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Newsletter January 2008
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by: Carol Carpenter
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I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and New Year
celebrations and are now fully recovered from the hangovers.
Unfortunately we were not back in Carvoeiro for very long during December,
before leaving Portugal again to spend Christmas in the UK with the
family, which means I have very little to report. We did however get time
to enjoy Sunday lunch, at the Irish Times as guests of Graham and his
partner Galia. Lunch was booked for 2pm and we eventually left about 6pm,
the worse for wear after consuming numerous amounts of Tallymore Dew
whiskey. The words “never again” are imprinted on my forehead - I must be
allergic to it ! Thanks once again Graham for a really enjoyable meal.
Sergio and Rachael from Rascals Bar were also there enjoying lunch and
although they have not yet found a new venue, they are very happy enjoying
their quality time together whilst decorating their home.
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After the last newsletter some of you expressed an interest on hearing
about our trip to Dubai so I will start there and continue with our
horrendous trip back to the UK. I am sure you will find some of it quite
amusing.
Our visit was certainly an experience and one that I would not have missed
for anything. The main reason for going to Dubai was to visit my son who
now lives and works there. I never realized what a vibrant country it is -
I am sure they will build bigger and better than anything you have seen in
America. |
We flew out with Emirates and it was a superb flight. There was a small
hiccup with the meals that we had ordered, but was soon sorted out by the
stewardess who quickly supplied us with superb meals from business class.
It was a 7 hour flight but time passed very quickly and the whole trip was
very relaxing. On arrival we were due to be collected by limousine and
taken to our hotel “Le Royal Meridian” - unfortunately our travel agent
had not advised the hotel of our arrival time and therefore we spent an
hour waiting to be collected. This was not a problem as we did not feel
tired and were quite happy watching all the activities of this bustling
airport. Eventually the limousine arrived and we were whisked away on a
white-knuckle ride to our hotel. I never realized it was six-lane traffic
and that they all drive like maniacs. Apparently the hotel was most upset
about keeping us waiting and had told the driver not to hang around - very
thoughtful of them, but as I was thrown all over the back seat and must
have looked anything but elegant on stepping out of the car, I think I
would have preferred to hang around.
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Please find these photos and more in
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We had chosen a Tower room and on arrival we were shown to the reception
area where we were welcomed with Champagne cocktails. They then advised us
that because of the delay in collecting us (which of course was no fault
of theirs) the management had allocated us a suite instead of the room we
had booked. Included in this was our own butler, champagne or wine of our
choice with canapés each evening, a fresh bowl of fruit each day and fresh
flowers in the lounge and bedroom which were changed daily. The suite was
absolutely beautiful with a huge lounge and dining area, squashy sofas and
enormous armchairs. The bedroom was also huge along with the bed, which
was just so comfortable almost like a feather bed you just sank into it.
Both rooms boasted the latest technology in audio/visual systems and also
a fully stocked bar, including chocolates, biscuits crisps nuts etc.
Adjacent to the bedroom was our dressing room and next to this was the
bathroom with floor to ceiling window (one way glass !!) with views of the
beach. The sunken bath was also enormous it held both of us with plenty of
space left over. The shower was also huge. There was a kitchen area and a
smaller bathroom. The terrace was also huge with two very big sun lounges
and very solid cast iron table and chairs. If you wished they would cater
for a dinner party in your suite. This was not just class, this was Dubai
class and very impressive it was. When all the staff had stopped fussing
and disappeared I grabbed the champagne and headed straight for the
bathroom, stepping out of all my clothes on route, followed quickly behind
me by Roy with the canapés. Within minutes we were immersed in bubbles and
drinking champagne - what a great start to our holiday!!
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Please find these photos and more in
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We were very impressed with Dubai and what we saw. This was a very short
stay of only 5 days but it gave us time to do a bus tour around the city,
which included an Arabian Dhow Creek Cruise. On this tour you can get off
at any of the shopping malls and then catch the next bus back. We visited
“Mall of the Emirates” shopping mall, with the indoor ski slope - real
snow in the middle of Dubai! Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the Ice
city - maybe next time? The Jumeirah Palm Island is still under
construction as is “The World” - apparently you need a big fat
“cheque-book” to buy anything there. It all looks really impressive and
everything is absolutely huge. Burj Al Arab was the biggest hotel shaped
like a sail out in the sea. This now seems tiny compared with the “Burj
Dubai” which stands no less than 2,300ft with a smaller one next to it a
mere 1,900ft. We also visited the Gold and Diamond Park but unfortunately
never had time for the Gold Souk, which was situated in the old city.
