Great Boudoir Nights Out 18
Gran Canaria
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Sept 18th to 25th 2006
Once again the tropical island of Gran Caneira was chosen for the Boudoir summer holiday, partly because we like it so much and partly because there was a 75% discount available at our preferred hotel. So a select band of Boudettes made the hazardous journey back to Playa De Ingles in Mid September.
Monday 18th September
As usual the Essex and North London branches of the Boudettes decided to combine forces and held for Gatwick airport, my alarm woke my about 4.30am and I had time for a leisurely shower, coffee and took my time getting dressed. Just before the taxi was due to pick me up I had one last weigh of my case to make sure it was still under weight. However this time upon weighing it upright I found I was 6kgs over weight and had no time to take anything out. I joined Tess, Jodie and Maureen in the taxi and we set off for Gatwick Airport, that time of the morning we expected the road to be clear, but we kept hitting traffic, but we had the delights of the Bollywood style music in the taxi to keep us happy.
We eventually got to Gatwick and got on a fairly short queue to check in, however upon getting to the front of the queue, we were told that as Jodie and my bags were over the limit we would have to pay an excess baggage charge, after paying this we set off to security and Duty free, only to join the end of the biggest queue I have ever seen at an airport in my life. It was all to do with increased security checks that had recently come into place, but as our take off time grew nearer we were only very slowly moving forward. However we knew that as we had checked in the plane could not leave without us, eventually 5 minutes after our take off time we got through checking and ran as fast as possible to the boarding gate. I think we just about equalled the UK all comers’ record for 400m cross airport sprint, but we got to the boarding gate we found we were nowhere near the last people to board and we even had a 15 minute wait on a bus before being driven to our plane.
As seems to be the way on our trips we were scattered to all parts of the plane, and I was left sitting with a couple who did nothing but moan about everything for the duration of the flight, lucky it was only a four hour flight and that I had my MP3 with me.
Jodie had arranged a mini bus to take us from the airport to the hotel and although the driver appeared to take the slightly scenic route there, we were soon at the hotel, unpacked. This year for the first time in ages I had a new roommate, after years of harmony with Rebecca it was now the lovely Ashley’s turn to find out what horrors lurked beneath the service of Miss Smith when the make up was removed.
After unpacking it was time to go to the bar and get our first drink. Surprisingly we actually managed to be quite sensible and limit ourselves two only a few beers before going back to our rooms to get ready for a late dinner. We then decided to reacquaint ourselves with a few of the local bars and a few of us wandered off to a local Irish bar where we had a few good nights a few years back. It was not the usual frantic drinking session on our first night and after only a few beers we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel where it was Happy hour and we indulged in a round of baileys before hitting the sack about 12.30.
Tuesday 19th September
I woke up about 9 the next morning and felt pretty good, the sun was shinning and I took my time getting dressed and then made my way down to breakfast, I’m not really a big breakfast fan, so whilst the gurls tucked into their fried breakfasts I stuck with bread and honey followed by lots of coffee. By 10.30 most of the group had surfaced but the lesser spotted twins were not to be seen until much later in the day.
Those of us that had got up made our way to the pool, but it was disappointing to see that a most of the sun beds had already been taken, and we had to find a few beds in the corner in the shade. After a few hours of sitting in the shade it was time to do something a bit more energetic, so Miss Campbell and I went off to indulge in a few games of table tennis. As a tournament was planned for later in the week we both spent the time developing our shots and settled for an honourable draw.
Once we had finished playing it was getting close to lunch time and the Twins(Sarah and Stacey) had managed to get out of bed and made it down to the poolside just before 1pm. We all believed that this was a new Boudoir record, but later in the week this fine record was smashed. Upon arrival at the pool area both twins immediately consumed a healthy meal of chips, whilst those of us who had been up for sometime and who had already eaten went for a walk. One of the things we had discussed this year was that we were going to try and have a few meals out away from the hotel and armed with Miss Stevenson’s recommendations we set out to find the restaurants on the list, I think on this first day we found two of the three on the list.
After finding the restaurants were took a slow walk back to the hotel, where we went for a swim and siesta prior to dinner. Once dinner was over it was time to go back to the room and get ready for our first girly night out. Our rooms were really big, and had lots of mirrors, but the light in them was very poor, I had taken my small magnifying mirror with me so Ashley and I alternated between the small mirror and the larger ones in the bathroom. I think we both managed to finish getting ready in just under the allocated 2 hour limit allowance and after doing last minute checks on each other we nipped next door to pick up Tess, after which we got into the lift and made our way down to the hotel bar.
