I had seen an advert saying that Rod Stewart was performing at the Bullring in Murcia & I got myself a ticket to go & see him. I decided to go to Murcia earlier in the day, have a look around, see the show, stay overnight in Murcia & go home the next day. 

Rod Stewart in Murcia.

Journey to Murcia & Hotel.

I left my apartment at around midday to walk to the bus stop near me to catch the bus to Murcia. When I got to the bus stop it was sweltering hot & I stood to the rear of the bus stop in the shade whilst waiting for the bus. There were soon about 5 people standing with me sheltering from the sun at the bus stop & at 12:35 pm the bus arrived on time & we all quickly got on.

The bus felt fantastic with its air conditioning blowing out really cool air. I should have got a bottle of water to travel with, as it was I had forgotten but I made a note to myself to make sure I have a bottle when I go to see Simply Red in Murcia next month.  We travelled through Torre Pacheco & on to Murcia, arriving at 13:30 pm.

I got off the bus & using Google Maps on my mobile phone I walked to my hotel, Hesperia Murcia Centro. It only took about 10 minutes & I was very pleased when I saw how nice it was. I was soon checked in & as I finished checking in & turned around, my friend Gail walked through the hotel entranceway. We had arranged to meet up to get a drink & something to eat & her timing was perfect. I went to my room & dropped off my bag before going back down to Gail.

We walked out of the hotel & stopped at the small cafe next door to the hotel & got a small beer. We sat chatting for a while before leaving & walking through Murcia for a little while. We walked along the river to see the large Sardine statue in the water before going back towards the Cathedral area. It was very hot & we stopped at a bar I went to when I came to Murcia to see the Spring Festival Parade. It was great to get out of the heat & we had a couple of beers in the air-conditioned bar before we again moved on to look for somewhere to get something to eat.

We walked to the square next to the Cathedral but were surprised to see all but one of the restaurants & cafes were closed. We sat at the only one that was open & were told that most of the menu was unavailable. Whilst the waiter left us to make up our minds about what we wanted, we made up our minds to leave & go to a Spanish bar I found on Google Maps nearby. After walking around for a bit longer we found the restaurant, The Taperia Uno & sat inside out of the heat. We both ordered a meal & got a drink. I ordered a goat cheese crouton with jam, as a tapas & pig cheeks in a pepper sauce with tomato, peppers & potato for my meal. It was fantastic & I really enjoyed it. I will probably come back next month when I am back in Murcia to see Simply Red. We sat chatting about the Rod Stewart concert & about the Mediterranean Cruise that we met on. We were chatting so much that we lost track of time until Gails' friends called her to see where she was. We paid for our meal & headed back to our different hotels.

Once back at the hotel, I rested up for a while before taking a shower to cool off. As I got out of the shower my phone was ringing, it was Gail telling me she & her friends were outside. I told them I would catch them up at the concert & they carried on whilst I got dressed.

Rod Stewart in the Bullring.

I walked towards the Bullring & as I got there I saw Gail & her friends in the queue to go in & joined them. We were all in the same VIP area so we didn't have to wait long to go in. Once we were inside Gail & her friends went to stand right in front of the stage. I went to the side of the stage to get a beer but as I walked across I saw my friends Lynda & David on the other side of the barrier to the area I was in. I went over & stood talking to them for a while & then got myself a beer before returning to talk to Lynda & David, where Gail saw us & came to join us.

The concert soon started & Gail & I moved closer to the stage & spent most of the time dancing. At least, Gail was dancing, I was sort of jigging around doing a dad dance. The show was fantastic & Rod went through all his big hits & he & the girls must have gone through 3 or 4 costume changes. The saxophonist in the group did a couple of numbers on his own whilst Rod changed & he was excellent as well.

The time went past really quickly & when the concert finished I said goodbye to Lynda & David & left with Gail & her friends to look for somewhere to get a cocktail. It was only about 11:30 pm but all the local bars & cafes were shutting early. This really surprised me as there were thousands of people all spilling out of the bullring, all looking for somewhere to get a drink. We eventually found a bar that was open as we walked towards our hotels. As we entered the barman told us that they were closing but that we could order a drink if we were quick. We ordered some drinks, in my case, a Pina Colada & sat in the bar drinking & chatting. We finished our drinks quickly & then ordered another round, the second Pina Colada was as good as the first one & should help me sleep.

When we finished our drinks we all walked back towards our different hotels & I said goodbye to the others. I got back to my hotel & was very quickly fast asleep.

Photos from Rod Stewart Concert.

These are photos I took from my spot in front of the stage at Rod Stewarts' concert in Murcia.

My Video from Rod Stewart Concert.

The journey home.

I woke up at about 8:30 am & once I had cleared away the sleep cobwebs, I got up & went to have a shower. After my shower, I took my tablets & looked at my mobile phone to get the shortest route to the bus station. I hadn't booked breakfast but I went to the room where the buffet was served & it looked really good. I decided to include it on my next stay in August.

I checked out of the hotel & realised the battery on my phone was dying & hoped I would get to the bus station okay. After my phone battery died, I asked a bus driver which way the bus station was & he thankfully pointed me in the right direction. I got to the station at 10:25 am, just in time for my 10:30 am bus back to Los Alcazares. It was nice & comfortable in the air-conditioned bus & the journey was easy & I got off the bus by the Los Alcazares town hall & walked the short distance home along the beach.

Summary.

I had a great time in Murcia seeing my friend Gail. The Rod Stewart concert was fantastic & I maybe walked & danced a little too much as my legs were aching when I got home. I would definitely go & see Rod again in the future, what a showman.