Author: sage

2^nd April Tuesday (London – San Jose)

Our taxi pickup was booked at 6.45am and we managed to get out of the door roughly at that time (after getting up early and waking Airyen last minute). It was then a dozy drive to Heathrow T2, arriving at around 8am.

We checked in our bags (all weight was fine) and then went to the lounge in T2. The lounge was quite nice and we just relaxed (and ate breakfast) until it was close to boarding time.

Our fist flight was at 10.35am. Airyen and I were sitting together at the back of the plane, whilst Bhavni was separate in a exit isle (united airlines). On this first long leg of 10h+ to Houston, Airyen and I watched plenty of TV on the screen, keeping awake as much as possible. Bhavni froze as it was quite cold in the plane.

Landing in Houston, we were near the end of the exiting queue, but we walked quite fast, so came to Houston main immigration hall ok, however, greeting us there was only one line for everyone – whether you are transiting or entering USA, and it was quite big – we only had roughly 1.40 until boarding for the next flight was due to finish. It was not only us who were worried as lots of other people asked the question – no help queue is the queue. Well we just carried on watching the time pass, with them making it worse by reducing the number of stations when we were getting to the front of the queue. We got to immigration a bit after boarding was to have started – we got through and then legged it to the next bit. Running past others who were saying out-loud said they think they have made the next flight we got to another queue – this one to the security check. However the wait here was extended as they decided to bring out sniffer dogs and we had to wait until we could go – slowly walking past the dogs. Finally after this we got to the bag security station. This was the time our next flight boarding was meant to be finished. Not only did this take a long time as they were wanting to test the new protocols, but also they made Bhavni and Airyen walk out and re-scan the bottles (as there was a little left that they drank). So the bottles got forgotten. By now Bhavni had given up, but I said lets just get to the gate and see. We got there; it was still open – they had delayed the flight as there were many people in the same boat as us. What a relief. Boarding we sat (Bhavni in a different isle) and asked for water.

Taking off about 30 mins later than planned, it was a little under a 4 hour flight to San Jose. I managed to get Airyen settled down for a sleep.

Landing at around 8pm, we disembarked and managed to get through security quite quickly, with our bags arriving quite quickly also. We then had to get the free shuttle bus to Hampton by Hilton, which took a little time (with most of the family grumpy and tired).

Getting to the hotel, and checking in (as there was a queue) we finally settled in – apart from the getting water for the lost bottles.

3^rd April Wednesday (San Jose – La Fortuna)

Today was an early start, we got up before 5.30 and Airyen and I were at breakfast (included) by 6am, shortly followed by Bhavni. A simple buffet, but enough in the morning.

We checked out just before 7am, just in time when our pickup for the car rental company came. It was a short drive (400m away), and soon we got into our car – not quite the Tuscon, but a 4wd Suzuki, which fitted our bags fine. All in (including the booster seat brought from UK) we started our journey at 7.30.

It was around 1h drive to Poas volcano (that I had booked from the UK) and it was nice to see the views in the daylight.

As we got to the parking area, it was quite quiet and a police officer ushered us to one side. Poas was closed due to high volcanic activity. We were told that they were not sure when it would next open, but could talk to the park authorities to reschedule. However with our packed itinerary we resigned ourselves to not being able to visit.

Driving a bit back down, Bhavni has spotted a nice shop to stop at – it sold fresh strawberries. So a container later and with a coffee for me we sat in their outdoor area which was really peaceful. On the way out the person at the counter showed us video from the day before – you could see the plumes from Poas from here.

It was a 40 minute drive to La Paz and the sanctuary there. Again I had booked entry before, so after parking (in the dusty car park), we just got in and started exploring.

There a lots of different areas to see with; fist was the birds, parrots and toucans as well as others. Then some sleeping sloths, butterflies, monkeys and big cats – there were lots of animals. In between we chilled on a bench and had some food. After seeing most of the animals (snakes were not for Bhavni), we then went on the waterfall walk, which had a bit of climbs – there are a number of waterfalls and we most of them.

After going back to the main complex, we went to the main restaurant for lunch, we picked some pasta for Aiyen and had chips and salad for us, along with drinks.

It was just before 1pm when we left poas. We stopped in a nearby town (San Miguel) en route for some food supplies. There was also a hardware store that we had a quick nosey around before getting back on the road.

We got to Granja Agua Camino a Agua Azul at around 3pm, it was quite far down a rough road so was interesting to find. While we waited for the owner to come – after 4 – we watched the birds and felt the heat. The owner came and told us about things to do and we payed the bill as we were leaving early the next day.

We then headed into Fortuna, parking near the Italianissimo, where we had dinner – quite nice pizzas. Airyen was a bit tired so was a bit uncomfortable.