At the time we got there the evening entertainment was taking place and so the bar area was very empty, but after about 10 minutes the entertainment finished and everyone, began to make there way back into the bar. We had a couple of strange stares and one stupid comment, but everyone else was fine and a few people came over and spoke to us. Eventually all of us arrived at the bar and it was then time to get a taxi and make our way down to the Yumbo Centre. We had spent a lot of time on previous holidays at the Yumbo Centre and we started off at Ricky’s Bar which is a Drag Bar that puts on a show, it’s always busy there and we were unable to get a seat. A couple of the performers from the bar recognised us and we had a long talk with them. One of the girls I spoke to remembered that I live very close to her in the UK and we spoke about that for a while. As we were unable to get a seat in Ricky’s we decided to move on and our next stop was Bar Maurice, we had never been in here before and it was ok, if a bit strange. The bars are tightly packed and on one side we had one type of music and from the other side we were blasted out by the music from the bar next door. We had a few drinks here and just as we were about to leave we were given the first of what became many free shots, I don’t know if it was an attempt to make us stay or a thank you, but we downed them and tottered off to the next bar. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of this one, but we did much the same thing chilled out sat in our group chatted over a few drinks, downed the free shots given to us and then at about 2am decided to make our way back to the hotel. Our hotel had its own disco, but as we entered it, it was completely void of other guests that’s was before we even hit the dance floor. We managed to persuade the DJ to let us play a few songs of our choice, had a few more drinks then went off to bed about 3am.
Wednesday 20th September
Having spent the last few holidays sharing with Rebecca, it was a bit hard for me to adjust to Ashley’s early morning routine, which involved waking me up for a 9am breakfast before she went on a long walk around the island. I believe in the time we were there she must have managed at least two laps of the island. After Ashley had set off for her walk I sat around the pool on my own for an hour listening to music and reading. Gradually the other gurls joined me around the pool until about midday everyone other than the twins was down soaking up the sun.
At about 1pm we decided it was time for lunch and rather than stay in the hotel we had a long walk down to the beach and had lunch at one of the restaurants by the sea. It was a long leisurely lunch which included one or two beers, which seemed an ideal way to spend the afternoon. I think the return journey back to the hotel took slightly longer, but hey after lunch and beers who cares. By the time we got back to the hotel it was actually the hottest part of the day so we decided to make the most of the last few hours of sunshine available, and do believe another beer or two was needed to help soak up the sun.
All this sitting about had made us all very tired and it was agreed that an early evening Siesta was needed before we went out for the evening. As this was a guy night out we could take our time getting ready and just chuck on a pair of jeans at the last minute. This was our first night out eating outside of the hotel and we were going to a restaurant on Tess’s list, there were about 8 of us who decided to go out and we were going to meet the rest of them later in the evening. On the way to the restaurant we picked up Amber and Sara who had set out earlier to take in a football game, we watched the second half with them and then set off. It was only a few 100 yards to the restaurant which was quite small and we were warmly greeted, it was busy inside so booking was the correct option. The food was excellent we all had a three course meal which included steak and paella, together with wine and coffee and it was less than £30 per person. We took our time with meal and it was gone 12.30 before we made a slow walk back to the hotel. As in all previous nights when we returned to the hotel nightclub it was completely empty so we had one more drink and two games of killer pool before heading off to bed about 2am
Thursday 21st September
I was a little tired the next morning and slept in until 10am, by which time Ashley had already gone on her walk around the island. As I slept in I only just about made breakfast, where I sat about with a few of the other gurls planning the day ahead. Jodie and Maureen had already left to go to the beach, which I did not really fancy doing. Amber had suggested that she fancied doing a bit of exploring and was going to drive to Las Palmas and asked if I fancied going, so rather than sitting around the pool all day I signed up for the trip.
Four of us crowded into the Car and Sara Campbell took up the role of navigator, it was a fairly straight forward route, although on a couple of occasions we went slightly off the beaten track. Eventually we made our way into Las Palmas town, and after having some initial trouble parking we set out to explore. We were walking around the old part of Las Palmas and there were some nice old buildings to look at. So a couple of photo opportunities were taken. Miss Campbell had her guide book with her and was telling us the history of the Town. I’m not sure if she had the qualities to make it as a tour guide though.
We had lunch in a little square in the old town and Sara and I had this amazing piece of Tuna with red peppers it was so simple, but really nice and set us up for some more wandering in the afternoon. We went into a few shops , but as it was Siesta time a few of them were closed, so we went to the Cathedral which has a high tower and you can get a view of the whole town, it was a good view, but a bit industrial rather than scenic. The drive back to the hotel was a lot easier and we made it home in about half the time. When we got back to the hotel there were still a few members of our group sitting around the pool so we sat out for a few hours before going to get ready for dinner.
