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Ramage Raiders Touring Party 7th – 21st March 2010-03-21 Costa Del Sol, Spain Tour Leader: Jessie Ramage Tour Company: Bowling Abroad Hotel :Riu Belplaya, Torremolinos Tour Manager: Sarah
ITINERARY Sunday 7th Welcome meeting 19.00 Monday 8th Meet at Tony’s Bar 13.00 for lunch 2pm match v Belplaya BC Tuesday 9th Depart hotel 10.00. Morning excursion to Puerto Banus. Depart Puerto Banus 12.45 Lunch 13.15 14.00 match v Benavista BC. Depart club 17.30 Wednesday 10th Day of leisure Thursday 11th Depart hotel 12.45. Lunch 13.15. 14.00 match v Benalmadena BC. Depart club 17.30 Friday 12th “The Real Spain” day excursion Saturday 13th Depart hotel 10.00. Morning excursion to Mijas village. Depart village 12.45 Lunch. 1.15 14.00 match v Mijas BC depart club 17.30 Farewell & Presentation at Tony’s Bar 9pm Sunday 14th – 21st Week of leisure!
Sunday
21st Coach departs Belplaya hotel 09.30 |
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Turn Sound on!
Once upon a time in a faraway land called the Costa del Sol, group leader Jessie Ramage & 20 fellow Scottish ladies from Edinburgh, Scotland, arrived on an easyjet flight from Glasgow to Malaga Airport where they were met by Ron Scott, of Bowling Abroad, and taken by luxury coaches to the Hotel Riu Belplaya, in Torremolinos! They were met by the Manager of the hotel, Manuel, who greeted them with a glass of orange and a kiss each! They all settled into the very comfortable rooms and then headed for the bar for some more drinks! After the magnificent dinner, they had a welcome meeting where they were all presented with a lovely pen as a welcome gift, the weeks’ itinerary was excitingly discussed & everyone was given an information leaflet containing all the information they needed for the duration of their stay. After a few more brandy’s they all headed for bed! |
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Monday 8th March. All dressed in white, the Ramage Raiders met over at Tony’s bar across the road from the hotel for a quick lunch of toasties before the match versus the Belplaya Bowling Club. The lovely Linda, Manager of the green welcomed the ladies with a mug of tea and a big smile. A sunny afternoon of bowls with lots of laughter, everyone stayed behind for a chat and another cuppa or brandy before going back to their rooms to change for dinner! A successful day for all! Tuesday 9th March. The morning started with an excursion to the playground of millionaires, Puerto Banus, near Marbella. A stroll around the marina with its impressive yachts, a bit of shopping to find a bargain or 2, a cup of the tasty Spanish coffee and a leisurely walk around the little streets and it was time to board the coach to Benavista Bowling Club, where the ladies enjoyed the fabulous generously filled baguettes and a mug of tea served by the lovely Melanie! After a quick change into their sparkling whites, the match started and the afternoon went by with lots of smiling faces, laughter and just a bit of sunburn! After the match a few brandies were in order before boarding the coach back to the hotel. The ladies thoroughly enjoyed the day although maybe a little bit disappointed not to find a millionaire to take home to Scotland but they took away some happy memories instead! Wednesday 10th March The ladies enjoyed a day of leisure, exploring the local area, enjoying a swim in the hotels heated indoor swimming pool, and generally relaxing in the sun! Thursday 11th March Oh what a shame, one of the minibuses broke down, so four lucky ladies; (Betty Trayner, Betty Griffiths, Irene Skinner & Isobel McKinley) had to travel by limousine to Benalmadena Bowls Club! The other ladies met them there and they all had sandwiches and a lovely mug of tea or coffee before the match! The ladies enjoyed the match and afterwards Benalmadena BC were presented with a gift from the Ramage Raiders’ Captain of the day and in return Benalmadena presented the Ramage Raiders with a joke which they took home with them along with many happy memories of the day! The short journey home to the Hotel Belplaya was filed with lots of laughter and a few more jokes to end the afternoon of bowling! Friday 12th March Today was the eagerly awaited Real Spain Trip! Joining us were some members of the Magnificent 7 and Pinces Park BC, also on tour with Bowling Abroad. Starting out at 9.45am, we all headed off up to Lake Vinuela for a cup of Spanish coffee and to admire the beautiful scenery and views to the lakes and beyond. After 45 minutes it was time to head off for lunch in the beautiful village of Frigiliana, a typical white washed village. Frigiliana has plenty of restaurants to choose from and the ladies all found some cuisine to enjoy for their lunch, then they took a walk through the tiny cobbled streets popping into one or more of the little shops to buy a souvenir! After more than 2 hours exploring the delights of Frigiliana we then met back on the coach for a 5 minute journey down the mountainside to the working town of Nerja, famous for its Balcon de Europa and has arguably the best ice cream on the Costa del Sol! We had a walk around the town trying to eat our ice creams before they melted in the hot sun, visited the beautiful El Salvador church, then all met up again to get back on the coach