After we had a walk around Fortuna – plenty lively. A desert later then we got back to the car and went back to the accommodation for the night.

4^th April Thursday (La Fortuna)

We had to wake up quite early today (at around 6ish) and had our breakfast which was the cereal we had brought with us. Then we loaded up the car and left before 7am, as it was a 30 minute drive to Arenal Paraiso Resort Spa, which was our next stay. After getting past the security check we went to tell reception that we were going to park the car, but in the end we checked in and left our bags there.

The minivan came to pick us up just as I finished moving the car at around 07.50, for Arenal Volcano Expedition. There were a couple of families in the van and it was a short drive as out hotel was quite close to the park entrance.

After parking we then started our walk on to the lava field tail. Our guide stopped a couple of times on the ascent to give us a talk about the volcano and the surroundings (pyroclastic flows and such), especially before any ascents. Not too hard a walk for us luckily and it was nice and early so the sun was not too much. There were quite a good number of views and plenty of time for photos.

After the decent, we got to the van where there were benches, and we were given lots of watermelon and pineapple to eat. We also found out that someone on the tour was a pediatrician working in America.

Getting dropped back to the hotel, we then got into the car and drove to Fortuna Waterfall where we bought tickets to go in (approx $40). It is a decent way down (roughly 500 steps). At the bottom we spent some time there, letting Airyen climb over rocks and go into the water there a bit as well as some nice photos of the waterfall. Leaving it was the climb of 500 steps, where we passed lots of tired tourists.

Back at the hotel our rooms were ready, so after getting ready we headed to the pool area and had some lunch – salad and chips. After which we went swimming and then to the spa pools (nearly the hottest one). Airyen had great fun spotting lizards. After a good few hours we got ready and then just chilled at the hotel for a while (we could see the volcano so well from our room). I also booked an activity for the next morning.

We then headed to La Fortuna where we ate at La Street Bistro (which we had seen yesterday). The food was south American inspired – we had cactus tacos and palatones for example – nice food. After dinner we had another walk around and got some simple ice cream sandwiches for desert.

Back at the hotel we got to our room and soon called it a night.

5^th April Friday (La Fortuna – Santa Elena / Monteverde)

Getting up there ware a lovely morning view of the volcano from our room (though we were close to the road here it did not detract). Airyen and I headed to the breakfast around 7am- seating was great as there was the view. Bhavni joined a short while later after finishing the packing – the food was decent.

We made our way to the reception after 8am, where we had a pickup to take us to the stables (just a bit up the road) with 3 other people. Getting there there was a nice cowboy who was our guide for the trip. He set started to set us up, but was a bit surprised that Airyen was needing his own horse, but took it in his stride and gave Bhavni standby horse. Funny thing Bhavnis horse was not a member of the other horses group, so acted independently and tried to ignore the commands she gave, so much so that the guide gave Bhavni his horse and took this one.

Soon enough we were on our way, across the road and into some woods which went down to the river. It was quite easy as the horses were well trained and knew the route, but still allowed us to guide them or deviate when we wanted to. Airen coped well and often behind me (I ended up leading most of the time). The guide commented on how all 3 of use were handling the horses well with confidence. We entered the river and we even went for a short trot in it, which provided us some nice pictures. After seeing the waterfall there we headed on the return journey, this time the guide suggested we try a little bit of galloping – which all 3 of us did, though at the beginning Airyen had not got a good enough of a technique to slow down his horse so there was a point he was shouting “I don’t like this” and the guide had to come and help slow his horse. After a really nice ride (including road galloping), we got back, returned the horses to the stable and had some photos before getting the minivan back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we quickly got to our room and then finished checking out. It was then into the car and heading north around the lake. Our first stop was going to be for lunch where we stopped at the German cafe. Plenty of parking around – not quite outside. While I went and got a place to sit down Bhavni and Airyen went to the bakery shop and bought (by “accident”) a sweet pastry. We figured out some options for what to eat, but had to wait a bit till our order got taken. Things here just took a bit of time. The food was decent, though I had to listen to a really opinionated British tour guide talk about all sorts of political things.

After we got the bill and paid we filled up on fuel then continued around the lake. We had decided to take the scenic route around the lake, so ignoring google maps, we went a different way at Tronadora. This quickly turned into unsealed roads, often past small villages interspersed with great views of the volcano and also the volcano to the distant north. We even had snakes crossing our path. After a while we headed away from the lake, climbing up the hills, past wind turbines and more amazing views. Right near Moneverde, the road became sealed.

We went first to a supermarket and pick up some supplies for the next few days. We then made our way to Villas Macadamia, a number of vacation apartments behind a gate, where we found the owner and started to check in, he did not speak English, so it was a little amusing with our little knowledge of Spanish.

