Thursday, August 30, 2007

... a few days of unpacking a visit from the in laws

When we got back from our hols we thought that whole week at home unpacking and sorting out the house was just what we needed. However that didn't happen and Phil's sister asked if she could stop at ours for the weekend on her way to Whitby. Of course we were delighted at the thought of Ali, Michael, Lottie and Hannah coming to visit but the house was in no fit state for visitors let alone two little people who like to explore. So three days of mad wardrobe, shelves, chest of drawers building ensued, closely followed by huge amounts of boxes getting unpacked and finally a top to bottom tidy and clean. We were still cleaning as they pulled into the driveway but I don't think they noticed.

We had a wonderful long weekend with them all and I think they loved the house and where we are now living. Lottie and Hannah provided hours of entertainment with a visit to Funsters, a trip to the farm in the rain, playing hide and seek, making drinks with Party Penguin (a variation on Mr Frosty) and watching Peppa Pig lots.

Ali left with the girls on Monday morning to drive to Whitby and when Phil and I got home to the house it felt so empty and quiet. Thanks guys for coming to visit it was really great to have you in our house and thanks again for the amazing flowers.

Now we are back to work. I can't believe its nearly two weeks. Work is hectic but good and I'm loving the project I'm working but sadly it means that blogging has taken a back seat cause I'm usually so tired by the time I get home. But I will try my best to keep posting at least once a week.

Before I go, a big thank you to Lorraine and Pete for having us round on Sunday night, it's really great getting to know people better in the Church and we really feel at home in Sandbach and WHBC. I'll have to dust off my recipe books and have all the people round for lunch/dinner who have been kind enough to invite us.

... cruising the Med

Sorry for the delay in blogging, no real reason why I haven't caught up on it this week but here we go!

We had a wonderful week on holiday cruising the Med. We booked a last minute cheepy and hoped that this holiday would be much better than last years disastrous trip to Egypt. We flew from Manchester to Majorca, then boarded the Cruise ship in Palma. I'll not bore you with the details of the ship but it was huge and had everything on it that you would expect in any hotel. After a day at sea we stopped at Corsica. Next was Rome, which was the most amazing city I have ever been too and can't wait to go back. We only had a day in each port so that meant we did Rome in a day. We filled that day and went to the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Square. After all that we even had time for a quick coffee and an ice cream. Next stop was Portofino, North Italy. This is a lovely little harbour for the rich and famous as we discovered after having two cappuccino's which came to a grand total of £8!! Phil says when we are rich (like that'll ever happen :) he'll buy me a yacht and we can sail here! Next stop was Nice and we decided to take the train to Monte Carlo. More rich people and more yachts!! But we saw the Grand Casino (although only from the back cause we are both so daft that we didn't realise we were on the wrong side of the building until later that night when someone else was taking about all the cool cars out the front...there were no cars on the side of the building we were looking at). We also saw the Hotel de Paris (again from the back) and then we climbed all the way up to the Palace and the Cathedral where Princess Grace got married. Next stop was Menorca, not a huge amount to see here but this was by far the most stunning natural harbour we had ever seen. It was an amazing site sailing out of this small harbour on a ridiculously large cruise ship. Then Back to Palma the next day to fly home.

That was a bit of a whistle stop tour of our hols but it was one of the best ones we've ever had. I'll try and post photos soon.