Marbella Trip - Day 4 - Hike and Homeward Bound

Last day today — and what a brilliant few days it’s been.

We got up, finished off the remaining healthy breakfast food we had in the apartment, packed everything up and managed to leave by the 10.00am checkout deadline. We still had a little time to spare, so sat by the pool for about 45 minutes before setting off for Caminito del Rey, the gorge walk we’d booked tickets for around 90 minutes away.

I was already conscious of the time, whereas Jack wanted to stop for coffee and toilet breaks along the way. I kept pushing us onwards and, to be fair, it was probably just as well because otherwise we’d have been properly late.

We parked at the finish car park after what felt like an eternity stuck behind a coach on the winding mountain roads. From the roadside we got our first glimpse of the walk itself — narrow pathways clinging to the side of the gorge. It looked both spectacular and slightly intimidating at the same time. Instantly knew this was going to be good.

We caught the shuttle bus to the entrance and had to abandon our usual British politeness slightly to make sure we squeezed onto it. Even then we initially went the wrong way trying to find the entrance path and had to ask for directions from staff and guides. Thankfully, although Jack was technically late for the guided tour meeting point, nobody seemed bothered and he was allowed to rejoin us anyway.

We’d booked guided tickets but decided not to stick with the group and instead walked the route ourselves, which I think was definitely the right call. The guided groups were large and moving slowly and, if I’m honest, most of the information was probably the sort of thing you can read online afterwards anyway.

The walk itself was absolutely spectacular. Truly stunning. At points the water below us was over 100 metres down and the cliffs towered another 300–400 metres above our heads. Everywhere you looked there was another incredible view. We stopped constantly for photos because every bend in the path seemed to reveal something new.

We overtook most of the guided groups as we went and never once felt rushed or like we were missing out. There was one bridge crossing that was particularly exposed and windy which added a bit of excitement, and towards the end we even spotted rock climbers scaling the cliffs which looked absolutely terrifying.

What was pleasantly surprising at the end was that the little food and souvenir huts there — like Christmas market cabins — were actually very reasonably priced rather than the usual tourist rip-off. We grabbed some food and a beer and sat relaxing for a while. The whole walk had taken around two and a half hours in total, which was shorter than expected and nowhere near as physically demanding as we’d imagined. It was more of a scenic stroll than a serious hike, albeit one with some unbelievable scenery.

After that Jack drove us onwards to the mountain town of Mijas. On the way we accidentally went through another tiny village with absurdly narrow roads that caused a fair bit of stress, but Mijas itself was just as tight in places. Still, Jack handled it all well and eventually managed to get us parked.

The town itself was lovely. Whitewashed buildings everywhere, narrow streets, loads of restaurants and little leather and souvenir shops. Tash bought a couple of bags and Jack successfully haggled for a black leather belt. I behaved myself and bought nothing.

We found a pizzeria for dinner and I somehow ended up having a banana split afterwards which felt fully justified after all the walking. Around 8.00pm we headed back towards the airport and dropped the hire car off after filling it with petrol. Amazingly, considering how much driving we’d done, it only cost about £25 to refill — and Jack insisted on paying for that too.

The hire car company were excellent actually — no issues at all and I’d happily use them again. The airport process was equally painless and before long we were sat in the lounge having coffees waiting for the flight.

Unfortunately we then discovered we were on pretty much the last flight leaving the airport that night and it got delayed by around an hour. Frustrating because we already knew we’d be getting home incredibly late anyway. Nothing to do other than scroll social media, listen to music and carry on with my audiobook — Rogue Heroes — which is proving every bit as good as the TV series based on it.

Eventually boarded, managed to get some sleep on the flight and then flew through customs once back in the UK. The courtesy parking people were brilliant and had the car waiting for us despite it being around 3.00am. Naturally, Jack announced he was starving again, so we stopped at McDonald’s where he demolished three Chicken Mayo burgers before I drove us the rest of the way home.