We started to settle in, unpacking and cooling the place, as it was hot from the day. I made us some food, after which we left to go to the town center and had a walk to see what was around. Not that much, but we went to a restaurant and Airyen got a chocolate desert. It was then back to the apartment for the night.

6^th April Saturday (Monteverde)

We were all awake quite early in the morning, I stared to get our breakfast organised, but Bhavni came and said that the bathroom was blocked. We phoned the manager (found the phrase – el bano es blocado), he came quite quickly and then got his plunger. He thought he fixed the problem initially but it was a much more difficult issue, he called on his wife to come and help. We left them to do it while opening the doors and having breakfast. This was not going to work, so after some coffee (for them also), they said that they will move us later, to the next house, after we are back.

So around 8am, we drove to the Santa Elena Reserve, which was around 25 mins away. Showing our tickets we went in, initially we were going to have a walk as we had a bit of time, but Airyen started to throw a tantrum, so we ended uo sitting in the canteen for a little while, I had only seen a couple of animals when whilst Airyen and Bhavni headed back first.

We were waiting for a while in the canteen, past the tour start time of 9.15. Eventually the guide came and we (as well as 2 more couples) were first ussured into an adjoining room for a video. After that we then went on a walk around the local cloud forest on the closer trails. We saw lots, from the plants that grow there too the animals – mostly smaller things such as bugs and tarantulas in their burrows, but we also got to briefly see the national bird. The guide gave a good explanation of the things that we were seeing. After the tour was finished we took one of the paths to go to the tower, which was one of the highest points in this conservatory. Though we could not see much – as the cloud forest lived up to its name, it was quite nice being there. Getting back to the canteen, we got our included drink and snack.

We then left to go to the apartment – which was now a new one (next door to the old one). We just had to move some of the stuff from the old apartment to the new one – and turn on the AC. Then we had some lunch – we had some food left over plus fruit and snacks.

For the afternoon, we drove into Santa Elena and to the “Frog Pond Ranario”, where Airyen and I went in. We spent a while in there as there were lots and lots of different frogs, most from the central Americas. Each display showed whether they were tree or ground frogs and whether nocturnal or in the day. The hard bit was spotting them – we did well – only a couple we could not find. As we were leaving I got talking to one of the tour guides – some of the nocturnal frogs hide under ground – no wonder. She was also doing a tour at 7 the next day, so that would be useful. Our tickets included two entries (for day/night).

Meanwhile Bhavni had been in the car and after a lot of research had arranged a night walk for tonight. So we then went home and prepared/had dinner.

It was then a drive to the night walk place for around 6pm meeting. We were paired up with an American couple (with a child a bit younger then Airyen and a baby), before proceeding in the twilight. The walk was in the areas with brush surrounding the forests – apparently a good time as animals make their way here. We saw a number of smaller animals and lots of insects. (we had to see the guide getting very aggressive with a wasp). We also saw some sloths high up in the trees and some sleeping toucans. The scopes that they had were amazing to see with. The children coped really well with the tour.

It was then time to go home where we retired quite quickly for the night.

7^th April Sunday (Monteverde)

We had a chilled morning, having a slow breakfast after lying in a bit. This is as our pickup to Selvetura Adventure Park was for 10.30 from just outside the accommodation compound. So we walked just after 10 and hung around after having a hello to the owner.

The pickup bus came not far off the allocated time and then it went to the park (we were the last pickup). We got to the cloud forests then to the park (was not far from the Santa Elena Reserve and in the mist.

Getting to the checkin, the nice lady there advised us as we had lots to do, she recommended doing the butterfly house and hanging bridges first, then getting a bite to eat – the weather may improve. This was excellent advise in the end.

So first we went to the butterfly house first. As it was so cold we were told that the butterflies are going to be a little sleepy, they offered an alternative to go to the reptile house, but Bhavni does not really like them. So in the butterfly house it was similar to the one in La Paz waterfalls, but the butterflies were not flying much. But by the time we walked around taking pictures they had become significantly more active.

After we finished, it was a small walk to the entrance of the hanging bridges. These bridges are pretty amazing and they are in a loop around the whole site. It was a lot of walking in the quiet drizzly fog (as a cloud forest should be), and some of the bridges were really long (200m+), so that the ends disappeared in the fog. It was amazing to stare down at the canopy below us. Though we did not really see any animals except for a couple of smaller birds.

By the time we had finished it was nearly 1pm ending near the main area. We wondered up to the restaurant there to have some lunch. It was a nice place to have lunch – outside on the veranda overlooking the forests (in the fog still). We had salad and pasta there.

