Fuerteventura

We're just back from an amazing week in Corralajo, despite all the travelling we've done in recent years this has been the best holiday ever! Within 24 hours of arriving I was feeling more relaxed and chilled out than I have in years, the magic of the island had certainly worked wonders.

After a very smooth and uneventful journey we arrived in Fuerteventura at around 4.15pm, jumped on the transfer bus and off we went to our hotel. We stayed at the Atlantic Gardens in a lovely apartment. It was well laid out, bright and airy inside and we had a large balcony. We were self catering, but the truth is we didn't. It was much more fun to eat out and explore the many restaurants and bars!

We were right next door to the lovely Campanario Shopping centre, we went there every day for breakfast, to look around the shops or visit the supermarket. Very handy to have it on the doorstep! Twice a week there was a craft market which was great fun to wander around. We ended up buying quite a few things to bring home. Lovely reminders of out holiday.  There was also a market at the water park twice a week, and luckily that was really close to our hotel too.

The weather was wonderful all week, warm and sunny. The blue skies each day made my heart feel joyful. We did finally get to experience the infamous winds on the Thursday, and you certainly had to hold on to your hat and anything else that may have blown away. I'm guessing it could have been a lot worse. It rained once, on the Friday afternoon. Luckily we were on our way back to the hotel, and just about made it. Started to pour just as we were walking up the steps to out apartment. It poured for a while, but by the time we went out for dinner the sun was peeking out again.

  

We visited Oasis Park on Wednesday, it was the only trip we did. The truth is I loved Corralejo so much I didn't want to go anywhere else. Oasis was great fun, its a zoo but there are shows too. The sea lion show was good, plus there was a parrot show and one with snakes and alligators. Its quite a big place, and we ended up doing a lot of walking. The highlight of the day was feeling the giraffes. You can buy bags of giraffe food as you enter the park (apples, carrots etc). As soon as you approach the enclosure the giraffes are on their way over - they clearly know that people = food! They are such beautiful and gentle animals. I was thrilled to see them take the food from my hands. We also found a wonderful garden centre next to the zoo quite by accident, but luckily had time to look around before leaving. It was a long day, but a trip that's definitely worth  doing.

Eating out in Corralejo is wonderful, there are so many places to try that you're totally spoilt for choice. We ate at an Italian (La Scarpetta) Indian (Namaste and Spices) a Peruvian and several other lovely bars and cafes. The absolute highlight of the week was dinner at Land of Freedom on Valentine's Day. Its a tapas restaurant and we both had tasting boards, 5 different tapas and 5 wines to match. It looked stunning and everything tasted divine. As it was a special occasion we shared a dessert tasting board, oh my word - heaven in 5 little dishes. Would love to go there again in the future.

It was also fun to head to the Rock Café in the evening for a drink and to listen to the live music. It was like being a grown up staying out late - lol!

The whole week was fabulous, people are friendly, the weather was great and the atmosphere was perfect. Can't wait to go back soon!

Crumlin Road Gaol

 A very interesting visit to Crumlin Road Gaol, where many political prisoners were held during the troubles. The tour took you through the tunnel under the gaol that led to the court house, and also around Cell block C. Hard to imagine what life would have been like there back in the day.


The tour was followed by lunch in the gaol's restaurant 'Cuffs' - really lovely food and service.

Belfast Christmas Market

 We were lucky enough to be in Belfast the week end the Christmas Market opened. Despite the crowds we went every evening to have a look around and enjoy the Christmas feeling. The highlight of course was the Dutch pancakes! Tho I have to say the smell of food coming from every direction was wonderful and overwhelming!


SO lucky to have been here when the weather was good.

Belfast In photo's - part 1

A few photo's for my lovely friends that aren't on Facebook or Instagram -  Bohemian restaurant in the city centre.

Victoria shopping centre looking very Christmassy, loads of Christmas trees and pretty lights.

 

we timed our visit just right, the Christmas lights were switched on at City Hall on Saturday night. The Christmas market also opened on Saturday night, oh my god - the crowds! We lasted 5 minutes!

