Last night had the X factor in Puerto Banus bull ring
The Bullring at Puerto Banus
Got to bed gone 1am and I’m still buzzing, tripping and humming from the fantastic concert last night at Puerto Banus bullring. It was good, really good.
I’ve never been before and we bought the cheapest seats at 50 euros, but the venue is so small that even the cheapest seats are simply the best! Wherever you sit you can see the stage, not like in Wembley when you would need a pair of binoculars to see the artist.
The warm up acts were really good, the dj’s had us all clapping and jiggling in our seats, Mexican waving and we were good to go by around 9pm.
Diversity were body bendingly good. I think they may be made of rubber.
Alexandra Burke sang all her top songs but she did look a little lost on the big stage with just the two dancers to support her. I think she needs a band. She’s a terrific singer and a very good dancer but she’s not really an entertainer. Love her music though and she had us screaming for more.
The star of the show without a shadow of doubt was Mr Jamie Archer and he wasn’t the act that I really wanted to see. He had a tough follow up act as well as we had to endure the car crash of a wannabe girl band called The Scarletz. They were bad, seriously bad and the crowd began to bay for their blood after the third song. The tunes weren’t bad but together they just sounded like cats and one kept screaming and yelping which reminded me of a randy fox. Sorry girls but you really did lose any good will with the crowd when the organiser tried to pull you early and you began snapping that you had been booked for 30 minutes and you would jolly well sing for 30 minutes. The boos got louder and louder….
So Jamie Archer had to pull us out of having our heads in our hands, our fingers in our ears and bring back the party to the bull ring. And by god he did. This man is an entertainer, he filled the stage with his voice, his personality and his hair. He was the only act to get us all out of our seats, he sang songs we all knew was absolutley brimming with energy that was totally infectious and WE LOVED HIM.
He’s bringing out an album shortly and after seeing him live I hope he gets the success he richly deserves.
ps if you were there last night, wasn’t the man in the white trousers just a great warm up act and he didn’t even know it!!
Pizza Puerto Banus
Erikita liked the look of her dessert from the children's menu
We struggled today in Puerto Banus to find somewhere good to eat. Goyo was closed until 5pm, Terra Sana in Banus Marina just let us sit and sit and then sit more before I finally walked. We finally settled for the Pizza restaurant opposite El Corte Ingles, it used to be called Pizza Express but I think the sign now says Pizza Pizza. Not as good as Picassos front line on the port, but it was very convenient to where we were shopping and at 4.00pm they were still serving food.
They have a children’s menu for those under 10 years for around 6.90 euros which includes a main meal, a drink and a dessert. The pizza was small, so Erikita shared some of mine ( adults pizza are from around 8 euros and up). The kiddies dessert went down very well as it had some chocolate cake/brownie inside it.
Not that much atmosphere inside, the main waitress was smiley, adult pizza was good, children’s pizza a bit dry on the edges and without any herbs. Most little children would prefer it like this. Erikita said she would share mine in future and then we would probably both have a dessert!
Air conditioned and like the rest of Puerto Banus this afternoon, really not busy at all. I have driven twice there around 1pm and once around 2pm and the roads were only a little more busy than in the winter. No queues anywhere. So if you need to go to Puerto Banus head there around lunch time when everyone has already driven themselves to the beach!
Happy campers?
I’ve just told my daughter that all being well we will head off to Tarifa next week camping for a few days.
Her face lit up, “Yey, Primark.”
And there was me thinking she was happy to spend a few days in a mossie infested tent with her mum and dad.
For those of you on the same wave length as my daughter, Primark is located close to Tarifa, at Algeciras. So yes you could drive to Primark and miss Tarifa altogether, or head to Tarifa and hit Primark on the way back home. We will be doing the latter and we will be sedating her father and brother…..
Hard Rock Cafe in Puerto Banus review
The Hard Rock Cafe in Puerto Banus
Our second visit to the Hard Rock Cafe in Puerto Banus, eight months apart and some things haven’t changed.
