Our next holiday, in just a few days, is to Benidorm (don’t laugh). More accurately, we’re actually staying in Albir, which is ten minutes from Benidorm – maybe I should say ‘Albir’ to people instead of the B-word, and I won’t get so many laughs and pitying looks. Anyway, when I was looking up things to do in the area (yes, you can leave the hotel in Benidorm, and not just for the beach!), I saw there was a theme park nearby – Terra Mitica, the Costa Blanca’s answer to Chessington. Last year, when we stayed in Salou, we visited Port Aventura, and had a brilliant time. October has got to be one of the best times of year to go – it was still warm and sunny, but it wasn’t too busy, and we hardly had to queue for anything. More importantly, they made a huge effort for Halloween – the staff were in costume, the whole park was decorated, and at least half of the visitors were in fancy dress (including the adults).

I’ve never been too bothered about Halloween – I never trick or treated as a child, and we haven’t really done it with the kids either (our street is full of old people – it’s not worth the risk!). But the atmosphere at the park last year was brilliant, and we said at the time that we’d love to come back at Halloween, and make the effort with the costumes this time. So, once we saw there was a theme park in Benidorm, we booked tickets online and then went right out and bought costumes for the boys, including face paint (not sure the masks would be too practical for a day at a theme park!). We even toyed with the idea of wearing costumes ourselves. So I went onto trusty Trip Advisor (where would I be without Trip Advisor? I could do a whole post devoted to it!) to see whether it’s usual for adults to dress up at Terra Mitica. And that’s where it all went wrong – a quick look at the travel forum showed that Terra Mitica closes in November. I hadn’t even thought to check opening times – after all, Disneyland opens all year round, and the weather is far sunnier in Benidorm. Even the rainy British theme parks stay open until the end of half-term.! Anyway, I checked the Terra Mitica website and it turns out it’s only open weekends in October! Maybe I should be glad it’s open at all, but it means we’re now really restricted. It’s a two-day ticket, meant to be used on two consecutive days, which is rather difficult when it’s not open for half the week! Luckily we’re going for eight days rather than seven (it was cheaper, believe it or not!) so we can go on the Friday and Saturday at the end of the holiday. It’s rubbish being limited though, especially as the forecast is rain for that weekend! Most importantly, though, they’re not open for Halloween – surely they’re missing a trick here? Are there really not enough British families on half-term (come on – this is Benidorm!) to justify opening? Will the children still be able to wear their costumes on the Friday, or will they stand out like severed thumbs?!

I’ve never written a blog. In fact, if I’m honest, I’ve not even read many. I do, however, regularly bore all my Facebook friends with detailed updates of whatever’s going on in my life – although none as long and detailed as my mum’s (sorry, Mum!). There’s a strong chance that whatever’s going on in my life has something to do with holidays – one I’m on, one I’ve just been on, one I’m about to go on or (too often) one I’d like to go on. As an ex-teacher, with a still-teacher husband and two young children at school, we’ve always been limited as to when we can go away; we do, however, get six lovely holiday periods a year, and we like to go away during as many of these as possible (apart from Christmas – I do like a little family time at home at Christmas, not to mention time to recover from the stress of it all!). The summer holiday is, of course, the most exciting time – five to six weeks off work, and we usually take advantage of this and go away for as long as possible. The last three years we’ve gone camping around France (and Spain, Andorra, Monaco, Luxembourg and Belgium) for four weeks, and next year we’re planning to see as much of Australia as possible. I like to write daily Facebook updates when I’m away – partly so my family and friends can see what we’re up to (especially those who like to holiday vicariously through us), partly so I can make people laugh with our inevitable holiday disasters (of which there are many) and partly just because I’m enjoying myself and like to talk about it! Of course, Facebook limits you with how much you can say – no one wants to read an essay for a status, and it’s hard to tell a good story in just a couple of lines. So I thought blogging might be a good way to get around this – those who are actually interested can read more (and those who aren’t can continue to scroll through their news feed, eyes to heaven). It also means I can perhaps reach a wider audience who might be planning a holiday and want more information about a destination, or those who have been to the same places as me and would just like to share memories. I’m not particularly well-travelled, much as I’d like to be – I’ve only left Europe four times, and children limit the kind of holiday you can go on – but I have got a fair few places under my belt, and there’s so many places I’d still like to see. I’m not a ‘traveller’ either – six months trekking round South America with a rucksack does not appeal. I like a proper holiday – basic creature comforts at least, luggage transported by plane, coach or car, and the chance to come home before I feel detached from my normal life. But I’m pretty open-minded as to what kind of holiday I like (or think I will!) – camping, cheap hotel in Benidorm, cottage in the Cotswolds, Butlins, city break in Rome or luxury hotel in the Maldives (I’m still waiting for that one). Any questions about places I might have been to, holidaying with children, packing light, booking independently, etc. are more than welcome, as are suggestions of places I should go to. Anyway, I shall see if I can successfully upload my first ever blog, and we’ll take it from there…