A quick weekend trip to Spain – Day 2 part 1

We had a lovely lie in, thanks to Nichola and Jak for lending us the soft pillows- the ones in the hotel were like rocks!!! A good nights sleep was had by us both….unfortunately I over ate yesterday compared to my more recently established much smaller intake…consequently I had to get up several times…I am never sure why hotel bathrooms have frosted glass doors because when you have to go in the night you wake your partner up by putting the light on- a definitely design fault!!!! However we didn’t really totally wake until 9.00 am and then we languished in bed doing emails and social media responses etc.

At 10 am we rushed out of bed to ablute…the bathroom – except the door- is too our liking…it’s a low bath so I can easily get in and out to use the over bath shower and John can bathe….having completed the getting up rituals, we got ready for the day.

It was a bit of an overcast day.

Jak, my son, called to say they’d be a little later than previously discussed….this was great as we were also running behind the agreed schedule…for those of you who know me you’ll be saying “what’s new“…. I am always either very early or very late but have problems actually keeping to agreed times 🤣🤣.

Jak is an online personal trainer – RESULTS WITH WINDER. He has a busy business with a lot of “body-builder” elite clients along with those who just want to get in shape….this is a busy time of year for him because the body building competition circuit is coming up and his clients are all prepping for this and with the summer just around the corner his “get in shape” customers are also hard at it…. He is also in the prelaunch stage of his new company “Peak Resilience”. This is a quality gym/sportswear company which is due to launch in May ……there’s no one better than a body builder who spends his time in the gym to design and have made top quality versatile sports gear…so we are looking forward to its launch…..I did model one of his prototype hoodies yesterday evening as it got a little chilly…but I won’t share the pictures because I am not the type of client who will benefit from his Pure Resilience range it’s for the sports minded not the short, fat old age pensioner….having said that it was very comfortable so I may need to invest when it’s launched 🤣🤣🤣

Jak in a Peak Resilience sweatshirt

Nichola his fiancé is also about to launch a new company called “Pulling Through” This is practical equipment for big dogs. Most dog harnesses are not designed for dogs with big chests…in-fact they encourage dogs to do what they naturally do which is to pull. The other types of harnesses can rub under the front legs and cause sores. Halties are not designed for dogs with short noses like boxers, bull dogs etc they rub and cause sores. Collars are a useless design for big dogs because again they can rub and dogs pull on them. So Nichola’s new company will be making equipment which is much more comfortable for both the dog and the owner…

We wish them both good luck with their new ventures. With such busy schedules we are just grateful that they can fit quality time in with us. They picked us up from the hotel and took us to a small coffee shop…..this is no ordinary coffee shop. “Biscky” is owned by Melanie Thijssen- http://www.biscky.com @biscky.chocolate.pastry

It makes the most divine chocolates….diet out the window🤣. We each had 3 and a great coffee each…the total cost was €16 unbelievably cheap… John and I each had a coffee, ginger and honey and a passion fruit chocolate….we wandered down to the seafront and sat on the wall indulging ourselves…

Breakfast over….although for Jak and Nichola it was elevenses! We headed off to the market. It was a busy place with stalls on either side of a wide road which was closed to traffic on market day.

The left hand side had mostly fresh food, all very tempting- but we showed some restraint. The right hand side was clothing, jewellery, leather goods, crockery etc etc. We soon came across a stall with the elastic webbing belts John likes. His present one has been worn until it’s no longer elastic so we selected 2 for €9 ….they are usually twice this for 1 in the UK…we then went on to about 5 handbag stalls until I found one which I liked to replace my deceased one….its not leather but at €15 it will certainly be a good replacement.

The new and the old 🤣

We wandered back to the car from the market

Jak wearing one of the new prototypes and carry honey which has been collected from bees who feast on orange blossom.

After the market we went back to the supermarket we’d been to yesterday. John and I got a salmon poke bowl and a seafood one with prawns and octopus. They even supplied the cutlery to eat it with.

Jak and Nichola dropped us back at the hotel.

They had a filming session in the gym and we were both ready for a rest…We enjoyed our lunch in our room before deciding that a siesta was required.

More tomorrow on the second part of the day.

2 J’s are on the move again – a quick jaunt to Spain.

5.20am saw us frog marching our way, dragging our little weekend wheelies behind us, to Bedford Station….the world might be in turmoil but we’re still off on our travels again regardless !!

