Alicante

A few weeks ago, I attended the Annual Conference in Alicante, Spain. In the past, only the Advisers of the firm attended the conference, however, this time the invite was extended to all the support staff.

We all met up at the East Midlands Airport for our 6.40 am flight to Alicante in the bar.

Once we landed in Spain, it took us about an hour to board the bus that was going to take us to the conference centre. Instantly you could notice the difference in the weather as we left a very wet and cold England and arrived in sunny, dry Spain.

Thank god the conference centre was air-conditioned and we received the warm welcome as we were greeted by a local Spanish lady with refreshments and a fantastic tapas lunch.

So after a long day (as I had been up since 2.00 am), the delegates were transported to the Melia Hotel where our luggage would be waiting for us in our rooms.

Finally after standing in queues waiting to check in, it was my turn - unfortunately, I was not so lucky as I was told that they did not hold a reservation for me under either my Maiden Name nor my Married Name.

Then I suddenly realised that my luggage is missing...I was at breaking point as all I wanted to do was go to my room, have a shower and a quick nap. There was 3 of us that were in the same boat.

After about an 1 hour, it turned out that my luggage was in my room but the Spanish were unable to spell my Married Name so created a new surname for me.

Once I arrived in my room, I discovered that not only did I have my own luggage but I also had someone else's luggage as well - plus my room was, in fact, an Executive Suite with a private bar for all the guests on that floor, jacuzzi bath/shower with a free mini bar. The view was incredible as I looked out on to the beach and the castle on the hill.

So after a long overdue bath in my jacuzzi bath, I joined my colleagues at the Buffet Dinner only an 1 hour and half late so I missed the pre-dinner drinks and the speeches.

After a delicious dinner, a few of us decided that we would go out for a night on the town and headed to the Coyote Bar for a bit of dancing and plenty of drinks were flowing.

At about 3 am, a few of us were keen to go to the Casino but when we got to the Casino we were told that we required some form of identification so we had to return to the hotel to get our passports.

My one of my bosses decided that he would run down the corridors of our hotel floor and knock on random doors hoping that I wouldn't notice him doing this and when the people opened their doors, they would think it was me but I quickly realised what he was doing so I immediately started run after him so that I won't be caught.

However, some of my colleagues hadn't noticed what he was doing and when they walked down the corridor, a couple of the guests shouted at them.

We spent about an hour at the Casino on the Roulette and Black Jack tables. I don't mind gambling but I also don't like to lose so I only play with 10 Euros.

After the Casino, a few of us decided to go to a nightclub, as we weren't quite ready for bed.

By the time, we stumbled to the hotel, it was about 5.30 am.

Earlier in the evening, I was told that if I didn't want to go to the conference on the 2nd day, I could relax and do what I like so when I woke up, I joined one of our Advisers on the beach as he was suffering from a major hangover. However, before joining my colleague on the beach, I did get a chance to have breakfast in bed....nothing better than having someone to bring you breakfast in bed.

After a few hours on the beach, I returned to my hotel room to do some work and then spend the rest of the afternoon pampering myself for the gala dinner.

The gala dinner was at a different location so we decided to all meet up in the private bar for drinks prior to getting on the buses. By the time, the rest of us met up, you could see who were still suffering from the previous night's antics. However, I was feeling on top form despite only having a few hours of sleep.

Once we arrived at the gala dinner, it looked like we had stepped out on a set from a James Bond movie. The dinner was held out under the stars in front of the restaurant and we were not far from the water's edge. It was a beautiful evening and I managed to watch the sunset as the moon rose from behind mountains. It was a perfect setting.

The 14 of us were split across 2 tables and I was definitely on the table that had more fun as the conversations were very revealing in a cheeky / naughty manner - definitely a good icebreaker for all of us as we had other people on our table that we did not necessarily see or speak to on a daily basis.

After the gala dinner, we returned to the hotel but decided that the night was still young so we went to the Coyote Bar. One of the Advisers decided to jump on one of the tables and dance but the foot of the table gave away and he landed with his nose on the beer bottle - luckily he didn't break any bones or get glass in his eyes but he did have a rather ghastly gash on his nose so there was blood everywhere.

At 4 am, I decided that I needed to go back to the hotel and pack my case and get some rest as we were going to check out at 12 pm that day.

I woke up at 11 am and missed breakfast but managed to get my stuff together and check out by 12 pm.

We spent the rest of the day having a relaxing paella lunch at a restaurant that overlooks the harbour. After lunch, we did our only thing, some went to the beach, others went for a walk.

Our flight was only at 9 pm so we had a leisurely day in Alicante and then a bit of rush to the airport but all of us made in one piece and boarded our flight.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip and I am hoping that we will have another opportunity next year!