23 - 30 December 2008 The Last Trip of the year: Christmas in Madrid

Both Lynda and I love Christmas.  There’s nothing even remotely ‘humbug’ about either of us and each year we look forward to the festive period for its wonderful sociability, it’s food and drink and of course, the time off.  We’re fortunate in that careful use of holiday, flexi time and the odd public holiday means that we can eke out almost a fortnight’s break with the minimum impact on our holiday allocation.  We’re also extremely fortunate to have a great circle of family and friends to celebrate Christmas – and to be fair just about anything else – with.  Christmas Day here, Boxing Day somewhere else, planning menus and parties – either at home or as guests of others - are the norm and we love it.

Until around September time we hadn’t given any thought to this year’s plans, safe in the knowledge that whenever we got around to it there’d be no lack of people to be with and places to be with them at.  That sounds complacent but honestly we’re not.  We know how we’re blessed to be in that position.  Then just a phone call from Ana one Saturday morning firmed up everything for us.  She and Frank extended us a wonderfully generous invitation to spend Christmas with them and the kids in Madrid, the bonus being that they’d extended the same invitation to Mum.  As soon as we cleared the time off with work on the following Monday we booked the flights with our habitual Madrid-bound transport Easyjet.  It was decided, and we felt very smug that not only had our plans been taken care of, but we would also be spared the turgid ordeal of the appalling UK Christmas TV schedules.

As we began our descent into Madrid Barajas our Captain’s chirpy voice came over the PA system to announce the local time and that the temperature on the ground was minus five degrees. ‘Minus five’?! I said.  ‘Blimey, stay up here until it warms up a bit’.  I needn’t have worried though, it was a beautiful bright, sunny and crisp morning, brightened even considerably more by our entire luggage turning up promptly and then being met by Frank and Pablo.  It was great to see them and as always they gave us the warmest of welcomes, matched only by that from Sofi, Carla and Andi when we got back to the house.  Sadly Ana was at work and there’d be no hugs with her until later that evening.

We wasted no time in getting into the holiday mood, all piling into Frank’s car and heading to the nearby town of Majadahonda - try saying that when you’ve had one Sangria over the eight – for a stroll in the sunshine and a very welcome drink outside one of the high street’s many bars.  It really was so good to be sitting in the sunshine, laughing and joking with the family, kids clambering all over us, and knowing that we had a week of this to look forward to.

 

Relaxing in Majadahonda

Back at the house and Frank revealed what a perfectly planned exercise our visit was to be.  He and Ana had prepared menus and shopped for all lunches and dinners. Frank had plundered his cellar and unearthed an excellent selection of wines, including wonderful Cava and a superb range of Spain’s finest reds.  The Armagnac was out and gently warming, the chimney room piled with festive goodies and of course firewood and a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, which had pride of place in anticipation of the presents to be piled underneath it on Christmas Eve.  In short Frank, Ana and the kids had made sure that the house was text book Christmas – beautifully festooned, warm, welcoming and very comfortable – and that we would want for nothing during our stay and that’s exactly how it turned out to be.  That evening Ana came home and completed our festive nine.  Christmas could now properly begin.

 

          Waiting for Santa

The kids were so excited by Christmas and the fact that Lynda, Nana and me were there to share it with the family. They had plans for lots of games, ‘Playstation’ Karaoke sessions and most eagerly anticipated, an event that’s become a ritual with them, ‘Question Chair’.  This very silly but hilarious game basically involves me having them sit on my lap in turn, me asking them extremely daft questions, which when they get one ‘wrong’, I chuck them onto the floor.  They love it, even Pablo and Sofi.  They can’t wait for their turns, which they approach with a hilarious mixture of terror and irresistible delight.  It takes a fair bit of physical effort, made even more demanding by playing it late at night after an immense meal. But it’s well worth it for the laughter of participants and spectators as the body count mounts up.

