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TRIP’S EVA SO HOTTHIS year marks a century since the birth of one of South America’s most famous women — Eva Peron. She was born in 1919 in the rural village of Los Toldos, Argentina, and moved toBuenos Aires in the 1930s to become an actress.

But her most famous role was that of wife of Juan Perón, who became president of Argentina in 1946. Eva, below, fought or women’s rights and to improve the lives of the poor.

Buenos Aires will host several events to celebrate herlegacy. Travel Buenos Aires has a walking tour which takes in the former Central Buenos Aires Post Office, home of the reconstructed Sala Eva Perón which, in 1946, was the First Lady’s office. Then it’s the historic city square where Evita famously addressed the crowds from the balcony of the Casa Rosada, above, the Facultad de Ingeniería where her body

was kept on display for two yearsafter her death and her final restingplace, Recoleta Cemetery, and theEvita museum (Museo Evita)web.museoevita.org.ar

On September 20, Museo Evitalaunches a temporary exhibition —Retratos de Familia — displayingportraits after La Revolución Liber-tadora of Eva alongside the perma-nent display taking you throughher life. The Eva Perón Tour, is ahalf-day bus and walking tour inBuenos Aires. For more info, visitturismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en/recorrido/footsteps-evita and formore on Buenos Aires, seeturismo.buenosaires.gob.ar/en

BARRHEAD Travel has some excellent dealson offer including a week self-catering at the4H Sunwing Kalithea Beach in Kalithea,

Rhodes, from £349pp, leaving Glasgow onOctober 2. Seven nights’ self-catering at the 4H Club Excelsior in Marmaris, Turkey, is from £290pp,leaving Glasgow on October 21. They also have a week full-board at the 3H Ambassador Playa II in Benidorm from £389pp, leaving Glasgow onNovember 2 or two weeks’ all-inclusive at the 4H Grand Bahia Principe Tulum in Mexico’s Riviera Maya from £1,097pp, flying from Glasgow on October 8. Seebarrheadtravel.co.uk or call 0141 222 2223.

hotspot

lMusic l Games l Money l Motors l Puzzles l Travelundaythe S

So coolin Calida

ENJOY SPANISH SIZZLER ON A CULTURE COSTA TRIP

VEGAS IS THRILLERLAS Vegas always has an unprecedented line-up of entertain-ment options to entertain and thrill. New right now is singer, dancer, choreographer and pop legend Paula Abdul who began her new residency Paula Abdul: Forever Your Girl at the Donny Marie Showroom at Flamingo Las Vegas last month.

With more than 100 million albums sold worldwide, legend-ary British rock ‘n’ roll icons Def Leppard are also starring on the Las Vegas Strip with their new residency show, The Sin City Residency, at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort Casino.

At The Venetian Theatre, Las Vegas, 19-time, Grammy Award-winning crooner Tony Bennett will debut I Left My Heart in Las Vegas, a new show on September 25.

America’s all-time top-selling rock ‘n’ roll band Aerosmith bring their Grammy Award winning hits to the Las Vegas Strip with their “ D Are Wild residency at Park Theatre on Septem-ber 21, 23, 26 and 28. Fans can enjoy some of the band’s mosticonic hits including I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing, Walk This Way, Sweet Emotion and many more.

Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera contin-ues her exclusive headlining residency, Christina Aguilera: The Xperience, at Zappos Theatre at Planet Hollywood Resort Casino. She will wow audiences throughout Septem-ber and October. Beginning on October 24, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group will bring its first live action thriller pro-duction to the Strip with R.U.N at Luxor Hotel and Casino. See visitlasvegas.com.

1SM Sunday, September 8, 2019 ............... 49

Edinburgh on October 19. Seeeasyjet.com/holidays or call 020 3499 5232.

£750:A week all-inclusive at the4H Tasia Maris Seasons

Hotel in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, is from £726pp, leaving Glasgow on September 15. Get all the info you’ll need atfirstchoice.co.uk or visit your local TUI store.

