Views from the Tower of Sant Joan in Blanes

Sant Joan Tower

 From just about any area of Blanes you have a view of the Sant Joan tower high on the hill overlooking the town, but from the top of this hill you have spectacular views which you could never imagine! On a clear day its said that you see as far as Barcelona in the distance and just now on these clear winter days is the best time to visit. To reach the tower there is a very good although narrow road which leads to the top of the hill and also a free car park. 

 Playa de Blanes & Playa de Sabanell

Blanes harbour

Chapel of Sant Joan

A different view of Lloret de Mar

 Away from the almost deserted streets of Lloret de Mar during the winter its nice to get away and see Lloret from a different viewpoint. At the back of the resort we have the urbanisation of Roca Grossa which until 40-50 years ago was itself almost deserted but now there are hundreds of homes which have fantastic views of the coastline. So taking a trip up there we were able to get these stunning shots of Lloret de Mar and far beyond!

Blanes which is approx 6km from Lloret can be seen jutting out into the sea in the photo above.

 The arches in the middle right of this photo I believe are part of the 4* Roger de Flor Hotel

On top of the hill is the Sant Joan tower between Lloret and Fenals

The Carousel in Lloret de Mar

This pretty carousel in Lloret stands in 'Placa Pere Torrent' where many of the main events of Lloret take place. It is located on the busy road of Just Marles in the heart of the nightlife and hotel area. Every 2nd Sunday of every month you can visit the secondhand & collectors market, the new building in the square houses the municipal library which has internet access for visitors, childrens play area and also hosts various interesting exhibitions throughout the year.

3 Kings Parade Lloret

 Here's a few more of our photos from Llorets colourful parade of the 3 Kings 

 These people had a great view point from the Helios Hotel balconies.

Day of the Kings in Lloret

What a great atmosphere it was in Lloret for the Kings yesterday evening!

The crowds were gathering to get a good spot to see the Kings well before they were due to arrive at the Town Hall at 6pm and the kids loved it, they cheered and waved to the Kings as they made their way into the building and then came out onto the balconies....I never seen as many people gathered at the Town Hall square or lining the streets to watch the Kings in their parade.

Sweets were thrown out to the children as the parade passed by.

Spanish Christmas Traditions

Just now in all villages, towns and cities all over Spain children will be eagerly awaiting the arrival of the '3 Kings' who will be bringing all the presents which they have been asked for. As the Kings make their way through the streets they will throw out sweets to the kids who will scramble to collect as many as they can. The morning of the 6th January is when all the families get together to see what presents the children have received.

Later that day they will all share a special round cake which is sold in just about every bakery and supermarket, it resembles one of the Kings crowns so is decorated with brightly coloured candied fruits which look like jewels! Baked inside the cake will be a small gift usually made of pottery and if your lucky enough to get this in your piece then it's said you should have good luck for the following year...rather like our Christmas pudding tradition in the UK.

Winter in Lloret de Mar

After tomorrow night the Xmas decorations around town will be taken down and the shop displays will take on a new theme as the winter sales arrive! Some of the fashion and accessorie stores have already reductions of 50% and more. Weather permitting we will be out taking photos of the '3 Kings' arrival and parade tomorrow evening, but till then here are the last of our Xmas photos from Lloret de Mar for another year!

The Guitart Central Park Hotel always put on a good display at Xmas

 Christmas drinks on sale in the Municipal market

 

Exhibition of Nativity Scenes in Lloret

 

Although Christmas and new year celebrations are over in many parts of the world, here in Spain there will  still be a Christmas atmosphere until after the 6th January (Day of the Kings) with Christmas activities etc still taking place.

The exhibition of Dioramas...the models of religious scenes pictured here are still on show at the little Chapel next to 'Gerrys Bar' until 11th Jan , opening times - 10am-2pm & 4pm-8pm. Entrance is free.

 

 

Lloret de Mar Stuff is 8yrs old!

Happy New Year to you all, I hope you all had a good night last night and not feeling too delicate this morning!!

It is now 8 years ago as yesterday that this blog was started by Debbie, I joined just 2-3 days later since then just about every event and corner of Lloret de Mar has been covered and photographed with a total of 924 posts....as for photos there's just too many to count!

The first photo on the blog for this year comes from our New Years eve celebration in Rabbies Bar where we all had a great evening with good food, fun and friends.