Christmas Eve saw Lynda, Nana and me alternating between messing about with the kids and giving Ana the occasional bit of help as she worked furiously on the evening’s spectacular dinner.  The smells from the kitchen revealed that fish was definitely on the menu in some form, but quite how we weren’t sure.  After having to do a bit of last minute work, Frank broke away from his computer and we all trotted off to the shops for some final bits and pieces for the next couple of days.  When we got home it was time to freshen up and then lay the table for the feast.  Frank pulled corks, we put out the crockery and Ana filed the table with wonderful stuff; Paprika-coated baked Monkfish, left to go cold and thinly sliced, huge langoustines, vol au vents filled with exotic combinations of cheeses, peppers and anchovies and the star attraction, a Bouillabaisse that shamed any I’ve eaten in France.  Dinner was a long, lingering affair with no one daring to leave the table for fear of missing out on any of the goodies.  Dessert was a vast platter of Spanish treats that included several types of Turron, Spanish Christmassy cakes, chocolates and even a few mince pies that had made the trip from the UK. The Armagnac put in a welcome appearance as we slouched over our seats in the glow of Franks roaring fire. Our waistbands straining, the table cleared and the kids safely in bed, the grown ups now had the job of wrapping and laying out an enormous number of presents for the kids – and some for the adults - to rip into the next morning.

 

Christmas Eve preparations and celebrations

Christmas Morning.  All families have a Christmas morning routine.  I suspect the common denominator for those with kids is the youngsters’ nervous excitement when they tear downstairs to see what Santa has brought. The chimney room is ideal for this Christmas tease because it can be closed off with double doors, which the kids – still in their pyjamas, as too were the rest of us - were now jumping about outside, virtually at bursting point as they waited for their Mum & Dad’s signal to charge in.  Al the kids except Pablo that is as he and I had cooked up a small surprise.  Just before the doors were flung open, a hearty ‘Ho, ho ho’ing’ was heard from the staircase where Pablo emerged dressed as the perfect Father Christmas.  I’d sneaked the costume over from home and had a quiet word with Pablo.  He supplied the enthusiasm and a rather strangely positioned pillow.  The doors were flung open and in a scene reminiscent of the start of the Harrods’s sale or the Le Mans 24 hour Race, the crowd surged forward and the giggling and ripping began.  It was brilliant to see their excitement mount as each fresh gift was revealed.  Santa is still a hero in this household and he didn’t let anyone down this year. Once the kids collapsed in a heap of presents and spent wrapping, temporarily exhausted and stunned from unwrapping their festive haul, the adults set about their gifts, and we too were delighted at the thoughtfulness and generosity that went into ours.

 

Opening the presents is clearly the major highlight, but equally for me is Christmas lunch.  In the UK the menu is set in stone whereas in Spain, in our experience at least, it’s literally a moveable feast so we weren’t sure what we were going to be treated to.  In the event lunch was definitely Anglo-Spanish fusion, combining local ingredients – including a most excellent Turkey – with items that we’d brought with us, instantly recognisable from a British Christmas table.  The result was a superb lunch of soup followed by Turkey and the trimmings, capped off with Christmas pudding excellently flamed to perfection by Frank.  Crash helmets would have been usefully as the twixies did some extreme nut cracking, sending nuts and shells all over the room, and at some pretty fearsome velocity.  Coffee and yes, that Armagnac made sure we were completely sated.  After a marathon clearing up session the evening was spent playing with the kids and their presents before the young ones succumbed to the excitement and hit the sack.  This was Pablo’s moment.  He’s really got into ‘Carry On’ films recently and so for one of his Christmas presents Lynda and I bought him two DVDs, each containing four ‘Carry On’ films.  He’d been bursting to watch one on but was waiting for all distractions to be removed before he put it on.  That night then we sat and watched ‘Carry On Up the Khyber’. Like Marmite, you love these films or hate them. I fall into the former camp but although I knew that these films could still forty years on make me laugh like a drain, I hadn’t appreciated their soporific effect until I saw Frank well relaxed at one end of the sofa, with Lyndy and Mum following close behind.  Despite the younger kids’ reluctance to go to bed for the rest of our time there, Pablo still managed to fit in ‘Carry On Screaming’ and ‘Carry On Cleo’.  He must be the only 14-year-old boy in Spain who knows who Sid James, Barbara Windsor, Kenneth Williams, Bernard Breslaw and the rest are !!