The train to Luton Parkway was on time….note to self – if your ticket says Luton Airport on it, it includes the cost of the ‘dart’ up to the airport. The cost of the ticket was £17.50 each….no railcard discounts at that time of the morning. Unfortunately while walking from the Dart to the airport entrance the strap on my beloved handbag broke….i guess it wasn’t a fair contest with the amount of wallets, passports, etc stuffed in it, it didn’t really stand a chance of survival….I bundled it into my tote bag …well at least it will give me something to buy at the markets we’re visiting tomorrow.

We passed through departures protocol with speediness never before witnessed at Luton Airport and we even got a few smiles from the staff. I had a close and personal pat down by the security staff after setting off their bleepers….but all was good. By 7.30 we were sipping a very hot Starbucks Americano and munching on a piece of stale cardboard, which had been advertised as a ‘butter croissant’ …..job done breakfast over ….

The Ryan air app pinged to tell us that our original plane had been swapped and we were to proceed to gate 11 where we would be allocated new seats….we did as we were told, a jolly attendant informed us we had been allocated the same seats and on we boarded.

We took off on time and landed 20 minutes early. We had to register our passports by visiting a machine which took our biometrics. There were plenty of staff on hand and it literally only took a few minutes. We queued a short while before going through passport control but it was all easy and relaxed…

We found our way to the Centauro car hire desk……a couple of pointers here…if you book via a third party don’t get seduced into buying their comprehensive insurance…I had bought AXA insurance through our booking agent, Holiday Autos. AXA isn’t recognised by Centauro and they wanted us to leave an £1800 deposit and if we had an accident we would have an access of another £1800….and they couldn’t provide us with the paper work for us to claim it back from AXA….but we could take their own comprehensive insurance for £140 for 4 days…..by the time we’d finished the cost of the two insurances were greater than the hire of the car!!!! Hey ho….They made a great thing of up grading the car … to a bigger SUV…a MG….its ok apart from it looks as if someone’s been playing bumper cars in it…..I don’t think it has a panel which isn’t dented…the paper work accompanying it says ‘significant damage’…..but as they said it was the only one they had we took it….note to self -don’t hire a car with this company again…looking on the bright side, if I do hit a pole or kerb no one would ever know it would just join the rest of the dents..!!!! With the help of good old ‘waze’ we set off and arrived in our destination – Dna Monse Hotel Spa and Golf, 35 minutes later…..so far so good ..

Our hotel is very pleasant….the reception staff quickly booked us in…our room is like any other hotel room…a huge bed and a massive bathroom. The view is that of various apartment blocks. It is quiet and airy.

View from hotel window

A quick rest before my son and future daughter-in-law came to pick us up. We went back to their apartment. It is delightful….2 en-suite bedrooms a bright airy kitchen, lounge and dinning room, a balcony and stairs up to a massive solarium roof terrace which has wonderful views across the salt lakes. We were greeted by a welcome party…The Boys…Marvin took a few minutes to remember his ‘grandma’ but soon realised non-stop tummy rubs were available and CJ soon became reacquainted. How perfect can life be – my wonderful son and DiL and the fur babies…..only the growling tummy reminded me that I wasn’t in heaven.. Even John was in heaven with his camera in the warm sun…..

My fur grand-babies….the little fella, Marvin and the big boy CJ
A “shadow boxer”- CJ

They then took us out and along the promenade in Torrevieja. Very pretty….we stopped at a restaurant, sitting outside in the sunshine and had a very much needed roast chicken and salad late lunch….

After our growling tums had been quietened we headed off to see the sun set over the lagoon. A spectacular sight.

A quick trip to a supermarket…what a magnificent array of fresh fish…huge aisles and generally a much nicer experience than the hustle and bustle of our UK supermarkets. Shopping done we headed back to the apartment for a rest with the boys.

The Boys with their Mummy

Sometime later my multi-talented boy cooked us a braii ( barbecue) like no other braii….we had prawns, octopus, pure meat burgers, chicken kebabs, chicken fillet, asparagus and peppers accompanied by some crispy potatoes and a superb salad with mango and all the usual salad bit in it.

We munched, chatted and laughed the evening away.

Returning to the hotel, we had thankfully borrowed two pillows and by midnight we fell into our huge bed…..what a wonderful day…but for us oldies we were ready for some much needed shut eye…..more fun tomorrow…

A few of our favourite sunset photos…..

