I think the place I loved the most in Benidorm was a little secret known as Tio Ximo Cove, resting in between the cliffs of the Sierra Helada Natural Park. It was carved out like a crescent moon and scattered with huge, white stones that made it a little difficult to navigate in bare feet, but beautiful nonetheless. The waters are crystal clear and beautifully blue, like something out of a movie.
And by far the best thing about the cove was the fact that it was near empty. There was only one other family there when we arrived, which was a refreshingly different experience to the jam packed popular beaches we had passed earlier in the day.
It felt like the perfect opportunity to embrace my inner mermaid and head for the ocean.
Everything I wore on the beach that day was from River Island, because let's be honest, they're totally nailing their beachwear right now. This bikini was one of the first things I saw in the store and I immediately fell in love. Not only is it beautifully unique, with it's lacy design, but it makes me feel a bit like Ariel after she's turned into a human for the first time.
Bikini Top - River Island | Bikini Bottoms - River Island | Kaftan - River Island | Sunglasses - River Island
I could honestly sit on those rocks forever, listening to the sound of the sea and breathing in that air. It was one of the most surreal and stunning places I had ever had the pleasure of visiting.
In the evening we took a stroll down to Benidorm's Old Town, which still has the same hustle and bustle as the new town, but with a bit less of the party scene. My favourite part had to be the Balcó del Mediterrani, a stunning white structure that lowers down into the sea. It reminds me of something out of a movie, or at least I'd never think that it'd be in Benidorm!
As the sunset over the horizon, we hit golden hour and it was truly one of the most beautiful places to be. Fact: this is in the top 10 best viewing spots in Spain!
We headed to pretty much one of the most stunning restaurants I'd ever seen inside the five-star Villa Venecia Hotel called Llum Del Mar. Of all the restaurants, I think this was definitely my favourite. Perched on the edge of the cliffside, the entire wall was made from glass, so it felt like you were just a moment away from the beautiful ocean.
We were about to be presented with an extravagant seven course meal, but first of all, bring me that bread.
We started with some delicious little appetisers, one of which was mozzarella with anchovy and the other I'm not quite sure, but it was flipping amazing.
First up was duck ham salad with citrus, green sprouts and raspberry sauce, which may be the prettiest starter I've ever seen.
This was quickly followed by tenderloin carpaccio with parmesan, truffle flavour and pear confit sorbet. I'm not really one for the whole fruit and meat combination, but this was absolutely amazing.
My favourite savoury course had to be the fish; wild hake with marinated wakame seaweed. Everything was cooked to perfection.
To cleanse our palettes we were presented with lemon sorbet from the restaurant's very own orchard, alongside passion fruit nuances. This was a little sharp for my liking, but definitely did the job of making sure we were totally prepared for the meat dish.
Speaking of which, our meat course was beef cheek with vanilla and oporto glaze with bio quinoa. The beef was cooked to absolute perfection, to the point where it was actually melting in my mouth. I think I still preferred the fish, but this was a close second.
But, of course, my favourite course out of all of them had to be the dessert; the Villa Venecia Strawberry Dessert with Bulgarian yoghurt ice cream and candy floss. I mean, come on, it has CANDY FLOSS ON IT. There was also popping candy and white chocolate, because I guess the chef felt the need to make the dish even more incredible. I could seriously eat this one right now.
After totally filling up on our incredible meal, it was time to head back to the hotel for the evening. Having gotten up at 3am that morning I was definitely ready for a nap, especially with another exciting day ahead of us...
Our trip to Benidorm was complimentary thanks to Ice Lolly and Visit Benidorm but all opinions are my own.
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