We finally got into bed around 4.15am — with work only a few hours away.

Overall though, this was a genuinely brilliant mini-break. I honestly don’t mind working remotely whilst everyone else is relaxing by the pool or sleeping in the sun. The alternative would probably be not going at all because I don’t really want to burn through annual leave on shorter trips like this. Being able to work during the day and still properly enjoy the evenings and weekends feels like the perfect compromise. It’s the same with Menorca, Cornwall or wherever else we might end up next. Remote working really does make me appreciate both my job and the flexibility it gives me.

Spending the time with Jack was another huge part of what made it so good. He can definitely be opinionated and a bit of a know-it-all at times, but he backs himself and usually knows what he’s talking about. Tash challenges him far more than I do — sometimes I just switch off and let them debate it out between themselves! But it’s obvious he genuinely enjoys spending time with us and he was incredibly generous throughout the trip, constantly insisting on paying for things when we were more than happy to cover them ourselves. That was really appreciated.

What a fantastic break it’s been. I’d happily go back tomorrow and do exactly the same all over again.

End of Day Summary:
An absolutely perfect final day. Caminito del Rey completely lived up to expectations and Mijas was a lovely unexpected bonus before heading home. The whole trip struck a brilliant balance between relaxation, activity, work and quality family time. One of those breaks that leaves you tired when you return — but very, very glad you went.

Cruise Day 8 – Barbados and Homeward Bound

That was a tough night’s sleep to be honest — very windy, wavy and noisy. I did manage some sleep in the end and we were up and about around 7.30am. Finished getting sorted, left our travel bags at the Squid & Anchor and met Nik and Gaz for breakfast. I didn’t eat much; I’ve honestly had enough of food now.

We did a few final bits to get ourselves ready for departure later in the day and then headed outside to grab a taxi. First stop was Rihanna’s childhood home, then Kensington Oval cricket ground, which was good to see, and then on to Carlisle Bay where we were dropped at Savvy on the Beach.

We walked along and signed up for a boat trip to swim with turtles and snorkel — bit of a con really. It didn’t last anywhere near as long as promised and we didn’t see much at all. Definitely no turtles. A few fish, the shipwreck, and that was about it. Some scuba divers emerged from the wreck which was interesting at least.

Back on shore we went to Savvy for some food and a couple of beers. What was really strange was how familiar it all felt — and for good reason. We were in the exact same spot as last year! We could even see the Ramada hotel we stayed at. That was a weird but nice little moment.

Taxi picked us up on time and took us back to the ship. We managed to shower and freshen up and then went to the pool bar to relax and snooze while killing time until 5.30pm. Had a snack and watched all the new arrivals coming onboard — excited and very white. I’ll admit, I felt a bit resentful. We were the ones leaving and I just wanted to be out of there. Their enthusiasm was too much to handle at that point!

Also, seven days was enough for me. I was tired. Eating and especially drinking all the time can be hard work — that sounds like a joke, but it genuinely isn’t. I think doing two weeks, even with a different itinerary, would start to feel a bit much. Seven days was perfect.

We collected our bags, got on the coach and headed to the airport with no issues. The lounge was outrageously expensive, so we didn’t bother with anything. Boarded the plane, settled in for the eight-hour flight. Tash took sleeping pills and lucked out with spare seats so she could lie across them. I made myself as comfortable as I could across mine and hers, watched The Long Walk, and then slept.

Arrived at Heathrow around 10.00am. Bags came through — slight panic as Gaz’s didn’t appear until the very last one. Got the taxi back to Bicester and I slept the whole way. £155. Mad money.

Said our goodbyes and thanks, jumped in Tash’s car and headed home — back to normality, sadly.

It was a great trip and I really enjoyed it. It compared well with the Iona and Norway cruise, which was a relief. That’s it for cruises for a good while now… although we’ll see what we end up getting talked into next!

