Summer Holiday Update

Where we spent every single day this past week

Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did you miss me?

I missed you!

Really, I did. I missed blogging :)

Not sure if that's a good thing or not. Sitting alone with my laptop and a cup of coffee, typing out thoughts .......

Here's a few things I've been thinking about this past week:

Tattoos

• Why do so many people have tattoos these days? Or is it simply that living in the UK and experiencing such horrid weather for the best part of 18 months, it's been a long time since we've seen so much naked skin on the general population?
• And why are so many tattoos ugly?
• Why are tattoos placed in places the wearer seldom sees, like the small of their back, or the nape of their neck?
• OMG one woman had the most hideous, gruesome skull adorning her decollage. Imagine NEVER being able to hide it!
• And the men - their arms completely covered in ink! Or entire necks telling a story?
• And what's the fascination with having Japanese inked when you're not Japanese?
• What ever happened to the sexy Maori strip around a mans tricep? Or a petite fairy on the shoulder blade of a young woman?
• When did tattoos become so incredibly trendy? In Japan it's still the mark of Yakuza. If you have a tattoo and enter a Onsen, you have to cover it up completely or you are denied access.
• The only positive thing I can say about seeing so many tattoos this week is that tattoo artists are very talented! The details in their work is amazing. Wonder what they would do if they applied their skill to canvass instead of skin?
• Where do people get the money to have all the work done?
• How much does it really hurt to have one?
• What if you decide you no longer want it? Or they make a mistake?
• What happens to tight, firm young skin as it ages? All that ink on tummies - imagine the stretched images when the young ladies who have them become pregnant? Or worse, get older and it all starts to sag?
• Do you need to/should you hide them for job interviews? What about when you're dressed up for a wedding or formal function?

So many questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted to take photos of some of the tattoos but G said no. I had it all planned, I would tell them I am writing a blog about tattoos and wanted to feature theirs. I didn't take any photos so you'll have to take my word for it.

Obviously we have friends with tattoos, but they are pretty ones, delicately placed in not so obvious positions.

We saw very few pretty tatts this past week.

Learning to Relax
OMG So very proud of myself with this accomplishment.

We only left the resort 3 times - once to walk along the beach, once to walk to the pier to catch the boat for a morning cruise and at 6pm the night before we left so MissM could have her hair braided.

I spent every single day either in the pool, or by the pool (reading), or in the room/balcony (reading or playing UNO with MissM) or sleeping (while MissM was with her grandparents)

The WIFI in the hotel was only available in reception and it was a very poor service that we didn't bother!

I went for the best part of a week with NO communication with the outside world. Part of me enjoyed it, but a bigger part of me didn't.

No news.

No updates from friends.

No sharing of happenings.

Felt very isolated socially but at the same time very happy to just BE with G and MissM with no distractions.

Groundhog Day
The holiday was definitely like Groundhog Day ... which for someone like me who needs variety was a bit hard to take after 5 days (lucky we were only there for 7 or I think I'd have started to get frustrated)

Breakfast - same dining area, same buffet.

Wait a while before swimming in the cooler part of the day.

Out of the pool, back to room for a quick shower/change .... or straight to lunch at either the same place
we had breakfast or up to the Grill for hamburgers, salad and hot dogs.

Back to the room for a rest, or read a book, a game of UNO, anythign to keep us occupied and out of the mid day sun ....... it might just be an Australian thing, cos not many others seemed to leave the pool.

Around 3pm, back to the pool.

5.30pm out of the pool back to the room. Shower, change for dinner.

7.00pm dinner at the same place we had breakfast. You needed to be at the Club House by 9am to reserve a place at the Italian or Argentinean Grill and we were never up that early.

8.30pm Kids Mini Disco outside in the general entertainment area. Club Med could definitely show this mob a thing or two about putting on professional shows. These were funny they were so bad. But
MissM loved them, so we watched them every single night.

9.30pm the MAIN EVENT happened.

11pm headed to bed ................. to do it all again the next day.

We took so few photos, as we were doing the same thing every day. How many photos of the same people can you have in the same pool???????????

View from our balcony across part of the resort

View looking down onto the bar and entertainment area

Looking out across to the mountains

We've NEVER done a holiday like this - not one cultural offering, not one new piece of information learned about where we were.

It was a very good experience, and we had a lovely time despite how boring it might sound cos it was just what we needed.

We had G for more than 2 nights in a row.
We had G's full attention every day/night as work left him alone!
He didn't check emails or his phone all week.

I do wonder tho how some people can do the same thing day in day out ............ it's not for me, long term for sure.

We're home again, the potential packing'n'shipping company rep has just completed his inventory; we've tentative dates for the actual packing'n'shipping which is brilliant.

So while we were living a sunny Groundhog Day experience this past week, surrounded by lots of over weight, white people with ugly tattoos on their bodies, we are now back in reality where people are dressed, the skies slightly grey, the breeze is blowing, the beds are comfortable, the food changes daily and an international move fast approaching AND I am back to FB and blogging

With friendship
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