View from Ibis Swansea

Tried to Blog from our trip on my phone, didn't work, although the above photograph was there, that was it! I couldn't adjust back to left-hand margin, so abandoned Blog!

Last Saturday, we left here, home and flew to Nottingham, to stay with Barry and family... We went to town for lunch...

Franco has been avoiding a lot of different foods this past year, things he thought, read about... that would cause him more tummy problems, so he is now eating lots of everything he has avoided for a year!  Barry's choice of a pie restaurant was definitely right up Francos street!  Great restaurant, very atmospheric!  Franco loves the trams, he loves Nottingham, me too, even my phone knows it!  Sending me random articles about whats on, for instance an Alice in Wonderland café opened this week, and a place you can go to smash the hell out of stuff if you have anger issues... you know, I really do have some anger issues right now, and I really wish there was somewhere like that here!!!  We went back to Barrys and relaxed with the babe!  She grows so much in between visits!  Her hair is so curly!!! We were shattered too, been up since middle-of-the-night-o'clock, poor Baz had to have an early night, seeing as we were sleeping in the living room... and England was blooming freezing!!! lol...

[I am having terrible trouble spelling!  Not the greatest at the best of times, but the simplest words seem to be eluding me, thank goodness for spell check!] 

Sunday morning we went to Asda, bought a few bits and had a coffee there with the family... and home, a bit of lunch and suddenly the time had gone, far too quickly, it was a wave and we were off, followed by our cases! We had to collect the car from the airport, no car-hire on a Sunday, that in my fast paced booking of everything the other day that I could find..We got the tram from nearby, tickets which included tram and sky coach... but got to the end of the tram line and found that there were no coaches to the airport, because the airport was closed!  Yes, yes, I know we should have known this, but surely with todays technology no tickets should have been able to be purchased!!!  We had to get a taxi to collect the car, which cost twenty pounds!  So close from there, and yet... so far!

At the car rental place it turned out I should have had a visa to rent the car! Er, no a visa debit only!  So we were charged an extra thirty pounds a day on top of original costs, the guy did call the 'agency' I booked the car with, so I could ask for a fully comp. payment to be paid back to me!  After all, that is what we were now paying an extra thirty a day for!!!  The man on the phone asked me, as per the norm after he had very pleasantly repaid our money "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"   Yes!!! I told him, yes, how about changing the system when you book on line that you cannot use a visa debit to book, if you can't use a visa debit to take the car!  He said he had heard that before!!  Well, than fix it!!!!!

By the by.... I would not have booked a car through an agency, if I had known it was an agency!!!  More transparency there please!  As in, name of booking company and the words 'This is an agency, and not the actual car rental company peeps!'

So it was a bit later we left than we thought it would be, it was dark, and it was the M1 so busy busy busy.. and an hour or more later by the time we got started down to Tonys.... But we got there okay, although the maps took us to the road adjacent to Tonys, there was a fence preventing us actually going into his road!! So we had to turn about and go the other way!!! Oh Google maps!!! Que pasa!!

We relaxed once we got to Tonys, we went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, six of us... took a while to get a table, no bookings, and disorganised chaos all round! But a good evening...  

Tony got us to use his Oculus! OMG, what an amazing experience, Franco loved it, he said afterwards that he wasn't going to have a go, he thought I was being dramatic, as usual[!!!] but he did, and he realised I was just reacting normally! as did he!!  Bless him, holding his feet up out of the water! I'll let you check out the link to Oculus here....  

I have spoken to people who may have used the cardboard, or even plastic VR units... #sorrynotsorry they may be okay, but once you have used the real thing, there is no comparison, there are no black edges, there are in fact no edges, its real, its all around you and it is completely amazing, and I am so glad Franco got to have a go using it!  

It is a whole new reality, lol... reality, I think if I had this I would just live in it, although it would be easy to forget the outside world and not even eat or drink! Sounds like a movie...

So, enough about the Oculus!!

Early enough next morning we were off again!  Headed down to Wales, we went via Aylesbury to visit a friend then on with the maps again!  We headed off after a brief and unsettling visit to the Tesco there! Whats with the posh nosh!  What happened to the 'normal' coffee and food counter to get a good filling breakfast etc?  All gone, all changed...

The maps took us off towards Oxford and I suspected the route I have taken before down to the M4 Swindon direction, I think it took of us at the normal place, we were on a dual carriageway, headed in the right direction... then it said to take slip road, I did, I wasn't happy, but took it anyway, and as soon as we did I said to Franco, this isn't right!  We were on a side street, by side street I mean country road, and before long we were in the sticks!! We even went through a toll road!!! Toll road??? Bizarre with a capitol B!!! There was a guy in a small box taking money from both directions, price for car? 5p... yes you read that correctly 5p! WTF!!!

Sorry I am swearing a great deal these days and you what? I really don't give a dam!

So we carried on, well what else really could we do?  and by the by we ended up along a road which seemed vaguely familiar... and time passed by I knew we were headed towards Cheltenham instead... now this is also a route I have taken to/from Ayeslbury from Wales, but never one which included a trip towards Swindon too!

It also took us past a Little Chef Franco and I stopped at on our way home from Tony and Kates wedding, a Little Chef we vowed we would never stop at again, ever!  Until last Monday, when we did, because we really needed a break, unbelievable!  and it hadn't changed, it still smelt like an old B&B [sorry B&B'ers], it still looked like something from a nightmare!  people in there who like us must have taken a wrong road, people who really just wanted to pay and go as quick as possible... and never come back again!

