Tenerife

A hotel/resort holiday is not our usual get away  Our holidays are mostly self driven round France or Germany or cruising with Marella although we have stayed at Sea Star hotel in Icmeler a few times.

Having visited the Canary Islands as day stops on our cruises we decided to have a week in Tenerife to explore the island more .... it didn't quite go as expected but we have some super memories. 

It was lovely to see Mount Teide high above the clouds as we flew into Tenerife South Airport, it's Tenerife's largest volcano and is responsible for much of the pumice and black soil found all over the island.

Our flight also flew over our holiday destination. This part of Tenerife has developed mainly through tourism. There's a 10 mile promenade starting in Costa Adeje - further left of my photo - along Playa de las Americas and on to Los Cristianos - a working port on the far right of my photo.

Our hotel was not in the hub of the hotels, bars and restaurants but slightly inland next to the large golf course. It was a 20/30 minute walk to the sea front taking various routes. Our hotel is where the red dot is, the blue dot is a building that featured in our time in Tenerife but more of that later.

We had no knowledge of where to stay and booked the holiday fairly close to actually going away. We chose Villa Mandi simply on value for money and reviews, we booked our self catering package through Tui.

It was a lovely hotel resort, built to look Moroccan or Turkish in style it's apartments were more like small village houses with many walkways and stairs.

Our apartment was on the ground floor and faced the pool with plenty of palm trees. We could see a little bit of the golf course. 

Inside was superb; a small kitchen with fridge, hob and microwave, a lounge with tv, large bathroom with twin hand basins and separate bedroom with plenty of storage space and a very large bed.

We are not sunbathers so did not sit by the pool, we do like the sun to be on our terrace but sadly our terrace was always in shade from having the apartment above so quite chilly sitting out sometimes. This did actually turn out to be a bonus as it also meant we were sheltered from the rain, unlike the sunbathers who were often seen dashing in from the rain, only to be out again as soon as it stopped.

The pool was always busy with people there quite early in the morning but never overly loud, I think it would be in the high season. When quiet the view from our patio was lovely, especially at night.

The first few days were filled with blue skies and a lovely light breeze. We strolled along towards the promenade looking at bars and restaurant menus as this holiday we booked room only (another first). The second day was St Patrick's Day and everywhere had green themed decorations up with the numerous Irish bars preparing for a very busy day.

The coast was lovely, great views in both directions with huge palm trees and gentle waves. A storm was forecast, this has been the worst winter for the Canary Islands with rain and high winds most weeks which is unusual, people holiday here for some winter sun. By the third day the wind was quite strong and the dark clouds moved in.

The main mile in Playa de las Americas is known for its high end shops, plenty of restaurants and the famous Hard Rock Cafe. It was all a bit blingy for us with everything obviously built for tourists, although impressive we missed seeing old buildings.

The promenade goes through a tunnel as it enters Los Cristianos which has been decorated with some amazing artwork. The detail is incredible and certainly makes a feature of what otherwise would be plain concrete. The turtles were my favourite, so beautiful.

Our island stops whilst on our Canary Island cruises has sparked an interest in succulent and cactus plants. We now have quite a few at home but nothing the size of those in Tenerife, some are many years old, they grow so well on the dry volcanic soil.

Of course our holidays wouldn't be our holidays without discovering and enjoying food & wine. We had some lovely meals out, a full English breakfast one morning, as well as cooking in our apartment. 

The Cava from the local Mercadona supermarket was superb, I'm not a Cava fan but this was lovely, maybe because is was semi secco so not very dry.

We found bottled wine to be surprisingly expensive, maybe because we were in a touristy area and not really Canarian wine so we took a chance on boxed wine... it was ok but nothing special.

We did however try and really really like the Tenerife Barraquito, a layered cocktail of condensed milk, Liqueur 43, black coffee and frothy milk.

And of course on St Patrick's Day we did go to the Irish bars where a pint of Guinness was a must, as was wearing a Guinness hat hee hee

Unfortunately day four of our holiday things changed.... the weather was very wet and very windy. We stayed at the apartment in the day but did go out later for a meal in a Spanish Tapas restaurant we had prebooked. Plans changed as the restaurant was closed with a handwritten note on the door, we're not sure but the rain was causing flooding and it was a cellar restaurant.

