RCH Party

May 11, 2013

Today Heavens and I organised an RCH party for our house. It was a celebration of Bessie’s Birthday, Divya’s soon to be birthday, and Matthew’s half birthday (since we won’t be here for his), as well as a goodbye party for Katie and a pre-wedding party for me and Heavens. We began the night with dessert. We gave them their presents- a cake for all, a beer cake for Matthew, and We Survived RCH 2013 t-shirts each. We all signed the back of the shirts, ate some cake and headed out. We began our journey by heading to the Mount Radford Pub for some drinks and food. We created our own huge table, ordered food and prepared for the night. Once we were done eating we headed to our next pub- where we decided to quickly have a shot- a very nice shot- and move on again. This time we went to a pub with a night club and ordered pitchers. Unfortunately at this point we lost some of our group due to not remembering their passports, but we still had about 6-7 of us so we carried on. We danced and shared 4 pitchers. Next we headed to the Ship Inn, our local favourite to play the game Would You Rather…some of it the normal version, some of it our own and had a drink. Afterwards we headed to a new pub- the John Gandy, actually quite nice, although we lost more of our group and wound up with only 4. We did meet up with a few other people though and had another shot- this time not so nice- and a drink. Matthew at this point stole Katie’s phone which turned into quite an event to try to get it back lol. Finally we made our way to the Old Firehouse, a place where we’ve spent many a nights before and a great way to end the night. We got a drink and managed to squeeze ourselves into a table. It started off fine, until Matthew decided to talk to the girls sitting next to us, which Katie did not like at all. Katie began texting Divya, although only she could make sense of what she was typing. After a while we decided to head home and confirm that Divya did make it back okay, chatted for a bit in her room then off to bed. Overall it was a wonderful night, especially for the Fantastic Five and we are going to miss Matthew and Katie loads! 

Until next time,

¬D¬

Anniversary Zoo Date

May 5, 2013

Today was mine and Heavens 1 year and 9 month anniversary. This is a very special anniversary for me because it is officially my longest relationship ever. And will be forever more! Heavens decided to plan a special day for me and it included a place that is her very first memory. Not necessarily a good memory but we were going to change that. We got on the train and headed to Paignton. She took me to the Paignton Zoo. Unfortunately, Heavens memory includes her at 3 years old, next to the Oryx pen, pulling on the chain fence, making the oryx so angry it decided to charge at Heavens. Being as innocent as she was she did not stop pulling on the fence and the oryx put its’ horns through the fence and up Heavens nose, lifting her off the ground as her Dad ran to get her, splitting her nose open and blood everywhere. She was then rushed to the medical booth and had to go to the hospital to get stitches and is now reminded of this event everyday with a scar. Today we would change that memory to a happy memory! Luckily there were no longer oryx’s at the zoo to bring back those memories!

We began walking around the zoo looking at all the animals. It was a cool little zoo with some interesting places to walk through and see some animals. Then about lunch time we made our way to the giraffes. My favourite!! We sat down across from where they were to eat and low and behold they all came outside! How nice of them to enjoy their lunch with me. Once finished we headed up to the Elephants to watch the elephant being fed and then back to the inside enclosure for the giraffes, well get this…they all came inside! It was lovely! I spent a good 20 minutes there just staring at these lovely animals. Then we continued our walk around the park seeing all the different animals and even the new baby orang-utan! Once finished with all of the animals we took the little train ride (one Heavens uncle used to drive) around the park and finally onto the gift shop. Heavens said I could pick anything I wanted, but I didn’t want to go for something I usually go for so I found a cute little giraffe wind chime and we headed home to relax and hang out. It was a lovely day at the zoo and a wonderful way to spend our anniversary!

Until next time,

¬D¬

Spain Por Favour

April 23, 2013-April 30, 2013

April 23^rd- Flight to Malaga!!!!!! We got into the airport and it took us ages to find Val but after some running around we finally found her. We went back to her flat and got settled in.

Weds. April 24^th- We got up and made some breakfast then Val came home from work and we headed to Mijas Peublo which is a white village. All the houses are painted white in the village. When we arrived we had some lunch then had some amazing hot chocolate and churros. Wonderful churros! Amazing churros! YUM YUM!!! We sat on the metal donkey and got pictures with the beautiful scenic background. Then we walked around and bought some souvenirs. We did some sightseeing around the cliff edge. We were high up in the mountains so you could see all around us. Then we went to the bull ring to see the museum part and pretend to be a bull fighter- love Heavens picture! We went to look inside and there was no one else, it was just us. Heavens and I pretended to have a bull fight! Then we just relaxed and sat in the bull ring with the mountains all around us and the open sky. It was so peaceful and lovely. We then walked around to find a church where the Virgin Mary was supposed to be seen. The church was built of rocks and people would write notes and put them in the holes of the rocks. It was sweet. Then we took the bus home and did a little shopping and got some cheap awesome pizza. We watched the film Accepted and had some drinks and chatted before bed. It was a lovely first day in Spain.

Thurs. April 25^th- We got up early to walk Val to school. Then we got the bus to the beach. We had a full English breakfast…haha I know in Spain right, but it was lovely. Then today was our day to enjoy the beach and that we did. We found a nice spot on the beach and laid out our blankets. After it was hot enough we ventured into the water….it was still a bit cold at first but really refreshing. We collected lots and lots of shells. Then we relaxed on the beach and read our books. We even took a nap, although we had to be careful as the water slowly was coming in and we relaxed a little too late one time when the tide touched our feet haha. After a while we decided to take a walk down the boardwalk. We went into the shops and saw all the sand sculptures which were really cool. We found a nice little restaurant for dinner with its open doors to see the beach. I had chicken and spinach with veg and potatoes and Heavens had lasagne. With bruschetta and flan for dessert. It was lovely. Then we got the bus home and realized that no matter how much sunscreen we put on we still got random sun burns. We showered and chatted before bed.

