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A mum who has spent the past 40 years living under the sun in Benidorm offered her top tips to Brits travelling abroad this summer.
Spain is enduring a sweltering heatwave with melting palm trees crashing down in Beni because of the scorching temperatures.
And Michelle Baker is encouraging visitors to the UK to follow her sensible advice – but she fears they will ignore it.
READ MORE: Benidorm's army wash away boozy Brits' sins – like street where 'smell of sick is vile'
Despite growing up in England, she has spent most of her life in Benidorm where she married a Spaniard and raised five children.
She used to run a newspaper in the area and now manages an informative Facebook page called Benidormforever.
And speaking to the Daily Star about what she would tell Brits before they land in Alicante Airport, she said: “I always say don’t be a first day fool… but they will be.
“They get here, the measures are so massive, they set foot on the street and they say 'oh beer is €2 a pint, let’s have seven straight away'.
“If you can, just look around and see what the locals do, they have lived here a long time.
“Drink in the shade and drink water along with your alcohol. I’m not saying don’t drink alcohol, that's ridiculous, but drink water alongside it because alcohol dehydrates you.”
She added: “And if you are travelling with families, keep an eye on the kids.
“The kids will spend the day in the pool and they won’t feel thirsty so it is up to you as a parent to keep topping them up.”
Michelle also spoke to us about Benidorm’s rarely seen army that washes away boozy Brits’ sins, including the street where the “smell of sick is vile”.
But she believes there are big misconceptions about the much talked about town and that first time visitors are usually pleasantly surprised.
She said they get the “Benidorm bug” before returning year after year.
“I know it is cliche but it is everything to everyone,” she added. “If you want the hurdy-gurdy like my daughter, she is 21, she was out last night and she said the ambiance was number one.
“She said there was little trouble and a really great atmosphere. I wouldn’t want to go down there for love nor money any more.
"I am too old for all that but you go to the other side of Benidorm, I call it the Miami of Benidorm and you have the most spectacular buildings, none of them less than €400,000 the apartments within them.
“My point being, you have got two completely different ends of the spectrum and it is only a two hour flight from the UK. I love everything about Benidorm because depending on your mood you can find it here.
“When you go somewhere like New York, like Florida or Las Vegas, you kind of know what you are getting yourself in for and your expectations are high. But when people talk about Benidorm they are almost embarrassed to admit they are coming here.
“So when they get here and find it so fantastic they are like ‘oh right, that was better than I expected’.
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