WHO SAYS THERE"S NO SUCH THING AS A FREE HOLIDAY! - May 2011

Big thank you to Citrix who sponsored a luxury 3 night, 4 day break to Marbella for employees and spouses / partners as an incentive for the company hitting its annual target.
There was a selection of flight times but as I always like to make the most of any travel opportunity, we went for the earliest BA flight out (06.50) and the latest back (18.10).
Thursday
Maybe I’m showing my age but I remember when British Airways used to be the airline to fly! On board breakfast was a tiny dry cheese twist, a similarly tiny chocolate twist, some yogurt and oats gunky, and some other inedible thing.
We were met at the airport in Malaga and transferred to the 5 star, luxury resort of Hotel Puente Romano in Marbella. We had a beautiful deluxe garden room with all the trimmings and a very short walk to the beach. After a shower, I remember climbing into bed saying I wanted a quick nap before lunch. The next thing I knew it was after 4 in the afternoon! As dinner was only a few hours away, we decided to skip food and head down to the beach. I risk sounding like a snob here I have been very spoilt when it comes to beaches; Barbados once a year, Maldives, Tobago, blue lagoon in Malta. So at first glance I couldn’t even bring myself to tread upon the dark, murky sand and was a little puzzled as to why some people had even dared venture into the coffee coloured water.
The first evening the company hosted a welcome meal in the beautiful open plaza area of the hotel. There was a 2 minute ‘welcome and well done’ speech, then we were left to mingle while enjoying a scrumptious buffet amid the backdrop of the dulcet tones of 4 men in tights with guitars.
Friday
Day at leisure. We had grand ideas of going horseback riding to taking in the sites of the mountains. What materialized was a slightly more relaxing, effortless day of lounging by the pool, unwinding in the sauna and enjoying the luxury of our room. But we did manage to fit in an hour in the gym to ease our conscience over the huge breakfast. Speaking of which, it was a good job we had filled up on breakfast; so much so it kept us through till dinner. I didn’t look at the price of the lunch menu available from the restaurant but I do know the small glass of coke we ordered by the poolside, which was half filled with ice, cost 5.50 euros. I can only imagine what a chicken salad with a side order of fries would have amounted to.
There was a slight palaver with our room safe not being able to open. Security tried for twenty minutes then had to resort to calling the company who had fitted the safes. Problem turned out to be that that the battery had died. Normally only passports, cash and laptops are kept in our room safe but for some reason I had put something slightly less valuable but all the less VERY needed for the evenings award dinner in there. I won’t say what it is but let’s just say I was more than just a little concerned as to what would transpire if the safe didn’t get opened before that start of tonight’s event!
The Awards dinner was another way to say thank you to everyone who had achieved their targets this year and present them with a small award. (Personally I was more than satisfied with they luxury break … but hey!). The food itself was boring but it was lovely chatting to my husbands’ colleagues and their spouses. They also showed the locations for next year’s events – both based in Turkey. No pressure honey, no pressure! Lol.




Saturday
Finally, a chance to leave the resort. The shuttle bus took us from the hotel to the first stop of Marbella. We did a leisurely walk through the Picasso Park, down the aisle of Dali sculptures that led to the beach. There was a huge, scary looking elephant statue on the beach; no idea what it signified. From the look of it, it must have been there for several years and had somehow managed to loose a tusk. We then walked back up to the Old Town and wondered around Orange square. When we had had our fill, we re-boarded the shuttle bus (they left every 15 mins) and continued on to Puerto Banus. Oh how the other half live. On one side of the harbor were the luxury yachts; the other side was lined with all the designer shops whose windows I only dared peek through.
In the evening, as there were no organized dinner events, we took a leisurely stroll to a Thai restaurant about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. It was very quiet but the food was scrumptious and the service we received from Pablo, our waiter, was great!




Sunday
Time to go home, but at least we still had more or less the entire day ahead of us. I didn’t envy those who had chosen the 11am flight and had to leave the hotel around 8. Instead, we had a leisurely breakfast, a final visit to the gym and sauna and a final chance to relax by the pool before our taxi came to collect us.
This was no way near the jammed packed, action filled holidays I usually op for but then again, this wasn’t a holiday. It was a chance for my husband who had worked hard to achieve company targets this year to relax, unwind and prepare for the year ahead … and that’s exactly what we did.