Thanks to all who've been reading xx

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read my blog, however due to recent lack of interest I am wondering if its worth continuing. I've always enjoyed writing my blog, but you always hope that someone will take the time to read it. Otherwise in a big old world, you feel like you're talking to yourself. So for the moment, I am going to take a break from this and decide whether I want to carry on.

Wild West adventures - yee ha!

The highlight of the holiday was visiting Mini Hollywood, where the old spaghetti westerns were filmed. After a 9am pick up we were on our way. There was a short stop in the Tabernas desert to take photo's and then it was on to Mini Hollywood, we arrived just after 10am. The coach dropped us off and we were free to go and explore.

We were both so excited to see this place and follow in the footsteps of Clint Eastwood and all the other famous cowboys. This is where all the famous spaghetti westerns were filmed back in the day. It was a quiet day and there weren't too many people there. It was great being able to look around and explore. We had coffee in the Yellow Rose saloon, visited the bank and various other buildings, and took a lot of photo's. At high noon a hush filled the air as everyone found somewhere to take cover. We found a bench tucked away in the shade to watch all the action. Suddenly dramatic cowboy music could be heard, and then the fall of hooves  as horses came galloping into the town square. And so it had begun, the bank robbery and shoot out. It was a lot of fun to watch all the action, lots of people getting shot, following over balconies and there was even a hanging! After the show was over, we headed back over to the saloon. We grabbed ourselves some beer and settle down to watch the cancan how. Again, a lot of fun although everything was in Spanish and most of the time we hadn't got a clue what was going on. Not great when they are trying to get people to join in with the singing etc. It was still fun though.

It really was fun, a had my photo taken with a cowboy (things didn't end well for him in the shoot out) and found a cool souvenir - a blank cartridge left from the shoot out.

There is also a big zoo there, and after all the western fun we headed over to look around. We sure did a lot of walking, but there was lots to see including  a parrot show. We couldn't linger too long, as we had to be back at the front of the park by 5.30pm for the pick up. But we got to see everything, and managed to buy a souvenir or two in the rather poorly stocked gift shop. Would definitely return here if we're ever in the area again.

Luckily for us we had fabulous weather, couldn't have been better timed.  We returned to our hotel in time for dinner, and a walk along the beach.

 

 

 

Castillo de Santa Ana and beyond.....

 

 

 

After breakfast on Sunday morning we headed to Castillo de Santa Ana, a castle over looking the sea. It was about a half hour walk along the sea front, it was a lovely morning, and luckily not too hot. The castle didn't open will 11am, so when we got there we had a coffee down by the harbour. The castle is free to visit and though small, is an interesting place to look around. On the ground floor there was an exhibition of artwork all designed around fairy stories - the first one I came across was Alice in  Wonderland. Amazing pieces of work, not only art, but beautifully themed handbags, shoes, sculptures etc. It was lovely to look around. From there you could climb the stairs to the upper level, and learn more about the history of the castle. The views from outside were great.

When we left the castle we had a walk around the lighthouse, only the outside, as that didn't seem to be open. By this point the sky was clouding over so we started to head back. We stopped at the Aloha beach café for something to eat and drinks. Lovely little place with a great view of the ocean. Thankfully we made it back to the hotel before the heavens opened and it absolutely poured. The pool area and car park were partially flooded, and the roof in the restaurant was letting in water! Just like being at home - LOL! We chilled out in our room for a while before heading out to dinner. We were able to go out for a walk after we'd eaten, but it was extremely windy!

On Monday we decided to be adventurous and use the local buses. The stop was just around the corner from the hotel, but timetable was a mystery! The timetable on the bus shelter said one time, the over head electronic notice gave a different time and the bus turned up when it felt like it! Some how we managed to get to Gran Plaza mall! We were there early, so coffee first and then a look around the shops. Lots of familiar names, including Primark!! It was fun to look around, and we did buy a couple of things. The best place was the huge Carrefour supermarket, where we spent ages and spent a fortune. I did get three new dresses, and Paul two shirts, plus we got all kinds of goodies, so it was the highlight of the day! And at this Carrefour, they didn't grab our bag and run off with it, like they did in Benidorm!

Our afternoon and evenings had fallen into a routine by now. A bit of a rest in our room, dinner and a walk along the sea front. A look around the sea front souvenir shops and then a drink in the hotel bar. We did buy quite a few things from the local shops, things were a good price.

