Holiday Gifts: Florida, Turkey & Majorca!

 

 

It has been a busy summer. Lots of people I know and myself have been on holiday abroad this year and along with a relaxing break from everyday life, it also gives you the opportunity to do a bit of shopping and buy a few souvenirs or products that are cheaper than their usual retail price. I've been very lucky this summer and have received some lovely souvenirs and presents from people I know that have been on holiday.

 

 

 

At the very end of August, my sister went to Turkey for a week long break. whilst she was there she got me these converse type shoes. Obviously they are not the actual brand, but they are extremely close to the real thing and they are really comfortable. I go through shoes really quickly and so these are perfect for me seeing as my other white shoes are now a lovely shade of grey.

 

Also from Turkey, my sister got me a range of lovely bracelets. I pretty much wear bracelets on my right arm all of the time and so it was great to add some to my collection. This bracelet above features the Turkish Eye, which is a symbol of luck, but I also really like the Aztec pattern around the edge of the beads. It is a beautiful bracelet and I love the colours of it as well. 

 

 

I also got given this rope styled bracelet, which has different wooden beads on with of different shapes and sizes. Originally this bracelet also had a small shark tooth in the centre, but this fell off whilst I was in the shower one morning and I haven't been able to find it to put it back on. 

 

 

 

The final bracelet I received from Turkey was this shell and beaded one. I love the brightly coloured beads and the three shells as well. I've always been a fan of shelled bracelets and this is like the fourth one I've had but I haven't had a chance to wear it yet because I've currently got another shell bracelet on. 

 

Whilst I was on holiday myself in Majorca,  I also picked up a few bracelets amongst other things myself. Above is a simple bracelet I brought for around 2 euros, but I love the bright colours and the pattern made. It is also meant to represent happiness and I think it goes well with the other bracelets I've received and brought this summer.

 

Here are the bracelets which I am currently wearing on my wrist. On the far left are two of the bracelets from Turkey. Next is the blue threaded bracelet from Majorca and then I have a green-ish wooden bracelet which I got this summer from my mum and step-dad when they went to Aruba.
 Next is my silver chain bracelet which I've had for years and years, and is on my wrist most of the time and I think that this just breaks up the other bracelets that I'm wearing. Finally is my current shell bracelet, which is also from Majorca this summer and it goes well with the other bracelets because they all match and look stunning together.

 

I've also had a slight obsession with buying rings. I especially like the big statement rings and I'm also a big fan of silver jewellery as well. Whilst we were shopping in Majorca, I saw this little ring in one of the small tourist type shops and couldn't resist it. Although it's smaller than the typical rings that I would buy, I love the detailing and engraving on it and for only 10 euros I bought it. I think I've decided after buying this ring and also one on my previous trip to Tunisia, I am going to continue to buy a ring in every country I visit.

 

My best friend has recently been on an amazing trip to Florida and she brought me back some lovely gifts that tie in well with the Disney and Universal theme! I'm not sure if she remembers this but when she went to Tenerife a few years ago she got me a fridge magnet and she has continued the trend with this cool magnet featuring the Disney characters, which now lives right next door to the Tenerife magnet.

I also got a Florida and Universal Studios pen and pencil which always comes in handy. These will probably live in my handbag as I'm always looking for one when I'm out and about and I really love the colours of them too!

 



 

Finally I received a key-ring from Universal Studios, a thing 1 to be precise. I love this key-ring and it was immediately put onto my keys.

  I've been so lucky to receive all these lovely gifts this summer and I love each and every one of them. They've come from all over the world and from a variety of people but each gift has been put to good use! :)

Summer 2013!

It's hard to believe that it is nearly the end of August, and that summer is nearly over. Summer is by far my favourite season, as I love the hot weather and spending time in the sun (on the odd day that it isn't raining in the UK.)

  Instead of writing a really long post on the things that have happened this summer, I've decided to put some of my favourite pictures into a montage which I can look at and reflect on the things that I've done this summer.

The weather is now going to turn cold and it will get darker earlier, but I've actually had a great summer and I'm looking forward to making the most of the next couple of weeks. Then I will be looking forward to next summer, where hopefully we will get some lovely weather like we experienced this year! 