Friday April 26^th- We woke up and met Val at school to meet her teachers. Then we went to the beach for lunch while Val finished worked. We made sandwiches and ate them while looking at the beach then read our books. When Val was done we met her and had another lunch. Then we went to the beach to find the Dolphin tour boat. Unfortunately there weren’t many people signing up so we almost couldn’t go. But they did decide to take us out we would just come back a little early. It was a lovely boat ride and beautiful to see the mountains and the beach from the water, but we did not see any dolphins which was really disappointing! Then we decided to get ice cream. We found this amazing ice cream parlour. I had nutella and ferer rocher ice cream!!!! Heavens had coffee and baileys! YUM YUM!! We went home to hang out for a big and then later decided to get some Tapas! We had pork, fried peppers, papas bravas, chorizo, chips, sausage, croquettes,  wine spritza and san Miguel. After a lovely meal we got some snacks and went home to watch the film Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging. 

Saturday April 27^th- Today we woke up early and got a taxi to the bus station. Then we took the scary bus ride to Ronda. Even though it was crazy and windy and up in the mountains, it was so cool. We had our breakfast of Churros and chocolate…hehe yum yum! Then we walked to the bull ring. This one was massive! We again looked at the museum and then sat chatting, although this time we were not alone. But it was still nice. We got some souvenirs then we went to see the famous Ronda bridge. We had an amazing view! We walked all around it and actually onto the lower part of the bridge. We got some more souvenirs and then because it started to look nasty outside we went for some lunch.  I was so excited because I got Paella!!! YAY!! I know I waited way too long to have it! It was lovely. Unfortunately the rest of the meal wasn’t very nice but at least I got my Paella!! Then we walked to the other side of the bridge to get more pictures. Then we went to the famous Café Chocolat to get some hot chocolate like in the movie! We then got the bus home , changed, watched some tv then headed to Tex Mex for some amazing Mexican food. It was so cheap as well! We ordered tacos, guacamole, nachos, and burritos! Yum Yum. Then back home for a chat before bed.

Sunday April 28^th- Today was our least favourite day as we had some nice beautiful weather up until now and today it decided to be windy and rainy. Luckily not until the afternoon. We got up and went to Marbella and met up with Val’s friend. We went to Peurto Banus which is very famous for its famous people. There are beautiful yachts everywhere and very expensive shops. We had lunch at an American restaurant Jacks Brasseries where we had quesadillas and cheesy chips. It had an amazing view of the beach which was beautiful.  We walked around and saw all the very very expensive shops! Then we walked to Antonio Bandera’s plaza as he lives near there.  Then the rain started so we quickly got the bus back to the beach. Luckily there it wasn’t so rainy. We decided to get some ice cream…because how could we resist! This time Heavens got fig and caramel and I got oreo and beuno which again was lovely! Then we walked to the bus and went home. We hung out and watched tv and then I got to eat Paella again!!! Val’s housemate had made it for us and it was divine!!! We played some cards and skyped Val’s family and then went to bed. 

Monday April 29^th- Today we woke up early and took a taxi to the bus station to get the bus to Nerja. This was a long tour but wonderful. We first went to Nerja to see the Balcony of Europe. This was an absolutely beautiful view. Literally breathtaking! We took lots of pictures then went for some lunch out in the sunshine. I attempted to enjoy a Spanish coffee- coffee with brandy in it, however it wasn’t as nice as it sounded. Then we got some souvieniers and got back on the bus to head off. However, one of the people on our tour was late. Then the tour guide couldn’t find her. But she had left her bag on the bus. Finally we had to get going. Luckily just as we were leaving she came running up! But we were already 20 mins late!! We drove to the caves of Nerja and got to go inside to look around. It was amazing! It was absolutely huge, so big that they even had a theatre in it that you could go to! It was beautiful! The caves were found by accident as well and it’s amazing that no one knew about them. Then we got some slushi’s and souvineirs and headed back on the bus. On the way back we stopped to take a picture of the new Aquaducts which was very cool! Then we drove to Fragiliana which was another white city. Because it was very hilly we decided to take the little tour train that drives you around the village. We saw some more amazing sights as it was in the mountains. Then we got back on the bus to go home. We had burger kind for a late lunch then went home to play some cards before dinner, as dinner in Spain is at 9 or 10 o clock. We attempted to go to the little café across the street for dinner but they weren’t serving food so we ended up back at Tex Mex. As this was our last night in Spain we decided to be greedy and ordered: 2 tacos each, 2 burritos each, guacamole, nachos, garlic bread, and two bottles of water. Everyone was staring at us as most people just order tacos lol. However it was amazing and we ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. We then went home, showered, and packed then played cards.

Tues. April 29^th- Today we woke up and headed to the beach for one last time of seeing the beautiful sights. We had a full English breakfast and talked about the wedding. Then we sat on the beach watching the waves and enjoying the sunshine. We got ice cream again as we couldn’t resist on our last day. Then we went home and played some cards with Val before heading to the train station to go to the airport. We checked in then chatted with Val and sad our goodbyes. The next time we see her will be for our wedding!! Then we ate some food and headed home. We even saw some cute twins and Heavens helped the parents get into their seats. We ended up getting in an hour early as Ryanair lies about its arrival times to they can always be on time! But who cares we made it, even though the customs guy was in training and taking FOREVER to let me through. But we got home and finally back to RCH then skyped mom and John before bed.

We had an amazing time in Spain. It was so relaxing and beautiful and such a nice break from reality. These next couple months are going to be stressful but our next holiday is in America to get married and we can’t wait!

Until next time,

¬D¬