planes, trains and automobiles

i've been planning a vacation to the spanish coast since february.  there are 8 adults and 3 kids going, so the planning has been pretty extensive trying to coordinate dates, flights, other transportation, accommodations, side trip to madrid, etc.  after a lot of research and money, we're booked and ready to go.  aside from a few final details that we need to confirm, we are spain-bound in 10 days! 

getting to the house where we're staying just outside of torrevieja is going to be an adventure.  fly to philly from chicago, 3 1/2 hour layover.  8 hour flight to madrid, 3 hour wait for train.  3 hour train ride to alicante.  get to alicante airport to meet up with my sister and her family, travel by bus and then taxi or just by private shuttle (we're still in the process of planning that part) to the house.  all in all, we're looking at over 24 hours of traveling by the time we arrive from the US to our destination in spain.  whew!  i need a glass of sangria just thinking about it! 

but it will be well worth it.  i'm so excited to be traveling with adam, gary, and our good friend melissa.  the four of us could have fun in a paper bag, so i'm sure we'll have a great time.  i'm a little sad that the bf can't go, but it works out well for me because he'll be here in chicago to watch my kitty.  i'm going to owe him some good souvenirs for this one. 

we will be 1/3  mile from punta prima beach, which looks a little something like this....

the house we are renting also has a rooftop terrace with a hot tub (not sure we'll be using that a whole lot since it gets pretty hot in spain in august, but who knows!), a private tiled garden area, a shared pool and enough space for all of us to have beds, which is actually a more difficult thing to find than you'd imagine.  as of now there is zero rain in the forecast for the time we're there so i can definitely foresee a lot of beach and pool time.  good thing i just stocked up on sunscreen yesterday! 

i'm really looking forward to some yummy sangria, tapas and paella, as well as some home-cooked meals prepared by those in our group who actually like to cook (adam, paul - hint, hint).  we are also taking tennis racquets, so hopefully we can get in a few tennis games during the trip.  i'm sure there will be lots of euchre games in the evenings as well as some nights out on the town.  a day trip to alicante is most likely in the cards and the US crew will finish our trip with a quick whirlwind tour of madrid. 

the driving force behind all of this was discussion with my sister and her hubby about this summer and my plans to visit them when i was in london with them for christmas.  we figured since i have to travel quite a long distance anyway, why not just make it a new destination?  that way they can have a vacation and i can see them while still visiting a new place and getting in some beach time.  add in some additional friends, sunshine and ocean and voila!  vacation is born.  in addition to hanging out with friends and seeing my sister and brother-in-law, i'm super excited to spend time with these two little mokeys:

i just want to enjoy the trip, come back feeling relaxed and refreshed and ready for any new adventures that may come my way (as long as they don't cost me any money)!