BENIDORM
- Got Gatwick Express from Victoria at 6am this morning
for a 8.30am flight to Alicante. This meant getting
up at 5am, although as I didn't get in until 3am and
then wrote my blog then had to pack a case I didn't
actually have to get up at all, just get out of the
shower. Five of us all together on this two day trip
to find the location for my new TV series. Fairly comfortable
flight (if you dont count the horrendous hang over)
two and a half hours being just about my limit without
having to resort to ipods, PSP's, etc. So I read the
newspaper and before too long (well, 2 and a half hours
actually) we landed at Alicante airport. We met one
of our "fixers" Sven at the airport and we
were ferried to Benidorm (40mins away) by much appreciated
air-conditioned cars (the air conditioning was much
appreciated, the cars themselves were essential). We
had 6 or 8 hotels to look at, the weather was extremely
hot but the sun totally obscured by very dense cloud
which totally filled the sky. At our hotel we met Sven's
business partner Tim who turns out I worked with on
Pie In The Sky a hundred years ago. You know you've
been knocking around a bit when you even know people
from past jobs in other countries! The first place we
looked at seemed perfect (for exterior shooting) and
to be honest wasn't really bettered during the rest
of the day. So after we looked at the last hotel we
went back to the first one and tried to work out if
it was possible to adapt the rooms and corridors of
the hotel to make them look like apartments; looked
quite encouraging. After this it was back to our hotel
and an hours rest/shower etc then we all ventured out
into the old town for some dinner. Had fantastic 'tapas'
in a very traditional Spanish restaurant, we sat outside,
thank god, as the evening was just as hot and humid
as the day had been. The food never seemed to end as
plates and plates of various octopus, spicy potatoes,
chorizos, mushrooms, peppers, pork chops, cold meats
and finally rabbit graced our groaning table. It was
my first time eating rabbit and although I probably
wouldn't make a point of ordering it again it was nice
to try it and don't think it affected me too adversely.
Although in saying that I did have an uncontrollable
urge to buy a bag of carrots on the way home.
