Mallorca - Day 2

We woke up and slowly got ready for breakfast. There were so many breakfast choices, and the food was good. Miles found breakfast to be his favourite meal, and this morning ate 5 doughnuts and some churros. We had a little chat about including some healthy foods next time. The coffee was decent too, unlike that we had on the plane the previous day (worst coffee I've ever had!).

 

Mum, take a picture of me!

When we woke up that day, I realised that I had forgotten to pack my medication. There was a doctor's office at the resort (right next to one of the pools, luckily), so while the kids played in the pool, fully clothed, I waited to speak to the doctor. I didn't know how I would prove that I needed these meds, until I pulled up my NHS app. It showed everything I take, and the doctor wrote a prescription for what I needed. We took the kids to get dry clothes so we could walk into town for a pharmacy.

 

 

The walk wasn't too bad, and we got to see a little bit of Alcudia. At the pharmacy, I was able to get my prescription and tylenol for the kids and adults, all in my very broken Spanish. (Also, the doctor visit and meds cost less than €60!)

It was very warm and sunny, so we wandered the souvenir shops to look for sunglasses for Miles and Clara. Matt and I ended up with sunhats, and the girls chose their souvenirs. We walked back to the hotel drinking cold water and slushies.

We arrived back at the resort at lunchtime, so we ate, got some drinks, and went to the pool.  After a swim, we changed, had a rest, and went to the bouncy castle area.

Fun with hats

The kids enjoyed playing, but we all needed a rest before dinner. Back in the room, the kids watched television while Matt took a nap. I started watching a game show based on those arcade coin pushers. It was silly, but I found myself rooting for the players.

The dinner theme on this night was Chinese, and my word the British holidaymakers here LOVED Chinese night. The queues at the main buffet line were enormous, and some people were starting to get very salty toward the staff and each other. The kids and I kept to the second buffet, which was geared more towards kids - chicken nuggets, chips, and a few things I could eat as well. Matt did stand in the main line once, for a looooong time, and when he got back said the food was not really worth the wait. We were very tired and cranky after this, and not looking forward to future meals. I do have to say, though, that the staff were exceptional, especially through this meal (I don't know how they did it). 

We left the fining area and tried to go to the pool, but found it had closed at 6. Disappointed in humanity, we went up to the room to relax for the evening. At least we got a good sunset.

 

 

 

 

Mallorca - Day 1

 After two years of no travel, I was desperate for any kind of vacation. Just before the kids' school break in May, I went online looking for a last minute getaway, and I found an all-inclusive holiday in Mallorca. We typically do city breaks, seeking out culture and history, but I found myself looking forward to relaxing by the pool. 

Our flight out was on a Sunday, and I had seen articles online about the difficulties at UK airports due to staff shortages. Long queues, canceled flights, missed connections - I was nervous about getting to our destination.

We arrived at the airport around 6am, which was 3 hours before our flight. We had paid for fast track through security, and that line was about half the length of the regular line. However, as time passed, the regular line started moving more quickly than fast track. When any flight was preparing to board, workers would walk around saying, "Dubrovnik, anyone going to Dubrovnik follow me," and then deposit them at the front of the fast track queue. Things were moving so slowly that eventually they jumped us to the front of the line so we could board our plane. Thankfully the kids had behaved really well through this ordeal. 

The flight was uneventful, besides the time Clara sang She Loves You by The Beatles at the top of her lungs.

Upon landing, we had a bus ride of about an hour to get to the resort. Lily and I fell asleep, so it went quickly for the two of us, ha.

It was nice to finally arrive at the hotel and deposit our luggage. I immediately broke the flusher on the toilet in our room, so we explored while they sent someone up to fix it. We started with a light snack, and wandered the grounds. The weather was sunny and perfectly warm. Matt and I started exploring the included bar menu with beer and cocktails.

The kids took their first of many dips in one of the pools. Matt and I had more drinks.

We went upstairs to change for dinner. All of the meals were buffet, so there were plenty of choices for everyone. Matt and I had more drinks. There was a mini disco scheduled at 8:00, but Clara said she was too tired, so we headed up to get the kids to bed. Matt and I followed soon after (maybe it was all of the drinks we tried).

View from our room

Dusting Off the Keyboard

 Hello, is this thing on?

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I didn't really have the motivation to keep up with this blog during the beginning (2 years) of the pandemic.  After the novelty wore off, it was depressing and incredibly boring. While the kids were off school, I spent my days immersed in virtual schooling, which is not my strength at all. When they went back to school, there were still restrictions, mask mandates, etc. All restrictions have since been removed in England, so we can move around freely, get our hair cut, and attend events. And more importantly, we can travel again!

For our first trip since 2020, we decided on a short break to Glasgow during the kids' Easter break. However, plans were changed when Lily and I both got Covid. Although we missed our holiday, thankfully we weren't extremely ill. 

We have since been able to leave Yorkshire, yay! Details will be coming on that trip soon.

 

We did have a few exciting things happen in the past couple of years.

 Last year we bought a house! Going through lockdowns in an apartment without a yard was so difficult. We knew we didn't want to do that again- plus there was a nice tax break going on. It's still smaller than what we could have in the US, but it's been really great to have our own place, no downstairs neighbour, and a backyard for the kids. 

We love the door to the backyard!

Living room

Kitchen/dining room

Utility room!

During this time, we also had another exciting addition to the family - Matt got a plot at an allotment (community garden)! He enjoys the planting and being outside, and I enjoy the food he brings home. Last year he grew onions, garlic, rhubarb, peas, lettuces - just to name a few. 

These next photos show the beautiful handmade raised beds he built. I was very impressed with his hard work!

And here are just a few shots of some of our harvests!

Different kinds of beets

Purple potatoes

I think those are the two major things that have happened. Stay tuned for a relaxing island vacation!

 

 

Lockdown 2020 - Rules and One Walk per Day

We've been on lockdown since the end of March, though it feels like much longer (I'm sure everyone can relate, right?).

In the UK, that meant pretty much the following:

- if you can work from home, do
- most places are closed, including beauty salons, parks, non-essential shops, and eat in restaurants. Several restaurants introduced or continued takeaway services. Most places that stayed open only accepted card payments.
- only go out for exercise once per day (and much of the time the instructions were to stay within walking distance of home)
- while out, stay 2 meters apart
- no meeting with people outside of your household.
Since so many people are out of work, the British government has provided aid to millions. I think it was up to 80% of salary, depending on different factors (it didn't apply to us, so I didn't pay much attention). 

Matt has been home more during the lockdown, so many of our walks have been family walks. We are lucky to live close to open space, and most of the time have been able to easily keep our distance from others. Our walks contain a lot of tree climbing and pretend games.

We found loads of tadpoles in the boating pond at the park.

For the most part, the weather has been sunny, and for me, it makes it so much harder to stay inside.

Lockdown rules have recently relaxed slightly, though vaguely. We're allowed to spend more time outside, and sitting or sunbathing is allowed as long as you stay 2 meters apart. Schools are planning to reopen in June, but only certain years will go back, and there is a long list of guidelines there. Only 15 children per "bubble," freshly washed clothes each day, staggered drop off and pick up times, etc. Clara is in the age group that is invited back, but the older children are not. They will continue doing virtual school until their years are asked to come back (more on updated homeschooling later). It's a really hard decision to make, whether to send kids back to school or not. No matter which way I lean, it feels like a wrong choice (and oh, the judgement I've seen by parents on both sides).

How has the lockdown been in your area, and how is it changing?