Discovering the Beautiful Channel Island of Jersey!

After travelling through Spain in July and August, I was not ready for summer to end even at the end of September.

I didn’t know much about Jersey therefore hadn’t ever thought about visiting, until I saw my mum and dad’s photos in spring 2023. I was sat at my desk in Ormskirk (where I was working at the time) looking out of the window at bleak grey skies while they were sending over photos of unexpected azure blue skies and sea views from their hotel room’s window.

Wow- I had no idea! The food, vibe, and people they described made me chalk it up to my wish list, along with countless other places.

About 18 months later, in September 2024, I was browsing EasyJet’s early autumn sales and was reminded of Jersey. I entered dates to stay for two nights and saw I could fly there for £47 return! Booked in the blink of an eye.

On Sunday 29th September, I drove to Liverpool Airport and parked up, had a coffee then took off into the calm sky for a 1 hour flight.

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Exploring Villajoyosa: A Colourful Coastal Town on Spain’s Costa Blanca

This summer, I was based in Alicante Old Town for three days on my own and knew that I’d want to incorporate visiting one of the seaside towns along the Costa Blanca for the day whilst I was in the area.

I spent several hours reading up on Albir, Altea, Calpe, Dénia, Gandia, Jávea and Villajoyosa, finding it really difficult to make a decision on where to spend one of my three days in Alicante as quibbles on Trip Advisor proved inconclusive about which one was the town most worth visiting.

In the end, I went with visuals and I chose the most colourful town, the most joyful town (literally in the name): Villajoyosa, or, La Vila Joiosa in Valenciano. It is often referred to simply as ‘La Vila’.

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Discovering Alicante Old Town: A Couple of Days as a Single Female Traveller

I had only ever passed through Alicante once when I landed into the airport then caught a coach to Benidorm back in 2015. I saw nothing of Alicante and despite the fact the Costa Blanca has lovely, soft-sand beaches, I had no inclination to holiday there.

However, earlier this year, my cousin Luke and I were watching food tour videos on YouTube and the end of one rolled into the start of another which happened to be Alicante. Interesting, I thought. I had never heard much heard about Alicante’s food nor any buzz surrounding its culinary scene, despite having lived in Spain (albeit much further south, in Andalusia) for 3.5 years.

We watched as the video host narrated and ate his way through various stalls in the Mercat Central d’Alacant and other quaint wine bars and restaurants in the old town.

On that drizzly spring afternoon in the north of England, my interest was piqued.

I had been loosely planning a summer trip through certain parts of Spain and I knew I wanted to spend a few days alone near the beach with free time to read and write so I looked into Alicante Old Town, preferring a quieter location and not a typical ‘Brit-abroad’ location with full English breakfasts and karaoke bars. A quick Google and I was convinced, it looked surprisingly stunning. Pardon my prior ignorance.

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