It’s 10 am when I hear my phone go off. It’s a text from our friends with whom we have a lunch date. They want to know if we want paella or fish for lunch. “Isn’t it a little early to think about that?”, I ask. No, because if we want fish they‘re going out to sea now to catch it for us. I say yes before the wheels of our car roll onto the gravel path leading up to the bay of Es Torrent.

The tables are set in white linen, the sunbeds are still empty and the freshly caught fish is stalled out on ice. The only ones there are a Spanish family and a model wearing socks and a woolen vest (it’s 23 degrees) who takes turns sleeping and smoking. Food is not on her menu today and by the looks of her it wasn’t on there yesterday either.

The twelve of us fill the table but after two minutes it’s quickly brought back to six. The concentration span of the children has expired. Three 1,5 liter bottles of wine are ordered. Seems like a lot but bear in mind we sat there from 13:30 until 18:30. So I’d say we were very prudent. The children do important stuff like move rocks around on the beach and come back every now and then to beg for ice cream. I don’t know if life is meant to be like this, but holidays certainly are.

The next day we went on a much needed shopping spree. Sluiz is the perfect address for some inspiration, cute gifts, fun things for the children, lots of nice clothes and fresh smoothies (today it’s pineapple, apple and lime). The perfect thing to wash away those magnums of wine we had yesterday. I left with a skirt that would have made Carrie jealous and three giant starfish. It’s a habit. No matter how much I travel I always listen to the little tourist in me.

Tonight we’re going to a new bistro on Santa Gertrudis square. You know in the village with the large concentration of fun Dutch people. Picture children playing in the streets, women with braids in their hair, twirling skirts and plenty of wine….