Unfortunately we can no longer offer them at the very cheap price we did previously because our printer had stopped trading …however we have found another printer with top studio Fine Art quality paper -Baryta Rag (cotton310gm) with Lustre finish to help prevent reflections and fading but still give vibrant colours…..
So our prints are now back up for sale as A3, mounted and framed ( black or white frames, white mounts) for £49.95 inclusive of UK mainland postage.
We can print any of the sunsets or wildlife photos… just message us or email us at
2jsworldofadventure@gmail.com

Chobe River Botswana
Seville at night – Spain
Kruger National Park South Africa
Chobe River Botswana
Reflections on Chobe River Botswana
The last Rays of the Day – South Africa
Goodnight – Kruger National Park South Africa
Evening Safari Drive Kruger National Park South Africa
Another Wonderful Day Draws to an End – Kruger National Park South Africa
Raw Bushland at Dusk – South Africa
From Botswana to Namibia Sleep Well- Chobe River Botswana
Another Beautiful Day says Goodnight- Chobe River South Africa
Unforgettable Moments – Chobe River Botswana
Kruger National Park South Africa

We have found a company in China who can facilitate our China Itinerary-

 A very good friend has used this company to tour Beijing from Shanghai….her recommendation came from a friend who lives in Shanghai who has used this company for his own touring. Our friend said they were very reliable, she was met in Beijing by a lovely lady who spoke good English.

Our friend is also a traveller infact they are travelling India at the moment, having spent 3 months in South America last year….so they know the difference between good and bad experiences. Having been really good friends for over 40 years we trust their recommendations and they trust ours….Thanks Caz and Geoff for this contact…

The company they have used is licensed…

James who I have been dealing with at the company has forwarded me a picture of their tourist License.

This is the ground tour James has put together for us….

北京百迎国际旅行社有限公司 

百迎国旅   BEIJING BAI YING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL SERVICE CO.,LTD

              BYITS​   Tel:010-64680949        

 

Day 1

19th Sept

 Beijing

 -Arrive at Beijing Daxing Airport(arriving at 14:12PM)

– Driver meets you outside the exit,holding name board

– Transfer to Beijing Legendale hotel by driver

– Check in and free at leisure 

Day 2

20th Sept

 Beijing

Have breakfast 

– Free activity – the hotel is within easy walking distance of many attractions –
(The Tian’an Men Square and Forbidden City)

– Foodie evening tour by yourselves
Recommended place:Ghost Street/簋街

Day 3

21th Sept

Beijing

Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

– Visit the Summer Palace in the morning  

– Lunch 

– Visit The Temple of Heaven and take Hutong tour By Rickshaw in the afternoon

Day4

22th Sept

 Beijing

– Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

– Make a morning excursion to Badaling Great Wall – including cable car up and back

– Lunch

– Visit Badaling Wildlife Park in the afternoon

– Return to hotel

Day 5

23th Sept

 Beijing

 –  Have breakfast 

–  Free Activity
Recommended:Acrobatic Show(Show time:16:00 and 17:30, please choose)

Day 6
24th Sept

 Beijing-Xi’an

– Have breakfast and check out

– Transfer to Beijing West railway station for Xi’an(Train info: G365, 09:55-14:05, 1st class ticket)

–  The driver meets you outsie the exit and then transfer to Xi’an Sofitel Hotel

– Check in and free at leisure

Day 7
25th Sept

Xi’an

-Have breakfast 

–  Free Activity 

Recommended places: Grand Mosque,Bell and Drum Tower Square ,Muslim Street and Grand Tang Ever-bright Mall

–  Evening foodie tour/ Or evening show (Only driver available)
Recommended: Dumpling banqut and Tang Danasty Dancing/唐乐宫

Day 8
26th Sept

 Xi’an

-Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

– One-day Terracotta Army tour 

–   Return to hotel

Day 9
27th Sept

Xi’an

-Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

–  One-day sightseeing tour(City wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Xi’an Museum)

– Return to hotel

Option:

– One-day sightseeing tour(Qinling Wildlife Park)
Re: Wildlife can be seen in Qinling area, But it is foribidden to go there right now , we will know final result  this summer holiday if the park will reopen or not

Day 10
28th Sept

 Xi’an-Chengdu

–  Have breakfast and check out

–  Transfer to Xian North  railway staiton (Only driver available) heading to Chengdu(Bullet Train info:G3433,09:04—13:07,1st class ticket)

–  Upon arrival, driver meets you and then transfer to Somerset Gaoxin Chengdu hotel

 -Check in and free at leisure; The rest of time free & easy

 Day 11

29th Sept

 Chengdu

– Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

– Drive to visit Chengdu panda Base(0.5 hour), One of the most important research and breeding centers (Electric cart included)

 – City center to stroll along Kuanzhai Alley 

– Transfer back to hotel ,free time 

Day12

30th Sept

 Chengdu
-Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

– Drive to Leshan Giant Buddha (2.5 hours) 

– Visit Leshan Giant Buddha by climbing mountain or boat trip 

– visit Leshan Suji ancient town(乐山苏稽古镇)  

–   Drive back to Chengdu hotel , Free and leisure

 Day 13

1st Oct

Chengdu-Dujiangyan 

 –  Have breakfast and guide meets you in the lobby

–  Visit Dujiangyan Panda Base (1.5 hours)

–  Lunch 

–  Dujiangyan Irrigation System 

–  Drive back to Chengdu hotel , Free and leisure

Note: traffic jam often occur during national holiday , especially for National holiday .

