Tunisia - Day 2 Pool Party

So our first full day of holiday after a good nights sleep was spent mostly just enjoying the hotel facilities and pool and also checking out the sea. The beach was literally straight out of the back of our hotel and you were on the sand, and even better than that you had to pass the pool bar so no excuse not to grab a drink on the way to the beach.

Breakfast in the hotel wasn't the best as we quickly found out that being a Muslim country there was a lack of meat on the breakfast buffet. So it was lots of eggs, fruit, croissants, continental breakfast etc. Lunch and dinner was really good and as usual the first day you are like a kid in a toy shop trying all different foods and eating way too much. During lunches and dinners we also quickly learnt that Tunisian food incorporates lots of turmeric.

In the evening the hotel held a pool party with a big foam cannon which blasted bubbles in to the pool. It was absolutely amazing to be in the pool that late at night as most hotels tend to shut the pool around dinner time. As it was day 1 and we were still acclimatising, the evening heat was pretty intense with 30+ degrees at 8/9pm so it was actually nice to jump in the pool with the kids and cool off (even if they did cover me in bubbles).

Josh, Holly and Tina shared one room whilst me and Brandon were next door. Looking over the balcony and Holly and Tina were ready to go.

Such a nice view to wake up to every day. Rarely see anyone on the golf course though as it was too bloody hot.

Blue sky, palm trees and pool was the order for the day.

Luckily plenty of sun shades and sun beds to set up camp for the day.

Ginger Josh playing it safe and keeping his t-shirt on for day 1.

The hotel / pool environment looked amazing.

We managed to get 4 sun beds to set up our little base camp. Didn't need 5 as someone was always in the water or off getting drink/food.

Holly took her inflatable donut down to the pool on day 1.

Holly keeping cool in the pool.

Brandon and Holly playing in the pool.

The pool sun loungers were amazing and certainly got plenty of use from us.

The pillar type structure had outdoor showers to wash off after the pool/sea.

View looking back at the hotel from the pool area.

The pool was a pretty decent size and not too busy either.

Our little rugby ball from Bulgaria made it all the way to Tunisia.

Just how nice is that. So pleased we got to book the resort we originally had planned.

Me and H chilling in the pool.

Holly in the water polo goal.

Amazing how much you can entertain yourself just throwing a ball in a pool.

Save.

Me and B catching some rays.

Solar panel Brandon.

Loved the blue domes on the hotel which gave it a real Arabic feel.

Even Tina had to go in the pool to cool off.

Holiday sliders, Nemo, shark and basketball.

Golden sands and clear water of the beach which literally backed on to our hotel.

Many water sports facilities on the beach which Holly and Josh started to plan from Day 1.

Crystal clear sea water, so much better than the pool (IMO).

Holly accompanied me down to the sea on day 1 whilst the others stayed at the pool.

View looking back on the hotel from the sea.

Holly showing off because she can float.

God knows how she does this as I just sink.

Back in the pool and jumping through the donut.

As it was dark when we arrived last night I went out the front of the hotel to get a front view picture.

More views of the hotel / pool area.

In the afternoon me and H went back to the sea for some snorkeling to see some fishies.

Chilling on the pool loungers.

No fears of these two burning, they just soak up the sun and spit it back out.

Brandon trying to avoid the Dad-cam.

Kiddies playing some water polo with Josh in goal.

Rare occasion with all 3 of them playing nicely.

My little water baby.

More pool fun.

Brandon looking cool with his chain and tanning already.

After dinner it was a late night foam pool party to cool off.

Tina didn'y go in the water so it was me and the kiddies.

Growing up way to quickly.

Loud music pumping and foam pool water, great fun.

Yeh baby.

The large cannon pumping foam bubbles in to the pool.

Launching bubbles high and covering everyone.

Never done a foam pool party before, so quite and experience for us all.

Only problem is foam bubbles get in your eyes. At least at night time Josh can go topless with our the fear of getting burnt.

Holly loved the bubbles.

More bubble fun.

The party went on late in to the night.

I think Holly finally got out of the water around 11pm.

All I could think is how do the keep the pool water clean when the pump bubbles in to it for 2 hours+.

Another shot of the foam bubbles cannon.

The kids covering my bald spot with bubbles.

Not sure this look works for me,

Tunisia 2024 - Day 1

So after a lot of stress and hours on the phone trying to sort out claims and compensation, we did eventually manage to rebook our summer holiday to Tunisia. We started looking at what late deals were available (due to Tui cancelling our whole holiday) and none were really jumping out and for sure would have felt a compromise from the Barcelo hotel we had our hearts set on. Anyway by chance I managed to book the same resort in Tunisia in the end with an upgraded room to a sea view. The only compromise was that we were now going for 10 nights instead of 14 and flying out of Gatwick with Easy Jet instead of Luton with Tui (so this meant more parking costs). Oddly enough the 10 nights cost more than our original 14, but fortunately Tui foot the bill for this. 

