I have been reading this thread and smiling ahhhh lots of memories,I went abroad a few times before 1985 but I consider my Lloret holiday to be my first proper holiday as there was no parents or teachers watching over us, I had such a fantastic time, my friend and I spent what seemed to be 200 hours on a coach to get there, I remember it cost me £130 for 2 weeks and I had £100 spending money which incidently run out and my parents had to wire me some more money much to their cost and horror.
We had the time of our lives, being young free and single and thinking we was so cool in a sombreo, I remember getting that drunk that i woke up a in the lift, and my friend falling down a flight of stairs, it didnt bother us at the time though!!! I remember making loads of friends and falling head over heels in love with a northern lad called John from Consett and crying nearly all the way home on a coach.The romance lasted all of 2 months when we got home, holiday romance!!!!!!!! ahhhhh.
Oh well happy times back to the housework again how times change!!!! but memories last forever. Oh and John from Consett!!!! whenever |I hear a Geordie accent it always takes me back and makes me smile.
sue
xxx

falling head over heels in love with a northern lad called John from Consett

Wey man,that's my home town...wonder if I know him. Howay tha lads!!!!

Black Cat, yeah thebloke who ran the Eureka (can't remember his name) used to get up to all sorts!

I also remember the one with the bull ( I was bruised for weeks..... ) .

I started going abroad when I was 4 back in 1970 , Went to mallorca-arenal, got chicken pox and had too stay in our room for 3 days. I bet that was great fun for my parents
Lloret de mar when I was 9, I remember a bar called 'Moby Dicks', I have a photo of me eating a massive baguette, and I had a massive cheesy grin on my face. I also remember going to the monestary at Monserrat, weaving up the hair pin bends and I was absolutely terrified .
Benidorm when I was 8 & 10, cant remember were we stayed the first time, but I remember making loads of friends and going horse riding. I also had a pair of caraches?that I was rather attached too, and I lost them in Beni old town, and I cried that much, my dad went back to look for them, and found them
My second hotel in Beni was the 'Don Pancho', Telly Savalas, from Kojak was staying their at the same time, he had one of those cheesy portraits done in the foyer
I also had my first taste of a discoteque (well, thats what they were called in 1976) as i sneaked into one with my friend and her older sister, all I can remember is really big flares and a track by the Bee Gees.
Best hol was Magaluf in 1986, Hotel morroco-Thompson Young fun, does anyone else remember this hotel? The Manager used to follow everyone around taking notes of what time we got in and up etc, moaning about these Teenagers, he was definately not suited to the job! Manos Bar was the place to be, does anyone know if it is still up and running? Would love to go go back to Magaluf someday and visit the old haunts, Im 42 going on 20

Our first holiday abroad was to the Riviera Hotel in Santa Susana which cost £50 each for two weeks. The food was awful, everything was covered in oil. It's a wonder we ever went abroad again after sampling this food, we couldn't eat anything so had to eat out. There was a Spanish rep who idolised the kids and they loved him and followed him around all day.

Does anyone remember the Mamas and Papas Bar behind the Taurus Park in Pineda which was a small friendly bar. We had some very happy memories of spending time with the late Jimmy Marshall (one of the comedians) who was staying at the hotel with his family. What a nice family they were. Jean

Our first holiday abroad was cancelled.. it was 1980 and i was 9, we wre supposed to go to Malta.. bloody mother found out she was pregnant so we couldn`t go lol i always make sure my younger brother knows about this but being male it goes straight over the top
so my first holiday abroad was in 1989 with my mates from work to Corfu and i will never forget that holiday because i met my now husband there...

sharon

My five friends and I had a day trip into Lloret when we were staying in Malgrat back in the 1979.

We were *given a free lift * in a van back to our hotel by a shop keeper after complaining
his prices were much higher than in Malgrat!
(He shut his shop up just to get rid of us! )

My first holiday abroad was in 1981 (I think that is correct anyway that record D.I.S.C.O. was the record to dance to) with my then boyfriend. I was in my late teens.

We stayed in a hotel in the quiet area called Fanals just outside of Lloret.

Like many people then, we booked through the holiday company 'Tjaereborg'.

I thought the Costa Brava was the best place ever (I admit I laughed when someone mentioned there was a place called Tossa on that coastline - childish I know). The beach at Fanals was lovely, although I seem to remember the grains of sand were peculiarly large and hurt when you walked on it in bare feet. The sea was warm.

We weren't pestered by beach sellers and I don't think there was a lot of irritating music.

There were no mobile phones going off on the beach and if you wanted to keep in touch with home, you had to go into a phone box and call home. I always made sure that my parents had the name, address and telephone number of the hotel for just in case purposes.

In those days if you went to Spain you had your photograph taken as you left the plane and when you returned one/two weeks later, you could buy the photograph if you wanted. I haven't been to Spain for years so I don't know if they still do that.

I must admit that holiday was the first time we came across that thing about 'sittings' for dinner. Fortunately, we were given the first sitting so that we could then go out and walk into Lloret and go to one of the many discos. Now we wouldn't go anywhere where they insist on telling you when you can eat as we like the freedom of doing what we want to do.

Until this holiday, I had never had garlic or olive oil in my meals and therefore, found it quite difficult eating some of the dishes we were offered. Now, of course, it wouldn't bother me but then I found that I suffered with a wobbly tummy if you see what I mean.

I don't know if anyone else remembers that in those days, the higher up in a hotel you were, the lower the water pressure. If you did anything other than a tinkle, it would take ages for it to disappear. When my other half had a bad attack of the wobblies, he would run down the stairs and use the toilets on the ground floor.

I don't know if it is still the case, but then you could not drink the water.

