A quiet day in the office

After the usual breakfast in the very well organised and plentiful buffet we went down in the garden and found a nice seat where we could lie back and enjoy a rest and could look over the sea with a few nice plants in the foreground.

We spent a good three hours listening to music and watching the world go by until about 13.30 pangs of hunger crept in and so we adjourned to the room for some cheese and biscuits and even more restful afternoon. After an hour or so Jennifer visited the supermarket and purchased some basics like milk, smoked salmon and some bread which we would use for a salad later in the evening. We then continued our relaxation as after three days touring in a car where we could not get really comfortable and Noel had a backache, as usual when renting a car.

In the evening we watched the last episode of ‘Drive to Survive’ which wrapped up series 5 and this is well produced and you do see a lot of stuff and interactions amongst the Team Managers and drivers which you don't get on the SKY TVF1 broadcast. After this we started watching a Japanese film which looked quite interesting but it was very slow so we gave up and watched some stuff on you tube .

Tomorrow the weather also looks good around midday but in the afternoon although its not cold there is not to much sun and blue sky.

That's it for today

Lets do it again

Yesterdays travel around the North part of the Island was thwart with challenges, loads of cars and thousands of cyclist all wish to die, it seems so it was not pleasant driving and we could not stop and take photos either and so today we thought we would repeat some, of not all, of the journey to try and get some good photos and enjoy the views. So following the usual breakfast we packed up and collected the car from the underground car park and headed North on the South side of the Island passing through the outskirts of Arrecife and up past Arrietta and finally arriving in Orzola which we did a better tour of. You can get a ferry to La Graciosa  which is a small Island about 30 minutes away by boat with white sands and lovely clear water and apparently really worth a visit but unfortunately we did not have time fo this.

From here we took the road in the direction of Haria which was very quiet, almost deserted one might say and from there on the the historic capital of Lanzarote called Teguise which was also very quiet but the roads were most interesting with steep gradients where yesterdays cyclist were struggling and moving all over the place whereas there were only a few so we could stop when we wanted to take some photos of the particularly the stone walls made from volcanic rock which were built to protect plants and later on the journey the vines as there were a number of Bodegas you could visit which was not much use to Noel with his diet issues. From there we went on to Mozago also a quite place and toured around the small town looking for somewhere to get a cup of coffee but maybe because it was a Monday nothing was open although we did one full blown restaurant with a number of people there but I doubt that they would be happy just serving us coffee when they need the customers for the main restaurant.

By this time it was about 14.30 and so we slowly took the long way back to the Hotel to drop off the car but found the office not opening until 1600 so we parked again in the Hotel car park and then 90 minutes later returned the car and immediately afterwards visited the Irish bar for a pint. Next door to the pub was a shop selling all the usual tourist stuff but they had some nice leather sandals which Noel took a liking to and subsequently purchased as the current ones wont deal with his swollen left ankle which was result of his knee operation 18 months ago. We returned to the Hotel and checked out the swimming pool on the roof which is reserved for suite guests and it was quiet and so tomorrow morning after breakfast we shall  check it out.

Having had an enjoyable salad last night in the room we decided to do the same again tonight and this time its smoked salmon and prawn salad and then we plan to watch a couple more episodes of the Netflix Drive to Survive again. So that's it for today

Not quite what we expected

The usual breakfast and we collected the car from the garage and headed North with a plan to visit the historic town of Tegusia but en route our road was blocked by a police car as it appears there may have been a parade in one of the small towns were were passing through, we cold not tell whether it was part of the Carnival or even a funeral. We changed our route and this time on the road we discovered that this little Seat car has android auto  and so we could use the main screen to display the route rather that Jennifer holding the mobile in her hand .

As we arrived on the outskirts of Tegusia there were ars everywhere and lots of impromptu car parks and there was a large Sunday Market underway and again our intended route was stopped and we are not great with markets we took a right turn and followed to see where it led but clearly after a while it became clear we were heading North again until we reached Orzola the most northern city where you catch a ferry to a small offshore Island nearby but the locals were charging for public car parks , crooks so we carried on.

