Lloret de Mar Sky Tonight

 The sky as it was tonight in  between the hours of 5.30 - 6.00pm.

(Not sure if they are in the correct order!)

Ryanair in Girona & Reus Airports

An agreement has at last been struck between Ryanair and Generalitat of Catalonia which will secure flights to and from Girona airport for the next five years, and will restore routes in Reus as from April 2012. Only a signature is needed to say that AENA will not increase costs to Ryanair in 2012.
Once achieved the airline say they will carry 3 million passengers per year to Girona, and 500,000 to Reus, which would secure 500 jobs at the Tarragona airport.

There are also plans to set up a commitee which will meet several times a year in order to plan and arrange the most viable routes for the region.
Land will also be made available for Ryanair to build a hotel close to Girona airport and also a hanger for aircraft maintainance.

Gruesome find in Lloret de Mar

Two badly decomposed bodies have been found hanging from a tree in Lloret de Mar, they are said to be of a male and female and suspect that it is a double suicide pact, a few more details can be read here .....TYPICALLY SPANISH NEWS

Lloret's Medieval Event 2011

The annual Medieval festival will be again taking place in the streets of Lloret 12th & 13th Oct. This is always a very popular event where you can see craftsmen demonstating how things were made in medieval times. The usual stalls of hand made goods and produce will be open through out the day from tomorrow morning until Sunday evening. There has been quite a bit of controversy just lately about the live animals and birds of prey which have been on show in past events, so this could be the last time the animals will be taking part.

Lloret de Mar Beach

Photos of Lloret beach taken about mid day on Saturday 5th November.

Lloret de Mar Beach

Video taken during recent bad weather in Lloret.

Costa Brava Rally 59 - Lloret de Mar

Photos from the very wet Costa Brava Rally 59 held this weekend in Lloret de Mar!

Lloret de Mar Weather

4th November and the 59th Costa Brava Rally is due to start today but if this bad weather continues as it is now then I wont be going out for photos for the blog! Yesterday although it was still warm it was very humid with slight rain at times - until late last night when it started to thunder and lighten with heavy rain....and its still coming down! The sea was very rough yesterday and in places on Fenals beach it was almost touching the promenade wall.

Most of these rocks are normally covered by sand!

These photos taken 31st October on Lloret beach show how the rough sea from the recent storms of last month cut through the sands leaving  rocks exposed on the beach after washing huge amounts of sand out to sea.

Costa Brava Rally 59 - Lloret

The 59th edition of the Costa Brava Rally takes place this week end 4th -5th November. This is the oldest rally in Spain and always attacts hundreds of visitors to town, many of the hotels are now fully booked with the 124 crews from 18 different countries which have entered.
The podium will be in the usual place just in front of the Town Hall in Lloret and the main base where the cars can been seen is to be near the Evenia Olympic Palace Hotel.

View a map here > Where to see the cars!

Recent weather in Lloret de Mar

At last it seems to have stopped raining...for the time being at least. After heavy rainfall during last week we finally had a rain free day yesterday which is just what was needed for the stall holders at the second hand market which took place in the El Reiral district. There was wide range of goods on sale, new goods as well as second hand. I'm sure that if this becomes a regular event then it will be huge success and give the people in and around Lloret the chance to get rid of unwanted items that are just too good to throw away...I know I'll be clearing my stuff out if there is a next time!

So after a very nice day yesterday when the temperature rose to a nice 21C, the early evening sky was quite a spectacular sight, which was changing by the second as the sun was setting.

30th October 2011

With temperatures again today reaching 21C, holiday makers are out enjoying the sun and spending time on the beach as well as the sea! See the photos below...who would think it was Halloween?

Is it really 31st October?

Halloween??

Lloret Photos Exhibition

A large selection of previously unseen photos are on show in Lloret de Mar at the Antic Sindicat  building in Calle San Pedro (free entrance) This huge collection belongs to Josep Valls, and he is showing about 1,200 of his photos, yet he has more than 50,000 which he has obtained from friends, family and markets. They are on show now until 27th November.

Market in Lloret de Mar

This coming weekend there will be a market of second hand goods in Lloret, this is something very different for Lloret so I'm sure it will be a huge success. It gives people the chance to sort out items they have at home which are too good to throw away and in turn it gives the buyers a chance to grab a few bargains! The market will be where the weekly Tuesday market is held in the Reiral district.

