Lloret de Mar Events

In front of the town hall this Friday evening a fashion show is taking place.
Now that the summer clothes are more or less no longer on sale in the local stores you can get a good preview here of the winter fashions and accessories.
Two large screens are to be erected to enable good views of the catwalk. The show will be in two parts, the first of which will be children's fashions commencing at 8.30pm and the adults show will be at 10pm. Should it happen to be raining the event will be postponed until Sunday.
All fashions shown will be available to buy locally as the designs shown are from 11 local stores, such as Stocks, Jeans Saloon, Celio and Xic & Xic. A thousand spectators are expected at this free event.

Fenals Fiesta

This coming weekend in Fenals is the annual fiesta. During this time are various events taking place, such as shows for the kids, Catalan sausage will be dished out for those willing to join the long queue!
But probably the favorite for most will be the fireworks display taking place at 10.30 on Saturday night on Fenals beach.

Lloret de Mar Tourism & Museum

On the sea front just opposite the beach in Lloret is the Maritime Museum and tourist office. Opening times for this time of the year are as follows -

June to September: Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 8 pm
Sunday from 10 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm
Prices for entry to the museum are €4 for adults, there is a reduced price of €2 which I should think will be for children and pensioners.

Ryanair, New Routes

Ryanair has announced four new routes starting from Girona airport in October. The new destinations are Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Malaga. Flights to the Canaries will begin at the end of October while the Malaga flight will commence on the 1st October.

Ryanair is now the 2nd largest airline to operate in Spain, and its hoped with the new routes 200,000 more passengers will pass through Girona airport.

Lloret de Mar - Tour Bus

Ever since the Touristic Train and the large open top bus ceased to be used in Lloret there has been nothing to show holiday makers the best views of Lloret de Mar. Just recently though a new service has solved the problem!
This is the more frequently run and very distinctive looking bright green open top bus.

With this new bus you have the choice of either 1, 2 or 3 day pass which allows you to 'hop on' and 'hop off' at the many places of interest the bus visits.
In Lloret the bus will take you to Santa Cristina, Pinya de Rosa gardens, Santa Clotilde Gardens and the Castle St Joan.

You can view the PUJOL website for full details of the bus timetables and prices.

Homes Under the Hammer!

Ever since we bought our apartment in Lloret, this building has always been derelict and home to the odd squatter now and again! The garden was over run with shrubs and weeds, so much so that we could only ever see part of the building.
Maybe 3-4 months ago now we noticed that someone has begun to clear all the garden and empty the place of all the rubbish in there. All the window frames have been taken out and it sounds as though they are knocking down walls or something inside. Even with the way it looks now is a vast improvment to how it used to be!
It will be interesting to see how the villa will look if, and when it's completed. We have the 'before' picture lets see how long it is before we get the 'after' one!

(I'm sure this will be of interest to Julie and Ray in Holmfirth!!)

Lloret de Mar - Beatles Tribute

Last nights Clon Festival was a massive success, this was the second time we had seen 'Abbey Road' the Beatles tribute band. They had to abandon their show in August last year owing to a very bad storm which started not long after they had come onto the open air stage.
So everyone was there to see them perform and finally complete their show.

What a show it was!
The area where they played was packed with 'Beatles' fans, they did a very good selection of songs from just about every stage of the Beatles career, and went on for much longer than the usual 2hrs.

Lloret de Mar - Fenals Beach Today.

Here's a short clip of photos we took today down on the beach in Fenals and from above in the woods.
As you can see its quite packed, but still the bars and hotels in town are not very busy, some businesses are having their worst year yet.
So its highly likely that a large percentage of the people on the beach today are locals who have their own property in and around Lloret and like to spend their week- ends on the beach.

Lloret de Mar - Boat Trip

On August 13th at 8pm there will be a special boat trip leaving Lloret de Mar, the cost of this trip will be €20 and this will give you a return trip to the beach of Santa Cristina. Where on arrival you can dine in the restaurant on the beach, the cost of the meal will be a set price of €24.
Places for this event will be limited, I understand that tickets will go on sale at the beach kiosks next Monday.

Happy Birthday to Colin!

