Semana Santa video

Here's our latest video - Semana Santa (Easter Week) in Denia (Alicante)
What a solemn, beautiful event
See the video here

The end of the Copa del Rey

oops !
Real Madrid have converted the Copa del Rey into the Plato del Rey. Butterfingered Madrid player let the valuable cup slip last night from the top deck of the double decker bus.

Failing to see the cup fall from the skies, the driver continued on his journey through Madrid, driving over the cup and converting into a silver plate.

Watch the video of dropping the Copa del Rey here

Easter in Spain (Semana Santa)

The most important celebration in the calendar of Spain

Tomorrow sees the start of Easter and another busy week for idealspain. We will be photographing and filming the whole week. Our reports will be published daily and as usual, our videos will be on YouTube, within an hour of being filmed.

Sunday 17th April
Palm Sunday begins with a morning mass which is followed by a procession through the streets. People will be carrying palms.

Monday 18th April
Holy Mass and celebration of the Penance

Tuesday 19th April
Holy Mass

Wednesday 20th April
Holy Mass

Thursday 21st April
Holy Thursday with a late mass for the last supper of Jesus. Late procession through the streets 'Passion of Jesus and Holy Hour'

Friday 22nd April
Good Friday is marked by a morning procession and a mass for the death of Jesus

Saturday 23rd April
Late mass for solemn Easter night

Sunday 24th April
Early morning mass for Easter Sunday, followed by a procession through the streets. Evening mass of easter

Full details about Easter in Spain, along with a dictionery of terms can be found here

Easter is on its way

With just a few days to go

before Easter celebrations begin in Spain, preparations are well underway and roads are beginning to be closed off for the parades. Semana Santa as it is called in Spain is one of the biggest celebrations of the year. Each day of Easter there will be masses at the churches and parades through the towns.

Our feature here makes interesting reading if you want to find out more about Easter in Spain.

This year, Palm Sunday is on the 17th April

Holy Thursday falls on the 21st April

Good Friday is on the 22nd April and Easter Sunday is the 24th

The train to Alicante

What a wonderful service Today we are taking a day off and going to Alicante on the train. We board the train in Denia at around 10.10am and are surprised on how cheap the train is. At 11.15€ return, it's excellent value. Pensioners over 65 pay just 6€ return. The trains are almost new, spotlessly clean and very safe. They're also very easy to use. You can buy a ticket at the ticket office or use the machine on the train. If you don't have a ticket, the fine is 50€ and the guard checks all tickets. It might be a rather long journet but the scenery is beautiful. You pass Gata de Gorgos, Altea and Calpe and arrive in Benidorm where you have around 15 minutes to change trains. The next train goes into Alicante city and we found the Mercado the best stop for the historical centre. The stations are all very clean and safe and disabled friendly. On arrival in Alicante, the escalator brings you right outside the market. You can see more details about the train service here

When returning from Alicante, study the timetable carefully as the last train at night only goes as far as Altea and you have no connecting train to take you to Denia. The last train arrives into Denia at around 22.15pm. It makes me wonder why trains aren't like this in the UK. From what I remember, trains and stations are old, scruffy and often unsafe places to be. They're also considerably more expensive. The train on the Costa Blanca is a wonderful way to get around and without doubt, the best way to see Alicante.

Train journey times Denia to Benidorm on L9 - 1 hour 17 minutes Benidorm to Alicante Mercado on L1 - 1 hour 14 minutes Total journey time = 2 hours 31 minutes

Latest news from Spain

MONDAY 11 APRIL 2011

Mallorca plans

Idealspain will be visiting Mallorca in September to film a new DVD 'Let's visit Mallorca'. Produced in association with the Mallorcan tourist board and the film commission, the 2 hour DVD will be released in December. Whilst in Mallorca we will be visiting every town and village and filming everything we see. We will also be reviewing 7 hotels. If you are based in Mallorca and wish to be involved in any way, please contact us at info@idealspain.com

The weather yesterday was the hottes tday of the year so far - at 7pm it was still 43 degrees ! Forest fires were starting in many regions. Today is somewhat cooler and more comfortable at just 25 degrees. Guess summer is on its way at last.

WEDNESDAY 23 MARCH 2011

Guadalest and more

On Monday we spent the day in Guadalest, a small, hilltop town 25km from Benidorm. A truly beautiful little place but we vote it for the most unhelpful and unfriendly tourist office in Spain. The woman there was miserable and uncooperative. They had also run out of guides in English. If you go to Guadalest, you will need lots of cash. All museums have an entry fee and there are around 10 of them. Even the castle has an entry fee. The views of the reservoir are free however. See the video here Today the weather has turned for the worst again and the rain is hammering down. Plains are flooding. Let's hope it doesn't last too long. We feel sorry for those here on a weeks' holiday. At least we know it will be nice again next week. The bad weather might stop our tours for a while but at least we can catch up on the paperwork and research. Our next fiesta is Easter, shortly followed by a major Moors and Christians in Alcoy - one of the biggest in Spain and world famous.

SUNDAY 20 MARCH 2011

End of Las Fallas and another fiesta squeezed in

The Las Fallas celebrations in the Valencia region came to an end at 2am this morning with the Crema or burning of the Falls. On Saturday however, it was another totally separate fiesta - the day of the Lady of the Forsaken. This colourful fiesta involves carrying flowers through the town to the church where they are placed on a large wooden statue of the lady. A beautiful day, enjoyed by all.

Airport strikes in Spain

It was announced today that airport strikes are planned for Easter this year and they could continue well into the summer. This is the last thing that Spain need at the moment as tourism is the only thing keeping the economy afloat.

This could mean that camping holidays and driving in Spain will become even more popular this year.

One thing for sure if you have a holiday booked in Spain this year, make sure you have adequate holiday insurance which covers cancellations and delays.

Sad, sad times in the middle of a recession and very bad news for Spain.