End-of-day reflection:
Tired, ready to be home, but very content. Seven days was the perfect length, Barbados was a fitting send-off, and the whole trip stacked up really well against past cruises. A great experience — but definitely time for land again.

Cruise – Day 1 Travel Day

Alarm went off at 5.00am. Shower, shave, load the car and off we went to Nik and Gaz’s place in Bicester. They were ready and waiting and not long after we arrived, the taxi did too.

Very nice Merc — travelling in style! We chatted a bit, slept a bit, and before we knew it we were at Heathrow T3. No issues at all with check-in or bag drop, although it was immediately obvious that Tash and I are very light packers. Our bags were about 16kg and 16kg compared with 24kg and a whopping 26kg… what on earth must be in those?! Thankfully no issues or extra charges.

Breakfast and a pint, obviously, and then it was already time to board. No real delay, great seats, all good. Sitting for 8.5 hours is a bit dull and uncomfortable, but Virgin really do have it sussed. I’m typing this with about 45 minutes left and we’ve had drinks, dinner and even afternoon tea — which was excellent.

Enjoying my music as usual — I wanted to dance. It’s been nice to properly switch off and not think about much, although inevitably my mind drifted to Charlotte’s wedding and my speech. Also the realisation that I really need to get fitter so I’m presentable in the photos! God knows when it’ll be — I reckon maybe 2027 — we’ll see.

We watched season 4 of The Traitors, which has been great fun. I’d downloaded last night’s episode and we watched that before dipping into anything else onboard. No idea how it’s going to go, but it’s halfway through now and I’m loving it.

After a very good flight we landed in Barbados, got through customs easily and found the TUI rep and our coach. We were slightly unsure about the bag process but confirmed we did collect them ourselves as normal.

On the coach with all the other Marella Discovery 2 passengers, I had a brief wobble. Sitting there, it suddenly hit me that we were officially package holiday makers. Completely ridiculous, but I felt weirdly claustrophobic — like our independence had been stripped away! Absolute nonsense of course, but still. Something to get used to for the week.

Half-hour drive through Barbados and we arrived at the port. Boarding passes sorted, walked along the dock and onto the ship.

We decided to explore — Nik and Gaz hadn’t cruised before — and ended up on the top deck where there’s a pool and a couple of bars. It was clearly the liveliest spot (and proved to be all week). Drinks ordered, seats found, and we just sat taking it all in.

Had a few wanders around to get our bearings. Decent-sized ship with plenty of variety and things going on.

Eventually headed to the cabins to freshen up. Everyone’s bags had arrived… except mine. Slightly concerning if I’m honest. Had to check with reception and chase it, but thankfully it turned up right at the end of the evening. Huge relief.

Phew.

Dinner was in the restaurant called 47 — very nice.

After that we went back up to the main pool deck, more drinks and some entertainment. Exactly what you’d expect on a British TUI cruise ship — if you know what I mean from a slightly snobby point of view. That said, I’m writing this in hindsight on the last day, and it’s actually been incredibly good fun. Any snobbery from Tash and I has been firmly kept in check — and we’ve been just as bad as everyone else!

We didn’t have a particularly late night as we were all pretty shattered from a long travel day.

End-of-day reflection:
A smooth, stress-free start to the trip. Travel went well, the ship exceeded early expectations, and despite initial “package holiday” reservations, the mood quickly shifted to excitement and relaxation. Tired, slightly overwhelmed, but very ready for what the week would bring.

Menorca Golf Weekend

Friday

Didn’t sleep well Thursday night — bed after 10:30pm and alarm set for 1:15am! Up and out on time though: picked up Paul Creed in Kennington and then Wayne in Risinghurst before heading to Gatwick. Great airport pickup — smooth and easy — and we were soon through security and in the pub having a pint and breakfast at 4:30am.

