Spain is not floating my boat right now

I suspect that my issues lie partially with Alicante, and partially elsewhere altogether. But a tiny two-bedroom apartment with two kids who want nothing more than to be outdoors is not my idea of fun. Especially when the weather sucks.

That said, I shall try not to judge Spain by Alicante. I suspect it isn't my sort of place even when it is in the full swing of summer, so being a ghost town is hardly going to improve things. Apartment blocks galore, to the almost complete exclusion of anything else. Proximity to the beach is really the only selling point. Unfortunately the weather is a bit rubbish, which kinda ruins it.

One week and one day to go.

Abandonment

Now I know first hand how kids feel when their nanny leaves. I feel abandoned too.

:'-(

Venice!

I have made it to Italy.

Germany was neat, I even survived the train trip from Amsterdam to Venice- actually slept all night on the train, which I find mildly astonishing. But excellent. And just as well after being so busy. Touristing is exhausting stuff really.

And now I live I am inhabiting the world of espresso and gelato. So much so that I have been here 24hrs and still haven't had had any pizza. Or other vegetables. The closest I have come since parting with my vegetarians in Germany is a chocolate-coated banana on a stick from a fair in the Netherlands. That or the banana, rum and chocolate sauce pancake I had for lunch the next day. Accompanied by some delicious La Trappe beer. So far Dutch food is winning from this holiday.....

One of these days I will...

sleep in until after 6am. One day.

I'm never crossing the Atlantic again.

This is the worst jet-lag ever.

Children waking up at 1am more than one day in a row is a unique and terrible form of torture.

Jet-lag is a curious thing

It's more than just tiredness, although that is obviously a part of it. I actually feel like I've got up at 1 in the morning, after a few hours sleep. I'm in that amusingly helpless state where I am somewhat of a danger to myself and others. I got yogurt from the fridge, tried to put the lid in the cutlery drawer instead of the bin, and promptly put it away in the pantry when I was finished.

2am is not a good time for waking up. Thanks to the invention of portable dvd players this wasn't quite so horrendous as it could have been, and children were put back to bed with a dvd player and a selection of disks. I am not what would be considered a conscientious nanny at 2am and severely sleep deprived. However my plans only partially succeeded, and I did not sleep any further

So once my trusty suppliers on the corner had opened, I went down for coffee, and at least managed to order one, and even pay for it.

This was a somewhat embarrassing affair, as upon receiving the delicious beverage I discovered a large man between myself and the lids. I suspect I must have had an exceptionally confused look on my face, as the man serving reached over and got one for me, which he attempted to give me. Epic fail. Once I had it, it became clear I was functioning at a very low level; after observing precisely how incapable I was he took pity and put the lid on my coffee, looking thoroughly amused. This is almost on a level with my worst ever hangover. Almost. Jet-lag is rough! Jet-lagged kids are even worse.

For all my geeky friends

I must recommend 'The Pirates! Band of misfits'. It is amazing. Queen Victoria pulls swords out of her hidden steel petticoat to fight the pirates and also Charles Darwin. So she can eat the Dodo.

Enough said really. Oh plus David Tennent as Charles Darwin and Hugh Grant as a pirate (it's animated, fyi). Brilliant.