Colin from Gerry's Bar had his 60th Birthday this week, celebrated by 2 parties.
His birthday was 7th July and the celebration started during the day with a variety of sandwiches and chicken pieces etc all set out on the pool table.
Then yesterday (Saturday) was a massive BBQ out in the garden. All the meat was cooked by the local Argentinean lads who did a great job, and made sure that everyone was kept well supplied with food and drinks!
We all had a fantastic day out... thanks to everyone who helped out!

Lloret de Mar Events - Clon Festival

The annual Clon Festival starts tonight in Lloret de Mar, this is the 6th one of its kind. Taking part this year is the Kiss tribute band - 'Dressed to Kill' They are a British band, you can read more about them on their website HERE.

The next nights entertainment will be 25th July with the Beatles tribute, Abbey Road. Hopefully they will be able to finish their show this year. Quite a few of us went to watch them last year but they had to abandon the show owing to a raging storm. We all had to walk back over the hill to Fenals and got absolutely soaked to the skin, so good luck to them for this year! Here is a link to last years piece about 'Abbey Road'

The 3rd and final act to take part in the Clon Festival is Galetes Franklin she will be appearing 7th August, and is an Aretha Franlin tribute act. I cant find any info about her so I have no idea where she is from.

All acts will be on stage from 10.30pm onwards at the usual place down near the beach in Lloret

I have just received a message from Joan (see comment below) She has kindly taken the time to send a link for 'Galetes Franklin' My Space site...Click Here!

Lloret de Mar - Tour de France

Here we have another set of photos from today's Tour de France in Lloret.
After seeing the highlights on TV tonight it looks as though Lloret de Mar was the driest part of the race, they had to cycle in very bad and sometimes dangerous conditions owing to the rain for most of the way between Girona and Barcelona...weren't we lucky the lucky one's!

Lloret de Mar - Tour de France

Lloret de Mar had a huge honour today as being one of the towns to host part of the Tour de France race for the first time. The bikes had set off from Girona to Lloret which was a 64km stretch of the race and they were then making their way down the coast to Barcelona.

The roads were closed from 12 noon and the crowds started gathering well before in order to find the best viewing point. The hotel balconies on route were full of spectators, and everyone started cheering and waving as the riders came through....a very good atmosphere!

The first bike to come through was David Millar one of the British racers, this pleased all the local Brits and the many British visitors here for a short stay in Lloret especially to watch them go through the town. Some of which include Peter, Liam and Alex from Barnsley, as seen above!

Lloret de Mar News

Just three snippets of news from Lloret de Mar today.

The beach bars are to be given a complete facelift and renovation as they are said to be in poor condition after they have been used for the past few years. No date has been given just yet, but work such as this is normally done at the end of the summer season.

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A documentary is to be made by the Lloret council about the early years of tourism as seen from the viewpoint of women. They are looking for women over the age of 75 to take part, any volunteers! ?

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Finally, a reminder about the Tour de France. The Tossa to Blanes road will be closed from 12 noon until 4pm on Thurs 9th July, it will be virtually impossible to come into Lloret or leave the town until the road is reopened. Some airport transfers have told their clients that they will have to be at the airport well before this time no matter what time their flight departs - so it sounds like a chaotic day at Girona airport!

Lloret de Mar - Tour de France

Another new event for Lloret de Mar is the Tour de France which is to pass through the town on Thursday 9th July. The bikes will follow the route as above, coming from Girona and heading towards Sant Feliu on the coast. From there it follows the coast down towards Tossa de Mar and is said to be passing through Lloret on the main road towards Blanes at approx 12.45pm. More details can be found on the Tour de France site.

To any one who has no interest in the Tour de France will probably find this a huge inconvenience as the roads on the route will be closed, how this will affect people travelling either to or from the airport I have no idea. The Tossa to Lloret road will be closed from 12 noon onwards.

Tips For Staying Safe on Holiday.

A nice relaxing holiday not always turns out the way you intended. Pick pockets can easily pick out a tourist and know that they will always be carrying a nice sum of cash and one or two credit cards. Unfortunately too many holiday makers let down their guard too much and forget to keep an eye on their personal belongings. As a consequence this can sometimes lead to being the target of a pickpocket while out and about.

Your hotel should have safety deposit boxes for you to hire, these may seem expensive but you do get the majority of the cost back when you return the key at the end of your break. Well worth the cost for peace of mind and it can save you hundreds of pounds and a lot of hassle in the long run.