Short flight and picked up by Paul and Pauline. Nice catch-up on the way to the villa. Me and Creedy sharing again — I brought earplugs this time: strong tactical move.

Straight up to Son Parc for golf: paid for 9 holes but managed to sneak another 9 — success. Sadly no t-shirt available this year which was disappointing. Tough course with different grass, and I struggled more than I hoped. Tried to stay positive but truthfully felt a bit deflated after looking forward to it all year. Wayne and I played the full 18 while the two Pauls left after the 10th.

Back to the villa, quick shower, then down to BJ’s for 6:00pm for the official start and team draw. Nice to see familiar faces. Paired with Jack Everton (excellent golfer), plus another Adam West (Batman!!) and a lady called Sue Rogers. Fish and chips, a couple of beers (first fish was still frozen — typical!). Early-ish night.

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Saturday

Slept well. Up early, breakfast, and off to the course. I teed off about 90 minutes before my slot, so had plenty of time to practise and watch the earlier groups.

Our team for the main event: me, Jack, Adam, and Sue. Putting challenge first — no one holed out unfortunately. Then onto the first tee: I hit a solid drive down the middle which set Jack up to properly go for it — that became our pattern. I was “steady Eddie”, letting Jack take the hero shots. Felt good that a lot of my shots counted. Sue struggled but she was great company and we had a laugh in the buggy.

We made a lot of pars but not enough birdies. Played better than Friday though, so happier overall.

Finished around 4pm and I bought the first round at the bar. Then back to BJ’s where everyone gathered, beers flowing, great atmosphere. Quick dash back to freshen up then back out — got properly drunk. Wayne & Amanda arrived and joined in. Ate next door then back to BJ’s until closing (well, me at least!).

Walked home alone and, once back, stuck headphones on and had a private “afterparty” with a couple more beers. Apparently I was singing now and then and Paul and Pauline could hear me — they were in stitches. Absolutely steaming. Bed after 3:00am.

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Sunday

Woke late. Lads went for a walk but I tried to sleep off the hangover. Eventually went for a wander to the beach myself, grabbed a coffee, very windy — storm coming.

Then down to BJ’s for presentation day. Started drinking again (topped up quickly). Results were incredibly close — we came SECOND! Only half a point behind first. Very happy with that. Creedy’s team won and Wayne’s came third — big day for the Oxford lot!

Tapas and more beers served. After that, the memory gets hazy… I know there was pizza and a bit of pool. Back around midnight. And yes — another late headphone session outside by the pool.

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Monday

Rough morning. But no day off, so set myself up in the front room and worked all day while the others went out. Wouldn’t have been able to do the trip without working, so fair enough. Maybe next year I’ll book the Monday off too.

Power nap (not much sleep). Group meal out in the evening — I stuck to shandy/coke and couldn’t face food. I paid as a thank you to Paul and Pauline. Back to villa and bed. Fingers crossed I didn’t make a total idiot of myself the previous two nights…

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Tuesday

Home day. Up early and left at 7:30am. Smooth airport experience. Skipped food — didn’t trust my stomach and the paninis looked awful anyway! Slept most of the flight. Car collection easy and dropped Creed and Wayne off before heading home.

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Reflection

Just a brilliant weekend — great golf, amazing company, loads of laughs, a strong finish for our team… and perhaps a touch too much celebrating! Would absolutely love to do it all again next year.

Budapest - Last Day

Up at 9.00am and got packed up. Then… a power cut! Typical. Still, we made our way out and walked to the New York Café. Massive queue outside but it moved fairly quickly and soon we were in. 

Yes it’s expensive — but wow, it was worth it. Coffee and Eggs Benedict and it was absolutely lovely. It was also probably the cheapest item on the menu..

From there we walked down towards Margaret Bridge and onto the main island, passing the train station and "our" Chinese restaurant on the way. Wandered around for a good while, the grounds there were great and it's where they host Sziget the music festival, I can imagine it's a fantastic location - Charlotte has been to it - but now it really relaxing and a nice final bit of sightseeing. 

