Bye Bye 2018

In a few short hours 2018 will come to an end, a year full of ups and downs.  A year full of visitors in Phuket, new places explored and many friends and family seen in-between.   The year started off very rocky with the loss of my father and Lola falling very ill.  But by April things were looking up with Lola on the mend and the Hopkins visit to Thailand.  We also both got to see our families in the summer, Luis traveling to Ecuador and me to Barbados and the UK.  We were also lucky enough to see many of the Ecua crew in Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and even Romania.  I also got to be a part of Maria's beautiful wedding and see all the Basel crew again (goodness when you look back it does seem like we did a lot!).  And of course we have spent some wonderful times with our friends in Phuket, even picking up a few more along the way.
And even if the start to the year was far far from ideal we have been able to end it with family and good friends and the excitement of what 2019 holds for us.  

 We have been having such a great lead up to the New Year, eating loads and playing games with the Hopkin crew.

 Luis and myself made an Ecua lunch yesterday for the crew.

 And of course the one that made it the most special is Freda, she is such a joy and just love her to pieces.

 This morning we ended the year having a lovely brunch in town.
We are now gearing up for the big night, and celebrating the start of a new exciting year.  Love to everyone and all the best this last night of 2018!

Hopkins Happiness

We arrived at Lock Island yesterday, one of my favourite homes with one of the most amazing families of all time, the Hopkins.  You just feel happy and welcome from the minute you cross over the lock onto the island.  We had such a wonderful evening of way too much food and 'Amanda's' game (a game that has apparently been boxed and marketed as Re-Play, but we have been playing for years together).

We are very happy to be spending a few days here and bringing in the New Year with the Hopkins.

Beach Boxing Day

I have spent many Boxing Days on a beach, but I do believe that this was a first.  Boxing Day on a cold beach in the UK, but as days go we were super lucky to have bright blue sunshine and the beach was beautiful.  We spent the day basically like the other days, eating too much, but at least we had a bit of a walk to counteract the calories this day.

A nice three day mini break was had by all.  We returned to Bristol the next day and today have headed to Marlow for the next four nights.  Even with some sickness and ear issues with Luis we have had a lovely holiday in Bristol and Dorset.

Merry Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas! And I hope all my loved ones around the world are enjoying the festivities.  I know we had a lovely day here in our Christmas cottage in Dorset.  It is great to be here with Freda and see her enjoying all her lovely presents.  She is such a special little lady that Father Christmas visited her specially.

A very cozy Christmas and now a couple more days left in the cottage before our next UK adventure.

Bruton and Dorset

I am a fairly lucky person to name a couple places as my home.  One of these very special places to me is Bruton.  I have not lived there for eight years and every time I return I feel completely welcome and just like I have returned home.  I love that I still know most faces in the pub and that so many of my closest friends are not only there but make every effort to visit with me when I return.  We made a fleeting visit on our way to Christmas in a cottage in Dorset but were able to see quite a few people in those three hours.  I just love Bruton and it was so lovely to visit there today.

 I didn't take enough pictures and didn't get to see everyone I would have liked too but still had such a great time.

 We then moved onto Dorset to celebrate Christmas with Nicola, Paddy, Freda and Paddy's Mum and partner, Michael.

This little one is going to make this the best Christmas ever.

Hospitals and Family

Yesterday poor Luis woke up to even more pain and therefore another trip to Bristol hospital.  We spent most of the day there, the entire day there and came bag with a huge bag of medications for Luis to take.  They are hopeful his horrible ear infections will start getting better by the 25th...  As a side note, we have both been so impressed by the NHS, the staff and the care has been exceptional. 
He has been up and down since then, mainly keeping it calm but he did make it out for short walk to try and get some fresh air.  Obviously this is not ideal, Luis being sick, but we have enjoyed our time just hanging inside with the family.  We have even made a couple of Ecuador meals.

 My empanads

 Luis's soup

 A little reading

 Luis resting with the Dude

I thought getting him outside for a bit might do him some good, but I think maybe he needs a little more inside rest time to totally recoup.  Some more relaxing and early night again tonight!  We gotta get him better for the big day!

Gatwick, Ears and Freda

If there is an extra ordinary travel disruption happening in the world, you can bet money that I will somehow be involved.  So it was no surprise to me Thursday night when we were approaching landing that the pilot came on to say that Gatwick was closed and we had been diverted.  Apparently, some one thought it would be a good idea to fly a drone over Gatwick's air space.  Three days of disruptions and thousands of people waiting to get to their destination, total chaos.  We were actually fairly lucky only being sent to Heathrow but still a pain in the ass.  The fun didn't end there as Luis's ears were extremely bad from a free dive and we spent most of the night seeking medical attention.  But Friday we did finally make it to Nicola, Paddy and Freda's.  Freda is still the most fun loving happy child ever and it is great being here.
However, the ear pain did not stop and Luis spent most of the evening with Paddy in hospital.  Now on heavy medication and trying to avoid a medical procedure they may have to do to pop one of his ears he is now back home.

Before the pain got bad and Luis went to hospital, Paddy made us an amazing meal.  It is safe to say we have been just as spoilt here as we were in the Maldives.  And we are very thankful to Paddy for taking Luis last night.