I have really fond memories of my first holiday abroad, especially as it was the first time I had flown. I thought it was the most exciting thing I had ever experienced (I didn't get out much in those days!!). My other half sat there clutching the armrests.

my first holiday abroad was in i think 1986 to callela stayed in the hotel espania on the sea front. what a buzz met loads of people 2 girls from cardiff and 2 girls from glasgow called amanda and angie what a laugh we used to sing a song that the man on the beach used to sing.( about coca cola.fanta lemo,and naughty stuff from the trans man) it was brill got in with a gang of lads from hull and wigin hung about for the whole 2weeks used to go to a pub called rabbie burns also red lion,tropicana,the singing frog,and charlie chaplins what a buzz. thoes were the days mind i am off on a stag doo for the weekend to benidorm on the 25th july so i might just re live some of my youth

the fatboy

My memories are of my 1st hol in lloret de mar, I was 7, remember the big donkey with the dangerous nails holding it together, and my mum drinking what I thought at the time looked like petrol out of a long bottle, and she had to tip her head right back,. the bad weather rained for 2 weeks, the trip upto monseratt to a monastry and some mountains up in a coach full of old people.

Other memories included flying with laker airways. intersun holidays. going to benidorm in the riudor when the head guy used to do the bingo every night to win a toy, and dancing to agadoo,and D.I.S.C.O and boney m. thought it was ace, just to win some cheapish big teddy thing.bringing back castenets, and at the time being 7 spanish baby dolls, and them flemenco dolls that my mum put in a cabinet when we got home, Playing on the old fashioned space invader game in the ruidor in benidorm, and the they used to have a cabinet that sold them dohnuts that they still have in spain,fancy dress to win a price.benidorm indoor market to buy them fresh cooked chickens take them back to the hotel and sit on the balcony and scoff them, buying english chcolate bars in spain and thinking WOW cannot believe we can get these here!!

Dancing to las ketchup in benidorm, and buying it when it was no1 in spain.

How excited I used to be when I was a kid when you used to get a free inflight meal, and you thought it was the best.
getting loads of pesatas for your money, cigs being really cheap, bringing back loads of wine, in the bag you bought them in as like now they have to go in your case, making your case over, (ah the luxury) carefree about what you packed, no security risks, my mum bringing home them handmade spanish plates, bringing home naff ashtrays...the list goes on

remembered dan air airways what an airline, no air conditioning in rooms, the stewardess on the plane doing the safety thing on her own, unlike now watching it on the screens.

Seeing a lizard for the 1st time in salou, at the age of 9 and thinking WOW could not believe it, actually you never see them in spain anymore..

Food swimming in oils, and only eating chips,at the time very fussy..
Going down to the welcome meeting even if you had a night flight before, cos you think you might miss out on something.. oh and remember having your photo taken when you come of the plane down the stairs, and I can tell you we still have the evidence.

Wow Kazza, you sure stirred up some memories for me there too...

Those were the days...

Ah, dear old Freddie Laker. The Richard Branson of his day.

Me, I was lucky to get a week in next-doors mum's caravan in Clacton while he was showing the rest of Britain how to fly to the sun!

When we flew to Spain (I used to like Dan Dare airways), we were asked at check-in whether we wanted smoking or non smoking seats.

Smokers were at the front and were separated from the rest of us by a curtain, which tended to be be as much use as a chocolate fireguard, because as people moved about the plane the curtain would be pulled back and the smoke floated down the rest of the plane.

Several of my family were smokers and we always brought back loads of cheap cigarettes for them and you weren't stopped by customs.

We also came back with the stuffed Donkey, castanettes and dolls. We also bought home several bottles of gin and vodka (I don't remember people drinking much wine in the late 70s early 80s).

We lived off of ham and chips for two weeks because at that time we hadn't experienced foods with olive oil or garlic in them and if we ate anything like that it gave us the colly wobbles.

There was a supermarket near our hotel that sold cheesy puffs called 'Bum'. They were really nice and we bought loads home with us.

I also remember that people did not worry too much about sun tan lotion with SPF in it. There were loads of people, including myself that put Coconut Oil on their skin and then wondered why they got burned (I cannot believe I was that daft considering I am really fair skinned).

Hey Kazza, Ibiza has thousands of lizzards! Strange really when I've never seem one in Majorca!

I also remember the doughnuts. I got them in a pack of two and it said dos doughnuts on the packet. I just thought they were all called dos doughnuts so if I wanted one from the bar I'd say something stupid like 'One dos doughnut please' Dos meaning 'two'

None of the blokes have mentioned it yet so I guess I will. First holiday abroad when I was 10 to Majorca, my Dad walks me down the beach and everywhere I look is topless women! I couldn't believe it, especially having been to Wales for all my other holidays! It was great!

Sydney...remember the Lemoil I think it was called, that they used to sell on that coast?

It was pretty much pure oil with a bit of lemon to take the whiffiness off it and had a plastic lemon on the top of the bottle?

(Used to get a fabulous tan with that stuff! )

Lemonoil, I always used that for the last few days. Loved the smell.

oh my god ! I always fried myself with lemoil or some carrot based oily stuff !
food wise, I always stuck to a ham and cheese toastie, still do sometimes !
I also remember that the d.j never had the latest 'sounds' from the uk, and we would always promise to send some out to him ( never did)
and you always came home with 'friendship bracelets' that started stinking after a few weeks !
And we always invited everyone we met to come and see us and sometimes they turned up unanounced and you hated them after spending a weekend with them, even though you thought they were a right laugh on holiday, but thats another topic .........................................

1973, camping on the Costa Brava. The thing I remember most (as I was a kid) were the stand up toilets. Obviously they had "proper" toilets as well by then, but what kid is going to use them given the alternative?