An early start, even by our standards – we arrived at Birmingham Airport at 5.15. The plane was on time and took off just after 8. We travelled with Air Transat, Club Class and it was excellent. Very attentive service and superb food too! By 3.30pm (10.30 local time) and 3600 miles later, we arrived …
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Category:Holiday
Murder…
Off to Ian and Ann’s tonight for a ‘Murder-Mystery’ evening and a meal. Not sure how this’ll turn out. Originally, it was just a meal but a few weeks later, we all received separate invitations with a role to play on the night. I took the role of ‘Harry’, whilst Ann played ‘May’ and it …
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Worthing for the Weekend
Bank Holiday weekend and we’re taking Friday off to visit Ian and Sharon in Goring-by-Sea. It’s probably better to travel today earlyish rather than try and get down there tonight when I’m sure the traffic will be heavier. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – …
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Neighbours – Italian style…
Jo, Janet, Debbie, Stefan, Rosie, David, Karen and Paul came round for one of our Italian Evenings. As always, the food was great! (Ann did most of the cooking and I just cleared-up the mess). Everyone was in really good spirits and the fact that we hadn’t all seen each other as a group for …
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Easter Holiday – Day 3
Ann’s birthday today! ..when we woke up around 7am, it was snowing. I co-ordinated the family and we all clubbed together to her the top-of-the-range Tom-Tom portable sat-nav. Separately, I bought her a leather case and a docking station, so it can be charged outsde the car. Nicki C bought her a beautiful necklace. So …
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Easter Holiday – Day 2
Wow! We both had a really good night’s sleep. We woke late – 7am. There had been a light dusting of snow overnight, but nothing too serious. We headed down for breakfast. I went for the ‘full-English’ (or should that be full-Welsh?). The weather forecast is ‘sunny’, so we took a drive to Llandudno along …
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Easter Holiday – Day 1
After heavy snow, we decided to hang on and not rush out. The snow started to melt, and by the time we left, it had begun to melt. So, we packed up the car and left just after 10.30. Once we got on the road, the weather improved dramatically – in fact, it was a …
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Snow!
Woke up today to find it was snowing. I think that’s the first we’ve had in 2008. We’re of to Wales later. This’ll make the journey interesting! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication …
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Lee and Bertie return home
Lee and Bertie returned home today. They were all packed by 10am, and it’s fair to say that their car was ‘fully loaded’! We heard from them in the afternoon – around 2ish, so they’d had a good run back and managed to stop off in Tesco’s along the way. The house feels strangely empty …
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Meet Nicki in Stratford…
We left at around 7.45 to meet Nicki in Stratford. The weather looks cold and misty but that won’t stop us doing what we do best – shopping! We got to Stratford around 8.45 – Nicki arrived soon after. We parked up and had a mooch around the town. We stopped off at a couple …
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David and Val round for Lee and Bertie’s final meal
The tile sounds quite dramatic, but that’s not what was intended! 🙂 Lee and Bertie return to their caravan home on Sunday and we thought it would be nice to have David and Val round to dinner, so they could say good-bye (until January 2009). We decided to keep the food simple – It’s Friday …
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Anti-Social Geek!
