Christmas Holiday

We have just had the strangest Christmas. It was a very nice Christmas but most defiantly strange. We have just spent 11 days in Tenerife where the holiday season is very laid back and not as high priority as here which makes it a less stressful period but not at all what I am used to.

We flew out on 18th December, the drive to Newcastle was awful, it was the first morning of the snow, the roads were not very good at all and we were pleased to arrive. Our flight was on time and we arrived in Tenerife at 2.30 pm grabbed a taxi and were safely installed by 3 pm. Not bad going.

The hotel Costa Adeje Gran was fabulous and we would recommend it to anyone who may be thinking of going to Tenerife. The service was fantastic and nothing was too much trouble for the staff.

This was the view on Christmas morning just as the sun was rising, it did beat looking out at the snow. I was very surprised at the lack of festivities but I believe they do celebrate New Year rather than Christmas.

Our Christmas lunch consisted of a cheeseburger and a pint of lager after strolling along the beach, highly strange. The hotel staff made our evening meal special and each guest was given champagne, the wine flowed throughout the meal. The only change to the hotels regime was Christmas Eve when they moved the time of the evening meal to enable staff to get home to have their traditional meal with their families.

View of one of the three pools from our balcony. The standard of cleanliness was very impressive.

Bananas grew in abundance all around the hotel grounds.

Steve thoroughly enjoyed himself, he is not into the commercial side of Christmas at all so this holiday suited him down to the ground. I was very surprised that shops just didn't close for the day and all the restaurants and pubs just carried on as normal.

No houses were decorated and no Christmas trees were in any of the windows. A few of the shops did have a few decorations in the window and a Christmas tree in the corner.

It was strange to see some of the hotel staff sporting Santa hats while they walked around the pool.

Of course as usual on our flight over someone at the front of the plane sneezed and the germs bounce off the walls and home in on me so by the Sunday I was coughing and sneezing and feeling low, so low a visit to the pharmacy was required. On the way home everyone seemed to be sneezing and coughing, I think everyone must have caught a cold.

The reception area in the hotel was huge and the decorations were lovely. This photograph was taken through the mirrored ceiling as you can see from the next photograph.

Poinsettia's featured all over the reception area, at the front of this small waterfall a lovely nativity scene was displayed.

We had a very rude awaking when we landed back in Newcastle, the sleet had us soaked by the time we reached the car and you began to wish you had stayed where you were. I can't get over how many people came back wearing sunshine attire, shorts and t-shirts, they must have froze when they got outside.

We picked Bertie up from the kennels the day after and got a rapturous welcome and he was soon back to his naughty self once he was home. I think he changes into a different dog once he arrives at the kennels as they always praise his behaviour. I did miss him though and couldn't wait to see him.

It has not stopped snowing since we came back and my feet are constantly cold but that's the climate we have been blessed with so I will have to keep putting on an extra pair of socks and make the best of it.

Happy New Year to everyone.