... and back to Atlanta - Apr 2011

Convinced the husband that he should take the 3 days between the 2 bank holiday weekends and use it to visit family in Atlanta, as we’d be unable to go during the summer.



Although my last visit was only 5 months ago, for some reason the flight seemed endless. Me, who usually finds it difficult to sit through 1 film found myself watching 4 – Gulliver’s travel, Tangled, Convicted and Rabbit Hole.
Remembering the length of the queue at immigration last time and just how long it had taken us to clear, I was prepared. As soon as we disembarked the plane we made a beeline to immigration. Bursting as I was for the loo there was no such time for trivialities.
Easter was very different to UK, as it’s not recognized as a bank holiday. We did however attend a musical production of the life, death and resurrection of Christ. It was phenomenal. Impressive set, great cast (including acrobats) and professional singers. Wow, wish we could produce something of that quality at our church!
An importune trip took us down to Savannah Georgia. We arrived early afternoon and checked into The Thunder Bird Inn. It was my first time staying in an inn and I joked to my husband that it looked like the sort of place you’d get those American type bikers. We jumped onto one of those hop on hop off buses that give you a description of the town as you ride around. To be honest I wasn’t that impressed and felt a walking tour would have been more informative. We stopped for an early dinner at The Private’s Inn, which was hyped up but again barely satisfying. Then on to the Ghost and Gravestones tour - a ghost tour that started off slowly (so much so hubby was asleep within 3 mins of the bus pulling off). It picked up towards the end and even though I will be the first to admit it wasn’t worth the money, I’m a sucker for those kind of things!


We took a late evening stroll back to our Inn. Low and behold, there were several Harley Davidsons parked outside. Now I am not claiming to have any knowledge of motor bikes or their cost but these things were very big, very shiny and looked very expensive. The next morning we saw the group of bikers congregated around their mean machines. After a breakfast of Krispee Kreme donuts and coffee I plucked up the courage to speak to them. There were a group of friends who lived near each other and were taking a road trip to Florida Keys. Contrary to the stereotypes given to many movie bikers, they weren’t tattooed, nor were they drinking beer (which could have something to do with the fact it was 9am)
We checked out nice and early to make the most of the day. The staff at The Thunderbird Inn were friendly at helpful but the accommodation was not to my liking and I wouldn’t stay there again.
For lunch we made our way to Mrs Wilkes Boarding House. Even though the food was not as spectacular as I had imagined, the dining concept was a great. You queue up (we waited about 20 minutes but I know some people have to queue for over an hour) you enter, sit around a table with a bunch of strangers (some you may have spoken to while in the queue) and pass around the bowls of food set out on the table. There was Southern fried chicken (the whole reason I went to this place), macaroni cheese, collard greens, coleslaw, BBQ meat (still not sure of what kind) cream of corn, baked biscuits, corn bread and several other traditional Southern dishes. We shared a table with a local who absolutely loved the place (always a good sign), an elderly couple who were on a cruise and a group of friends on a road trip to Florida for s shuttle launch. It was a great experience, a wonderful way to sample several Southern dishes and I would definitely recommend it if you’re in the area.
After lunch, we visited the first Baptist free Black Church. Very educational.



We left Savannah and headed to the seaside town of Tybee Beach. Funnily enough, not too different in appearance to some of the seaside towns in the UK. We parked up for an hour and strolled along the beach. The water didn’t look very welcoming so there were no temptations there. The walk along the water’s edge was interesting though because never before had I seen such huge jelly fish and so many of them washed up on shore.
A quick stop at the gift shop to collect some T-shirts for the kiddies and we were on our way. Headed across the boarder to South Carolina and a gorgeous island – Hilton Head Island. We checked into the Red Roof Inn which, in comparison to The Thunderbird Inn, was a luxury. It even had a small swimming pool, which I didn’t try out.
The next morning we headed to the creek. We thought we’d do some kayaking. There was a choice to go alone or pay extra and go as part of a group – going as part of a group with an experienced guide was a good shout. Hubby and I hadn’t been kayaking since the Maldives and with the wind as it was that day… well, lets just say we needed to be ‘rescued’ on a few occasions. Non-the less, it was a great 2 hours, a lovely way to see the creek and top up my tan!