So we had 4 days in a sort of no mans land just loitering around home waiting for the new flights on the following Tuesday. We didn't even bother unpacking the cases or even taking them out of the car. The 4 day wait seemed just the longest time ever but eventually the day of our hols came. I think everyone was still a bit anxious and not 100% sure we were actually going until we were on the plane and airborne. We were a bit split up on the flight with Tina sitting with H, Josh and Brandon together on two isle seats and me on my own (this was the best we could do at short notice).

We arrived at the resort around 7-8pm in the evening and after being greeted by a very kind porter who sorted our bags, we managed to head straight down to the restaurant and get some food and drink. Then after that it was the pool bar and entertainment for some well deserved drinks.

Easy Jet instead of a Tui flight, but who cares as long as we get there.

It was looking more positive as we made it to the Gate.

Sitting on the runway, is it 2nd attempt lucky?

Our turn on the runway strip.

Up, up and away.

Within no time we are above the clouds and heading for Africa.

A stunning view of Corsica from 36,000 ft.

Enfidha airport looked surprisingly very clean, modern and new.

First impressions of our hotel after a 30 min transfer did not disappoint. The reception was super grand.

Some Tunisian sculpture in the hotel.

Exploring the grounds and getting our bearings.

The pool area looked just as impressive as the brochure pictures.

I think after the day of travelling the kids were desperate to get in to the pool, but it was too late.

Holly got straight in to Holly mode and joined the entertainment after dinner.

Tina and Holly chilling on a very hot and humid first night in Tunisia.

With all the stress of this holiday, me and B settled in to some rum and cokes. He wasn't too sure at first though as they only had white rum and he is used to dark/spiced.

View from the hotel reception floor looking out past the pool to the beach.

The view from our balcony in the morning overlooking the golf course.

I guess we can live with this for 10 nights.

Tunisia 2024 - Failed 1st Attempt Thanks to CloudStrike

Our summer family holiday got off to a very bad start on July 19th when CloudStrike made a Microsoft SW update and caused a global IT shutdown resulting in over 5,000 flights around the world being cancelled. 

We set off for Luton airport around 11am with no idea there was a global IT issue and all we had received was an update from Tui that our flight was delayed an hour until 5:40pm. Me and Brandon had worked forward with the flight time, transfer etc and reckoned that still gave us time to hit the bar for a rum and coke.

Once we dropped off the car we entered the terminal and it was absolutely mobbed with people and queues just seemingly going everywhere with no check-in terminals open. After about an hour we managed to check our suit cases on and headed through security to get some dinner.

We went in to this Italian restaurant and had a really nice meal and a sit-down whilst we watched the notice board worryingly showing more and more flights coming up red and cancelled, but still being optimistic about our flight (the only Tui one on the board) which was orange and showing an estimated time. However our day was about to go from bad to worse as I took Holly to the toilet and then heard over the PA system that our flight had also been cancelled and we needed to go to Gate 6 to retrieve our cases and exit the airport.

After a long wait to retrieve our cases and an even longer wait to find a Tui rep, the story started to unfold regarding the global IT issue. Initially it looked like Tui were going to re-schedule the flight and get a taxi for us all to a hotel in Milton Keynes for the night. This then changed to a coach being arranged which was apparently stuck in Gatwick. The we heard that Tui were having a crisis meeting with a possibility of the flight and holiday being cancelled. By around 9pm worst case scenario was confirmed and our whole holiday had been cancelled. We all felt sick to the stomach having been so excited for this holiday and poor Holly was in tears.

Anyway we pulled ourselves together and called Purple Parking to let them know we needed our car back. As they had already moved it to a long stay car park we were told to wait in the terminal as it might take them up to an hour to get our car! Eventually we arrived back home around 23:45 having spent circa 12 hours and going nowhere over than a day out in Luton airport (oh and on the hottest day of the year with temperatures hitting 32 degrees).

Having spent 2 hours on the phone the next day we have now managed to re-book the same holiday through Tui, but flying out of Gatwick on EasyJet and leaving on July 23rd now. Thus we have had to reduce our holiday from 14 nights to 10 nights now, but at least we will still get a holiday and at our original destination 🤞.

I am now out of pocket significantly having incurred lots of cost to get us to Luton, fed, hydrated, car parking etc which somehow I have got to claim back through Tui or the insurance. Not only that I have got to try and re-book our two day Sahara visit, check-in for new Easy Jet flights and get some food in for the next few days as we had emptied the house expecting to travel on the 19th.

It was all smiles when we arrived at Luton and was quite near the front of the queue to check in for our Tui flights.

It was quickly evident there was a big problem as the airport was bedlam.

No real order to the queues and not a single check-in desk open due to CloudStrike.

Patiently waiting for news of a re-scheduled flight or a taxi / coach to an overnight hotel.

Our bags retrieved, but it quickly became evident we were going nowhere today.