By the time we fished lunch it was a little past 2pm, so we made our way to the entrance for the Zip lines for the 2.30 zipping. We got in a queue, and a number of others joined. All in all a decent size. After being let in – it was time to gear up. We all got helmets, safety harnesses, gloves and the zip attachment. It was then to a safety and instruction briefing, where they showed us the signals and things we had to do – they would do the attaching.

Then it was time to go – a little climb to the first zip line. Airyen was a bit apprehensive, so I went first in the whole group, with Airyen coming second. This was pretty amazing and soon Airyen became very confident, so much so that he went ahead of me for a couple of zip lines. There was an uphill walk around half way through where we had to wait for everyone and the instructors. However the zip lining in the foggy forests was amazing – especially on some of the long ones (one was 1km), where most of the route can not be seen and you pass high trees over the canopy. There were also a few tandem zip lines. One I did with Airyen and one I did with Bhavni.

At the end of the zips there was an optional Tarzon swing. Bhavni and Airyen did not really like the look of this and I was a little bit apprehensive. But I was the first person up, and although the initial swing was a shock, then it was great. Airyen then had confidence to go up, he was harnessed but then got cold feet, however the guide just gave him a shove. I heard a bit of I dont like this whilst he was swinging. Now even Bhavni had a go – though getting her to stop was hard as she nearly knocked down a guide.

What a great day it had been, with the park now closing we headed back in the last lot of buses sometime after 4.30, emerging from the cloudy forest into a sun soaked valley. We were probably the 4th drop off and got to our accommodating (saying hello to the owner).

When we got to the apartment, Airyen played outside whist we turned on the AC and prepared dinner. Following the nice meal, we then headed into town, where I dropped Airyen and Bhavni near the Frog place, so that they could do their night visit. Meanwhile I thought to explore – Nearly everywhere was closed or about to, except a couple of places, such as the bar with a tree trough it. I felt too conspicuous in that place, especially as it was on the expensive side. On the other hand the restaurants near the supermarket were full of youngsters.

Anyway Bhavni and Airyen really enjoyed the tour and saw all the frogs including the national frog. It was then home and retire for the night – well with some more packing for us.

8^th April Monday (Monteverde – Manuel Antonio)

Today we were leaving the region. We had a nice breakfast, getting everything together and then loaded up the car. It was then time to checkout and leave. We said bye to the owners and then started our journey. It was another amazing drive going up and down the mountains along the smallish roads before finally joining the 1 motorway.

After getting to the coastal roads we then decided to have a stop, so we made our way all the way into Puntarenas, looking for a cafe (which is really interesting and scenic), before turning around and stopping at a local restaurant called Malibu on the mainland that we had seen earlier. It was open and we had a nice couple of drinks there, right next to the beach area – so some photo opportunities. We were tempted to get some food (really cheap local prices also), but it was a bit early, so we then continued on our way.

We then continued our drive. Our next stop as it was getting to lunch time was to Jaco, where we and parked off the main road in town. We initially went for a walk around the block – which got us to the beach as well – its a surfers beach. From there we went to a area with lots of restaurants. I fancied a nice salad and there was a store that was right up the avenue with a customisable bowl that I got. Bhavni and Airyen looked around (suggesting a bagel for example). They in the end ended up in an Indian restaurant, where Airyen ordered turka daal and rice, so we made a meal there.

After lunch and a quick walk around we went back to the car. I also tried to go to a cash machine to get some local currency – but gave up as there was almost 40% commission.

So we carried on out drive towards Manuel Antonio, driving past Quepos and then onto Hotel San Bada. Security check as we get in then park at the reception for check in. We were given a room on the 3rd floor and we parked closer and put our luggage into the room. It was after 5 so we decided to go down and have a walk to the beach, which was through a gate (sortof under the hotel) and a 100m walk. It was a great time to go to the beach as it was near sunset, so as well as Airyen getting his feet wet we got some great views.

As it was getting darker it was time to go back to the room and after a little bit of unpacking and chilling, we got ready, headed to the roof bar for a look at the view, here we asked for reservation at the sushi bar there the next day, which the waiter said was no problem. Then headed to the car for a drive to the Manuel Antonio Falafel Bar. Nice environment and the food was quite good. It was then to the hotel for the night.

9^th April Tuesday (Manuel Antonio)

Today was going to be a lazier day – though its not really possible to have lie ins. After we had got up, Airyen and I initially headed to breakfast, Bhavni was going to come down a bit later. It was really busy and it was a bit fun to find a nice place to sit. I spent a bit of time to get tea for Bhavni – they had run out of tea bags. Food was so so – the chef at the egg station was slightly rude, did not want to make time for us or any of the other staff, but some of the other head waiters were quite good.

