Just been on a really great holiday in northern Spain during the Easter break. I’d mentioned to Ali after after Scotland that if she ever needed a hand with the kids on a trip in the future (and also to cut costs!) to give me a shout… well a few weeks ago, she called me to say she’d been offered the use of a holiday apartment by a Spanish friend of hers, in the small coastal town of Suances, just over half an hour west of the city of Santander, and wondered if I wanted to tag along with them.

We flew out from Birmingham airport on the Bank Holiday Monday, so I went to stay at my mum’s over the weekend, and then took the train to the airport from there. I’d not flown by Ryan Air before, so was expecting the worst, but to be honest it was fine! Whilst on the plane, Ali realised that she’d left her money and cards at home – they were in her coat that she decided not to bring at the last minute! She had Apple Pay on her phone, so she was able to pay for some things, but our first issue was that the car had been hired in her name, and was booked using her credit card, and the car hire company couldn’t give us a car without having the physical card! We were able to add me onto the hire (which we’d avoided beforehand to save money) and then make me the main driver so I could use my card instead.

Anyway, we eventually left Santander airport and got to Suances late afternoon, and after meeting a lady in a car park to collect some keys(!) arrived at the apartment. It was really nice, and a decent size – and since the weather was pretty sunny, we walked down to the beach early evening. Ali and the kids  went in the sea for a bit, whilst I decided to stay dry and enjoy the sunny evening sitting on the sand!

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