Day 14

2nd Oct

Chengdu-Beijing

–  Have breakfast and check out

–  Transfer to Chengdu East raiwway station heading to Beijing(Only driver available)  Bullet train info:G1013,08:29-19:07,1st class ticket

–  Upon arrival, driver meets you and transfer to Beijing Legendale hotel

–  Check in and free at leisure

Day 15

3rd Oct

Beijing–

–  Have breakfast and check out

–  Transfer to Beijing Daxing airport (Only driver available)

–  End of 15-day China tour

 What’s Included:

 

• One (1) Professional English-speaking local guide

• One (1) 5-seater car and accompanying driver for all land transfers indicated in the itinerary​

• Admission fees to places mentioned for sightseeing tour in the itinerary​

• All relevant trip taxes, local duties and surcharges​

• Drinking water throughout the tour itinerary

• Bullet train listed in the tour itinerary

 

 What’s not Included:

 

• Personal telecommunication and laundry charges

• Personal Travel Insurance

• Additional excursions & activities not mentioned in the itinerary

• Round trip international flight 

• All meals indicated on the itinerary as B (breakfast), L (lunch), and D (dinner)​

• Accommodation in Bejing,Xi’an and Chengdu

• All gratuities for drivers, guides and local support staff

James has also put together 3 sets of prices for this itinerary- one for each part.

The Beijing section costing approx £904
The Xi’an section costing approx £725
The Chengdu section including train back to Beijing costing approx £1239

The total cost for the ground tour would be approx £2868 ( approx due to exchange rate fluctuations. If we add that to the flights which are approx £1500 and the hotels we have selected with breakfast are approx £ 1229. The total cost would be approx £5597. We could of course make this cheaper by staying in cheaper accommodation. We have however chosen accommodation which is popular with English speaking visitors with the hope that some of the staff and the menus will be in English.

We have asked James several important questions ….these are ….

1) how do we pay you? Do you accept credit card? 

2) When do we pay you? Before we arrive in China? Or with Alipay when we arrive?

3) Do you provide us with a letter which enables us to get our visa? Or is our itinerary  enough for us to get the visa?

4) Does the person who takes us to the train station put us on the correct train and the correct seats? If not how will we know the right train and the right seats to sit in as I believe all notices are in Chinese and not many people speak English so it’s not so easy to ask someone. 

5) can you book tickets at acrobatics show or escorted food tasting walks, or a meal in a locals home? Or would we ask the hotel to do this?

6) Would we be able to post to our website while we are in China? Or would we have to just log every thing and do it when we get home? We don’t want to do anything which is not allowed and we worry we might not know what is and what isn’t allowed.

James has been very quick in replying to our emails, we usually get a response the next day – due to the time differences…. If you are wanting to book a trip through James his email address is 36075568@qq.com

We will let you know the response to our questions…..we still hope to do this trip this year although due to the amount of preparation and questions I have we may push it back to next year. James is aware of this and is happy to help us and any of our readers who are going to embark on a trip to China.

Pause in posting about China…

Sorry for not continuing going through our “ Want to do and see” in China. We seem to have hit a brick wall with DialAFlight…. Having had many years great service from Rosie Price and thoroughly recommending her to every one….since she has left the company we haven’t had the same level of service at all….Rosie would facilitate our desired itinerary by booking through an on the ground agent. When they couldn’t match price the hotels Rosie would book the hotels through booking.com. She would also always give us a price regardless of whether it was higher than we predicted or not…..BUT having waited 3 weeks for a quote on our itinerary our response was “Sorry we can’t help you” …..grrrrr…so now I’ve put it with a local independent travel agent to see what they can do for us…then if they can’t help we’ll start the long hard slog of contacting a variety of other agents and putting the trip out to tender……Not ideal….but these things happen…. SO I’ve stopped planing until we know we can actually find a company to manage it for us…as it’s our first time in China we don’t really want to go completely solo for many reasons…not least because we don’t want to miss out on sights, struggle to buy train tickets and get on the right train etc, etc….

However we have a 3 week trip around Scotland planned for May…so I’ll post the planning document in the near future…