After a stint at trying the 9 - 5 thing, we decided, at 27, to rent our house, pack our bags and head out into the big bad world. We've not really looked back since and here are our tales of laughter, tears, tantrums and one gold Renault clio.
"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page"
Greg’s alarm wakes me with a start this morning and I am still in a deep sleep after such a full day of walking and climbing mountains yesterday. We’ve more mountains in store today as we plan to head through Covadonga and then the Picas de Europa mountain range. We manage to leave at 9.30am, which is not too bad when we had agreed to leave at 9am. Its only about an hour and a quarter to get to Covadonga and I am so thankful we don’t have another full on day of driving ahead. Not yet anyway. The weather is a mild 14 degrees and it’s dry, so driving conditions should be quite good, always a bonus when driving through the mountains. It’s easy enough to get to Covadonga and we follow the steep 15% ... read more
Our plan is to leave at 9am this morning so that we get to Oviedo at a reasonable time, but at 9am I am still in the shower washing my hair so that's definitely not going to happen. However, I am actually ready by quarter past 9 so in the end it’s not too much of a delay. It doesn’t actually matter in the end as Greg is still loading (and trying to fit in) the last couple of bags into the car, which is already at bursting point. There is only a 2 inch gap left between the back seat and the roof, but Greg is still determined to fit in our 32inch tv screen as well. I am pretty adamant it won't fit but Greg loves to prove me wrong by finding a tiny ... read more
There's no rest for the wicked as when our next weekend rolls around, it is the turn of Greg's mum and dad to visit us for a few days. The timing has worked out well as we finish on a Monday day shift and are not back again until the Thursday afternoon. It means we can pick them up from the airport and after a quick hello to Nacho at the flat (who is mega excited) we head down into Santa Ponsa to stop off for a drink and for Archie and Margaret to get something to eat. The place is absolutely buzzing as it is San Juan, the night of the bonfires. We are working the first day Margaret and Archie arrive, so we have to spend an hour or two with Nacho after work ... read more
Once our days off come round we have the pleasure of deciding where on this beautiful island to explore next. We've heard loads of people going on about Es Trenc beach, which is meant to be the nicest beach in Mallorca (or at least the most popular), so we decide to head there for the afternoon to see what all the fuss is about. We make some sandwiches and pack the suntan cream and beach towels and head off moderately more prepared than when we used to be in our twenties. I even pack a change of pants for the journey home lol. It takes about 40 minutes to get there from our house, and the last part of the journey into Es Trenc is pretty nail biting to say the least as the roads are ... read more
It feels like only 5 minutes since my mum and dad left when i'm heading to the airport to pick up the next lot of visitors in the shape of my sister and her partner Brian. By the time they've got all their belongings (standing at the wrong belt for 20 minutes, doh) and then headed to the shops to pick up supplies its already lunchtime. They check into their apartment (which is actually lovely and i'm thinking maybe me and Greg could just squat there after they have checked out as it is so nice…) and we take them up to say hello to nacho before heading out to get some lunch. Brian has been saying for a while he is looking forward to taking the boy out whilst he is here, but I am ... read more
We decide on our next day off not to stray too far as we'll be doing more sightseeing and driving around when my parents arrive tomorrow. So we head for lunch in Santa Ponsa before a trip into Palma to see a few things we'd missed on our last visit as we were in a bit of a rush. We're still finding our way around Santa Ponsa too, so I suggest to Greg let's try somewhere new to eat, but like creatures of habit we end up in the same place we've ate lunch before. When we get into Palma, there's some kind of book festival going on and everywhere we turn there are tables and tables of books. We carry on through Plaza Mayor and follow my rather ropey sat nav for what seems like ... read more
We're starting to feel a lot more comfortable in our new roles at work now we've been here a week or so and are more familiar with the lay of the land. I've also helped out a few customers so feeling more integrated and actually involved rather than just standing back and watching and letting others do the hard work. The summer season hasn't quite kicked in yet so it will be interesting to see how different it will be then! On our day off this week we decided to head to Palma Nova and then walk to Portal Nous as Greg had read about it somewhere online. But unfortunately you can't walk along the coast as there are lots of very nice, big houses and hotels in the way, but the pathway is still very ... read more
Eventually Saturday comes around and there's no rest for the wicked as we have to get up at the back of eight (for our final buffet breakfast) and then head over to Santa Pola to pick up our new keys! It's exciting but a bit annoying we have to do it in two trips, as we have so much stuff (including the new bed) and its a half hour trip each way. By the time we have gotten the keys and moved all our stuff in and picked up the dog, it is already early afternoon. The dog is ecstatic to see us and looks really happy and relaxed which is a good sign. And Sergio seems enamoured with him which is a good thing and says he was good as gold with him and the ... read more
We've had a few hectic weeks of packing, cleaning and generally trying to sort our lives out before once again upping sticks and moving to a new place and a new job (why we still put ourselves through it I will never know, although I think we thrive on the stress and excitement!). Oh and throw into the mix a week's holiday where we only get back the day before we leave makes it even more interesting! As you can imagine the day we arrive back is a bit manic and our day is spent doing about 5 loads of washing and then trying to dry it all on the radiator, followed by last minute packing and a final clean of the apartment. But we manage to get it done and sit down for an hour ... read more
We get up at 8.45am today (positively a lie in for us these days lol) so we can make a disgrace of the free breakfast this morning at the Comfort Inn hotel. The selection is rather eclectic with a mix of japanese and (a token attempt at) a western breakfast. Even though breakfast doesn't finish for another 45 minutes, the only server isn't replenishing anything and just moving things about in the bowls instead, so its first come first serve. I manage to grab some scrambled eggs which have ran out by the time Greg gets there. But Greg is just ecstatic they have cereal as its the first time in 10 days he's had some (when he usually lives on the stuff). We also have a salad and then yoghurt with some mango and blueberries. ... read more