The road from Orzola took us over the hills with winding roads and with bloody cyclists everywhere in two’s and three’s across the road and one person on a bike indicated right for a road 20 yards ahead than unexpectedly pulled out in the the centre of the road to turn , quite dangerous really.

The road was quite interesting with houses made of the black volcanic rock and many little walls to protect trees which must have taken ages to build but perhaps by people long dead and forgotten but an interesting drive. We realised that perhaps Sunday was not the best day of the week to do our sightseeing and so we headed back to Puerto Del Carmen and found the LIDL store where stocked up with food for the evening. We really dont like eating out every night, apart from the expense you perhaps end up eating to much and so with the car loaded with baguette, smoked salmon, cheese and many other goodies we headed back to the Hotel which we reached at about 2.pm , 3 hours sitting in the car with a seat that does not move is enough.

With Noels laptop having a VPN connection we connected to our Virgin Connection and Noel was able to see the end of the Tottenham vs Chelsea game when again these expensive superstars lost, we need to have a change of management as its not working at the moment. Later in the evening we spoke to our son and family whilst Noel was watching the EPL Cup with Manchester United beating Newcastle, shame Newcastle could not win but Man U too good for them.

So in the evening we had our dinner in the room and followed up with TV before retiring to bed

We collect the rental car

Following the usual breakfast we packed our stuff, cameras, water bottles and maps and waited in the reception for the car to be delivered to the hotel as promised. By 11.15 no car had arrived and the phone number provided was not being answered, so what to do and then a guy arrived and saw me clutching the rentals docs and hurried over and said he had been waiting outside for us, but actually in the car rental place immediately across from our Hotel but with a different company name. Anyway it did not take long and we had the car and decided to Head to the South part of the Island and spend a few hours touring .  The car was Ok but one where you cannot adjust the angle of the back rest and so after a few hours along came the back ache.

We headed down south to Playa Blanca which is pretty much at the bottom of the island and drove around the town a little bit then headed North in the direct of the Volcan Mountains or Parc Nacional al Timanfaya where the Volcanic area is based and it was quite busy en route with so many cyclist , most of them careless in their riding habit whilst a few people had the bikes where you lay on your back with the pedals in front of , see photo, and they are so low to the ground and with black or dark cycle gear virtually impossible to see. Why these cyclist insist on wearing dark clothes when the background is black volcanic rock beats me unless they really want to die?

When we go to the national park it was quite busy with a queue and of course its not an easy walk and what with Noels knees etc we decided not to attempt but just carry on. We then arrived at an area called Club Le Santa which is a very large holiday complex which looked interesting but to big for our liking. From there we cam back of the mountains? in the direction of Arrecife and made a slight error with left and right turns and so ended up in the Airport complex, not really a problem but made us a little late back.

We arrived back in the Hotel around 1500 hrs and had a rest as tonight we are going to watch the Puerto Del Carmen Carnival which is due to start in Spanish time around 1700 at the other end of town and work its way along the sea front to close to our Hotel.  But before leaving for the carnival we headed over the the Irish bar for some early food and beer, also watched some of the England Vs Wales Rugby, and then walked for about a couple of kilometres down the main road and then waited for the Carnival to start. Gosh it was much bigger and better than we excepted and we really enjoyed and Noel took at least 200 photos and loads of video which will need sorting. By 9pm it was pretty much finished but there were several hundred people involved with lovely costumes and event the audience was also dressed up to celebrate.

We fancied a quick drink on the way back to the Hotel and pooped in to the Irish bar for a Jack Daniels on ice. We then watched another couple of episodes of Drive to Survive on Netflix and then to bed, A nice and enjoyable yet tiring day.

