St George's Day - 23rd April

Although it is frowned upon to celebrate our Saint's day in England other countries actively promote it.

In Catalonia, it is known as La Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day), El dia de la Rosa (The Day of the Rose) or El dia del Llibre (The Day of the Book).

Rather like St Valentine's Day (which we in England are allowed to celebrate), men give red roses to their sweethearts, women given books to theirs, although in more modern times, books are given by either sex.  Roses are now given in different colours which all have different meanings.

As well, as the better know red rose, the blue rose has also become popular, and it is usually given to friends since they symbolise trust. Pink roses are given to thank someone for an important favour.  Purple roses symbolise nobility, femininity and seduction, whilst white roses symbolise purity and innocence.  Yellow roses are a little less common, they symbolise joy and happiness, and so are usually given to teenagers.

All around Barcelona, book and flower stalls pop up overnight and by the end of the day, over 4 millions roses and almost 1 million books will have been sold and gifted onwards.

The national dance of Catalonia, the Sardana, is performed throughout the day in the Plaça Sant Jaume and book stores and cafes host readings by authors.

The atmosphere in Barcelona is always great, on this day it is fantastic.

How many bags make one?

A lot of airlines state that 'only one bag may be carried on board', but many passengers, and I hate to say it, but it is mostly women, seem unable to count to one.

People seem to think that ONE handbag or laptop bag, ONE carry on case and ONE Duty Free bag together count as their one piece of hand luggage.

I don't understand what the difficulty is.  If the rules state one piece, just take one piece instead of arguing with the airline staff and holding everyone up.

Liquids in carry on luggage seem to cause issues too.

Again, the instructions are clear.  Individual bottles no more than 100ml each, and all must fit into a 1 litre clear plastic bag which can be sealed closed.  There are some exceptions in the case of medication and baby milk.

These are not new, or hard to understand, rules, and yet I always seem to get stuck behind someone at Security screening who has chosen to ignore them.

Do you follow the rules, or do you try to bend them when travelling?

Another email offering a (not so) great deal.

This morning I received an email offering me a great deal on the perfect holiday for me from a major High Street travel agent.  I clicked on the link so that I could compare their prices with the holiday that I have already booked.

The first issue was that they don't fly from my chosen airport to my destination at the weekend, they only offer one flight per week on a Tuesday evening but as I only wanted to compare prices I let this slide.

The second issue was that they only offered one hotel in the whole resort, and this is a hotel that I will NEVER be staying at again, but again this was just a price comparison exercise.

The package price for two travellers was £493 per person for a week's half board in a 3 star hotel and included flights and transfers, this was for mid June.  Breaking this down, the flight was £198.98 per person, the hotel £276.50 per person and the remaining amount covers the costs of transfers and the rep at resort.

The third issue was that when I searched for 1 person travelling, as you know I always travel alone, the hotel was sold out. Change the search back to 2 people travelling, and the hotel was available again.

Booking separately, the flights work out at around the same price once hold luggage is added, however, the hotel can be booked much more cheaply.  Going to just one of the many comparison sites the same hotel can be booked for the same dates, the same board for £295 for two people, a saving of £258 on the original email offer.  With transfers costing around £20 return this is a good saving.  

You could possibly find even cheaper, this was just the first site I looked at, I usually look at a couple before I book anything.

I've talked before about shopping around, and this is another reason why.

My London Visit Wishlist

I would love another trip to London, in the past I have been for one night stays but would love to stay for longer.

The places that I really want to visit are (in no particular order):

1.  The Natural History Museum.  I really want to visit Dippy before he is moved to make way for the whale skeleton.  I have never been to the NHM so it is definitely on my wish list.

2.  The Science Museum.  The geek in me loves the Science Museum, it was the first museum I visited where you are encouraged to touch the exhibits.  After years of having to walk behind ropes, signs on everything telling you not to touch and attendants in every room to make sure you don't, this was fantastic.  I need to go when the schools are not on holiday so that I can get to the exhibits to play, I mean, investigate.

3.  The Churchill War Rooms.  When I was at school I hated anything to do with history, probably more to do with the teachers and the subjects we covered than anything, but in more recent years I have become more interested in what went on, so a visit here is a must.

4.  Bletchley Park.  Not technically London, but close enough.  Again this appeals to the geek in me.  The fact that people were able to break codes, generally in a foreign language, just boggles me.

5.  Madame Tussauds.  Another place I have never visited,  I've been to Louis Tussauds' in Blackpool, but I am hoping that this one would be better.