It could only get better!

Our holiday to Spain did not get off to the best of starts, in fact the journey turned out to be our worst airport experience ever. We were delayed just outside the airport by a very large and wide vehicle with escort blocking the road. Luckily we weren't delayed too long, and we were soon parked and on our way to departures. This is where the nightmare began!! First we saw how long the queues for security were, the end was nearly outside of the terminal - at this point the panic was starting to set in. Then we went to drop off to get rid of our cases only to be told one of them was TOO LIGHT and they couldn't take it. I think we were both speechless! We were told to take them to another drop off point with the pushchairs and gold clubs, ridiculous situation and not helped by another long queue. At this point I had real concerns that we would miss the flight. So, leaving Paul in the queue I dashed off to buy fast track passes for the security queue from the machine in departures. You'd think this would be easy - alas not! The machine took the payment and did not issue a voucher, leaving me to run around like a crazy person trying to find someone to help. Luckily one of the Jet2 staff helped us out, and got us through the fast track. But by the time we got on the flight I was majorly stressed!

The flight was uneventful and 3 hours later we were in Almeria and on our way to our hotel in Roquetas de Mar. The hotel was lovely, we had a room on the 5th floor that overlooked the pool area and had great views of the sea. We were lucky that they let us check in straight away even though it was only about 12.30pm. So we dropped our cases off and had a wander around the hotel. We had a drink in the bar (barman not very friendly!) and looked around the hotel grounds. Its very much a hotel for families, not somewhere I think I would recommend to couples looking for a quiet break.

Dinner at the hotel was good, buffet style with lots of choice. Sadly the restaurant staff were also not friendly, not one smile the whole week we were there. Surely it wouldn't have killed them to be a little more pleasant. Its the first time we have experienced this, usually hotel staff are always nice - or at the very least polite! But we had a good dinner, wine and afterwards went for a walk along the sea front.

On Saturday after an early breakfast we set off to explore the local area.  About a 15 minute walk away we found a long road with lots of cafes, souvenir shops and a tourist information office. So we picked up maps, had coffee and looked around the shops. By the time we returned to the hotel we were pretty hot and tired, the 3am start on Friday was really catching up with us. But we had maps, and plans for the rest of the week!

 

Girls Night out

I'd been looking forward to this week end, my friend Mandy was coming to stay! On Friday Paul collected Mandy from the station and they were soon home. It was a fun evening, we had a  Chinese take away and a bottle of Prosecco, and watched the film Nativity. To compliment the Christmas film, I found some Christmas crackers, all added to the atmosphere. We also managed to find the time to book our tickets for Mamma Mia, which all three of us are going to see In December. I had so wanted to see this great musical again, and am thrilled that this time Mandy is coming too and not leaving us after dinner.

On Saturday we visited East Midlands outlet centre. It was fun looking around the shops together, and as I had a 20% off voucher for the Gap we all ended up buying stuff in there - happy days! The weather was not great,. but we managed to dodge the showers. On the way home we stopped at the Hollybrook for lunch, they do a set 2-course lunch for £7.49 and it was lovely. The desserts were huge too!

Our afternoon was a relaxed one, watching a couple of episodes of The Big Bang Theory and chatting, conserving our energy for the night to come. Paul very kindly offered to drive us to Branston Golf Club for our girls night out - not something we get to do very often. It was a great evening, there was a 3 course meal and show. The starter wasn't up to much but the main and dessert were lovely. We were sat at a table with 4 other people, an older couple and their son and his wife. Very pleasant people, though it soon became apparent that the son like to talk.....a lot!  It turned out he is a professional magician, off duty and on a family night out - though he did perform a trick or two at the table. It was a fairly small turn out, about 50 guests in all but this definitely worked in our favour. The Opera boys did two sets, the first one after  the main course which lasted about 45 minutes, and then a second set after coffee and dessert. They were of course amazing, and even though there were only two of them there it was Rob and Colin - the Dream Team! They are such talented and lovely young men. After the show they were out in the foyer, so there was time for photo's and hugs. Most of the other guests didn't linger long, which I am so glad about as it meant we could stay and chat to the guys for ages. I appreciated the fact that they stopped and talked to us, even though it had been a long day for them. Paul came and found us eventually, he had figured out I would be talking!

