This week, OH and I had booked to stay in Tenerife for a week's holiday. OH's sister had taken his mum there for three weeks, as it was her first holiday after several years spent looking after his dad. We arranged to go along for one of the weeks and spend some time with them, although we were staying in our own accommodation.
We had quite an earlyish flight at 11am, so we packed up the car and set off for the airport. At the same time, LB packed up her stuff and headed back to her flat, so we said our goodbyes before she left. We would have liked her to come with us for the week, but she had work to do on her dissertation and was looking forward to spending a few days at her flat on her own, before her flatmate came back.
Our flight to Tenerife on Sunday went okay. We had a few small issues at the airport, with overweight luggage and my toiletries not being in the correct bags, etc. It was a learning curve for me, as I've mentioned before, travelling with just one small carry on suitcase and a bag. It has inspired me to get better at this in the future, now that I've done it once.
We had a spare seat next to us on the flight out, so could spread out a little, which was welcomed. This made the flight reasonably comfortable, if a bit long. It was strange to step out into sunshine once we got there. We picked up the hire car and eventually got to our hotel around 6pm. The apartment was nice and well equipped. We then had an hour to get a few provisions before meeting up with OH's mum, sister and brother in law in a nearby restaurant. We had a lovely first evening with them, but were glad to get back to our apartment, unpack and go to bed after a long day of travelling.
The next morning, we had to be up early, as OH needed to move the car. Car parking wasn't simple in the resort, as a lot of spaces couldn't be used during the day, as they were used for deliveries, so we had to find a space where the car could be left all day rather than pay £8 per day to leave it in the hotel carpark. OH then went for a bike ride up Mount Teide and I went out for a run along the promenade which was lovely and quiet early in the morning. I then plonked myself on a sun lounger for a couple of hours, had a swim and a little foray into the hot tub, before getting a shower and getting ready to head out and meet up with family again. We did try to go grocery shopping on Monday, but it was Epiphany which is a Bank Holiday in the Canary Islands, so the supermarkets were closed.
On Monday night we went out for Tapas in a local restaurant. The food was very nice and three of us shared 12 different dishes between us, which was quite reasonably priced.
On Tuesday, OH and I got up and used the hotel gym for the first time which was good. We then got ready and we all went out for the day in the car. We stopped off at the small historic town of Candelaria which was quite interesting. It was much less touristy than the resort in which we were all staying, which I enjoyed about it. From there we also headed into the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz where we had a walk around and had a meal together in a restaurant. We had a nice day out and then did a grocery shop and just chilled when we got back.
On Wednesday morning, OH's other sister was flying into Tenerife to join us in our apartment. It was a surprise for his mum, who had no idea she was also coming. OH got up really early and went for another bike ride before picking her up from the airport. I, meanwhile, went for a run, spent a couple of hours by the pool and then did an aqua aerobics class in the pool which was fun, before we all went back to the apartment and got ready to go out and meet the others and surprise his mum. We were meeting at a bar where we had a late lunch and there were a couple of singers performing, which was quite entertaining. OH's mum was very surprised to see her other daughter join us, which was nice.
Thursday, we went out for breakfast and then all spent the day around our hotel pool. It probably wasn't allowed, but we weren't challenged by anyone. We all had a nice relaxing day together and OH's sister joined me in another aqua aerobics class. Later, we all went out for supper. Some of us went to a really good Indian restaurant in the resort and OH's mum, who doesn't like Indian food, and one of her daughters went elsewhere. Our curries were amazing. We were so glad we went there. I've never tasted better Indian food. We all then met up again later for drinks, before eventually heading home.
Friday, was our last full day on Tenerife, as we were flying home late on Saturday. I did my usual of a run followed by a couple of hours by the pool, before heading back to the apartment, doing some packing and having a nice salad for lunch. OH went on a bike ride and his sister went to meet her family. Later, OH drove some of us up Mount Teide, which was very beautiful. We stopped off at a small museum dedicated to the last person to live high on the mountain side in a very simple small house. It was interesting. We stopped off at a cafe and then came down to La Calleta, a very pretty fishing village for a walk around. It was very picturesque and you could enter the water from some rocks. There were lots of black crabs crawling all over the rocks though and the sea was quite choppy so we didn't go in. It was a beautiful spot though. We didn't stay too long, before returning to the resort and joining OH's sister and brother in law for supper at their hotel restaurant.
On Saturday, we got up, got packed up and left the hotel. We moved all our luggage to OH's sister's hotel, but then got into trouble sitting by their pool, as it wasn't allowed for insurance purposes. I wasn't happy, as we'd spent quite a bit of money staying in a different hotel owned by the same company and felt they were being a bit inflexible, but rules are rules. As a consequence of this, we headed to the beach for a few hours, which was nice, as we'd not really been to the beach before this. OH and I later went back to their apartment and got a shower and rearranged our bags ready to head to the airport for our flight home. We said our goodbyes and then we were on our way home. It was a bit touch and go whether our flight was going to leave due to freezing fog at Stanstead, but it did leave half an hour late. Again we had a space next to us, so could stretch out and once again the flight wasn't too bad. They did land the plane using Auto pilot, which I'd not experienced before, due to the freezing fog, but we landed safely, thankfully, and managed to get our car back and get home for 2am or thereabouts.
The house was so cold when we got in. It was quite a shock to our system. We put the heating on and filled every hot water bottle we owned, wrapped ourself in layers of clothing and headed to bed, very glad to be home safely and back in our own house. We'd had a lovely time, and a bit of winter sun was lovely, but it was now time to get back to normal and get on with our everyday life.
No comments:
Post a Comment