 

How to flame a Christmas pudding

Boxing Day isn’t a Spanish thing at all so the next day Ana was back at work, Frank had his nose back in his laptop and the kids immersed themselves in their homework.  Lynda, Mum and I decided to walk off some of the excesses of the previous few days.  We wrapped up well and struck out for the town.  We had a lovely walk in the winter sunshine, warm enough for our scarves and gloves to be quickly discarded.  We stopped for a cold drink, once again outside one of the bars before heading for home and a very welcome lunch a couple of hours later.

The next few days were spent laughing, playing, taking nice strolls, looking at the shops, eating lovely food and drinking excellent wine.  On the Sunday Ana suggested we drive into the city centre and visit an old convent, who's name escapes me, in a beautiful area near the Opera House and Royal Palace.  It was a really lovely visit and it benefited the kids who needed to find out about the place for a school project.  We joined the crowds that gently ambled around the Palace and its surroundings and soaked up the holiday atmosphere.  It was a really enjoyable few hours together.

 

As suddenly as we arrived it was time to go home.  Monday was spent doing a bit of shopping for nibbly bits to take home and then packing, then after dinner that night we had one final ‘Question Chair’ before falling into bed.  Up early Tuesday morning and after reluctantly kissing and hugging goodbye the half-sleeping girls and the very awake Ana, once again Frank and Pablo made the run with us back to the airport.

Thanking you Frank and Ana has become something of a habit, and one we’re delighted to have formed.  It’s always great when we’re together but this trip was very, very special.  We loved being in your company and Mum’s and it was all the more lovely to have been able to do it at Christmas. How brilliant to have spent it with you.  Thank you so much for your kindness, generosity and all the effort you all made to make us feel so welcome and so comfortable.  Thank you too for all the laughs.  Thank you kids for sharing your toys and games and for your beautifully touching cuddles, cards, notes and gifts.  It was very hard to leave you, but it’s made easier knowing that we’ll be seeing each other again soon.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot.  The lottery ticket we bought together was a winner.  OK, eight Euros but the way the exchange rate is going that’ll soon be about three thousand quid!!!

Happy New Year everybody.  Good health and good luck in 2009.

24 - 28 November 2008 Back to Nature at Center Parc

A holiday, and not in Madrid?! What’s going on? Surely 2008 was the year of the Spanish capital? Well yes it was, and very nice it was too, and was going to be what with our plans to be there for Christmas already made. But Lynda and I are only flesh and blood, and the rigours of the daily grind and a fairly punishing – and self inflicted but highly enjoyable – social schedule meant that we were going to really struggle to get to the Yuletide break without a few days R&R somewhere not at home, doing something very undemanding.

The problem was that whatever we did was going to have to be pretty cheap and despite hours of bleary-eyed internet trawling for that amazing deal, and thinking the credit-crunch would lower prices, it was soon apparent that abroad was out of the question. Even UK B&Bs still seem to have a suicidal pricing policy that I can only assume is as a result of some over-inflated opinion of what most of them actually provide. Even the most basic of these made over – barely in a lot of cases - family houses was asking for as much if not more than ‘proper’ hotels.

We agreed on a last ditch Google search then if that failed; give it up as a bad game. Into the search box went ‘cheap uk breaks’ and the first thing that popped up was an offer for a short break at Center Parcs. We’d always fancied a trip to one of their sites but had assumed it would be expensive. This four-night break offer though was remarkably cheap and so it was that half an hour after spotting the advert we had booked a four night, midweek break at Center Parc in Elveden Forest.

A holiday by car, for us anyway, offers so much freedom when compared to an air trip. The whole business of deciding what to bring, then cutting it by half, weighing it all, cutting it by half again then removing any liquids just doesn’t figure when you take your own car – OK apart from when we had the MX-5s. Planning this trip was bliss. Walking shoes, walking boots, beer, wine, spirits, nibbles, DVDs were all tossed into the back of the car. Torches, tools, a selection of coats, as many permutations of trousers, tops and swimming costumes as we could think of all got packed. The best thing of all though was that for the first time since we’d bought it two years previously we were going to use our bike rack. Oh yes, our bikes were coming too. So, having pre-booked our breakfasts, spa passes, a yoga class and a Boxercise session we filed every spare inch of space in the car and had a leisurely drive to our Suffolk destination.