Majorca 2013: Part 2

The view from our hotel, looking down over the pool and sea

Once we had arrived in Palma, we quickly made our way to the baggage reclaim section of the airport and waited whilst our bags were put on the conveyor belt. Typically our bags were one of the last to come out, but we managed to find all of them. We then had to find our coach to transfer us to the hotel. 

  After a lengthy journey I think we finally got to the hotel at 4pm local time. We then checked in and collected our wrist bands from reception, which were a good indication to how tanned we were by the end of the holiday. By this time I had been awake for nearly 30 hours and so we were pretty tired! Luckily we were on the fifth floor instead of the ninth!

The view from the fifth floor lobby

 The location in which we stayed was beautiful. The views were amazing and really relaxing. We walked along the cliffs to the beach a few times and this was when I took the majority of these images. They are mostly taken during the evening too, which shows just how beautiful the place was. 

The main swimming pool in our hotel

 We spent most days just chilling out near the pool or the beach and it was just lovely to not have to think about all the stress and worries at home or during normal life. It was a chance to just relax and enjoy our time away for a week. 
  The main swimming pool was always busy and we often watched people wait around the pool at 8am waiting for the man to unlock the sunbeds. After about 10 minutes the pool would be packed full of occupied sunbeds and towels.

View from the hotel grounds of the cliffs and walkway 

 We also spent some time walking to the little shopping centre about 10 minutes away from the resort and brought souvenirs and trinkets which you wouldn't buy at home. I think most of us came away with sunglasses and t-shirts, a total novelty shopping trip!

Flowers found in the hotel grounds

 As well as the amazing views and scenery within the resort, there was also a wide variety of beautiful flowers and plants. There was a tree with lots of roots growing from it's trunk and hanging from the branches as well as some gorgeous flowers such as the ones above. 

Views from the hotel grounds

On our last evening at the hotel, a few of us went out to get some last photos of the island and we realised how much we were going to miss our holiday and how we did not want to leave. The scenery here was a complete contrast to the views that we are used to at home. 

Views from the cliff-tops near the beach

 I love this image taken near the beach. Although it looks like a panoramic shot, it is indeed just a single shot and the way the land is shaped makes it look like a panorama. The beach itself was beautifully sandy and the sea was so clear and blue, a complete change from the sea and beach in our home town. One day we enjoyed pizza on the beach, played bat and ball in the sea and some of us even explored some of the coves.

The swimming pool which we regularly went to

 Although the main pool in the resort was always packed, the hotel had many other pools which guests could enjoy. On our first night we discovered the pool pictured above, which was located near the second of our two rooms. This was also our usual sunbathing spot and we found that you could always get a sun bed at this pool whenever you went down to it. One day the entertainment team brought down a water carpet and allowed the adults to attempt to run across it which was extremely funny to watch!

The entertainment team performing their rendition of 'Grease'

 In the evenings we typically went down to watch the entertainment. Whilst we were there we watched a circus act, played bingo, watched the entertainment teams interpretations of 'Mamma Mia' and 'Grease' and some of us were even forced to participate in the children's disco! The entertainment team there works extremely hard and are thoroughly entertaining, making sure that everybody gets involved and they happily chat to you whenever you see them.

The main pool at night

Sunrise on the last morning

 We awoke on the morning that we left at about 6am because we were being picked up at 8.40. We had time to finalise our packing and take a few more photos and it was amazing to see the sun come up over the horizon. The photos do not do justice to how red the sky and sun was when they first appeared. We knew that it was likely to be hot that day, and knew we wouldn't be experiencing any of it.

The sun rising on our last morning

We left our hotel, boarded the plane and soon arrived back in England. It's been nearly a month since we went now and it was one of the best holidays I have been on. Not only did I get to experience a beautiful resort and island, but I also got to spend it with my closest friends that I will not necessarily see all the time next year. Going on holiday was one of the best decisions that we made and I would do anything to go again because it was truly a brilliant week. 

Oh and if you're wondering what happened to that group of lads that went to Magaluf... On the flight home one of them was sick, and they said that they 'were never going to Magaluf again' because 'it was a total sausage fest' according to them. Sounds like they had a brilliant time!