The front of house at the Hard Rock Cafe in Puerto Banus are the same as the restaurant name – hard. Hard and surly. They were the first time and they were today. The young lady who we dealt with had magnificent fingernails which suggested to me that she wouldn’t get stuck in at the kitchen should she be needed and she also found it extremely difficult to greet us with a welcoming smile. I don’t care how stressed you are in a restaurant, your job is to make the customer feel relaxed and welcome. A smile does that and more. The waitresses were no better. No smiles.
The restaurant was busy but not heaving, to the left of us were plenty of empty tables but we were told there was a 30 minute wait and gave us a pager, suggesting we go to the bar for a drink. We opted for El Corte Ingles and its cool air conditioning instead and came back after 15 minutes to find they were ready for us.
We sat down and were given 3 adult menus. I had to get up to ask if they had a children’s menu…they do. 7.50 euros for a choice of food, drinks and an ice-cream. I think they may provide children with colours as the back of the children’s menu had a colouring page, but we never received any colours. Once Erikita received her meal the waitress whizzed off. I waited expecting her to come back and say “any ketchup, any vinegar, anything else.” She didn’t. I had to go and find someone to get some ketchup.
My son ordered spare ribs for just over 15 euros and they were magnificent. Huge portion and very tender. I opted for a 10 euro burger, which was ok and Erikita ordered the children’s burger. One burger on a small plate with a handful of fries. It was big enough for her. The restaurant is about meat and the chips and any salad on the side are just that..on the side.
Huge choice of cocktails, if you are driving and want a non boozy one, you’ll have to pay around 12 euros, but you get to keep the glass. In fact you have to keep the glass, you are paying for it.
We couldn’t talk. The volume back in November last year was so loud you could hardly talk and it was the same this time. My children were grunting “huh?” everytime I tried to talk to them so if you are on a first date and like the guy/girl, don’t go here. If you are on a first date and can’t stand the guy/girl, go here.
Before my son had finished his meal my daughter was asked would she like her dessert. She was sorted but we were never asked if we wanted a dessert menu. We had been waivering but this just tipped us to say “no, let’s finish and head home.” Erikita’s dessert arrived and it was the head of house that saw we had no spoon. Another wait and the spoon arrived. After a few minutes another spoon arrived. A smaller one more suited to her mouth. She stuck with the first one. The kiddies menu says dessert is an ice-cream sundae but this was much better for her, plain ice-cream, no frills and she enjoyed it.
All in all I have to say it wasn’t a great experience and mostly because the front of the house just come across as so jolly snotty nosed and the waitresses whilst not rude just seem hassled and unfriendly. The Hard Rock Cafe isn’t cheap and so I do expect a restaurant experience, otherwise I could have opted for McDonalds. There are some excellent food items on the menu and the children’s menu is good value.
Sadly that’s it for me. I have been there twice, found it all very lacking in atmosphere ( think some low lights over the table would have helped, it reminded me of an airport lounge today) and the lack of hospitable friendly staff puts me right off.
I’ll stick to places such as Terra Sana on the Golden Mile where the staff are just in a different league and the place has plenty of atmosphere, a kids menu, cocktails, live music nights and cheesecake and carrot cake to die for….
Spare ribs just over 15 euros a portion, finger licking good
6oz burger, most are 10oz, price 10 euros
Children's menu burger, a drink and an ice-cream are included for 7.50 euros.
Shrek 3 is on in English in Puerto Banus
Shrek 3 is on in English in the Puerto Banus cinema this week. It is on in 3d so I think the tickets are more around the 9 and 10 euro mark, depending on whether you need to purchase the 3d glasses. If you still have your 3d glasses from Avatar then bring them along and save some money. We are buying popcorn from the cinema as Gin Gin does love her salty popcorn in its cardboard box. I’m bringing our own drinks though. That’s why the fashion designers make those huge saggy fashionista handbags for us. We can buy our own drinks instead of buying them at the cinema by stashing them away in our handbags, save a fortune ( well a small fortune) and then buy ANOTHER fashionista baggy, saggy handbag.