As this was the second gurly night out dinner was finished quite quickly to enable us to maximum make up time, once again Ashley and I found a winning combination and we were able to get ready without getting in each others way. After I had finished my make up I went down to Jodie’s room where she helped me make my hair curly for the night. We used some gel which I had gotten from a local hairdresser and it looked fab, I then nipped back to the room and got dressed ready to face the hotel bar. There were more people in the bar this evening and we quite a few stares as we walked into it, whilst we waited for everyone to turn up a few people came over out of curiosity and started talking to us. A couple of the women were very interested and we asking us lots of questions and wanted pictures taken with us. I got talking to a group of Italians, I did not really understand them and they struggled with my Essex girl accent, but I think somehow we got by. Once everybody had arrived and had downed there first drink it was time to hit the town or the Yumbo centre. We decided to hit a few different bars this time, but I’m not sure whether there was something in the air this night as nobody really wanted to do much other sit about and talk rather than go on to a club. So this became the plan for the night wandering between the various bars having a drink in each before moving on to the next one. After a few hours of this we wandered back to the hotel bar which as usual was empty, so we had one more drink before heading off to bed about 2am
Friday 22nd September
I felt surprisingly good the next morning and was up fairly early for a big breakfast, and then decided to spend some time sitting around the pool. Once again though we had trouble finding sun beds in the sun and therefore had to sit in the shade and catch up with the daily papers. After a few nights of drinking it was time to get in the pool and do a couple of lengths, it was pretty cold in the pool and my intended 30 minutes of swimming became 10 minutes.
After a few hours of lying in the sun putting the world to right Sara Campbell and I decided to wander off and find ourselves a sporting challenge which turned out to be crazy golf. Campers took an early lead, but the smith girl played superbly to be 3 up at the turn. Sara then produced a brilliant hole in hole which helped her with a stunning comeback and it was all square going down the 18th, but a poor tee off from Sara cost her match by 1 hole to Miss Smith. Once we had recovered from this excitement we went and had a lunch followed by an hour of shopping.
Upon our return a few more of our group had gathered around the pool, so we told the story of the great golf match and then sat about talking and making plans for the evening. Again it was decided that we would leave the hotel and try a different restaurant although a few of the group wanted to eat in. Once again Tess’s big book of restaurants was used to select a venue, before everyone went off to have a quick sleep before dinner.
The evening’s restaurant was called the Merlin and it was run by the two campest guys I have ever seen, even Sarah Gray looked masculine compared to these two. Within 15 minutes of us being there and ordering our food they had nicknames for us all including Darling, Butch and Toots. I took my usual place at the dinner table close to Tess so that we could share the red wine between us, the food was really excellent and the at tentative staff made it a really brilliant evening. They gave us a complimentary drink of local Gran Canerian desert wine at the end of the meal. On leaving we promised them that we would return tomorrow in girl mode.
Once dinner was over we made our way to a typical British pub to get ourselves back into a blokey mode. We had a few drinks in the bar before taking a slow walk back to our hotel, where surprisingly there were actually people in the hotel bar, we stayed and had a few more drinks and a few games of pool which resulted in a victory for Essex(Campbell & smith) v all comers, before going to bed at 2.30am
Saturday 23rd September
Once again I managed to get up in time for breakfast and after watching Ashley go off on her morning trek, I decided to make the use of the sun beds and soak up the early morning rays. This was the first day that I’d actually spent time lying in the sun and it was nice just to lay there read the paper and listen to some music and forget about everything. Eventually everyone else was out in the sun and we took it in turns to go and get the drinks and also going off to the pc and check out the score in the Ryder cup.
As the cup was getting quite exciting a few of us decided to wander off to a bar to see if we could see a couple of holes and hopefully watch Europe win the cup, but after looking in about 4 bars we could not see any of them showing the golf so we settled for a beer or two watched a football game instead. After that we strolled about the shops again trying to find those last minute tacky presents to take home, before heading back to the hotel for a bit more sunbathing and then going upstairs for a Siesta before dinner.
As this was our last gurly night out it was an early dinner at the hotel, followed by a return to the hotel room to start getting ready, it had been much warmer today and despite Ashley and I opening all the windows and putting the air conditioning up to max it was very warm and we struggled with the make up. I have one area between my mouth and nose and every time the make up went out, the sponge took it off; it took me about 5 attempts before I was completely happy with it. Luckily the rest of my make up went on fairly easily.