Part 1: http://tammypenton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/majorca-2013-part-1.html

Majorca 2013: Part 1

I love travelling and visiting new countries so when it was suggested that i should go on my first ever girl's holiday with my closest friends I was so excited!
   All seven (yes, 7!) of us piled into our local Thomas Cook and spend hours deciding on the perfect holiday. For us it would be our first holiday abroad without our parents and at the time it felt very surreal because all I had ever known was packing my suitcase and going. For the first time we were responsible for everything to do with the holiday, from booking it and packing to arranging transport to the airport and the best thing was we could go anywhere in the world that we wanted.
  Immediately we all agreed that we wanted to go somewhere hot and sunny, to have a break from the typical British summer. It was a cold January's day when we crammed into the travel agents and the thought of sun opposed to the snow outside was amazing. Although we decided sun and preferably sea were essential, we knew that we did not want to or had the money to spend fortunes, so we were looking for a reasonable deal. 
  After considering a number of countries and islands we set ourselves on going to a hotel on the East coast of Majorca, a mere two hour flight time away. 
  From the start of our planning, we all decided that more than anything we wanted a relaxing holiday and although we wanted the opportunity to go out if we wanted to, we didn't want it to be the focus of our holiday. For this reason we avoided the notorious Magaluf and went to a resort called Callas De Mallorca. 
  The best thing was that none of us had been to the resort before or even Majorca which meant that it would be new and exciting for everybody. There was even people in our group that had never been on a plane or abroad before! 
  We also knew straight from the start that we did not want to be buying or cooking food every single night that we were away, although we wanted the option to eat out for a couple of nights at restaurants if we wanted to. Therefore we found an all inclusive option at a resort which consisted of three hotels and although we were warned of a potentially long transfer time, we booked our holiday.
  Then the countdown began. At first I found that the weeks and months were going by so slowly and our holiday seemed ages away. However, once the holiday got closer and I realised that we only had 100 days until we flew the days started to go by quicker. By the time that it was one week until our holiday I had barely brought new holiday clothes and sorted out my travel insurance.
  It was a strange sensation knowing that you would be leaving the country, yet all of your family members would be left behind. I think the whole experience has made me realise that I am growing up quickly and that I am going to be doing more and more things without my family around all the time. But more than anything I was excited, and I was ready to see a new island. 

As our flight was scheduled to leave Gatwick airport at 8.20am, we knew that we needed to be at the airport for 6am at the latest. It took us about 2-2.5 hours to get the airport from our home so we were leaving our small town at 3am, whilst everybody else was still sleeping. Luckily for us, there were no accidents or delays on any of the motorways or roads that we travelled on so this made our journey much more enjoyable. None of us had been to sleep either, and in fact I was still putting last minute items into my suitcase at 10pm! High on excitement, we arrived at the drop off point and said goodbye to both my dad and my friend's dad and we went up the lift to the main terminal. At this point the fact that we were leaving still didn't feel real, although now we were alone in one of the country's biggest airport. 
   Overall our journey to Majorca was fairly straightforward, we checked in with no problems and all our suitcases were underweight, we boarded the plane without problems and there was no delay in our flight. So far so good. The only problem we had with the plane was that 4 of us were sitting in row 32 and the other three were sitting in row 7 so we couldn't really speak to them much, if at all.

  The flight itself to Palma was rather interesting. Behind us we had several rows of boys going on a lads holiday to Magaluf and so the whole journey there they were singing 'Maga Maga Magaluf Magaluf' which after about 3 minutes got rather annoying. Directly behind me was a family obviously not travelling to Magaluf with a young girl who decided to throw the Monarch seat cover type thing onto my head, which admittedly was rather funny.
  Not to be left out, the other three in our group also travelled near groups of lads going on a holiday to Magaluf. However instead of the singing, they decided to congratulate our pilot Alistair when he successfully landed our plane and then proceeded to give him a round of applause. Brilliant. 

At around 11.30 local time we landed at Palma airport. As we were coming into the airport it almost feels as though you are going to be landing in the sea because of how close you are to the ground when you come across the island and you are slightly shocked when you realise that you are actually going to be landing on the ground. 

  We walked off the plane, with the sudden heat hitting us, knowing this is the place we would call home for the next week...