Holly kept smiling, but those smiles soon turned in to tears when we were given the bad news that our whole holiday was cancelled.

A very unhappy Holly sitting on the Easy Jet scales as we seeked anywhere to sit down for a while and take the load off of our feet.

Me trying to entertain Holly with coin flipping, making her a prisoner in the retractable barriers and any other means.

But we waited for nothing and ended up going back home!😭

Summer Holidays Begin

So all the kids have now broken up from school for the 6 week summer holiday. Last week Holly had her end of year school picnic which Tina went along to whilst I was still working. They managed to take a lovelt class picture which has all of the kids in the PE kits and thus prime coloured T-shirts making it look really cool. Holly is in blue for her PE class.

Holly's Year 5 class end of year picnic photo.

Tina packed up a picnic and joined Holly for the end of school event which fortunately was nice and sunny.

Travel Vaccinations Done and Counting Down to Holiday

Busy week this week with some final prep before holiday in 6 days time. Really getting excited about our forthcoming trip to Tunisia and for the kids their first trip to Africa. This week we have all had to get our vaccinations in check which has mainly been an Tetanus boost (where required) and the Hep-A. Airport parking is now booked and the suit cases are out to commence packing. We will soon be on our way and basking in 30+ degree heat for 2 weeks.

Vaccinations complete and ready to travel to Tunisia, Africa.

This time next week we will be calling this place our home for a fortnight!

I think those pool loungers are going to be very popular given the current heat wave out in Tunisia.

Chelmsford College Taster Day for Joshua

Last week Joshua attended the taster day for the Electrical Installation  course at Chelmsford college. He seemed to really enjoy the day and from what he told me (and quite surprisingly) he seemed to be one of the better students to attend the day. So much so that in the afternoon that had to put their creative hats on and make a character out of electrical installation components. Joshua made a model of Snoop Dog including chains and insulation tape dreadlocks which won him best of the day and a prize of a tape measure to start his personal tool kit off!!!

Between Chelmsford and Southend he definitely seems to be swaying towards Chelmsford at the moment, but it all hangs on whether he gets his GCSE results. August 22nd is results day and I will be taking the day off of work due to the fact that if he does get the grades he needs then we will be heading straight down to the college of his choice for enrolment. 

Would you guess this is Snoop Dog?

Either way the lecturer was impressed and he won first prize for his effort.

Science Award for Brandon

Really pleased to see that as well as getting awards in English, Brandon seems to be doing very well in Science and this week came home with a certificate for outstanding performance in science class. Even he joked that this is getting a bit of a regular thing now. He has also got some of his mock results back and Geography he did very well getting a 6 without doing any revision. So he should easily be knocking the up to a 7/8+ come exam time next year.

Earlier this week he also had a bunch of industry experts come in and talk to the year 10's about future opportunities to consider. Brandon seemed really excited about the presentation he received regarding the Ford higher level apprentices (so could he be a 2nd generation Fordy following in his Dad's footsteps?). I think it will be tough to get an apprenticeship as the competition is fierce and it isn't like back in my day when they recruited some 120+ apprentices a year.

Brandon does it again with a certificate for outstanding performance in Science.

English Celebration of Excellence for Brandon

On Thursday of this week I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to the Beauchamps English Celebration of Excellence presentation evening. Brandon has worked so hard at his English and really seems to enjoy it. With his exams out of the way we eagerly await the results to see if his hard work paid off. But in the mean time he was awarded a certificate of achievement for excellence in English. Super proud of him. Unfortunately no photo's yet as the school took pictures due to data protection etc and have not yet sent them through.

Certificate of excellence awarded to Brandon in English.

Norovirus Illness Update and Wildcats Football Presentation

I haven't blogged in a while for two reasons, firstly despite being summer there hasn't really been a whole lot going on, and then secondly we have all been quite ill first with a bout of man flu and then with what we think was Norovirus. The Norovirus was grim and all started Monday last week when Holly was sent home from school having been sick twice and was literally then up until around 2am that night throwing up every half an hour. Not only did this wipe her out for two days, but by the following night it had spread to me, Tina, Josh and Brandon. Our house was like the night of the living dead and thankfully we have 3 toilets because at one point in time in the early hours of Wednesday morning there was one of us bent over every toilet being sick! Fortunately we are all recovered now and counting down to holiday in 13 days time!

Anyway during the illness Holly did manage to squeeze in another football presentation with her Wildcats team and on Sunday when it was nice and sunny we managed to get out paddle boarding again. We even managed to drag Josh out with us, albeit he didn't go on the water.

Holly wiped out for 2 days with Norovirus.

Holly receiving her medal from Freya her Wildcats football coach.

Another medal and some sweets from presentation day.

Team photo with some of the Wildcats girls and coach Freya.

A spot of lunch after some paddle boarding at Paper Mill Lock. Yes I had the cream scone as always.