Once Ashley and I were ready we made the big trip to next door to pick up Tess and then go down to the hotel bar, by this time a few people had gotten to know us and came over to speak to us. There were a few couples who were quite friendly and it was strange the questions they asked, they were more open when there partner had gone off to the bar or toilet. Eventually an hour after the proposed meet up time we were all down at the bar and after one more drink we were at last ready to go out.
We decided that we firstly were going back to the Merlin restaurant from the night before to see our two camp waiters again, instead of getting a cab there a few of us decided to walk, whilst it was nice to get the cool air on your legs and the occasional toot from a passing car, the uneven pavement was not easy to negotiate in heels. Once inside the bar our two friends were momentary shocked into silence, but they soon came round, and we had a few drinks there. There was a group of guys also in the restaurant and it turned to be one of there groups birthday, and Sarah Gray was asked to hand over the guys birthday cake, which she did he her best ladylike manner.
Our next stop was just across the road to the Detox Retox bar which was a bar we had visited the last time we were in Gran Caneira, the guys behind the bar recognised us and even showed us the picture they took last time. The bar was fairly busy and we struggled to find a place to sit down, eventually we found an area where we were able to sit drink, chat and take pictures and for some reason we sat here doing this for the rest of the night. At about 2am we decided to call it a night and made our way back to the hotel, where once again the hotel bar was empty so Tess threw an impromptu party on her balcony which on until 4.30 in the morning.
Sunday 24th September
After a heavy night a sleep in was needed and I did not get out of bed until 11am, which I believe was still a lot earlier than most of the gurls. We decided that we would continue what has become a last day tradition now and go out and find a café and indulge in a typical English breakfast, however I don’t eat eggs and bacon for me it was an omelette and chips. The other gurls however made up for my lack of eggs and bacon and I’m sure we ate half the baked beans available on the island.
Once breakfast was over, which by this time was about 1pm it was a wind assisted stroll back to the hotel, where for the next few hours we just lazed about on the sun beds and solved the problems pf the western world. After we resolved religion, politics, the European community and what dress to wear next week, a couple of sporting challenges were suggested, and whilst Sarah took on Stacey at pool. I played Sara Campbell at table tennis, which resulted in a narrow victory for me. The rest of the afternoon took on its familiar routine of lying by the pool for a few hours, downing the odd beer or two and then going back to the room for a Siesta before going out in the evening.
The original plan for the evening was to eat in the hotel, but the day before we had met a friend of Jodie’s at the Yumbo centre and he invited us to his restaurant and after a discussion and group of us decided we would visit the restaurant whilst the rest stayed at the hotel and we would meet up later. As usual we met up at the bar and by now the people who recognised us as gurls knew who we were as guys and game over to speak to us again, some of them were disappointed that we were not dressed up tonight. After a few beers in the hotel bar it was time to move on down to the Yumbo Centre and as we all had sensible shoes on this time we decided to walk down, although I’m sure Miss Gray must have gotten a cab. It took us a while to find the restaurant in the Yumbo centre , but once we did we were able to sit out in the open air watch everyone walk past and have a nice relaxing meal, I think for a change Tess and I joined the white wine group, which meant that quite a few bottles of wine were actually drunk. Just before we finished the meal Jodie and the gurls that had stayed at the hotel joined us for dessert and a few post meal drinks. Upon leaving the restaurant we decided to go on a bit of bar crawl(last night on holiday syndrome) luckily I think we decided to stay in one bar after we got comfortable in there, but there were still quite a few drinks taken. We started on the beers, but by the end of the night we had crossed over to the spirits and so by 2am in the morning they were beginning to take effect, or maybe it was the two rounds of shots that did it, whatever it was I was ready for bed by then.
Monday 25th September
I got out of bed very gingerly, however by the time I had finished my third cup of coffee I was feeling ok, already to try and get all my stuff back into the case. Despite getting rid of most of my toiletries and not buying anything on the trip, my case still felt just as heavy as I carried it down the stairs, to our mini bus for our return journey.
We left with plenty of time to get to the airport however upon arrival we were once again at the back of a massive queue which was moving so slowly and yet again when we got to the front of the queue we were charged for excess baggage. Getting rid of all my stuff in the hotel saved my 1 kilo of baggage, but we still had to join another endless queue to pay for it and by this time I had no time to spend my 5 euros in the duty free shop. Once again we were completely spread out all over the plane, but luckily this time I was sitting next to Tess. The flight home was pretty uneventful really I think we drank and slept most of the way home, when we arrived back at Gatwick our taxi driver was there waiting for us to take us home.
So ends another Boudoir holiday who knows where we will end up in 2007 !!!!