Although this was a whistle stop tour of Dubai we thoroughly enjoyed our
stay and are very much looking forward to returning. It is definitely a
place I would recommend and is truly a worthwhile experience. We had a
great time with my son and it was so good to see the country where he now
lives and works. He was in the middle of moving to a new apartment on the
marina, but still made time to take us around and also joined us for
evening meals. I am sure he enjoys his life there very much. |
Our trip home to the UK was not as enjoyable. We decided to return to the
UK for Christmas and also take our car over for our Daughter and
Son-in-Law to use. We set of on Sunday 16th December, very happy, relaxed
and looking forward to the journey. We have done this trip many times
before, normally during the summer months, and making it a holiday. After
getting through Seville we decided to stop for some refreshment, this is
where it all started to go wrong. The restaurant we chose was not a good
choice, we waited ages for a simple omelette and a Tuna salad and the
coffee was cold. Never mind it was only lunch so back in the car we got
and off we went. Up until now the car was going like a dream we were
chatting merrily whilst admiring the Spanish scenery, when all of a
sudden- clunk! “What the hell was that!” I said to Roy. “I think we’ve
picked up a stone” “Bloody big stone then” a few minutes later the
steering was effected, we were over heating and had to stop on the hard
shoulder. Putting on our “yellow jackets” we both got out and opened the
bonnet. “I don’t believe it, the bloody fan belts gone, get the triangle
out of the boot” This was easier said than done as we had a boot full of
wrapped presents, food, 4 boxes of wine plus Champagne and spirits. It
looked as if I was setting up a market stall on the hard shoulder and
certainly amused all the other people going past. After finding the
triangle I then managed to re-pack the boot. |
With mobile in hand Roy dialled 112 but nobody spoke any English or
understood Portuguese. We must have spent at least 30 minutes trying to
get ourselves understood to no avail. Then Roy spotted a Guarda Civil
going in the opposite direction and proceeded to do what to me looked like
a war dance to attract their attention - it did and they acknowledged us
by flashing their lights. It was at least another 25 minutes before they
could turn around and get back to us. The Guarda could speak only a little
English. On looking at the car and locating the problem we then had to
wait for a breakdown truck to tow us to the nearest garage. It was not the
fan-belt it was the water pump, which had completely sheared off and could
have caused a very nasty accident. We are now going along in the
break-down truck at a mere 40kph with the driver who again spoke no
English, to the nearest town, as he could not go any further today because
of his tachometer. The town we ended up in was Monesterio where again
nobody spoke any English. The first hotel he took us to looked as if it
belonged on the set of “Psycho” - fortunately for us there was no room.
How very apt I thought being Christmas, but I was also very relieved. |
In the end we found a hotel at the end of the town, where again no English
was spoken although the menus were in English. Next day, we set of for
Merida where there was an Opel / Saab garage. When we arrived they were
very unfriendly and would not even look at the car. They were very rude to
the breakdown guy and also to Roy. In the end he took us onto Caceras
where we found a Saab garage, this time they were very helpful and
friendly. After saying goodbye to the guy and also paying him 500 euros
for towing us, we waited while they examined the car. The good news “Yes
we can repair it” the bad news, “the part will have to come from Sweden
and will take 3 days plus 1 day to fit it and will cost 900 euros!!!!!” We
still have to get to the UK, are now really behind schedule and are in
danger of missing the ferry” Oh no! We will have to rent a car. The
mechanic then takes us to the Avis car hire and we choose a car. The cost
for ten days was 950 euros - I will never moan about the cost of a flight
to the UK again. After transferring all the presents, booze, food and
luggage etc to the rental car we started on our way. What an absolute
nightmare. We are now seriously late for the ferry and decide to ring and
get advise on other crossings available to us. “We will not make Santander
today can we have another crossing please, we also need a return as we
have to bring the car back” “No this is the last Santander crossing this
year.” “S—t” How about Bilbao? “Sorry no, but we can offer you a crossing
from Caen at 4.15pm tomorrow.” Now all we have to do is leg it through
France. |
As this crossing is only 5hrs we arrived at our destination only 2 hrs
later than planned. This was a very traumatic journey and was a hell of a
lot of driving for Roy, as he insisted on doing most of it, with only
short breaks, driving at 130k most of the way and was completely stressed
out. He also got a tummy bug, which I think he caught on the ferry - he
had to send one meal back as inedible and he was not happy with his second
meal and refused to pay. This really spoilt his Christmas as he was also
very tired and spent most of the following days sleeping. The bad luck
refused to leave us as our Son-in-Law went down with a bug on Christmas
Eve and my son who was also home from Dubai for Christmas nearly never
made Christmas dinner. He spent Christmas Eve with his girl friend and
found on Christmas morning their car was locked in the car park until
26th. It cost him £90 for a taxi to Gloucester from Birmingham and his
girl friend £50 to Wolverhampton where she was spending Christmas day with
her parents. Even though it cost us all a lot of money we did manage to
spend Christmas day together. It was great to see them all and spend such
an important time of year with them and of course spending quality time
with the Grandchildren was an added bonus. |
We had booked to fly back to Portugal on 27th but missed the flight as we
now had to return by road. On coming off the ferry in Caen we were told by
a following driver that our tyre was flat. Apparently, we had picked up a
nail and it had punctured. Looking at each other and saying “Oh no, not
again” we limped into the nearest garage, where it was quickly repaired
costing us 20 euros. We arrived back in Portugal with the Saab on 29th
having given us no problems at all on the return journey. I guess she
never wanted to return to the UK anyway.
As we left on 16th we missed all the flooding. This has been on the
forum so I
know you have all heard about it. We thought our house had escaped the
flooding, but according to our maid the hall was afloat. The rug
apparently took 3 days to dry out and the floor was like a sponge. When we
arrived back on 29th we never noticed anything and it didn’t even smell
damp. I was lucky not to get an electric shock as the first thing I did
when we returned was to switch on the tree lights. It was only after
speaking to the maid that I found the extension lead to be soaking wet -
OOPS! The floods were also a good test for the Lagoa Canal - it didn’t
work, the fields are just as water logged as they were before they built
it so I guess its back to the drawing board?
We really enjoyed our New Year Celebrations which more than made up for
our disastrous Christmas. We met up with Sharen and Michael Crane and
enjoyed a delicious meal at Ma-Ja’s along with my sister and her partner.
We were a little noisy though but I think we deserved to let our hair
down. Jan and Mark made it a great evening. After the meal we made our way
to Charlie’s bar and danced the night away. Jan and Mark arrived later and
we all watched the fantastic firework display. There were quite a crowd in
the square although I still think it has been a quiet season here in
Carvoeiro.
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Please find these photos and more in
large formats here
[opens new window] |
I apologise for the lack of local news but hope you found this newsletter
a little amusing. I would like to wish you all a very happy and healthy
2008.
Ciao
Carol |
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