OR Seven nights’ half-board at the 5HTUI SENSIMAR Oceana Resort and Spa in Hammamet, Tunisia, pictured,

is from £625pp,leaving GlasgowonSeptember 16.See tui.co.uk orvisit your localTUI store.

£1000:Get in early for£200 off a weekat the 5HDomaine DesOrmes parc inBrittany, France,

one of theflagship sites for Canvas Holidays. A week for a family of up to six is now from £799, arriving July 25. Travel not included. Seecanvasholidays.co.uk or call 0345 268 0827.

OR Seven nights’ B&B at the 4H Khaolak Laguna hotel in Khao Lak,Thailand, is from £779pp, leavingGlasgow and Edinburgh on selected dates next June. See more information at emiratesholidays.com or give them a call on 0208 972 8949.

£100:Have your tart and eat itwith a night at the

Cavendish Hotel in the town of Bakewell in the Peak District is from £80pp. Seehotels.com

OR A four-night all-inclusive stay at the 5H Fantasia Bahia Principe Tenerife in Golf del Sur is from £85pp per night, two adults and one child sharing a junior suite, arriving September 26. Seebahia-principe.com

£250:A night B&B at the 4HThe Samling hotel

overlooking LakeWindermere in the LakeDistrict is from £230. Seethesamlingho-tel.co.uk

OR Six nights’ inSomerset at Little Byre an open-plan barn conversion which sleeps two is from £175.50pp, arriving September 14. Seeholidaycottages.co.uk or call 01237 459 888.

£500:A week self-catering atthe 3H+Isla Del Aire

Apartments in Punta Prima, Menorca, is from £369pp, leaving Glasgow onOctober 1. Get all the information atjet2holidays.com or call 0800 408 5594.

OR Seven nights’ B&B at the 3HMerton Hotel in St Saviour, Jersey, is from £370pp including flights from

YOUR HOLS FOR UNDER...

GETTING THERE: Ryanair fly to Alicante from Prestwick Airport. See ryanair.comSTAYING THERE: For rates at the Tryp Murcia Rin-con De Pepe see melia.com See balneariolaenc-arnacion.es for Hotel Encarnacion and for Hotel Playa Grande see hotel-playagrande.comMORE INFO: See murciaturistica.es/en or look for #VisitMurcia on social media.

GO: MURCIA

ENJOY SPANISH SIZZLER ON A CULTURE COSTA TRIPWITH more than 300days of sunshine on theCosta Calida, you won’tneed to worry about any-thing other than a warmwelcome in this beautifulregion of Spain.

It’s packed with stunningbeaches, beautiful cities andjust about every outdooractivity you could imagine.

And the Costa Calida, whichmeans warm coast, has as muchculture and beauty as it hassun.

I headed there late Junewanting to top up the tan, butalso to drink in some richexperiences.

The holiday mood began assoon as I enjoyed by first beerat the airport, ready for myRyanair flight to Alicante, whichis around an hour’s drive fromthe main city Murcia where thearchitecture is stunning, withthe 600-year-old cathedral thepick of the bunch.

I didn’t have to far to strayfar for my first digs. The HotelTryp Rincón de Pepe is a streetaway. It’s amazing steak restau-rant is said to be one of themost popular in the region andthe packed dining room at 11pmwas testament to that.

Boasts a numberof shipwrecks

And if you don’t want toretire to your bed just yet,there’s even a casino. I wantedto be fresh for an early startand a trip to nearby Cabo dePalos. It has a picturesque har-bour and a giant glorious beach— perfect for strolling aroundand soaking up the sunshine.

My first meal set the tone forhow well I’d eat over the nextfew days. The Miramar has aperfect setting on the harbour.The free-flowing white wine wasthe perfect way to cool down inblistering heat and the locallyproduced seafood and ricedishes were outstanding.

We were then treated to afascinating lesson about thearea’s marine history at thePlanet Azul visitor centre.

But if you fancy something abit more active, the rocky coast-line is excellent. It’s a mecca fordivers and also boasts a numberof historic ship wrecks. I’m nowater baby but even I manageda spot of snorkelling for thefirst time.

One of the best ways to seemore of the peninsula is to takea stroll up the lighthousestairs. The views are simplybreathtaking.