The two Cinderella's made it home before midnight (only just) and didn't turn into pumpkins. But it was a late night by the time we finally got to bed. Has to be said we made the most of the day!

On Sunday morning we had a little walk around the garden, before taking Mandy back to the station. I was very sorry to be saying good bye, but at least we have our Christmas get together to look forward too.

 

Our day was totally....WICKED!

Saturday got off to an early, the alarm went off at 5.45am and I arose like a zombie! But then excitement kicked in and we were soon on our way to Lichfield to catch the 7.12am train. We arrived at London Euston at 8.30am and made our way to Dishooms in Carnaby Street. Indian food for breakfast is the way to go - delicious!!! I had a naan filled with bacon, cream cheese and chilli jam, yum! We had a very pleasant start to our day in somewhat 1970's themed surroundings.

After breakfast we visited Hamley's, it was still pretty early and for once the store was not rammed with screaming kids so we were able to stroll around and look at things. My patience finally paid off, I was able to get a glitter tattoo done up on the top floor as it was quiet. Its so sparkly! From Hamley's we walked along Oxford Street and stopped in a few shops, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Pull & Bear have opened a store. We didn't but anything, but it was fun looking.

Our next stop was the Wallace Collection, an amazing place that we truly love. We admired the paintings, and visited the armoury. There is so much to see, it really takes your breath away. We didn't have as long as I would have liked, but we never do! We had to leave in plenty of time to make our way to the Apollo for what was the highlight of the day - WICKED! This was our 9th time seeing this amazing musical and it still blows me away. The sets, the costumes, the music are all incredible but its Elphaba's performance that just wows you. I love it more every time, and am already looking forward to next year!

After the show we had dinner at Sicily, lovely food but expensive! We finally had a drink at the Doric Arms near Euston while we waited for our train. The day flew by way too fast, as they always do.  

Cannot wait for the next trip down to London.

 

 

Spirits of Salford Hall

Another lovely week end, this time despite the awful weather. On Saturday we left fairly early and made our way to Stratford-upon-Avon, always a favourite place of mine. It was a grey and wet day, but we started the day with a coffee at Debenhams and then we went for a wander around the market and shops. It wasn't quite as busy as usual though there were still plenty of tourists around. Of course we had to visit The Nutcracker Christmas shop! We had lunch as ASK Italian, always a good choice. By the time we had lunch the rain was getting heavier, and with no umbrella we were getting wetter! So we decided to call it a day and head to a nearby garden centre. When the park and ride bus came along, the bus driver let us ride for free - what a nice man! Then, when we got to the garden centre they were handing out glasses of Prosecco. How very civilized!

We checked into our hotel - Salford Hall - around 3pm. Its where I stayed for my birthday. Its a lovely old building, more National Trust than Best Western with wooden beams, wood panelling and creaky floor boards. I love it there, the building is well over 400 years old and apparently has several ghosts in residence. I am glad to report that the only spirits I saw were the vodka and gin in the bar! 

A little history -

One of the most commonly seen ghosts at the hotel is that of a nun. She was believed to have been murdered at the hotel way back in the 17^th century, and has been seen consistently by staff and guests alike since then, mainly on the lower floor of the building.

Other ghostly goings-on include guests feeling as though they are being watched by unseen eyes followed by shadowy figures that appear and disappear before their very eyes, as well as the ghost of a stable boy that leaves a foul smell behind him and the figures of two monks striding through the hotel, only to disappear into thin air.

A gaggle of giggling girls is often heard in the reception area of the hotel and the figures of two priests have been seen walking through the courtyard.

In the evening we had a drink by the log fire in reception, lovely spot to just sit and chill. We got chatting to another couple who were really lovely. It was a wonderful end to the day.

On Sunday after a good breakfast, we headed to the Valley. It has a garden centre and several shops such as Fat Face, the Works, Pavers etc. The weather was much better on Sunday, with the sun coming out to shine on us for much of the morning. It was a great week end and one I hope we can repeat soon.