Our first impressions on arrival were very good. The place was well organised, with cars only being allowed in and around the accommodation at a certain time and then only to unload luggage, before being parked in their massive car park away from the lodges and the village centre. We were staying in the Lakeview Hotel and were delighted when we swung open the door to our room and discovered our clean, well-equipped and spacious home for the next few days. True to the hotel’s name a large balcony looked out over the lake and onto which every day we were visited by a very cheeky and inquisitive squirrel. Despite having what looked like brand new furniture the balcony was, to be fair, a bit cold and damp to sit out, but it was perfect for keeping cold what drinks we couldn’t squeeze into the room’s little fridge.

Our very nice room

....and balcony

A regular visitor

Lynda is brilliant at the business of unpacking and so very shortly all of our considerable amount of stuff was installed and out to explore. The Parc is centred on the Village and everything radiates outwards from there into its substantial four hundred acre site. The centre houses restaurants, including a take away, shops of all descriptions – including an excellent supermarket as well stocked as any named store and no more expensive, coffee bars, a sports bar and indoor sports facilities; badminton, snooker, pool and much more. The main attraction is of course the ‘Sub-Tropical Paradise’, a huge waterworld that includes slides, wave machines, bars, outdoor spas and even a white water rapids ride. We passed on this treat though for the time being, opting instead to make full and immediate use of our Spa passes.

The excellent hydro pool

The spa area is a two minute cycle or five minute walk from the centre and it wasn’t long before we were into the complimentary fluffy bathrobes and getting on with the serious business of relaxing. The spa has several different steam/sauna experiences, a heated outdoor hydro pool, treatment rooms, day beds, water fountains, complimentary fruit and an abundance of very comfortable chairs. All of this is cleverly lit and bathed in soothing music. In short, this is what relaxing is all about and we made full use of the facility for the whole of our stay. After a large and very enjoyable meal in the American diner that night we slipped back to our room and slept the sleep of the very sleepy until a far more civilised time the next morning than our usual 5.25 alarm.

Onto the bikes then, kitted out in all our very sensible cycling gear, and off we went for a two-minute ride to a full English breakfast. This was the perfect fuel for the morning ahead, a bike ride around the whole park. When you spend the bulk of your travelling time on packed trains and tubes the sense of liberation to be had from a bike ride in open country is immense. This was what we came away for and we were loving it. We stopped and admired many of the park’s facilities, which incredibly included a sandy beach. Every bend we turned revealed some other activity opportunity; paintball, archery, crossbows, shooting, canoeing, quad biking, you name it, it’s provided. As every other day of this trip, breakfast kept us going through lunchtime and as such we were really able to make the most of our time – at a very relaxed pace of course. That afternoon then we had a quick change and made our way to the waterworld for a brilliant fun afternoon, making the most of all the facilities as any of the kids there but with a little less screaming. Well, me anyway. Lynda can’t go on any ride, slide or rollercoaster without screaming like a real girl – but it’s very funny!! We rounded off the day’s activities with another spa session then finished the evening with another splendid dinner, this time in the village’s Café Rouge.

"Mm, that's tough. What shall we have for breakfast?"

Ah the trusty bikes....and Lynda

Wednesday was more of the same, the only difference that it being my birthday it started with some furious present opening – thank you everyone for all the lovely things – and the receiving and sending of some really nice text messages and phone calls. That night we had a very special treat planned. The hotel is also home to the park’s ‘posh’ revolving restaurant, La Sapiniere. ‘OK’ we thought, ‘a revolving restaurant eh’? We’ve been in a couple of pretty good ones, including regular readers will remember, in Las Vegas. This wasn’t going to be that great was it? Well, it didn’t have a view of the strip but we were incredibly and very pleasantly surprised. It was excellent. The cocktails, food and service were all spot on, as were the room itself and the first-rate pianist who tinkled throughout the evening. A complete revolution takes an hour, enough time to get very relaxed on the cocktails and wine, and although it being winter the view was limited to some very pleasant twinkling lights, the whole experience was superb and better still excellent value for money, only being a pound or two more per dish than the standard park restaurants.