We skirted through Cheltenham too!  Even that delight wasn't to be missed, and then we were on the M5, really? yes really! What a journey, we think we did almost a hundred miles more than we needed to... Then it was down to the M4 at last, a £6.60 at the toll booth... another toll!! and into Welsh Wales...

We got into the Ibis in Swansea okay from there, all good, room okay, hotel great actually, the reception was a very pleasant!

Looked recently done up!  We arrived, check in, went up to our room and about ten minutes later one of Francos friends arrived and we were down in the reception with him, within a couple of hours we had about 35 friends there!  About thirty from Amazon, friends Franco made while working there, a really good group of friends, and also another friend of ours we have known for years, one of my 'angels without wings' and a group of girls I used to work with, so good to see everyone...

Tuesday Franco and I went over to his brothers, the four of us went out to lunch in Swansea, a favourite restaurant of ours down one of the little arcades there...

Franco also wanted to see another mate of his who works in Swansea market...  We got back to the hotel, had about an hour to chill and then it was back down into the reception and about 20 friends of Francos came from Amazon, some the same at the night before, some new ones, and four different friends of mine! A neighbour who we used to live next door to, and two girls from somewhere else I worked!

Another good evening, and again Franco talked and laughed and told his stories, made his mates sad and happy, and sad all over again... Franco is a bit of a legend around Swansea and Neath... Everyone knows him, everyone loves him, everyone has the best memories of Franco, the guys are so overwhelmed by Francos pragmatic and realistic stance...

We did visit McDonalds a couple of times, well, it was next door to the Ibis!

View from Ibis Swansea

Wednesday we visited Francos mom, this was the saddest for us, heartbreaking...

On our way beforehand we had breakfast from Gregs! We used to have a coffee and a caramel toffee choux pastry thingy, probably once a week when we were both off work, so we had to do the same on our visit over, we think the pastry has shrunk since last year? Could be wrong, could be we are remembering it differently, but either way, it tasted lovely, tasted just the same, we ate in the car as we always do...

... and relaxed a little while in the afternoon before heading out early for dinner with friends... we had to travel a bit, first choice was packed, and forty minute wait, Wednesday... but maybe it was Christmas celebrations already... The second place was crowded, and we grabbed almost the last table, sat and ate and talked, about nothing... because its easier isn't it...

We all had a drink, coffee or hot chocolate, back in the hotel on our return was a good evening with Francos best mate... then we said our goodbyes' and headed off to our room to pack.

We were up early, earlier than we would have, Francos watch has been on 'home time' since we had arrived, so instead of up at 4am we were both up and dressed and ready to go by 4am!!! We checked out, and got on the road, it always feels like your escaping somewhere leaving early, or is that just me?

We had to drop the rental car off at a hotel near Cardiff airport, the rentals office was not open, no surprise there really, but the hotel staff were so nice, guys told us where to drop the key, and even took us to the airport!  5* for them! 0* for car rental company!

We were in the airport, carry-on bags only, went straight through, and boarded on time, more or less, walking through the plane, Franco and I were sat next to each other this time, the web site caught me and I fell... but its cheap with Vueling, so no probs!  Just remembered the trip over!!!

Boarded in Malaga, we were not next to each other, same row, Franco on the aisle, me in the middle further over, as I approached I said to the man in the aisle seat that 'I need to sit in the middle please' he said "at least your slim!"  What!!! Bloody idiot!  Then the woman to my left was in a chatty mood, which was okay, but the man did not like it one bit, he was swearing and talking to himself about us talking!  He went on and on, and he was a pig!!!  I had to share some of my seat with some of him! his leg couldn't make it under the seat in front of him it had to spread itself into my foot well!!  And it was impossible for me to even get close to the arm rest!  it was covered by him and more of him!!! OMG!!  He was so rude and nasty and stuff!!!

So! Back home, got our car, picked up the Pipster and we were home!  oh and it was raining! and it has rained and rained and rained, apparently not this much rain since the 1980's, today its floods everywhere! Cartáma, Marbella, Málaga.... people stranded in cars, on roofs [of houses!], cars floating about... nightmare!

We are lucky really I guess, we only have a paddling pool in the small back patio, due in the main to the new skylight, we had to fit it in the rain, it didn't have time for the sealer to go off... so we have water by the bucket load, down the walls, I had to take off the wall cupboard there, I don't want it to rot, we picked it up years ago and did a makeover on it, long before anyone else was doing to chalk paint thing!  Also all the things on it were getting soaked! Water coming in the kitchen the cave... the only its not coming in is in the toilet down there! Ironically that was the only place it used to come in!

So we are lucky, I have heard of a lot worse for some of our friends here... and we got to go out earlier for a walk to the top of the high street and back, when it left off pouring that is... some of the streets are looking rough!  Lots of brickwork paving we have has lifted, where the sand has washed away, some of the manhole covers have lifted too! Franco is tired though, and I worried it was too far, but he is stubborn.

Okay this is enough now, I feel like I have been writing for years, just today...

Oh got the tree up yesterday, do not remotely feel like having a Christmas tree...

Its just our tree from the last few years, think we got it at B&Q our first Christmas in Wales, its a pop-up tree, all the baubles and lights are on it from when it comes out of the box, its on a stick which just pops together and there it is!  We have a few special things hanging from it, four individual things I have bought the last four years, including this one, a bell from Mijas pueblo last week.

Also just a few other bits about the house, but nothing much, I don't do the big Christmas dangling thing... less is more for me, just special things, with special memories... like a Christmas tree that used to sing and shake from every year on my desk at reception for Mercedes...

Yesterday I took this, today we couldn't even see this far!

TTFN

Marian

Lots of E&OE because I'm not re-reading this, sorry amigos.