Wednesday 10 February 2016

Our Time at Villa Maria

Our Time at Villa Maria

4th - 11th February 2016

We arrived at Villa Maria about 2pm having done a shipping load of shopping at Lidl in an attempt to keep us all fed and watered during our stay.  I say watered loosely - maybe I mean lubricated with a wee dram or two of the good stuff.

However, as soon as we arrived we realised we had a little problem. The drive down to the villa is about 200 metres long - and very narrow, and about half way down it also had some overhanging tree branches that were going to impede the T4rdis progress to it's resting place for the week.   John bravely put the T4rdis in reverse and set off down the drive - he had about 6 inches to spare on either side, and additionally, he had me running in front (or was that behind) with a big brush which I used to try and push the branches up out of the way - but as the
T4rdis came nearer I had to breath in, and even then I was quite concerned for my toes as he nipped by!

The villa turned out to be fantastic - six bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, lovely living areas, a huge barbecue deck and an amazing pool - only problem was the water was  b....y freezing even though it was supposed to be heated (best it got was 22 degrees), and this became an issue that caused much squealing, laughter and an occasional swear word  as individuals attempted to get in with a little help from either a brother or a sister!






We were expecting our family to arrive about 6ish, but in the end it was nearer to 7, and then there was much  kissing and hugging (and a few tears), before everybody got to choose their space and got settled in.



We spent the next few days playing in the pool or on the beach amidst lots of excitement, and for me and John, it gave us some very special time to play with Thomas, and to get reacquainted with Evelyn who we had only met 2 or 3 times before we set off on our travels.

Digging for Treasure


Thomas found some pre buried coins and was quite convinced he'd found treasure (he's quite into pirates) - he squealed with excitement and I think everyone within several hundred metres was alerted bringing  smiles to many faces.

He squealed 'Gold Aaaahhhhhh Gold' There's so much gold on this beach'
Then it was paddling





















And Posing





And a bit more digging



And all those exertions proved to be hard work, so on many occasions it was essential to seek regular refreshment!

Building a  Mummies Tomb out of Lego! and all before Lunch
A pint of banana milkshake


And of course we had to make use of the barbecue area - Ben cooked chicken, sausages, burgers and steak, and we even told Evelyn she was having barbecued milk!















We did venture out to Villamora to see the big boats.  Paul commented that the town was populated by either 'The Have's' or 'The Have Yachts' - You could see many millions of pounds worth within a very small space!







Towards the end of the holiday John and I provided a  babysitting service while Sarah, Paul, Ben and Louise went out for dinner - a first for Evelyn being left while Mummy and Daddy went out for a treat.  We felt very honoured that we'd been trusted with such a responsibility, but it was really very easy because the children were as good as gold and even let us cook and eat our dinner without either of them on our knee!

The nicest sea salmon we've ever had
The time flew by very quickly and all to soon we were on our last day with everybody running round doing bits of packing, but we also used it as a good excuse for G&Ts or beer before midday, and then Sarah cooked some lovely fish for our last supper!

The only sad thing about this holiday has been how much we've missed our Son Adam, his partner Vicky and our eldest Grandchild Jack - I think paying them a visit will be one of the first things we do when we get back to England - but if your reading, we want to send lots love and kisses to you all xx