Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…..

Colourful huts on the beach

I'll have a cup of Tetleys!

Torquay: The English Riviera.  Colder than the Alps.  Two jackets, a woolly hat and a raincoat just in case! 

After I’d tried to hand our passports through a closed window to the passport control officer causing a few embarrassed giggles (well I had been ill and washing sick of my children’s clothes for the past few hours!), driving off the ferry and into Plymouth was a bit tricky.  Being on the right side (the left) of the road in a left hand drive car which caused confusion in itself, the wacky enormous roundabouts consisting of 5 lanes and traffic lights, tiny roads and loads of traffic didn’t do much to help!  Once we got out of the town and onto the motorways it was fine though, and we found our way to our accommodation quite easily.

Pattisseries and vineyards were replaced by pubs and amusement arcades, and the number of barbers’ shops on one street was unbelievable!  Our apartment was close to the high street, seafront and cinema (might get a chance to see Harry Potter!), and a 5 minute drive to Aunty Val’s in one direction and Lyndsey’s in another made it a good base to explore.  It was clean and comfortable if a bit cramped!

The weather wasn’t too good at the beginning of the week, but improved towards the end.  Although the four days wasn’t quite enough to catch up properly with all the family, especially working around the kids and Daisy still being at school.  We chose not to do any touristy things.  Being in England and so close to familiar shops we decided to do normal things like shopping!  We were impressed with how cheap things were and so treated ourselves to a few new items to add to our wrinkled wardrobe!

We took Amelia and Noah to an indoor play centre which was a converted church!  It was awesome fun, huge slides which you needed a mat for and a mini helter skelter.  We also had a couple of meals in restaurants that also had a playroom for the kids, one of them with soundproof windows so you could keep an eye on them but not hear a thing!

I also had a practice at driving from Lyndsey’s to our place, THE MOST STRESSFUL 5 MINTUES OF MY LIFE!!  Poor Amelia was even worrying from the back seat “No mummy don’t drive, can’t you drive Daddy?”  Stalled the car, took a few wrong turns, got beeped at a couple of times.  So much for “I’ll drive in England and Ireland Maciek”.  So much to concentrate on, staying close to the kerb, checking the mirror which is in the wrong place, gear stick in your right hand, indicators on the left, checking the speed limit which is in miles, trying to follow Karen’s voice on the sat nav, trying to stay in the correct lanes which sometimes disappear and you find yourself not knowing where on the road you’re supposed to be……really don’t know how Maciek has done it so far, he definitely copes with it far better than me!

Rainbows Funhouse

It was lovely to see Amelia and Daisy getting on so well (it reminded us of me and Lyndsey when we were little – one tall and blonde and the other short and brown, holding hands and playing tig on the way to the shops).

Val, Lynds, Simon, Daisy and us

Maciek was able to watch Le Tour de France, and it was nice to see some T.V in our own language!  We didn’t make it down on to the beach (not even in our woolly hats!), and I didn’t get to see Harry Potter.  But it was nice to be in familiar surroundings, read menu’s, be with family, and I love the sound of the seagulls at the seaside – reminds me of childhood holidays!