A steak to remember

Well we had the usual morning start having breakfast in the ground floor buffet and it a good buffet compared to some Hotels we have stayed in. We had discovered the our English to Spanish plugs either must be of an old type or that they were not quite right and upon checking we found out that there were two kinds of plugs and we had the wrong ones for our Hotel

In the morning we headed over to the Mercadona to purchase some water and a couple of other items and checked out the steak house we planned to visit tonight and there was a notice saying no bookings taken just first come first served and they would open at 5.30 pm

We spent the rest of the day taking it easy with Noel working some residents stuff, the developers lawyers , it turns out, had made us sign a house contract which was different to the contracts used for all the other houses. Brilliant and its causing all sort of hassle. Buy anyway in the evening we walked up to the Fariones Steak House and we had a really excellent meal with the chef and the maître D taking special of my needs. Jennifer had the sirloin and Noel the Rib eye on the bone and we both enjoyed them. Jennifer had a salad, with onions, and a steak with garlic whilst Noel just had some chips. Both were very tasty and we shall return another night we think before we leave here.

After we left the Restaurant we headed back to the room and started to watch the new Netflix series of Drive Alive F1 and again up to the same high standards as before and then after two episodes its was time for bed.

A much better room

Well our plan for the day after having breakfast was to pack up our suitcases and leave in the room and and go walkabout for a few hours as we had been told that the new room would not be ready until mid afternoon and so we duly packed our cases and was just about the leave the room and the phone rang and it was reception. I thought it might be they were worried we had not left our room but it was to say that the new room was ready and we could transfer immediately which was very good news. So a few minutes later we arrived in room 531 which was much better and on the corner of the hotel and with much better views.

So we spent the next hour unpacking and putting all our stuff away in the cupboards and then departed along the sea front opposite all the shops and bars and restaurants, very English here with signs for ‘Full English breakfast and fish and chips’ not quite our idea of going away on holiday but anyway we found the exchange cash shop as we had some USD leftover from last years Florida visit and with no more USA visits planned cancered them in to Euros . From there we found a bar and Noel had a toasted cheese and ham sandwich and Jennifer a chicken baguette , my toastie was great but Jennifer's chicken was bit tough  and perhaps to larger baguette.

 

As it was about 15.00 we decided that we would not want a late meal tonight and that even an early one would be to early after a late lunch and so we headed to the  Mercadona supermarket for a few provisions with plans to have dinner in the room. So with a large box of strawberries to finish and also some excellent roast pork we had a nice evening meal in readiness for watching the Manchester United game against Barcelona which finished with Man U knocking out the Spanish side..

We then watched a couple of short you tube films on the new Bloc hotel at Gatwick and also and update from Kim the F1 photographer and then to bed after a nice day.

A quiet day today

We both slept well overnight and went for breakfast around 1000 in to the main restaurant which had a huge selection of stuff , most impressive. We waited for about 90 minutes back in the room to see if Noel had a bad reactions but thankfully NO. So later we left the Hotel to obtain some cash from the ATM and then some food shopping and we noticed that there was a new Mercadona Supermarket had opened a short way from the Hotel which enabled us  to get all we wanted for shopping for the day. It must be a new shop as it was not there the last time we were here and there was quite a good selection of food and so we purchased some cheese, bread and some other stuff to tide us over for the next couple of days. We also noticed that a newish building accross the road which was almost complete during our last visits seems to have a structural fault with the roof falling in.

Noel also spent some time on the computer catching up on messages and discussions on ‘Whats App’ regarding the poor Estate Managing Company that Octagon had contracted and it became clear that there might be some funny business going on which needs to be investigated. We had been given an unsigned contract from 2019 which was signed by people who were not employed with the signature companies as they tried to cover there errors. Ah well still some work to do on this.

We had lunch on the room balcony overlooking the sea and sand, most pleasant with the waves lightly crashing on the sand.  A restful afternoon we enjoyed and then went to the Irish Bar and Restaurant 50 yards form the Hotel where we had dinner, very basic but good and then watched some of the Manchester City game against Real Madrid..

