during the winter time...so we are now left with the ugly blank spaces you see below!

 Two of Fenals popular beach bars as they are through the summer.

This photo above is the Sunshine Bar as it is now (just by the entrance to the woods at Fenals)  and below is the now empty site of the Punto Garbi...what an eyesore Fenals is especially as there is still no beach along this stretch and still no sign of any attempt to repair the damage!

On the beach!

It seems that summer has made an early appearance in Lloret de Mar this year, although saying that we haven't really had too bad a winter. Yesterday was a perfect day for the beach, we had a walk over to Boadella beach and were surprised to see how many had made the same decision. Boadella is a naturist beach and plenty were baring all yesterday but there were also several families there to enjoy the 22ºc temperature! I was pleased to see that Boadella has escaped the batting from the rough seas that has caused all the damage to Lloret and Fenals beaches.

 Keeping the beach clean, these little trucks empty the bins and gather any rubbish.

Would you believe the difference in the weather now to how it was at the same time back in 2010 when the snowfall of March 8th caused thousands of homes to be without power for 5-6 days, see the photos below.

Shopping in Lloret

 There were some great bargains to be found with the last of the sales goods in Lloret today, many of the shops had clothing items for as little €5. One rail I saw had some lovely winter coats on sale for only €25...and for the summer months they had bikinis for only €5!

 Brightly coloured Pashminas were on sale at this stall for a fraction of the normal cost, hopefully we wont be needing them in Lloret until next winter but well worth buying now and putting away till then.

 Bouncy castle to keep the kids happy, while mum goes shopping!

Lloret by Night

Boadella Beach - Lloret de Mar

 Good weather is forecast for this weekend in Lloret, just now (Fri 7th March 2.30pm) its 18º and sunny without a cloud in the sky. For anyone who has planned to visit Lloret this week then here are a few pictures from yesterday at the Boadella Beach.

Getting an allover tan!

 Great weather for walking the dogs or a family day out.

Taking it easy at Santa Clotilde Gardens

End of the Carnival week

Today was the last day of the week long carnival celebrations with the strange custom of 'burying the sardine' complete with a horse drawn carriage, coffin and wailing mourners! All this started off in Placa de Torrent at 8pm this evening, from here the procession made its way towards Sant Pedro and then to the Town Hall where more mourners were gathering. After the speeches etc which took place on the stage the large paper mâché sardine was taken over to the beach and burned, strange customs indeed!

 The procession makes its way down towards the town hall.

 Preparing the food for the mourners!

The sardine is 'cremated' on the beach.

Sale time again in Lloret

Botiga Al Carrer

The outdoor sales event is again taking place this Saturday 8th March from 10am until 8pm. You can usually find some great bargains as you rummage through the last of the clothing, accessories, toiletries that are set out on the stalls in the streets. 

The day after Sunday 9th is the second Sunday of the month which means that the monthly market will be taking place at 10am in the carousel square, this does seem to be getting more popular these days with quite a few more people setting up stalls there.

Also there should be several classic cars on show at the same time...hopefully we'll have good weather over the weekend for both events.

Cat Museum in Lloret

'Casa de Los Gatos'

I have been aware of the cat Museum in Lloret de Mar for some years now but have never visited it until a few days ago....I'm so glad I did! You don't have to be a cat lover to appreciate all the items in this charming little museum in Lloret, it really is a fantastic collection of art pieces, ornaments of glass, pottery, toys, kitchenware, needle work and household items. Altogether there are more than 10,000 pieces in this private collection which is set on 2 floors. It's almost like walking around someone's home the way it is set out. The entrance fee is only €3 which will include a very helpful guided tour to tell you all about the collection. We were shown around by Salome, she answered all our questions and made the tour very interesting.

Just across from the beach in a little side street, the address is C/San Albert 10 and you will easily recognise this charming little entrance with the huge cat!

 Casa de los Gatos have a website which gives full details of opening times, prices, how to contact them and coming events, just CLICK HERE