Kwentong Kengkay

Agosto 26, 2008

Viva Cala Mesquida

Filed under: Been There,Done That — kengkay @ 2:15 hapon

Our last minute vacation, despite the flight delay, was really a very relaxing one.

For one week, we stayed only within our resort, Viva Cala Mesquida Aparthotel in Mallorca, Spain; it is after all an all-inclusive package (why not take advantage) :D Actually, we wanted to take a short trip after a few days of being stuck in our resort, but the bus leaves very early and the trip back would be too late; renting a car is void as both my husband and I didnt have our driver’s licences with us :(

Anyway, there are a lot of things to do and ‘not to do’ around the resort. You could see us in and out of the restaurant for our meals; carrying drinks and snacks from the bars into our pool lounges; swimming, relaxing and playing around the pool area; strolling around the shops and the beach area, stepping into our hotel room to take a break, dress up and sleep. Accompanying the girls to the kiddie disco every night (yes, every night!) and sometimes, watching the night shows if the kids arent too tired to stay up late.
This is how the hotel facade looks like. This is indeed, a very large complex of hotel. They even have an exclusive club which is located in front of the beach; there are always two show stages simultaneously playing different programs every night, there are more than four swimming pools ( I stopped counting at four), there are more than four restaurants, and loads of facilities and activities lined up to keep everyone from babies to adults, busy.

This is the pool area, I took this photo from the restaurant which is located a few floors up. See the ever present lifeguard in white? He’s watching over those lounge chair grabbers, hehe. It is fun to stay around the pool around as there’s water activities for both kids and adults alike. Everyday, my husband and I took part in the late morning water aerobics — before grabbing our plates for our buffet lunch.

This is the beach area, you would see the hotel compound in the background. The rent of the lounge chairs and a beach umbrella is way too much, 4.25 euro per lounge chair for a day use; and we used those things for almost 2 hours only!

That’s our view from our balcony. The beach area and the dune. Nice, noh?
The sunrise. Taken before 7 am from our hotel’s balcony.
And here are the girls, who as usual, dont want to go back home anymore :D

Agosto 24, 2008

Not really ‘viva’

Filed under: Been There,Done That,It's a Headache,Sizzling Tips — kengkay @ 7:56 umaga

What else can I say? I’ve been hearing the word ‘viva’ during our one week vacation in Mallorca, Spain, thus the title :)

It was a vacation that started off with hours of waiting. Actually, not really a ‘viva’ kind of thing.

We arrived early at the airport as the kids were too excited to sit still. And then arriving at the check-in counter to learn that the flight would be four hours late! Four hours, yet we took it cooly, it is supposed to be the start of a relaxing vacation!

Anyway, we got a coupon for a free dinner at the nearby airport hotel. And although it was only 4 pm, our flight was supposed to take off at around 7 pm (meaning we’d be waiting for an 11 pm take off), we decided to ride the shuttle to the hotel. The kids needed space to play around and the airport isnt the right place.

Well, we stayed at the hotel lobby bar, paid for our refreshments and let the kids play and draw. And when it was announced that dinner’s ready, we strolled to the restaurant, had dinner — taking everything in stride. At 8 pm, I told my husband I want to ride the bus back to the airport. I simply wanted to move, you know what I mean?

The kids were being a good sport, finding something around to get them busy. But when it was already 11 pm and there’s still no announcements nor movements around… arrrgh, it is really getting frustrating. Loading time was was a few minutes before midnight — when it was announced, the passengers (who are still awake) applauded and cheered.

Well, by that time, the kids are already cranky and just wanted to sleep. Me, too!

How did we manage to keep up without breaking down?

1. The kids have with them their toys and some drawing materials to get them busy
2. We took everything in stride, joking about it
3. Looking forward to our relaxing holiday and listing out the things we would do made every waiting hours a breeze, well, almost

If you want to know what your rights are when flights are delayed, read here.

Agosto 17, 2008

The Sea Comes Alive

Filed under: Been There,Expat Blahs — kengkay @ 9:12 umaga

It was different summer night for the kids when we attended the DLRG open house at Wiesensee in Hemsbach.

It was the night of the lifeguards, our angels of the sea. And it was a night of lights and colors. It was night of wonder, esp for the kids who were allowed to stay up late. Actually, they have been celebrating early in the morning — with water aerobics, some water rescue actions; with food and drinks.

But we decided to join the fun part and arrived at 8 pm, not yet dark at summer time. We wanted to catch the real show, not prepared for nature’s show with the weather as it changed. And changed and changed. It was a fascinating sight. It was fun to capture them.
It looked like rain.
Yet it was warm. And then it could be thunderstorm! Most of us ran for cover when the cloud opened.
And after a few minutes, here’s how it looked like. As if nothing happened.
And the sunset.

And the highlight of the night, the torch swimming in the middle of the sea; of more than ten lifeguards, both men and women accompanied by music and fireworks.

And of course, there’s also the wish balloon. It is a huge white paper balloon that was powered by heat and blew up, up and away — and they lightened up the sky to make your wish come true.

Here are more photos, in my new domain that still sleeps :)

Theme: Rubric. Sumulat ng Blog sa WordPress.com.

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