After breakfast we split up – Bhavni went to the room to do some some work, whilst Airyen and I went to the beach. We chilled there for a bit, but as the sea was a bit cold and Airyen had had enough of the sand. We then went to the pool at the hotel. I mostly tried to not do too much (i liked the idea of reading on the lounger) – but ended up swimming with him to keep him amused.

Soon it was lunch time, so after going to the room, Bhavni joined us. We decided to go local and ended up in Buru at around 12.30. It was quite busy, but we managed to get a table, with the waiter being quite nice. Airyen had his usual pasta dish, whilst we had some lovely fresh smoothies and a few dishes including patatones and other things. It got quieter as we were there and the waiters got less stressed (though the waitress when we gave money and asked for change got a bit something then appologised to us).

It was after 2, so we all went to the hotel and to the pool side for a bit. In the late afternoon, we watched some of the happenings including the birds in trees.

At around 6 we headed to the rooftop for pre dinner drinks before the sushi reservation. Getting up there, I was surprised as the area where we were meant to sit seemed closed. It turned out that there would be no Sushi as the chef had called in sick, but we were annoyed that no one had notified us.

Anyway we had our happy hour drinks watching the canopy and the sea view with the odd birds flying around. Not many monkeys. Now one of the waiters told us about another sushi restaurant that he recommends, so we thought that this would be a good alternative.

So we got in the car and drove to the restaurant…. it was closed. So new plan, we had passed an Indian restaurant – Namese. So we went there. It turns out (after seeing the similarity) that the restaurant in Jaco is the same owner. The food was quite nice, Airyen was definitely happy. Its a little dear, but that’s because all the spices are imported. After the good meal, we went to a supermarket and got some ice cream sandwiches for desert, before heading back to the hotel

10^th April Wednesday (Manuel Antonio)

Today we had to make sure we were early – our guide had told us, so we headed to breakfast a bit after 6.20. Today was quieter compared to yesterday – the coach tour had left. The food was similar – but easier to get things (including tea).

Around 7am we made our way to the reception, where we waited for our guide for today -Eli (who Kalpesh recommended). We entered the park with him, he was really well known – with everyone saying hello to him – our entry was 9.30 but this was not an issue, showing the entry with him was just a formality.

We then had a great tour with him. He had the same telescopic sight that all the guides used and we saw plenty of animals. Crabs, bats, birds blending into trees, toucans, snakes, humming birds and a number of sloths! Some of these were quite close up. Again it was interesting how well known Eli was (he was the first one in a long time to photograph some animals in the wild for example).

After he had spent a couple of hours with us, he left us at the safe beach (the others he warned us about due to rip tides). Whilst Bhavni tried her hand at sunbathing (it was hot and humid), Airyen and I got into the water. He got quite far in eventually, such that he and I were swimming to stay above the waves (mostly calm, but occasionally some bigger ones). After a while the sun burn through the clouds and the humidity dropped – much better.

It was getting on in time, so we packed up and decided to go for a walk to one of he further points in the park. A bit confused about the paths as we ended up on so we ended up having to go in a circle. In the mean time Bhavni met one of her old colleagues (small worlds and all). Anyway on the correct path, we got to the cafe here, so decided to stop for food. It was a really slow queue to get the food. They had no pizza’s so we got some other bits, drinks and water (in aluminum as Bhavni wanted one for the bottle left in Houston). Its strange eating in a cage.

Some of the paths to the secluded beaches were closed, so we headed to the far lookout points (it seemed one bordered on a beach). The path had a decent climb with them – there were not that many people here and the ones that were here seemed out of breath. We passed a couple of troops of monkeys and plenty of birds as we ascended. The lookouts were pretty – having good views – there was a bit of a beach – well below us from the cliff top.

It was nearly 2pm, and it was looking like it would drizzle soon, so we went back. We were quite a way in so it took a while – Airyen complained quite a bit about it. Eventually we got the the boardwalk and the home run out of the park (surprising how far in that was). Then it was to the hotel and to the rooms to change for the pool, where we spent a few hours – we did order some drinks at the swim up bar.

After getting ready we headed to the hotel bar on the top floor – for some drinks whilst watching the canopy for birds and monkeys in the decaying light. The drinks were quite nice. Apparently the sushi chef was still ill today.

Well Airyen wanted Sushi, and there was a good Sushi restaurant just at the main road near the beach (Shibuya Sushi Bar). It was up a flight of stairs on the second floor. Quite nice – sushi is quite expensive though. After dinner it was back to the hotel for putting Airyen to bed. Then packing the bags before bed.