Lloret de Mar Luxury Hotel

Do you fancy a 5* luxury break in Lloret de Mar? Then the  new hotel and spa Sant Pere del Bosc which opened this year could be the ideal place! The hotel is set in a fantastic location in the grounds of the ancient Benedictine  monastery San Pere del Bosc, only 6km from the hustle and bustle of Lloret de Mar centre and surrounded by forestry / countryside.

Each of the 19 air conditioned suites are exclusively decorated to the highest standard and come with elegant furnished seating area, wide screen TV, luxury bathroom and mini bar. Hotel amenities consist of beauty & spa treatments, outside salt water pool, limousine hire, restaurant and landscaped gardens.

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Lloret de Mar weather in October

"How long is this weather going to last" everyone in Lloret de Mar seems to be saying these days!

 We are now half way through October and still the temperatures are way above what they should be for this time of year. It was forecast that it would be cooler as from Sunday and as this video shows we have had a fair bit of cloud today - but still it reached 25ºC by this afternoon and the cloud slowly drifted away.

So plenty warm enough to soak up the sun on the beach for those here on holiday!

Lloret de Mar Indoor Market

Lloret's indoor market is to undergo a much needed make over - the first time that anything has been done to the interior since it opened back in the 1970s. With the plans to improve lighting and possibly increase the floor space (once the nearby police station moves to its new location) its hoped that it will attract more local customers and also tourists. At present there are 63 stores but not all are open for business, most of the stalls are selling meat, fish and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Lloret de Mar Events

Lloret - Fenals Beach Clean-up!

On Fenals beach this Sunday 2nd Oct there will be a group of divers who are volunteering at an attempt to clean up the sea bed close to the coast. This is a yearly organised event along the Costa Brava as some of the things which are thrown into the sea are very toxic and harmful to the sea life and fauna - for example car batteries are often found.
Names of all those taking part will be entered on a list and no one will be allowed to dive alone for safety reasons.

Excursions from Lloret de Mar

While your on holiday on the Costa Brava and you want a day out with a difference I recommend you book a trip to Rupit & Besalu with the Laietana excursion company.

After picking you up close to your hotel you will be driven through the Catalan countryside to Rupit where you will have free time to marvel at its original suspension bridge, one of the few surviving examples of its kind, walk through the ancient streets and browse around the shops where you can buy typical goods of the region.

From Rupit the coach will travel to the Sanctuary El Far from where you have one of the finest views of the Catalan region, after which you will be taken to the restaurant for a 3 course lunch with wine, sangria and coffee with brandy!......all included in the price of about €47.

After lunch and passing through Olot the coach will take you to Besalu where there will be free time to explore the cobbled streets of the village and admire its romanic bridge.
At the end of the tour you can sit back and relax on the coach while you are driven back to your resort and original pick up point. I advise you wear flat comfortable shoes for this day out as some of the streets in the villages are quite steep. For other days trips available from Lloret and surrounding resorts click here > LAIETANA EXCURSIONS

Tobacco Allowance from Spain

Stricter guidelines regarding the amount of cigarettes/tobacco you are allowed to take back to the UK are due to come into force as from 1st October. The new limit for cigs will drop to 800 per person instead of 3,200, tobacco allowance will be 1kg instead of 3kg.
Read the full document here > HM Revenue & Customs

As before it all depends on whether what you have in your case is for your own use ...or not!

Lloret de Mar News

  

A fire crew were called to the Surf Mar Hotel in Fenals yesterday afternoon where a fire broke out in one of the hotel rooms. The room was not occupied at the time so no one was injured during the incident, and damage was restricted to the rooms furnishings.

 

Catalan Day in Lloret de Mar

11th September is the national day of Catalonia, so there were all kinds of activities taking place in town today. Here's just a few photos of today's events near the Town Hall. All along the paseo were stalls selling local food produce, and local arts and craft items.

Land of the Giants!

The temperature today was 28ºc which I'm sure must have made it hard work for the Catalan ladies who sat there most of the day demonstrating their lace making skills.

Homemade pastries

Hand decorated glass and ceramics

Catalan meats

Lace making

Death in Barcelona after being hit by a falling sofa.

A 48 year old man died in Barcelona today, Friday, after being hit by a falling sofa last Wednesday. He was hit by the sofa, which had been hurled from a balcony during a private move.
It happened in Calle de Sant Pau in the Ravel area of the city, and the sofa had been thrown down by a friend of the victim from the second floor balcony above. It seems the friend below was trying to warn the friend above that there were people walking in the street when the piece of furniture hit the victim on the head.