Then back to the Hotel for a quick watch at the Television as they have quite a few UK based programs ie BB1-2, ITV, Channel 4 and 5 , Sky News etc so quite good really. And so to Bed

The BA Bird awaits

At  0645 the bloody alarm went off and so a quick shower and cup of tea and we headed off to the terminal at around 07.30 and it was quite a lot busier than the previous evening however going thro security was not to bad although Jennifer had mistakenly left a liquid container in her handbag rather than in the plastic bag which travels separately thro the scanner and so when we got the other f the security check where you gather all your belongings, belt, shoes, mobile, computer, vibrator etc Jennifer suddenly realised her handbag had gone and immediately feared somebody had nicked it only upon ask the security guy he said it was sent for extra checking i n case there was a nuclear bomb inside or something.

We were looking for a Costa coffee shop, there were two but at the end of the long walkways and so we settled on a cup of tea and Jennifer had a breakfast bar. We looked at the sandwiches and they were all brown bread or the limited amount of baguettes contained ingredients not suitable for Noel so he skipped breakfast and also lunch on the flight  as not wanting any more lower body issues  of the type experienced yesterday unfortunately.

We boarded the British Airways flight and the first stewardess looked like she had just experienced the end of the world, not a smile just holding a tray of hand cleaners , and so I said Hi cheer up its not the the end of the world and she looked at me strangely so I added with ‘not yet’  what a miserable young lady sent to greet customers, if you don't like your job get another. Last time we travelled on BA Euro Club or what ever  its called as against Club World for the long hall flights, all it is they have the same layout as economy but don't fill the middle seat and then serve which they don't know the ingredients of so this time we elected for the cheaper seats and as it happened Noel had an empty seat next to him with same knee room but half the price.

The flight was just under four hours to Arrecife and we landed just about on time and there a few aircraft on the tarmac unloading passengers and so I feared for a delay in immigration but wrong I woz again, they had all these immigration passport readers and we were through in about seven minutes and waited a further ten for the luggage to arrive, quite slick really for Spain. 

The car to take us to the Hotel was called and we arrived at the Hotel Fariones in Puerto del Carmen which is the same hotel as we stayed in October 2021 shortly after Noel had his knee updated and at that time long distance walking was a problem but today, although perhaps being partly supported by baggage trolleys he lasted for a long while. We had to wait a short while for the room to be ready and then discovered that the room booked via the airline was not quite the room we had ordered and so after some discussion we will change rooms two days later as the hotel is quite full.

We had a rest in the afternoon as both of us were a bit tired and then for dinner we stayed in house and enjoyed a salad in the bar / restaurant of the hotel although the salads were in bowls big enough for two  rather than one but very good all the same and then back to the room for a couple of hours of TV and then learnt of the shock defeat of Liverpool to Real Madrid, I guess the scousers are all in  mourning and contemplating suicide or something…

The final tv of the evening was documentary about the really terrible Austrian guy Herr Fritz who locked up his daughter for 24 years with continual sexual attacks producing four kids, makes you want to cry when people do this

Ah well tomorrow is another day

A nights stay at Gatwick Airport Hilton Hotel

During the morning we finished all the packing and Jennifer cleared out all the food that would not be eaten etc and then we turned down all the central heating and commenced hitting power switches to the off mode, anything to save cash.

For lunch rather then mess about we headed off at bout 14.00 to the Silvermere Golf club for a bite to eat, Jennifer had the Steak and Ale pie with veggies, which looked really good and Noel had the fish and chips. We are not sure what the cause was , perhaps the fish and chip and later in the afternoon  Noel had a bad turn and we so we had to delay the Taxi to Gatwick for a while so as to ensure he would be safe to travel. Was it was the fish or that something had been cooked in oil previously used for garlic or onions we don't know but will make enquires when we get back home as on previous times with the same item no issues at all, so all rather strange.