"Happy Birthday to me..."

Wonderful food !

Christmas being only a few weeks away, the park had started gearing itself up for the festivities. All over the park Christmas trees were going up, festive lights and decorations were being hung and beautiful animal shaped lights were being set up in the grounds. It could so easily have been very tacky but it was tastefully done and lent the whole village a really warm Christmassy feel that made the atmosphere seem even more relaxed than before.

On Thursday we decided to walk the park’s perimeter. Once again, suitably dressed and despite the rain, we stomped off into the woods, our pockets loaded with sweeties and our hipflask full to the brim with Southern Comfort. It was wonderful. We stopped to admire the views and even slipped into a purpose built hide from where we watched the amazing number and variety of wild birds swooping onto and off of the numerous feeders. We were even lucky enough to see a Muntjack deer wander into the clearing, although to my shame, I, for a moment at least, thought it might be a red Deer because ‘It’s very red’. I need to watch more Spring Watch. To further embarrass myself I managed to smash my head on the hide’s window flap as I tried to sneak noiselessly out of the building so as not to disturb the wildlife. I think there are Muntjack now in Elveden who know a few words beginning with F.

The Lake View Hotel from across the lake

and from the front - the sticking out bit's the revolving restaurant

After yet another spa marathon we slobbed out in our room having ordered a take away pizza and stuck on a couple of DVDs we’d bought with us. If anyone tells you ‘Barton Fink’ or ‘Anchorman’ are really good films, pretend you don’t speak English and go and watch something completely different. We’d been told that these two very different films were ‘fantastic’. Well maybe to someone else they are but not to us. To be fair ‘Anchorman’ only lasted twenty minutes before it went in the bin so maybe we missed the really hilarious bits, but I doubt it very much.

The next day was our last and fair play to Center Parcs, as long as you’re out of your room / lodge by ten in the morning they’re more than happy for you to make the most of the facilities for the whole day. So we did. We packed the car first, cycled up to the Spa, broiled ourselves in all of the many the sauna variations, water-cannoned ourselves red raw in the hydro pool, rubbed crushed ice over our over-heated bodies, ate three pounds of complimentary fruit, then went home, on the way feasting on the pizza we couldn’t finish the night before.

Everything about our break had exceeded our expectations. We couldn’t fault it in any way and vowed we would make regular return visits. It wasn’t quite the ‘health and fitness’ break we almost kidded ourselves it was going to be – let’s be fair it was never going to be when we packed champagne, wine, beer, Southern Comfort, Whisky, crisps, nuts and sweets – but we had the most fantastic time.

I always like to acknowledge those people that make any of our trips special and memorable. On this occasion, firstly by a long way, I have to say a huge ‘thank you’ to Lynda for making it such a fun and relaxing break and for her thoughtful planning of all of my birthday treats. Secondly, thanks to Center Parcs for providing so much at such a reasonable cost, and for the courtesy and helpfulness of all the staff we encountered. We couldn’t have done it without you.

4 - 8 August 2008 Madrid with Ana

For the last couple of years we've travelled to Madrid with Ana for a Monday to Friday stay, to keep Ana company while she's popped back from her UK summer hols to do a bit of work. This year Madrid was soooooo hot hot hot, that despite our potential plans for a bit of sightseeing and Ana's best efforts at encouraging us to make the most of having a car at our disposal, we were having none of it.

Out of the gate at the bottom of Frank and Ana's garden, across the narrow river, is a vast sports complex, boasting amongst other things a brand new huge open-air swimming pool. Well, as far as we were concerned that was it for the week. Every morning after a leisurely breakfast on the terrace we loaded two loungers, some towels and ourselves into the car and drove the three minute trip to the pool. Pitched up under the shade of the huge old pine trees in the green and well kept grounds and taking the occasional comfort from the excellent little bar and snackery that services the pool, Lynda and I were in heaven. When it got that bit too warm we briefly debated if we should cool down with a beer or a dip into the crystal clear water. Invariably we opted for both, a sound compromise.

Short but very sweet, this trip was notable for our almost total inertia, and we loved it !!