I spent most of today re-installing everything on the laptop. It all went pretty smoothly with only a few minor niggles. By 9pm it was all working fine and seemed to be faster too – but maybe that’s my imagination!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until …
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Today’s ‘Top-Techy-Tip’
I used the Laptop today at a client’s workshop – all was fine. By the time I got home and began to empty my bag, I noticed everything was a little damp and that included the laptop! Anyway, all seemed to be OK and then the hard disk started to make a clicking sound. The …
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Steve and Denise’s for Dinner
We went to Steve and Denise’s for dinner tonight. Gill and Chris were there too. Sausage and Mash plus trifle and bread and butter pudding!! Yum Yum!!! We had a great time and got home around 11.30pm. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well …
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Lee and Bertie join us…
Lee and Bertie joined us today for their two-month stay. Surprisingly, Bertie chose not to bring his computer, but they did appear to have packed the rest of the house in the car – including a pack of two carrots! …still, there’s plenty of biscuits, cakes and other nibbles but that’s not going to help …
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Holiday – Day 13 – Ilhabela
38 degrees C, Thunderstorms predicted. We got up around 8 and had breakfast in the Restaurant. We decided to have a final round of crazy-golf as it looked as if the whole ship was going to get off and visit the island of Ilhabela. However, it was too hot to play, so we headed for …
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Holiday – Day 12 – Florianopolis
The forecast is thunderstorms, 30 degrees C. We arrived at around 8am and got up around the same time. As has become the routine, we had breakfast in the ‘King and I’ restaurant rather than take on the World iin the Windjammer food-trough…sorry ‘buffet-restaurant’. The forecast for thunderstorms should make the day interesting! The ship …
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Holiday – Day 11 – Porto Belo
31 degrees C. Sunny according to the forecast but dull,wet and overcast in reality. Karen’s birthday today!! Up at 7.15 in order to get breakfast and then get in line for a visit to Porto Belo in southern Brazil. We’re planning to head for the restaurant we found through Google yesterday. I was trying to …
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Holiday – Day 10 (New Year’s Day)
32 degrees C. Sunny, but breezy Watching the fireworks into new year’s day was spectacular. It was probably the best display we’ve ever seen! We stayed up until around 2.30 after consuming a few bottles of champagne! We plan to take it easy today as it’s a ‘no-port’ day. So, a late breakfast, a few …
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Holiday – Day 9 – Rio De Janeiro
38 degrees C. Sunny and very, very hot! We docked at 6.30. Looks likes a hot one coming up! We both felt a bit wrecked after last night’s formal night. Ralph and me in our DJs and the girls in their finest complemented the freshly-placed baseball caps and clean t-shirts of some of our guests! …
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Holiday – Day 8 All at Sea
Sunny, 28 degrees C We didn’t wake up until 9.15! We’re all-at-sea today, so time for a mooch round the Ship, a bit of sun-bathing and a catch-up with my reading… Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love …
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Holiday – Day 7 Buzios, Brazil
Sunny, 28 degrees C We slept in until 9.30. Then, after a lazy breakfast, we queued for the Tender to take us to Buzios. This was a quaint town on the eastern coast. Very pretty too. We found the restaurant that we’d been discussing before the holiday – Casas Brancas – and had a very …
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Holiday – Day 6 – Leaving Buenos Aires heading for Brazil
A frighteningly early start! Up at 2.30am in order to leave for the airport at 3.30! A short 30-minute drive to the airport. After a lengthy check-in, we headed for the ‘VIP Lounge’ and waited for the flight. We took off a little late and arrived in Brazil around 11ish (allowing for the one-hour difference). …
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Holiday – Day 5 – Ranch Visit
We’re off on another tour today. It’s a full-day trip! We met our Guide ‘Natalia’ in the hotel lobby and we set off. The day was overcast (which was a bit of a surprise as the forecast for lots of sun). It was a long drive from the hotel – almost one-and-a-half hours, but I …
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Holiday – Day 4 (Boxing Day)
We’re on an all-day tour today courtesy of ‘WOW! Argentina. We’re off to San Isidro and Tigre with lunch on a Delta Island. We were picked up just after 9am by Josefina. We initially headed out of the city of Buenos Aires and into the province of Buenos Aires. We spent most of the morning …
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Holiday – Day 3 (Christmas Day)
We had a lie-in! Ann especially was still tired from last night. Must have been the champagne! We exchanged a few of our presents – the rest are at home for when we get back. From Ann Round cufflinks Cufflinks and tie set Coloured handkerchief set To Ann Sony MP3 player ‘Simply Brazil’ CD set …
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Holiday – Day 2 (Christmas Eve)
I think we’re going to have a lazy day today! We had a relaxed breakfast and then decided to have a wander round the town. We stopped of for a coffee and beer in a local coffee house and then headed for the shops! We suddenly realised how UNcommercial Buenos Aires is about Christmas – …
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Holiday – Day 1 – Landing at San Paulo
Hhhhmmm, not a bad night’s sleep on the plane, but my efforts to get extra blankets for each of us was a major challenge. Shame on you BA for your shoddy customer service!!!! Food was good though! We landed at Sao Paulo to let many of the passengers off. This gave us an opportunity to …
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Holiday – Day 0 – Heathrow Terminal 4
We left home around 3pm heading for Ralph and Karen’s. We arrived around 4.30ish. A glass of champagne later and we were ready to load the taxi with all our stuff. Kevin was our driver (an ex-copper, who had plenty of tales to tell of his time in the Service!) We had a good journey …
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Janet looking good…
It was good to hear that Janet was looking and feeling good after her recent bone-cancer treatment. Still some way to go yet, but she’s coped very well indeed. Nice one Jan!!! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong …
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