The Dirty DozenWe arrived in Alicante at around half past seven in the morning. It was already warm. We walked around for a while and then we found the sea. Despite being tired, unwashed, and it still being before 8 o'clock, we went for a swim.We locked our bags to a lifeguard flagpole and stripped to shorts. And the sea was warm. It was fantastic. There was this floating plastic thing a hundred metres out with a diving board on it. Great fun was had by all. ...

The GrandparentsWe had two weeks at the Grandparent's house. Two long weeks of being cooked for, cleaned for, and generally spoilt in ways we never deserved. We did odd-jobs to help out while we were there - pruning palm trees and the like. And then in the second week we really started earning our keep. We dug up and relayed their forty foot drive. Still, it wasn't really like work. We had to have a three hour Siesta break every afternoon, where we would ...

The Two EmmasAfter a wonderful two weeks with the grandparents, we left. It was the first of September - the first day of our one month Interrail ticket that gave us unlimited travel around Europe. We got the train from Alicante back up to Barcelona. It was a Sunday, and we were meeting Polly and friends on Monday lunchtime. Karim had told her we wouldn't get there until Monday night, but he was lying. He wanted to surprise her at the airport, meeting her off...

PolyestercottonmixAnd then there was six. There was me and Karim, Polly, Katie, Andy and Kristen. I had met Polly a few times, and knew Katie because she had worked with Karim at Pizza Hut. The other two were strangers, but we all got on well. Karim and Polly were spending some quality time together, quite rightly, so I was kind of forced into a crash course of getting to know the others as quickly as possible. We went back into Barcelona to find a hostel. The fi...

AntionetteAfter three nights in Barcelona, we got a night train to Cannes. Night trains are wonderful things - because of our Interrail tickets they're free, and because you kip on the train you save money on accommodation.We were in a pretty empty carriage, and all had two seats to ourselves to lounge on. The train was due to arrive in Cannes at around half past seven. Perfect really - we could all get a proper night's sleep.I woke up and it was light ou...