We had a lovely meal at a restaurant on the promenade all be it under the tentage with the rain pouring down. Taking a taxi back to the hotel everywhere was wet and unfortunately I tripped up rushing into the hotel. 

After a few hours in the hospital (the blue dot on the photo) we returned to the hotel early hours of Friday, me with a broken right wrist (plastered), a right black eye, a bruised left hand, two bruised knees and broken glasses. 

A return visit to the hospital for a fit to fly document followed the next day. The weather was not great for the rest of the week with lots of rain and high winds.

It was not how we thought our holiday would be but with Hubby's help and dodging the showers when venturing out we still enjoyed our last few days .... cake and wine sort out most of life's hiccups. 

I am now under the care of our local hospital and hopefully the cast will come off soon and all will be well for our upcoming cruise.

Tenerife was not what we expected, the area we stayed in was very touristy, maybe we should have stayed in the north of the island. It has made us realise that we enjoy our cruises where we can explore a new place every days out and our European road trips where we are free to roam and explore more than hotel resorts but it's always good to see the world and we did discover Barraquitos!

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

Hubby and I took a little trip away to get into the festive spirit, nothing big I just wanted to be amongst the sights and smells of the festive season. 

I was browsing online for hotels and places with Christmas markets when a 2 nights for 1 offer popped up for Best Western Hotels and Bournemouth has a market. To top it off the train is direct from Coventry and our station has a train to there ..... and so all booked!

As seems to be the norm these days after a walk to our station we discoverer our train to Coventry was now a bus .... and would not be there in time for our Bournemouth train. The station office couldn't advise if our tickets would be accepted on a later train so we decided to take an Uber; great car, great driver, reasonable price and safely at the station in time. 

The Bournemouth train was a great journey, initially we faced backwards but the train changes direction at Reading so we were forward facing from there. I remember this happening when we took the train to Weymouth with the scouts in 1983, we took them to Guernsey for camp that year. 

Our journey passed through Leamington Spa, Banbury, Oxford, Reading, Basingstoke, Winchester, Southampton Airport, Southampton, arriving at Bournemouth. It was only 15/20 minutes between stations, so nice to see a different view of the countryside ... with our refreshments in hand (coffee, sandwiches and a glass of wine) 

We walked into Bournemouth as we had a while before check in, I was so surprised to find it very hilly. I thought it was flat like Weymouth or Brighton but the town centre sits on a Chine (a steep-sided gorge where the river flows to the sea) and our hotel was at the top of the very steep west cliff side of the town. 

But the climb was worth it, what a festive welcome and although an old hotel our room was huge, clean, comfy and had a sea view. To be honest we couldn't have stayed at the nearby Premier Inn for the price we paid, especially as breakfast was included.

The photo above shows how the road drops away to the sea. Our first evening we strolled down the hill, what a superb view of the Pier lit up and the lights beyond. From the Pier we walked through the gardens along the River Bourne to the Christmas market, the decorations were huge and very festive. 

Being a Monday it was fairly quiet which was perfect as we could get to all the stalls and had no trouble getting a table at the Slug and Lettuce for dinner with cocktails. We had a great night out, a lovely walk back through the gardens and a tiring walk up the hill.

The next morning after a delicious cooked to order breakfast, I had smoked haddock and poached egg, we decided to walk along the coast towards Boscombe Pier. In the daylight the views were even better, the smaller pier in the distance of the curved bay. We could also see the Isle of Wight and the Needles with its lighthouse, we should have brought our binoculars for a better view. 

Before setting off along the coast we walked to the end of Bournemouth Pier and back. There was a great Christmas Tree trail along the Pier with each tree having a Christmassy question with the answer at the next tree. From the end of the Pier we looked back towards our hotel, it's behind the white hotel and you can see the steep slope down.

Of course being on a pier and being by the sea means only one thing .... the 2p machines. I love a tipping point game, yes we never come away with big winnings but it's the game that gives the joy. Hubby did win a chew sweet!