The Taxi collected us just before 19.30 and the riad were pretty much empty and no blockages at all anywhere unlike Weybridge where the driver informed they had put construction traffic lights at the roundabout next to Weybridge Station and it was causing chaos for miles around. We arrived at Gatwick South terminal and said goodbye to the taxi and headed in to the terminal for an early bag drop off and of course expecting a large crowd only we woz wrong.  All you have is lots of scales and screens where you put in your boarding pass and the machine reads it and with your bag on the scales it prints off a baggage tag which you affix and then once the screen says is all complete, or something like, that you say yes and your suitcase disappears in to the depts of Gatwick baggage handling facilities , perhaps never to be seen again.

From there we walked to the Hilton Hotel and you had to use the lifts in the car park but the buttons were so old you could not read the floor numbers, most stupid. The Hotel bar was busy as we arrived but we went straight to the room for a quiet evening watching tv as we would be up much earlier tomorrow morning than our normal time. We watched a tv detective series on channels 5 which was quite interesting.

And so to bed

a busy day

Its been a rather busy few days leading up to our forthcoming trip to Lanzarote on the 21st as we got involved in helping neighbours with their central heating, solar panels issues and also problems with the contract for the estate management and the method of distributing the costs where the contract we have from the builders solicitors is different for our house compared to others on the estate.

Oh well that's life as they say. So we made the final arrangement about obtaining British Airways boarding passes, checking on passports, cash and of course getting the house ready and closing down all the electrics and gas consuming equipment to save a little cash. Jennifer spent some time trying on dresses and T-shirts to see which fitted, which ones would come on holiday and the rest no doubt consumed to the charity shop.

In the afternoon and neighbour visited and we discusses the current position and usefulness of the solar panels and it becomes obvious that they are really there for decoration, or to comply with local council planning laws, in any case four solar panels fitted incorrectly would hardly generate enough to power to operate a one watt bulb and so clearly something must be done  and we will take some follow up action over the next few weeks both with the builder and also the supplier of the equipment. To be of any use we need about 16 panels and there is not room for this and questionable saving when considering the cost of updating the system.

And so then an  early evening for a busy day tomorrow.

Where does time go

Well its many months since I did an update and quite a lot has happened, a lot personal which will not report here, but we have been around a bit in Somerset and and also visiting family in Devon.

For Christmas the family ie four adults and four grandchildren were here for the 24th of December which was only shortly after our son Michael had a serious operation which thankfully went extremely well and when writing this he is back to normal thank heavens. All of the grandchildren including Archie the last to arrive are all well and growing and enjoying schools, brownies and beavers whilst some are doing church bell ringing and others playing rugby.

I spoke to a friend yesterday who has just returned from Holland on the same ferry that we had trouble with last year and maybe , or not as the case may be , they have recently adopted the first on, first off policy that I suggested last year in my letter of complaint last year. It would have been nice if they had told me about this.

Some sad news from earlier this week that my ex Boss in K+N who was responsible for me joining the company passed away rather quickly during a visit to Thailand and his holiday home. He was a great people leader a really good boss who always supported me against quite some opposition and will be a great loss to his wife and two children who still reside in Hong Kong. May he rest in peace.

At last years party for my 80th Birthday my friends contributed for aa night in a nice hotel in the new forest which we visited just over a week ago. Its a very nice hotel with a restaurant of high reputation offering most nouveu cusine  which means extremely well prepared contents but smaller quantities. With my food restrictions it did not work to well for me but that was my fault as I should have told them in advance. The biggest issue was standing in the shower the next morning playing with all the knobs and levers trying to get some hot water for at least five minutes then climbing out the shower and checking with reception who said YES we were aware but we are trying to fix it. Why they didn't contact the residents in advance I really don't understand, ahh you cans the staff anymore.

Well we have had some extremely cold weather over the last few months and even last night it was mins 4 Centigrade but at least the sun was shining and so it does not seem so bad. We have booked to fly to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands for a few days very soon and looking forward to some sun as this year we had already decided we would not do our usual two months in Florida for a change.

Well the next blogs will come from our our trip to Lanzarote and hoping the sun is still shining although earlier this week they experienced snow and ice for a twenty four period which was a bit of a shock to the system for the locals.

On, ON as they say