Is there anywhere else you think I should add to my list?

My favourite hotel in Calella de la Costa.

I have been asked which hotels I consider the best and worst in Calella.

Well, the best is easy, of all the hotels I have stayed in up to now, the Maritim wins hands down and I am reluctant to try any of the others on my wishlist in case I am disappointed!  Others on my wishlist include the Bernat II and the Hotel Mar Blau.

Whilst not wanting to call any hotels 'the worst' there are hotels I would not stay in now although they do have their uses. The Olympic, for example.  I have stayed in the Olympic a few times in the past when I could not afford any better. Working full time I was determined to have a week in Spain every year but it had to be cheap which meant coach travel and budget hotels.

Similarly with the Bon Repos and its sister hotel the Esplai, when they were all I could afford I was grateful for them.

One of the problems with the cheaper hotels is that they are used by the German holiday companies who specialise in coaching in hundreds of teenagers who run riot around the hotels and resort with no supervision at all.  

One year a group were running around the hotel banging on doors at 5.30 in the morning, I was so worried that I put a door under the doorknob and I do not scare easily.  This was in the Haromar.

Another year, every non German in the hotel (the Calella Palace, or Osiris as it was then), lined the terrace and clapped as the teenagers all trudged off to their coach dragging their cases for the journey home.

Another issue is the location of the single rooms in the cheaper hotels.  They are never the best located in any hotels, usually having views of the bins, but in the Olympic I was right next to the lifts, which were not quiet and were going all night.

I have stayed in the Amaika which was a good hotel, although the standards seem to have dropped in recent years.  This is a 4* hotel with the interior resembling the Titanic, why anyone would want to base their decor on a sunken ship I don't know.

The rooms in the Les Palmeres were fantastic, but the hotel is definitely geared towards the older traveller.

I enjoyed my stay in the Hotel Vila, it looked completely uninspiring from the outside but inside it was amazing.  But it is more a weekend break type hotel rather than for a full week.

Do you have a favourite hotel?  

It pays to shop around.

I have just booked my annual summer holiday - and yes it is back to the Maritim in Calella for me.

I always shop around, although I do have a core list of online agents which tend to be my first port of call.  I tend to shy away from booking directly with hotels as they always seem to be more expensive than through an agent.

This year, however, I received an email from GHT Hotels, the company who own the Maritim, offering a discount.

I had been quoted €377 for a week's accommodation in a single room with breakfast, Alpharooms were slightly cheaper than this, but as I now refuse to book with them I passed onto the next price.

Booking directly with GHT, I have a twin room for sole use, which automatically means a larger room than I would have had, and half board meals, all for the price of €399.

I have also taken advantage of some add-ons; I have prebooked the safe in the room (the safe is always there, what you are actually hiring is the key and lock), this is normally €3 per night, or €21 for the week, I have paid €18.

I have booked a mini fridge, this is normally €30 when you pay at the hotel, I have paid €24.50.

Finally I have prebooked my drinks for my evening meal, normally I spend about €6 per night, for the 7 nights of my holiday I have paid €17.50.

The savings from paying for these additions up front has more than covered the additional €22 for the larger room and the evening meals.

Now to try and do so well on the flight!

Holidays for singles v holidays by yourself.

I've been travelling by myself since I was 18, admittedly I stick to the well known, and sensibly priced, areas - Spain, Germany and the UK - and once budget airlines were readily available I started booking accommodation and flights separately.

And saved a lot of money, generally a couple of hundred pounds per trip.

Booking directly with a hotel, or at least not using the High Street travel agents, mostly removes the single supplement.

Nowadays, however, more and more companies are advertising singles holidays, but are they worth the high prices?

One particular solo traveller company is offering a week in Calella, Costa Brava, in June next year (2015) for just over £1200 per person

It includes return flights with BA from Gatwick to Barcelona, and 7 nights of unspecified board at the Hotel Garbi.

Now if you book this yourself, the BA flights cost £251 for Business Class or you could do it for about £100 Economy.

The Hotel Garbi can be booked for £41 per night Half Board, this is £287 for 7 nights.

I've not stopped at the Hotel Garbi, but I do pass it on a daily basis when I stay in Calella as it is opposite the beach, and it looks clean and well kept.

So booking separately, this is a total of £538 per person, flying Business Class.  So what is the additional £700 for?

Has anyone ever booked a singles holiday?  Are they worth the additional cost?