Obviously you have to carry cash around but try to keep this to a minimum, by leaving your passports, bank cards and cash in your safe. If you need to carry a large amount of cash then try to split it into different pockets, preferably inside pockets so your cash is not all in the same place.

For the ladies who carry a hand-bag, don't carry a flashy designer one that just makes you stand out in a crowd...this gets you noticed but not for the reason you want! Its best to carry a small bag which will just hold essentials you need, and make sure its always fastened. Don't hang it on the back of a chair if you are out in a restaurant or bar, never let your bag out of your sight.
If its a shoulder bag try to wear it across your body. Always carry your bag on the side of you which is farthest away from the road, or if you are walking along side your husband or partner then carry your bag in between you. This makes it more difficult for the bag snatchers.

While waiting for public transport always be aware of the people around you. If you have travelled abroad before you'll know that not everyone forms a queue as we do! As the bus approaches the bus stop, everyone crowds around, this is when the pick pocket strikes with everyone pushing to get on, their hands could be in your pocket or bag and before you know it you are on the bus minus your cash and the thief is still back at the bus stop waiting for their next victim!

Tobacco Price Rise in Spain.

This post has been updated to show the latest tobacco prices 25th July 2012.

 

Primark Comes to Barcelona!

At last Primark has found its way to the Catalan capital Barcelona!

The new store which opens today 9th June will be a massive success I'm sure. Primark has 187 stores in Europe including Ireland, Holland and many cities in the UK. This is the 11th store in Spain but the 1st in Catalunya.
You can find the new store in the Diagonal Mar shopping centre.

Click here for How to get there.

Happy Shopping!

Lloret - HarleyButts

Here's the last of the HarleyButts photos. The bikes came from France, UK, Germany, Portugal and even Russia. Its estimated that about 1,500 took part in the event.

More From HarleyButts.

More photos today from the HarleyButts Rally. Today is the final of the events, hopefully it wont be the final rally. They certainly added a bit of colour and life to Lloret de Mar while they were here!

Below are some of the bikers probably setting off on one of the arranged trips on the Costa Brava roads.

Lloret de Mar - HarleyButts Rally

Just for starters, here's just a few of the customised Harley Davidson bikes on show in Lloret today. It looked like a successful 1st day for the rally with good weather for the planned events.

You can even buy a bike of your own...a snip at only €23,000 !!

Reliable Airport Transfers.

So many visitors to the Costa Brava these days make all their own arrangments for their flights, hotels and transfers to their hotel and back to the airport. For a very reliable transfer able to carry 5 passengers plus luggage phone...

Tel - 0034 690319022
A.A Excursions
Airport transfers.
Girona-Hotel-Airport
Costa Brava-Dorada

Harley Davidson Rally in Lloret de Mar.

Arriving in Lloret de Mar this weekend are hundreds of bikers from all over Europe for the Harley Butts Bike Rally. They are already getting the various stands etc in place in front of the town hall, with quite a few bikes lined up on show. The event takes place Fri5th - Sun 7th The last Harley Rally which took place in Lloret was the offical H.O.G Rally back in 2000, which was a huge success with bikes of all shapes, sizes and designs. So if this event is half as good it will be a fantastic weekend for all!

Come back to this page later over the week end to see photos of the bikes.

The Credit Crunch !

Even the criminals in Spain are feeling the credit crunch!

I recently saw reported in a Spanish newspaper that a former bank robber who has had a clean record for 30yrs has been charged with 4 robberies this year.
He says he was forced out of retirement because of the recession!

Holiday in Spain Promotions!

Spain is to set up promotional campaigns in Britain to try boost tourism for this year. The reason behind this is the 22% drop in bookings from the UK market during the first 3 months of this year

''A Taste of Spain'' promotions are to be held in open air festivals in large cities such as London and Edinburgh. These will include all things which we associate with Spain, such as Flamenco Dancers, Spanish horses will be performing and giant paellas will be on the festival menus!

Santa Clotilde Gardens

Despite the bad weather which we had in April, its estimated that the figures for visitors to Santa Clotilde Gardens were well up on last year.

More than 11,000 people have visited the gardens, 4,000 more than the same period last year! All together the total for the first 4 months was 23,000. The most likely reason is that the El Punt newspaper have a scheme which allows their readers free entry to the gardens and Museo del Mar.