I almost spent €45 on an hour’s entertainment for the kids the other day, but instead got a whole day of fun and loads of fresh air for a little over a tenner! Oh and a big sticky bun.

It was last Friday, Day 1 of a 4 day weekend (the 6th and the 8th of December are public holidays here in Spain so the children had Friday and Monday off school). To nip cabin fever in the bud before it even started to creep in we had arranged to meet a friend and his kids at the circus in Velez for the midday show. However we hadn’t figured on the prices – €15 for adults and €10 for children, even for the one year old! After ten minutes at the gate haggling with a surly clown (Why are off-duty clowns always so miserable looking?) we realised there was no way he was going to budge on the price but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to part with €80 between us. But could we crush the dreams of the five sweet eager little faces looking up at us pleadingly? Hmmmm… yes we could. We shoved them in to the car, turned up the radio and headed back up the mountain.

Ah no only joking. To our surprise and relief, they all got over the circus disappointment pretty fast and it was a beautiful day so first we hit…

The playground

Like most Spanish towns there are loads of playgrounds In Torre. Our favourite is this one by the lighthouse on Paseo Maritimo. It’s got swings, slides, bouncy horses, loads of benches and you can almost hear the waves the sea is so close.

Next, the beach

We had packed sandwiches, drinks and snacks and had buckets and spades in the car. The sea was too cold for swimming anyway so no need for togs or towels. And during the 3 hours we whiled away on the beach someone spotted these going past…

Pedal cars

During the summer these pedal cars – big enough to fit 2 adults and 5 children – are €15 for half an hour but in off-season like now, they are happy to rent them for a fiver. And if you’re one of just 2 adults carrying 5 other bodies half an hour is quite enough! And then turning the corner at Paseo Larios there loomed before us…

A bouncy castle

It was €2 a child and because business was slow at that time of day they got to stay on for nearly half an hour. By 5 o’ clock it was definitely time for a sugar hit.

Sticky buns

We squished our way in to the heaving Don Pedros pasteleria on Avenida de Andalucia and after much deliberation ordered seven cakes and two coffees which came to just under a tenner.

The sun was setting as we left Don Pedros and piled in to our cars. “That was a happy day” JJ said drowsily from the back seat. Sometimes the best plan is just letting the day unfold.