11^th April Thursday (Manuel Antonio – San Jose)

Today we were leaving and we went for breakfast quite early again – about 7am, I loaded the car quite a bit first. It was again calm for breakfast, and we knew the routine now. We then checked out (Bhavni told the reception about the issues we had), then got underway. We drove directly to la Iguana Chocolate for our organized tour. The road there we knew was meant to be rough, but it was pretty interesting – rain or no 4 wheel drive would have not been great, and it went on for many km – though this kept it interesting.

We got there a little before 10am, and had a small welcome drink, given by the lady who was from the UK originally. There were 2 other couples (one with baby) with our tour. We had to wait for the ladies husband to come as he was giving the tour (and was working in a further field).

After a little wait we were given an introduction into the farm and how it operates. This included explanation into the growing cycle of the cocoa and trying some of the fresh fruit as well as other fruit (star fruit). We were shown the prep and conching of the chocolate. It was quite hot by now so it was nice to go to top floor of their building with a bit of cover and breeze. This is where we did some preparation of hot chocolate (using a stone pestle), and flavored chocolate.

Airyen meanwhile had befriended the owners son – a little younger then him, so he was playing with him and entertained. The forest location was nice – there were cockatoos flying around, and we had a toucan right near by picking fruit off a tree. It was then lunch time – they had prepared a nice meal – everything was vegetarian, including salad, patties and local rice and beans.

After saying bye (and buying cocoa nibs) – Airyen was having fun playing, we headed off. It was a shorter run on the rough road (and way less rough), before getting on tarmac roads. Then a smooth ride until we got to to San Jose with again some really lovely views.

How you can forget there is traffic after not seeing it for ages, so the last stretch (with the filling up of fuel) was a bit painful. Returning the car was mostly painless – took a bit for the guys to come and check the car first – all clear.

Then we asked them to call a taxi, which was not a great idea. Firstly it took ages – 45mins to get here. Then when we got in I noticed it had a starting charge of 600 – and we were not in the airport area! So after some frustration and complaining we got the person to do a fixed price of $40 – an uber would have been $25ish (though the taxi said they are illegal).

We got to the Park Inn San Jose and gave the less disgruntled taxi driver the $’s. Then we checked in, 3rd floor room. Airyen was wanting a swim, and the pool should have been open – but the area was closed for a private party. Bhavni went to talk to the reception – we got our room changed to a top floor room and they promised to open the pool early in the morning. The view from the room was decent – though not much specifically to see.

After getting ready, we headed out for dinner walking (choosing a local restaurant as we had not got our bearings). We went to a Lebanese restaurant about 10 minuets away. When we got there Bhavni was worried as there was some dancing going on inside, but it was one person dancing and it was not anything untoward.

The food was quite good – I like Lebanese. After dinner we walked back to the hotel on the quiet streets, then after Airyen was asleep did some research and booking for the next day.

12^th April Friday (San Jose)

As we had been told the pool would be open, Airyen and I headed there early. There was a guy cleaning the pool when we got there – most of the party setup was still there and there did not seem to be a good place to change. Anyway it turned out the pool was quite cold so Airyen refused to go in, even with coaxing. So I did some refreshing lengths then we both went to collect Bhavni and go for breakfast – another early one.

We then called an Uber to take us to near the Holiday Inn for 8.30 for a “free” walking tour that Bhavni and I had booked the night before. It was a little wait before the tour guide arrived and there were quite a number of us on this tour.

The tour was a walk around the center of the city – its quite a new city so most of the sights are of modern stuff (and this became the capital after an earthquake). Most of the sights were from the 20th Century. Airyen was quite interested in some things and spoke a lot with tour guide as he had been recently doing Spanish history and a lot of this was related.

After the tour, we went to the Art Museum, but all the English speaking tour spaces (which are free) were all gone for today. We decided then to walk to the center market, where we had a look around first at the shops – mixture of local produce shops and some tourist traps. We then had lunch there, the restaurants are quite simple cafes (so not restaurants). The food was pretty decent and so cheap – we had palatone, a beans and rice based meal and chips for Airyen with drinks, all for under £10. After a bit more of a wonder and key-rings purchase, we then wondered to a cafe near the holiday inn, where Airyen and Bhavni had very decadent deserts which included a pistachio cream filled croissant. I enjoyed a coffee.

After that we got an uber towards hotel. As it was quite early we thought it would be nice to stop at the big park near our hotel. The driver was a little bit odd and dropped us on the far side of where we wanted. Anyway the lakes that show on google maps were all dried up, so we started to walk to hotel, there were a few things to see on way, such as art installations.

Back at the hotel we all went to the pool, it was still too cold for Bhavni and Airyen, so they lounged around the pool – dipping their legs in. The small hot-pool which was open was crowded with some other hotel guests. After a bit of down time we then headed back to the room where we got ready for dinner.

