LoL's Holiday

I was just looking in Gardeners Pics and noticed that Pete, Fran, marge, MF and Strongy all welcomed me back from holiday. Thank you very much!

However, I was not on holiday, surprise, surprise! :rolleyes: I was actually in the UK packing up things in the apartment in order to sell it. The "holiday" went like this ...

8 Oct Drive 6 hours (in an empty Transit van) to North Portugal where we stopped for the night. It was raining but we enjoyed a nice meal.

9 Oct Drive 6 hours to Santander, Spain, board ferry for an 18 hour crossing. I was van and then seasick! Receive news a dear friend died the day before. :(

10 Oct Arrive Plymouth, drive 4 hours, board IoW ferry for a 30-minute crossing, drive 45 minutes to apartment. Pack for four hours, then collapse.

11 Oct Go to Tesco and Garden Centre (VERY important). Pack the remainder of the day. Have micro meals for dinner.

12 Oct Pack all day.

13 Oct Pack all day.

14 Oct Pack. Visit to solicitor. Go to B&Q for wood stain and plants (VERY important). Get fish (no chips) on the way back. Load van till it's full to it's gills, had to leave one box behind!

15 Oct Leave apartment at 8am, drive across the island, board ferry, drive 4 hours to Plymouth, board ferry for 18-hour crossing. Seasick again.

16 Oct Arrive Santander, drive 6 hours through okay weather then torrential rain. Arrive in North Portugal in fog. Have nice meal.

17 Oct Drive 6 hours to home and arrive to fine weather. Greeted by Kedi-Gato and hubby but don't see our car ... which is broken down in the nearest town 6kms away. T'other half has beer then he and K-G's hubby go to retrieve car without success. Come back, get tools, go back, get battery, come back, charge battery overnight.

18 Oct T'other half and K-G's hubby go retrieve car bearing in mind all of the above to-ing and fro-ing to retrieve car is done in a fully-loaded Transit van!

Photos ... ah, yes. Took last photos of apartment, in the fog and drizzle, tansferred to computer upon return but have completely lost / deleted the file.

So, can anyone beat this "holiday" ?????

PS Just found these pics taken two years ago. Ours is on the verandah. View fromthe verandah (ugly building now an apartment block).





[ 05. November 2006, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: Lady of Leisure ]

 

Poor LoL sounds like an aweful trip, especially the sea sickness. We went from Plymouth to Roscoff which takes 9 hours and that was enough, Youngest tried sleepwalking round the ferry at one point!

 

Snippets from other threads made me realise it wasnt a hol you went on LofL!!

Sorry it was such a bad trip - when you look back on such times, you wonder how you ever coped dont you? :rolleyes: Sea sickness is awefull! Ive suffered from travel sickness all my life (I found air-sickness the worst :( )
I managed Poole to Cherbourg a couple of years ago ok so am happy to plan another drive down through France sometime

 

Didn't know you were going to IoW to pack for selling up LoL. Seems like it was a nightmare trip.
We had a "bad trip" on a dolphin cruise in St Petes couple of years ago and have ben put off going on any form of boat since :( . Hope the sale of the apartment goes OK.

 

Thanks for your sympathies. Funny thing is, I've never been seasick before and we did this crossing four times a year (two trips) for four or five years! The old ferry, Val de Loire, took 24 hours but this new one, Pont Aven, only takes 18, so I'm wondering if it was the gentle rolling. And I've certainly never had vehicle sickness before. Must be old age! :D :D :D

 

Quite some "holiday", LoL!! Don't fancy one like that myself.... Only thing I've done to rival it is to escort a coach-load of 16 year-olds from Hemel to Berlin and back.... That's when I gave up teaching :D
Hope you manage to stow away everything soon, or otherwise deall with / dispose of things.

The building where your flat was is absolutely gorgeous - how can you bear to part with it??

 

It was built in 1834 as the summer home for King Edward IV and Queen Adelaide. There are 10 apartments in it.

How can we part with it? By tripling your investment in seven years! :D

 

Sorry LOL,I must confess I was one of those people who thought you were having a holiday over on the IOW,but then I was going away myself at the same time,so just presumed it was a holiday.Poor you having the sickness,then having to pack up the apartment,then travelling all the way back home to find your car had broken down.
I think you now need a well earned rest...or holiday

 

Too true, Kandy. But now we're busy sorting out what we brought back to give to the charity for the unfortunate people who have lost everything in the floods only 20 minutes away from us! I'll have a rest after then!

 

So sorry to read your disaster of a trip, must admit i myself thought you were on holiday when i was speaking to kedi-gato while you were away.
sounds like a nightmare its a wonder you didnt have bad dreams after that lot.
Think you deserve a holiday after that lot

 

Good news, but sad at the same time ... as of yesterday we are not the proud owners of our apartment on the IoW! Having gone to Merrie Ole at the beginning of October to sign all the papers, things finally completed yesterday following several hiccups on the buyer's part!

This has only taken since March, but that's quicker than the two years it took on our other two properties! What a fiasco house buying / selling is in the UK!

I did our first house sale / purchase of second without a solicitor as for the most part I find them a waste of time, and certainly money. I was offered a position in the firm afterwards but declined as I couldn't bear to work in the legal field in the UK.

Anyway, we are happier, richer bunnies now ... certainly richer for not having to fork out property taxes, buildings maintenance, grounds maintenance, insurance, electricity and water every year now on empty premises!

Hurray and cheers everyone!

 

What a relief! Not without a few sad moments, though, I expect.... :rolleyes: