Step 02. Drive to villa and drop off the child and wife before setting off to the local super market to buy provisions.

Step 03. Find local super market closed for refurbishment, start search for another.

Step 04. Fail to find a local supermarket open so head to known late night store in Silves.

Step 05. Hit kerb on road in to Silves so hard that both right-hand side tyres instantly deflate.

Step 06. Call Budget to arrange for tow truck. (They also call for a taxi to take us back to the airport)

Step 07. Be moderately embarrassed as small AA van arrives and cones off the road making it very difficult for cars to pass and causes a hefty tailback where once there hadn’t been. (even with our car being in the road)

Step 08. Get back to airport to be given a new car.

Step 09. Go to Silves two days later to find the flat kerb edge replaced with a sloping edge and a permanent hazard sign cemented above with light and speed limit.

Step 10. Take credit for something that could well have been planned for months beforehand.

It’s difficult to tell from this picture, but there’s not much of a tyre left at the back.

All told it cost me €210 to pay for a new tyre.

We spent the weekend (and the rest) in Spain at my mum’s new house. It’s a villa about twenty minutes from Alicante.Typically it rained from the moment we arrived till twenty minutes before we were due to leave but it was great to be there. I really like Spain, the landscape of the southern coast especially. Once you’re away from the tourist trap playas and costas the mountains and valleys seem to take on an almost alien look and feel. Then out of nowhere the road opens up and you find yourself in an established town.

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Spain

At the end of February we’re off on holiday to the Algarve. Having booked a villa last year we decided to do the same again. The description on the web site sounds rather nice.

‘Quinta do Mangueiral’ is 200m above sea level on a south facing hillside with stunning views of the coastal towns of the Algarve.

Situated in 10 hectares of garden with over 200 tropical plants and trees. There are three lakes and a natural spring fed swimming pool and the water is kept clear by the use of oxygenating plants in a separate section at one end. This secluded residence is well furnished and ideal for nature lovers. Closest beaches are Para and Portimao coast.’