We caught a Uber to the area near Parque Francia – the hip area our tour guide had recommended for a good vegetarian restaurant – Arbol de Seda. The place looked like an converted house, and we booked our table for about an hour later then had a walk around seeing the many coffee bars and cool places. The food was pretty good – quite a different choice of menu from what we had recently.

After dinner we had another little walk around – then caught an uber back to the hotel. It was bed for Airyen and a final packing push for us before going to sleep.

13^th April Saturday (San Jose – London)

The next morning we got up and ready, then headed down for breakfast. Soon enough it was time to check out and head to the Airport (via an Uber again). Checkin was relatively straight forward, but the staff threw a spanner in the works by informing us that we would have to pick up our bags for the connecting flight in Newark. Anyway we got to the onto our 12:44 plane to America.

Around 5 hours later we landed in Newark (1.45h to next plane), where we had to get out and through security. Now this was again like we witnessed in Houston – a massive single queue whether for transit or immigration – looking at this we could see this would be tight. Talking to a guy who had come to Costa Rica via Houston as well – he had been on the messaging (to united) and was initially convinced he would not have to pick up the bags – there was no way he wanted to miss the flight as on the way out this had happened and he had to shell out a lot to stay in Houston. Bhavni also started messaging as she was very worried about getting the flight. United help desk on the app does not have any idea about anything it turns out. I on the other hand was of the opinion what will be will be!

We got to the front of the queue about the time boarding was. The guy in front was asked why he was looking nervous – his reply was that he thinks he is going to miss the plane. We got through, and while exiting saw our bags on a carousel, so we quickly picked them up and then had to go to anther terminal.

Would you know it the terminal tram was out of action, so we had to follow the diversions for the replacement bus. Luckily we caught one straight away (after confirming it was the correct one) and it was only a 3 minute ride. At the next terminal we had to figure out where to go – signage is pretty sub par and there were hardly any staff around – we manged to get to the correct floor. Now there was a queue so Bhavni joined it. It seemed to be going ridiculously slowly – when asking if this was the correct queue, the staff member said yes and you would have to wait your turn. There was no way we could pretend we would make the plane even if it was very delayed. I went to see if there was anything else on the floor – I saw some united staff – we had to drop our bags somewhere else. So I ran back to Bhavni and Airyen and then we all ran that way. We went with a few others on the same flight as us (from Costa Rica to London), and we all pretty much just deposited bags one after another at this place, then ran to the gate. The plane again was waiting as there were lots of passengers in the queue at Newerk. Finally on we got our seats and asked for water after our rush, then settled down for the 7h+ flight.

14^th April

We landed at heathrow (a little later then we were originally meant to), picked up our bags and got our pre booked taxi home.

14th August Monday

It was an early wake up after the late night sleep at about 3am, to get ready for our 4.30am taxi pickup.
We arrived at Heathrow and even after spotting the rest of the group could not directly join them as we had managed to check in already. So after dropping the bags we went and joined the group.

After security we then went to the lounge (parents went to the posher lounge to us). We managed to feed the children (and ourselves) some food, and were enjoying the lounge so much that we realised that our flight was about to leave, the board at the gate had changed to closing. Anyway Bhavni and I got chided by the lady there, whereas the rest of our group just waltzed through.

On the way out we got my Father to sit near us and Airyen to sit next to the rest of the children, so we had a quiet flight.

Arriving in Porto, immigration was easy (nice security with tired children), we then picked up our bags and made it to the exit. One taxi was there, in which we sent most of the group (apart from Bhavni and I and the parents). Our next transport turned up 40 mins later. Luckily it was an easy journey to the Hilton
Gaia.

At the hotel we dropped of the bags. Anish suggested a restaurant Nhac Nhac, we took a Bolt to there. However the restaurant was closed all day that day.

Next door there was MXM which was open, so rather then messing around all 13 of us sat there – not recommended for large groups or vegetarians – things coming out were glacial and the quinoa burger that Bhavni ordered came with bacon in it and when asking to remake it Bhavni followed to see the cook try to just remove it. But at least the chips were good.

So after the food, we headed back to the hotel in our taxis, where Minuls and Sheilinas rooms were ready but ours were still waiting. Anyway we went to my parents room for a bit of a surprise for them – a suite and bubbles, but a few of the children had knocked out so we saved the bubbles for later.

We all went to our rooms and after a bit of time to refresh, converged on the spa pool – very nice indoor pool and highly heated. The children had a lot of fun.

After the swim and getting ready Parents, Minul and Our family met in the lobby and had a walk on the river front towards the bridge. There seemed to be a good Italian there, but they did not want to give us the time of day. So in the end we went to Pizza Hut near our hotel, where Shelinas lot met us. It was quite a decent meal.