to drive back up the mountain to the impressive caves of Nerja! All who braved the 44 steps back up from the caves said it was worth the effort! We finally boarded the coach for the last time back to the hotel. A few power naps were had on the way back, dreaming of the wonderful day had by everyone! Saturday 13th March Departing at 10am, we set off on a morning excursion to Mijas Village. It was a lovely day with a mixture of sunshine and cloud as we arrived in the picturesque village set in the mountains. The ladies explored the village, stopping for a coffee in one of the many restaurants and bars! A visit to the tiny Chapel was an absolute must as is a donkey ride around town. Some of the ladies went for a walk/hike! They made it up with a little help from their friends! Betty Levin even had time for a quick pose for the album! Sarah, the Tour manager with no sense of direction sent a few of the ladies on a wild goose chase to find the Tabaco shop, but managed to run up the hill after them in high heels no less to direct them the right way! Not an easy feat! After a quick cup of caffeine to recover, we all went back to the coach to take us to Mijas Bowling Club, said to be the friendliest club in the Costa del Sol! It certainly kept up to its reputation greeting us with warm smiles, toasties of our choice and a lovely mug of tea or coffee! We all needed an energy boost after walking around Mijas Village and had a chance to take the weight off our tired feet before starting the 2pm match! We had a group photograph taken, but unfortunately, one of the Raiders, Janet Caesar was unwell that day but she later got “added” by the computer genius Ron Scott! From top left Tour Manager Sarah, Sandra Williamson , Elaine Hunter, Ray Gray, Cathy Drummond, Betty Trayner, Margaret Dawson, Ellen Holland, Margaret Stevenson, Helen Shaw Bottom left Evelyn Campbell, Betty Ford, Betty Levin, Anne Fraser, Betty Griffiths, Irene Bannon, Jessie Ramage, Irene Skinner, Margaret McCabe, Isobel McKinley, and Irene Eprile! The friendliest club in the Costa del Sol was the perfect last match. Everyone had an excellent time, enjoyed their toasties and had the honour of Pam Cole, one of the owners of the club and many time champion, to fill in for one of the Ramage Raiders not feeling too well during the afternoon. After the match everyone sat down for a chat and Helen Shaw, Captain of the day for the Raiders presented the Captain of Mijas with a momento of their visit, a beautiful glass plaque! The 1st prize of a bottle of wine went to our very own Ramage Raider, Irene Eprile, 2nd prize went to Clive, who generously donated his bottle of wine to charity even though it was the first time in 5 years he had won! Well done to both worthy winners! After more chat, laughter & drinks, it was time to say goodbye to everyone and board the coach back to the hotel for dinner and to get ready for the Farewell presentation to be held at 9pm over at Tony’s Bar Tour Manager Sarah thanked everyone for travelling with Bowling Abroad and presented Jessie Ramage with a bouquet of flowers! She then went onto the presentation! So, the winners are……. Top Rink at Belplaya BC: Janet Caesar, Ray Gray, Sandra Williamson & Irene Skinner! Top Rink at Benavista BC: Irene Bannon, Margaret McCabe, Isobel McKinley & Margaret Stevenson! Top Rink at Benalmadena BC: Irene Eprile, Isobel McKinley, Betty Trayner & Irene Skinner Top Rink at Mijas BC: Evelyn Campbell, Margaret Dawson, Cathy Drummond & Irene Skinner! The top rink prizes were leather scorecard holders, wine, or letter openers! The overall loser was the spritely Anne Fraser who won a booby prize of a humorous pen! The second place overall went to Isobel McKinley who received a beautiful trophy! And the coveted 1st prize went to ……….. Drum roll please………….Irene Skinner! Well done to Irene who received her trophy to massive cheers & a round of applause! Sarah then gave everyone a small personal gift, a bookmark with flamenco dancers on to remind them of their trip to the sunny Costa del Sol! She then handed the meeting over to Jessie who thanked Sarah & Ron of Bowling Abroad for making their holiday so special, the feeling is definitely mutual and we look forward to seeing each other again in 2011! A Week of leisure! The Ramage Raiders then had a whole week of leisure time, making the absolute most of their holiday, visiting local markets in Benalmadena & Torremolinos, picking up a few more bargains and presents to take home! They also explored some of the local towns such as Fuengirola & Malaga, some of the ladies travelled up the mountains by Benalmadena Cable Car and witness a bird of prey demonstration at the top featuring eagles, vultures & owls! They spent the rest of the time relaxing by the hotel pool or on their balcony just enjoying the sunshine! They had time to play a few more games of bowls, both on the Belplaya green and also made up rinks and joined in with other matches Bowling Abroad had organised for them! They also had a competition with the two other groups travelling with Bowling Abroad, the Magnificent Seven (made up of 7 different clubs, Hence the name!) & Princess Park BC, who all got to know each other and hopefully made some new friends!
See you all again in 2011 everyone!!! |
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