I was on strike against the charges at the cinema here for families but it’s the summer hols and the girls are having a treat. We’ve spent the hols so far at the pool, the beach and a lot of the day at home, when it is too hot to be exposing young and old skin alike, to those harsh afternoon sun rays. We treat the summer a bit like winter in the UK…we stay in quite a bit, play board games, time on the pc, ps3, toys, tv ( but in our swimsuit and shorts rather than thermals)…..and then go out for short bursts during the day time and then from 5.30pm for longer periods. So the cinema tomorrow will be a nice change and by the time it finishes there will plenty of time still for swimming in the pool whilst I whip up a quick supper. Roast chicken (cooked ahead) salad ( open a packet) hard boiled eggs (cooked ahead) and hot crusty bread. A no brainer so I can jump in the pool too!!
The show starts at 4.15pm and is on until at least this Thursday. There is also another showing around 6.15pm if you fancy the later slot.
Cinemas opening to see the Worldcup game
if you fancy seeing the football worldcup on Sunday as part of a crowd, the cinemas in La Canada and in Marbella are both open on Sunday for the 8.30pm ( Spanish time) worldcup football final match, Spain against Holland.
Viva Espana….
Things to do in Puerto Banus
If you are coming on holiday and looking for some things to do in Puerto Banus at the moment, throughout the summer is a market right in the square opposite the department store El Corte Ingles. You can’t miss it as the tent canopies create a cloud of white peaks.
I’ve taken some photos which I’ll try to put up later, but there are stalls from all over Spain and Africa. Some beautiful silverware, massive lamps for terraces, jewellery, pots,ornate beach wraps, creams and lotions, toys and lots of clothes. They had some fabulous spiral decorations to hang from bedroom ceilings or from terraces. Last year the stall just had a few but this year there is a whole stall just for these decorations. Very unusual. Next to the market there is an area for children with lots of rides for a euro. Beware, we lost 2 euros as the machines often take the money and don’t work. The giant giraffe ride takes two euros and you need to put a euro in each of the slots, not 2 euros in one slot…like we did. Extremely hot midday, recommend you go in the evening as it is open until the early hours but of course much busier then.
Afterwards we sat inside air condiitioned Goyo across the road from El Corte Ingles and enjoyed ice-creams, drinks and yes, my tarta de manzana. Little Erikita and Gin Gin were given a couple of free chocolates so they were very happy – and by this time cool after being out in the sun. The trampoline rides with the harness are up a little from last year, price wise, now 7 euros for 5 minutes. Recommend children wear anything but shorts as the harness does begin to rub after a few bounces…..
Never too old, suitable from 2-90 years!! Says so on the board there….so if you have an elderly relative that you don’t like, get them in the queue. It must make some money. There are 6 trampolines charging 7 euros for 5 minutes. That is almost 50 euros per 5 minutes in the evening when it does get busy.
If i buy a car in england and drive it over to spain can i still have english insurance?
If you are driving to Spain from England make sure your insurance company has issued you with a green card. In the UK these green cards are sometimes limited to 30 or 45 days only abroad.
If you have a UK car you must insure with an English car insurance company. You are allowed to use a Spanish brance of a UK insurance company but it must be a registered UK insurance company. Likewise a Spanish car must be insured by a Spanish car Insurance company.
Sex and the city 2 is on….
Sex and the city 2 is on at Puerto Banus cinema from today. Shows for Sex and the city start at 4.15pm and 7.15pm.
Expect there to be queues today, but you can book online via the cinema website, or wait and go during the week.
Or go now, hide under the chairs, lick up any spilt popcorn and wait……..3 hours until 4.15pm.
Must go…….
sandals for girls
El Corte Ingles in Puerto Banus has some gorgeous sandals for girls, little and bigger feet, prices from 30 euros in the supermarket to taking out a second mortgage in the main shop. Actually they had some lovely coloured and white ones with lots of detail on in the main shoe section on the ground floor for around 39 euros. Soft leather, pretty colours. Lots of choice of styles unlike their school shoe selection which has all but disappeared entirely.
I wish we had in La Canada or Puerto Banus, a decent, reasonably priced shoe shop like they have near Dunnes in Mijas