I was lucky enough to make our annual trip to Spain with the girls last weekend. Six women, sangria, sand and shopping, what’s not to love?

Our flight to Murcia with Ryanair cost us just €124 return because we booked well in advance. The Friday evening departure from Dublin Airport is just perfect. It allows the workers to do at least a half day and the work at home mammies to get the school business out of the way. We picked up some brilliant value beauty purchases at The Loop Duty Free, and headed to the lounge for a pre-flight drink.

On arrival in Cabo Roig, it’s customary to have dinner in Mamma Mia which is a fantastic Italian restaurant. We ordered baked provolone, which is an Italian cheese, to share. It’s delicious and really slimming 😉 Now, I rarely order pizza, but it’s impossible not to in this particular restaurant. Freshly baked in the pizza oven it’s delicious; as my father would say, ‘You’d get up in the middle of the night to eat it’. We ordered some delicious wines and were, as always, treated like royalty by Gabriella, the owner.

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The next morning we took a cab to  Zenia Boulevard shopping centre and bought some gorgeous bits in Zara and Stradivarius, which I later had to squeeze into not just mine, but my friend Caroline’s hand luggage. Every time… You could spend the whole day here, there are so many shops and restaurants. Although after the wine the night before, we could have done without the live children’s entertainment…

We spent the afternoon on the beach, the weather was glorious and particularly warm for the time of year. After all, it was October. Little did I know that I’d be swimming in the ocean so soon after the cruise. We swam in the sea every day to make the most of the fine weather.  And most importantly, we got to watch Dublin beat Mayo in the All-Ireland football final replay, which was showing in most of the bars on the strip. Did I mention Dublin won…

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On Sunday we visited the coastal town of Torrevieja which is about 15 minutes away in a cab (€15 or a fiver a head). Here you’ll find markets and tourists and a fabulous promenade lined with shops and restauraunts.  We went in the late afternoon to make sure we caught the sunset, which was spectacular. We had dinner in El Muelle which is on the promenade, lovely food and great for people watching.

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After an early morning walk along the beach to Campoamor (only myself and Pauline made this), our final day was spent by the pool, interrupted only for a swim in the sea and a visit to the Asia Garden, a chinese buffet, which serves the freshest, most delicious food at the princely sum of €8.95 a head. The prices in this part of Spain really highlight just how expensive everything is in Ireland by comparison.

I’m lucky to be a frequent visitor to Cabo Roig in Oriheula and am always looking forward to the next visit. Roll on…

Ryanair and Aer Lingus fly from Dublin to both Murcia and Alicante. Flights are limited during the winter season so do check their websites.