And after an action-packed day we enjoyed afantastic late-night feast atthe El Balneario de laEncarnacion hotel in nearbyLos Alcazares.

The quirky hotel looksonto the sea and also has abeautiful courtyard.

Next on our journey wasPuerto de Mazarron. Theresort is a mecca for waterssports and other outdoor

enthusiasts most of the year,because of its perfect climate.

If you are a bit of a thrill-seeker you can try a jet-skifrom local agents Noranautic toget the adrenaline pumping.

Or if that is just too muchlike hard work and you’re abeach bum like me, then there’salso a cracking Chiringuito baron the shore to chill with abeer or sangria.

The area is also extremelypopular with hikers.

It was great to sample myfirst trek in Spain in the earlymorning through the woodlandsand hills while enjoying thelovely temperatures and the per-fect scenery around the Pro-tected Area of Sierra de LasMoreras with local firm CityHall.

A slap-up lunch at the LaMeseguera restaurant at theHotel Playa Grande was just thepick-me-up after our epic stroll.

The hotel is perfectly locatedon the main road into the townand also has a stunning backentrance which overlooks thepromenade and beautiful sun-kissed beach.

I don’t think I’ve ever gorgedon as much ham, cheese andbread in my life. It was simplyoutstanding — then they servedthe main course of meat andfish which, honestly, nearlypushed me over the edge.

And after our over-indulgenceit was time to hit the roadagain. But thankfully I had twowheels to help me this time.

We picked up our bikes fromEcoadventure then whiskedalong the main road in theblazing heat.

Lucky for us there was a fab-ulous sea breeze to keep us coolas we made our way throughthe hills and rocky roads. It wasa tough ask during the swelter-ing heat, but the sense ofachievement when we completedour trek was amazing.

Me and my cycling buddieswere all delighted to see thefinishing line at a nudist beach— but thankfully everyone keptmost of their clobber on as wecooled off in the water. I even

cheated slightly on the returnleg by trying a super electricbike for the first time.

After a busy day we enjoyedsome amazing food, using thefinest local produce, at theHotel Playasol Mazarron

Whether you are a historybuff or want to relax, the cityof Lorca is a must.

It was given the status of aTown of Historical and ArtisticInterest in the 1960s. There’splenty of local culture and cus-toms to admire at the host ofmuseums in the city. The WhiteMuseum and the Jewish Syna-gogue were a treat.

Lorca Castle — the fortress ofthe sun — towers over the thirdlargest city in the area, but youhave to visit it to truly appreci-ate its beauty.

As amazing as cities are, it’salways good to get a bit of seaair and Aguilas is just perfectfor that. It’s got a lovely prome-nade, surrounded by palm treesand overlooks a harbour.

Backdrop of thebeaches and coves

The Hotel Puerto Juan Montielis rightly deemed one of thebest places in the town andwhere better to re-fuel than inits stunning restaurant.

It was definitely one of thebest buffets I’ve experienced.There was a great atmosphereas well with chefs show cookingtheir massive cuts of meatwhich weren’t long in beingsnapped up.

The hotel also has a smashingsister hostel next door — whichlooked fantastic for those want-ing to save a few quid but notsettle for any less luxury.

It was back on the oceanwaves for me next when weenjoyed a boat tour with DonPancho, cruising around the seawith the backdrop of thebeaches and coves before wehad a guided walking touraround the town.

We finished off what can onlybe described as the perfect daywith an phenomenal eveningmeal at the Zoco del Mar res-

taurant. It’s setting, high upin the hills overlooking theentire area, is second to none.

And the dishes of meat andfresh fish, caught from thenearby harbour went down atreat with me and my travelbuddies. It was the perfectend to a brilliant trip.

It doesn’t matter whetheryou like a laidback holidayor an adventure, you’re guar-anteed to have the coolesttimes ever in the Murciaregion — all year round.

GERRY DUFFY

What costs what?

DoDon’t forget to get out and about in

the countryside.

think about the area as an all-

year-round attraction.

A cold beer is really tasty

and will cost you around€2.