We stopped again for coffees, including a white hot chocolate, then carried on down the main road as we slowly killed time.

Found somewhere for an early dinner / late lunch and then it was back to collect the cases. Got the bus to the airport - quick journey, about 30 minutes - and of course we were far too early. Played cards while waiting to check in.

Slight drama at check-in as the bags weren’t allowed on the plane due to weight / lack of room — bit hacked off about that and just hoping they end up where they should!

Nothing much else of excitement to report. Bought loads of tobacco for Vic, had more coffees, some lunch and then boarded the flight. Typing this now to catch up on all the diary entries.

Vienna - Day 1

Up at 3.00am.

No issues getting ready and out the door. Wayne drove us, nice and steady, deliberately slow so he didn’t incur the early drop off charge from the car firm.

We arrived at the airport around 4.30am, dropped off the car - all very smooth. Through passport control as usual. Terminal 3. Nice, actually. Not sure I’ve ever been through there before.

Breakfast next. No beers for once - I must be growing up!!

Flight on time and all good. Just 2.5 hours.

Landed and straight through customs with no problems. And just like that — we were in Vienna!

Taxi pickup was waiting, organised by Tash, and we were taken to the hotel: Jaz in the City. QUITE the place. Quirky!!

Checked in at 10.30am because the rooms were already ready. Result. And the room… came with albums and a record player. Mister Mister and Falco in concert 1993. Brilliant touch.

Twenty minutes later we were out and about. Weather wasn’t great - raining and overcast - but it didn’t stop us.

We used a Komoot walking tour and honestly, the buildings blew me away. Amazing architecture everywhere, and we just kept walking. Museums, churches, the Opera House, that unusual clock with the statues on the outside of it, all of it was interesting - I loved it.

Lunch by the canal in a very nice coffee house - bit posh. Then back to the hotel later for showers and a quick sleep, with music playing on the room’s record player. Loved that.

In the evening we walked to the market and found a place to eat. Schnitzel, obviously.
Then drinks back at the hotel bar on Level 7. Great atmosphere.

A good start to the trip.

I had some incredibly sad news via Facebook to learn about Trevor Jones passing, he had an operation and didn't pull through. I had a lot of good memories of him and being at his house playing the Atari or ice skating with him - he was one of the best of us all with the tricks he could do. It's a real shame, he was so energetic and lively. I'd not spoken to or seen him in years but it's still the closeness to home of someone I liked and went to school with dying. Tragic. 

A week in Cyrpus

 Been back a few days now but had a great week in Cyprus last week. We went on the Saturday morning (Me, Tash, Charlotte, Lewis and Emily) and following us was Zoe, with Niamh and Kate Millar - we met Laoisa there as she could get the train direct

Left quite early and had a good run down there although a bit of a problem for us as the van was too high for car park 5 but we sorted and it and were on our way.

The hotel was very nice and we settled in quickly - it was all inclusive and it was also adults-only which was noticeable.

In the coming days we had Jason and Sharon turn up late (after midnight) on Sunday and then all the Holdens arrive on Tuesday evening (Wayne, Kerry, Nicole, Dan, Paul and Pauline) - so all 17 were there

We relaxed during the day, sleeping, drinking, eating and messing about in the sea - that was a challenge to get into, Tash had a horrible fall on the first day when she and Charlotte tried to get in using  shortcut and badly bruised her leg for the rest of the holiday.

The weather was very sunny and very hot all week - sweating and keeping in the shade as much as possible. I played a table tennis tournament but only came second - but was happy with that. Played Lewis the following day and he beat me comfortably - didn't get to play against Wayne in the end, couldn't be bothered I don't think.

Evenings we would have dinner in the main buffet area or in booked restaurants - we managed 3 of the 4 so that wasn't too bad, Greek, Italian and Asian. Better food in those as you'd expect.