He was taken to hospital in a serious condition, but died there on Friday.

It appears that after the two men established that the sofa did not fit down the stairs, so they decided to throw it off the balcony.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_31887.shtml#ixzz1XUYY4Vqr

Lloret de Mar - Just a bit of news!

An anonymous investor is seeking permission to build a new luxury disco / nightspot on the edge of Lloret . If planning is granted its reported that this new nightspot will cover an area of 5,000 m2, employ about 2,000 people and cost €11 million and could be open as early as next summer!

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The town council of Lloret are at last trying to do something about the sale of those annoying megaphones which we have had to listen to for the last 2-3yrs. They cant actually ban the sale of them but its hoped they can persuade the Indian / souvenir shops to rethink the items they are selling in their shops. Other items they hope to curb the sale of are the lasers, beach towels and T shirts etc with slogans of heavy drinking, sex and bad language!

Lloret de Mar Shopping

This Sunday 4th September is the day that all the shops will be bringing the last of their sale goods out onto the street stalls to make way for their new winter stock. Stalls will be found around some of the main shopping streets as well as around the church square and in front of the town hall. You can come and join in the hunt for the best bargains from 10am onwards.

One downside to this very popular and successful day for the stores is that the town council has this year doubled the cost they charge store owners for allowing them to sell on the street. Surely there should be no charge to the store owners, after all they are going through a very difficult period with their businesses and should not have to pay for the privilege of doing a little bit extra trade!
One of the regular stall holders Kevin of Busco Books will not be paying what he considers to be an 'excessive charge' but he will still be open for trade on the day at his original 'English Bookshop' behind the church. The shop will be open from 10.30am - 8pm.

Lloret de Mar - Fenals Fiesta

Dancing in the street!

Here we have photos of this evenings activities in Fenals for the week end long fiesta and also a video of the fireworks display. Part of the road along the seafront was blocked off to allow the restaurants to set out more tables on the pavement and road for the expected customers for their celebration meals. People were dancing along to the band as they played their typical Catalan music. Earlier today the favorite dish of the Catalan people 'butiffaras' were served for all those who wanted to join the queue in the square in Fenals centre.

Bouncy castle for the kids

More activities will taking place tomorrow so if your any where near Fenals come and join in the party atmosphere.

Diners out in the road!

Lloret de Mar Events

There are a couple of events taking place this week end in Lloret de Mar and Fenals. The annual  Fenals fiesta starts today Friday 26th Aug and with concerts, dancing, games for the kids and fireworks display etc taking place all over the weekend.

In Lloret at the Evenia Olympic Palace on Saturday there is a concert which pays tribute to Abba with a cast of 18 taking part. This is promising to be a very colourful and lively event as there will be a change of clothes for each song. Admission charge is €25, there will be two performances, the first at 8pm and the second at 10.30pm

Lloret de Mar Hotels

Hoteliers in Lloret de Mar have recently agreed to better manage the bookings of their hotels, this will mean that some tour operators who deal solely with the groups of students etc they bring to Lloret will no longer 'find room at the inn' ! The town council wants to bring to an end the bad publicity that Lloret has had since the troubles over the 11th August period.

Statistics for the month of July for Lloret are down a little compared to the the same month last year, with a little over 160,000 visitors staying on average 4-5 days. The most likely reasons for this being  Ryanair reducing their routes at Girona airport and also the 'poor' weather during much of July.

Lloret Clon Festival - Gansos Rosas

The Clon Festival is over for another year, and last nights band the Gansos Rosas (Guns n' Rose's tribute band) gave a great performance just as all the others who have played this year! 

They danced,  ran, sang  and bounced about all over the stage for a solid 2hrs. We heard a fantastic selection of the best Guns n' Rose's tracks, such as Live & Let Die, Sweet Child o' Mine, Knockin' on Heavens Door and the finale was Paradise City!

I have uploaded videos to YouTube and  there are more than 100 photos from the Clon Festival Web page........CLICK HERE .......to see them all.

(You can still see photos and videos from all this years 'Clon Festival' bands on the same page)

Lloret de Mar Watersports

Slyder

During these very hot August days the Fenals Watersports centre seem to be very busy with people taking trips riding across the waves on the Ski Bus, FlyFish and Slyder. With the para sailing you can soar 50 mts high and take in the fantastic views of the coast. On all trips life jackets are provided and safety is always paramount. 

Special rates are available for groups and multitrips.

To see lots more photos and prices  click here > FENALS WATERSPORTS

Parasailing