The four and a half hour drive home was a little tiring by hubby did a great job and we only made one stop. On our arrival, the kids were anxious to tell us that a tornado was brewing. While Atlanta was spared any great damaged, unfortunately Alabama was saw almost two hundred lives lost.
I thought I had escaped the Royal Wedding madness but no such luck. In fact, all the Americans I met seemed mildly mortified that I had dared to leave London during such a memorable occasion. (Imagine the horror when I didn’t wake up at 4 am to tune in live!!) I got so tired of the constant ‘you’re missing the wedding??’ that my reply became ‘Wedding? Who’s getting married?’
On my last visit to Atlanta, I fell in love with a super market called Trader Joe’s, or rather, their popcorn. Traders Joe’s sweet and salty popcorn is by far the best off the shelf popcorn I’ve ever consumed. Employees were bemused as to why we’d take a photo outside the store and even offered to take a photo with us once they’d learned how far we’d travel.


All in all another good trip and it was great spending time with the family.

CHRISTMAS TURKEY - Dec 2010

Sorry guys but as I've left this blog sooooo long, it's more like a quick overview odf the holiday than a blog. Maybe I will have to visit Turkey again to do it justice...
CHRISTMAS TURKEY
We were due to fly out of Gatwick the day after snow had crippled both major London airports. It took the guys from the midlands over 10 hours to reach their hotel at Gatwick. For us coming from London, it was an hour and a half drive, avoiding the 25 as our junction was closed due to a jack-knifed lorry.



Finally we were all at the airport, listening to the announcements for the several cancelled flights. We were due to depart at 17.30 but were told our flight would leave at 21.00. this was about 14.00 but rather than get annoyed, like some fellow passengers, the 9 of entertained ourselves by singing Christmas carols and playing charades... until 18.00 when we were told our flight would not leave until the next morning. We spent the night at a hotel near the airport and finally departed shortly before 10am the following morning. It was hard to complain though when I thought about all those people we had left stranded at the airport.
Finally we were on our way to Antalya Turkey. Our resort was based on Lara Beach and I braced myself for a 2 week stay in the same place – something I have never done except if visiting relatives in Barbados or the states.




Night one we celebrated my brother’s 40th with dinner at the Al la carte Italian restaurant. Our waiters sang a hearty rendition of ‘happy birthday’ over a sparkling log cake
Our organised tour to Manavgat was a letdown for several reasons. Amongst them the fact that we were only given 2 hours in the market and that the area leading to the water falls were flooded so we couldn’t actually get to them.
The uncover Antalya tour was better. There was an enforced stop and at a jewelry and leather shop, but after that we went to another water fall which were beautiful and then into the town centre of Antalya. Some of the other in the group really enjoyed the shopping but in my opinion, everything seemed like fake tat. I decided I’d hold out until the January sales back home; a decision I was even happier about after the strap on one of my sisters bags broke within the first two usages.





Then there was the day that the two men in the group hired a van and took us all out for a day trip to Aspendos and Perga. Following the sat nav directions we came to what looked like a little road block. We couldn’t figure out why there were 2 large rocks in the middle of the road. One of the drivers decided to just move them despite the cries from the back seat saying they must be there for a reason. 400 yards on we found out why. There was a local street market!!





The views from the amphitheater in Aspendos were stunning. We were glad we had hired our own van as we spent almost 2 hours there and still didn’t feel like we had done it justice. I finally gave into the ‘tat sellers' and purchased a bracelet from some ladies selling outside the ruins of Perga. Partly because I did like it but more so because I caved she pleaded so deeply and I thought, what are a few euros!





Christmas was disappointing as it wasn’t recognized by the hotel. We had our own mini service in one of our bedrooms; then join a shooting lesson to learn how to fire a shot gun! New years’ eve was better as the hotel put on a spectacular gala for all the guests – at least 500.





The day before we left, my brother and sister accompanied me for a Turkish bath. A sauna and a steam, followed by a good wash before a relaxing body massage.
The weather was surprisingly good for the time of year (although we had apparently missed a violent thunder storm 2 days before we arrived). We had been expecting degrees in the late teens but we got 22-23 which we were more than grateful for. On the day we departed, it rained for the entire day but one out of fourteen isn’t bad so there were no complaints.





Well the departure journey was just as adventurous as the one on the way out. After arriving at the airport, checking our bags and making our way through customs, it was announced that there was a problem with our flight and it hadn’t indeed left the UK. So, we had to return through customs, re-collect our bags, re-board the coach and make our way back to a different hotel. It was the wee hours of the morning once we arrived and t say most people were tired and grumpy would be a small understatement.
And then the whole palaver the next day when it started all over again. But finally, we were on our way back home.