Each night we would do a round-robin announcing our highlights and lowlights from the day which was fun

We went out to Paphos one evening after lunch, just wandered around and then went to Bar Street which is their "strip" - not much to it but we also chose a shit bar to sit in but it was a night out.

The highlight of the holiday was easily the boat trip, whilst still in the UK Tash (who else?) organise a 3hr sunset booze cruise, we found the boat at 4.30pm and he let us on straight away, Sharon put her Boat Party playlist on and from the first 10 seconds we were on it - singing, dancing, drinking - we'd not left the harbour and you could tell this was going to be a great evening. 

And it was!

We set out and stopped a couple of times, first time we were diving off the boat but the current was so strong, I found that hard initially but otherwise everything was great. As the trip went on we got more drunk and the playlist was open to everyone - ah - it was amazing, we had a such a good time, everyone got totally hooked into it.

We saw the sunset and made more and more noise with our singing, even when back at the harbour at 8.00pm and everyone sat in their nice restaurants with us all singing at the top of our voices!

I wanted to stay out and go to a karaoke bar but was over-ruled so we all went back to the hotel to get changed and eat. I wasn't happy about that because I knew most of us wouldn't go back out and the opportunity had passed. About 6 of them (the kids) did go back out but they were finished by 2.30am we heard in the morning. Still, it didn't detract from such a brilliant day.

Didn't have a heavy head on any of the mornings which was a pleasant surprise, I guess we did drink (and eat) in moderation throughout the day to be fair.

So we were only there for the week and left Saturday around 7.20pm, Holdens and Millars waved us off and the airport was busy and not well organised but eventually we got the plane an hour late and back to Gatwick in the early hours, no problem getting the van and said our goodbyes with Carrolls and got home to bed about 4.30am.

Such a lovely time - really enjoyed it, even if it started off a bit rough because of my idiotic antics on Thursday night/Friday morning - I so regret that! 

Big Tour - Flights Booked

As it says in the title - how exciting!!

Home Alone Update - One Day more!

 Sort of productive day today - worked through a list of chores which included cutting back the roses (front and back), cutting the lawn, refilling the pond (after accidentally draining it!), sweeping the patio, getting the dustbins out for tomorrow, re-inflating the hot-tub and also doing some work for EdCo and Raintree - all just in the morning so was very pleasing to see things up together.

Tash told me early in the day that their flight was delayed by at least two hours but annoyingly the taxi firm wouldn't change so they were getting to the airport very early. They made the most of the last few hours by the pool and then came to the airport where I started getting additional updates on later and later departure times.

There was a post on Twitter where someone on the flight from Gatwick to Larnaca showed some idiots being kicked off the plane which eventually meant that the flight Tash and the kids are waiting for is cancelled until 5.00pm tomorrow evening - what an absolute nightmare!! At the time of typing, they're waiting for their luggage and I think they're then being put up in a hotel. What a shame.

So that was evening occupied with loads of updates from them.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, I started looking into the Big Tour, as I am going to call it - i.e. our trip to South East Asia, to be honest, though I am quite overwhelmed with it all, it's something we definitely need to work out together but also ask other people who've been, like Charlotte and Miles!! I am excited by it though I have to say, some of the places that we're going to get to see look amazing.

After dinner, I then watched a film and had the drama of the cancelled flights and then had an early night. Have taken a painkiller as I've had two horrible nights of interupted sleep so I am hoping tonight works out okay - fingers crossed.

My 50th Birthday trip to the States – Boston bound–Day One

Flight was great.

Drinks were flowing – kept getting topped up or helping ourselves – didn’t once not have a drink in my hand for the whole flight there.

Magnum ice cream at the end

Banging music. Loved it!!!

Bit tipsy

Quite a wait at the passport control and then Tucks picked us up

Back to his house pretending to be sober but drank more and had a great catch up

Should be a good weekend