It was lovely walking along the promenade road, often covered with sand, with the sea gently breaking on the shore. There were plenty of runners, dog walkers and even a few swimmers. There were rows and rows if beach huts, all closed now for winter, as was to my dismay the road train. 

The east cliffs towered above us, in some places the promenade was sectioned off due to landslides revealing the sandstone layers. We were so surprised to see a group of goats on the steep slopes, they seemed very happy munching away.

Boscombe was inland, again uphill and sadly it was very much like other town centres with many closed shops. We did find a lovely coffee shop before taking the bus back into Bournemouth. We decided not to venture back into town for dinner (the slope was too much after already walking 6 miles) and so had a pub meal in the Hop Inn just along from our hotel. Still being early when we got back we settled in the hotel bar with a very festive mulled wine and mini mince pie, perfect end to our day.

Our last morning started with another delicious breakfast and as our train home was late afternoon we left our cases with reception so we could explore the east of Bournemouth. I was not keen on doing more slopes so we walked along the cliff top route to Branksome which is actually in Poole district. 

The views were amazing, it was such a lovely sunny winter morning. To the west behind us is the coast to the west with Bournemouth Pier and the Isle of Wight in the distance. We were so lucky with the weather. 

To the east was Studland, we could just see Old Harry's Rocks sticking up at the edge of the coast. The weather did begin to change as we walked back, the sea noticeably changing from being still to being choppy with waves on the shore. 

As we walked back along the beach I knew we'd have to climb up to the hotel. Not enjoying the steep slopes we opted for the steps, oh my there were lots of them and a few stops to admire the view were very much needed. 

We had a lovely few days away, different experience not going in the car and using public transport. After collecting our cases from the hotel we walked back into Bournemouth for a meal before catching the bus to the station to get the train home. 

It was certainly beginning to feel like Christmas, a super early December getaway.

The Royal Mint - birthday treat

To start the final year of my 50s we stayed in Cardiff for a couple of days. It's always good to see our daughter and son-in-law and we do like Cardiff Bay.

I had a lovely birthday, and a second day celebrating with our son and girlfriend once home. It all began with a trip to the Royal Mint, somewhere we've had on our visit list for a while.

It must have been planned in the stars as whilst enjoying a coffee before our visit Hubby noticed he had a new £5 note in his wallet (now in my purse hee hee) It's lovely but a bit strange to see the King on our currency.

The Royal Mint tour was amazing, our guide explained which metal is used, how the designs are drawn and finally how the coins are pressed. The value of each coin is the value of the metal and the weight of each is relevant; two 1ps weigh one 2p, two 5ps weigh 10p. 

We were very lucky to see one of the machines being loaded and held one of the finished coins, still warm. The Royal Mint currently makes coins for other countries and these coins were for Malawi.

At the end of the tour there was an opportunity to forge your own coin, this was one of the special coins celebrating the RNIL's  200 years. The coin is legal tender but will not be in general circulation. Our guide wore special finger covers so now sealed in its display cover the coin has also never been touched.

For obvious reasons no photos were allowed within the tour. It was allowed in the foyer where the Penny Lane mini and Grommit stood shining bright in their coinage.

It was a super tour, so informative and amazing to see how coins are made. It was also astonishing just how much money (in value) is both on display and in storage, a coin may not seem much money on it's own in my purse but it certainly mounts up .... guess that's why we have money boxes and empty bottles for collecting lose change, I wonder how long we'll be able to do that.

And then it was time for birthday celebrations 🥳

We visited our favourite Cardiff micro brewery Zero Degrees followed by a new experience at Vermut Bar where we tried different vermouths. Thanks Philippa and Michael for introducing us to new flavours and styles, a lovely experience.

Hubby and I love Miller and Carter The Hayes, it was a real treat to have their 28oz sharing experience with lobster, mac n cheese and a delicious Argentinian Malbec - thank you Nick, it was superb

And back home the following day we had a super dinner at our son and girlfriend's. Such a lively surprise to have cake with candles ... never too old for birthday cake.

It's been a great few days celebrating my final year of my 50s .... 12 months to the big 60 🥳