After dinner we all were so exhausted that we all went to our rooms and knocked out.

15th Tuesday

Our fist day here, after the long day yesterday, we woke a little late and headed down for breakfast, getting adjoining tables. Every one came down over time until the whole group had gathered.

Shelina and the family wanted to go see the Palacio da Bolsa, which was also something that we wanted to see, so along with parents we gathered in the lobby and ordered a couple of bolts to go there. When we arrived we met up with Shelina and co on the grassy area outside, and joined the small queue to the palace entrance. It did not take that long luckily and we were in time to enter and join a tour in English. The tour lasted around an hour with lots of explanations of the room and the faux finishes they all contained, with the tour finishing on the oriental room. (Bhavni and I did a little retrace to see a couple of items we had missed after). The queue to the palace was by now a lot longer.

Shelina and my parents wanted to go for a drink at a cafe after, so we said we would join them. Anish had found a place he wanted to go to, so we walked there a few minutes away. It was quite small and busy, so the rest bailed and went to look for something else, whilst we ordered a couple of natas (2 for us and one for Anish). We decided to abandon them and made our way back to the Sao Francisco Church. The gothic church was quite impressive, with lots of decor, statues and guild-work. The ancillary rooms that we could visit were also impressive.

It was just before 1pm when we left and we made our way towards the Clerigos tower. On the way there was a nice viewpoint where we could see the river, bridge and Gaia. As it was getting to lunch time we got to the Jardim da Cordoaria, where we stopped to have a little of the food that we had packed and the nata, and it gave Airyen a chance to play on the playground there.

After we queued at the tower; the next entry was going to be at 3pm. We had around an hour, so we walked to the Porto Cathedral. The map said it was mostly flat – not really! We walked around the outside plaza of the cathedral, with plenty of views across the city- we did not try to go in as there was a big queue for entrance. Bhavni decided to buy some slushies, one for her and one for Airyen – way too sweet for me.

Back at the Clerigos tower we had a short wait before going in. The route took us around a lot of different rooms and views of the church, even with some displays of art (plastic art from waste included), before the main climb up the tower, narrow stairs and waiting for people ensued. Getting to the top, the views were impressive as we were very high up. Though I had to keep lifting Airyen up so he could see over the balustrade.

After leaving we caught a bolt as it was getting to 4pm. Back at the hotel, Airyen and I changed and went to the pool for a while.

Getting ready we converged for drinks (bubbles) and the desert in the parents room just after 6pm with every one.

For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant (Indian Flavours), catching a bolt, for 7.30, where we got a long table, the food was fine.

Then it was back to the hotel and to bed.

16th Wednesday

We had to wake up reasonably early today as we (everyone but shelinas family) had to head to the restaurant before it opened at 7am. The idea was to collect some food boxes that Partia had organised with the hotel for the children, but because there was an opportunity, we decided to eat some food there.

Meeting at reception we ordered bolts to Sao Bento station, where the Living Tours company is. We were 30 mins early, plenty of time to check in – tour number 10.

Most of the other tours got called, until it was our turn, ours was a smaller group so it was a smaller bus. Our family bundled our selves into the front few seats, getting Kiaran and Airyen sitting together.

It was around a 30 minuite drive to our first stop, Amarante. Its a small but picturesque town. We got a bit of a tour around the center over the famous bridge and around the church with its saint to do with marriage. We were left with a little time to explore – Bhavni and I got a couple of pastries (not the rude ones), which were very sweet, but quite nice.

Back on the coach, it was around a 40 minute journey to the Duro Valley (after the tunnel and the bridge from one of the fast and the furious movies), where we got to a nice looking Vineyard. We were ushered into the garden area with a welcome drink before a tour of the barrel room, where they had animatronic people showing the crushing of the grapes. They also had some very old barrels of port (which are only tapped in Easter).

From here we were led to the dining room – a lovely space, where we as a family had a table to our selves. We had unlimited wine with our meal (though I dont think anyone could really take advantage). The soup was quite good, but the main meal was interesting – tofu that had been marinated in port – only I ate it, there was enough desert and port to follow.

After food we had a little more time in the grounds before we boarded the coach once again. We headed to a dock near the river, where we waited to board a boat. It was a bit annoying as a couple of tours were waiting to board and there were 2 boats – a large and a small, as we were last we only could go on the larger boat, where there was only space in the ‘inside’ area, a bit of a green house. (We were meant to be on the smaller boat – but the boat company did not do their job correctly). Everyone sat in the middle seats away from the sun, except for me as I wanted the view. I think the views would have been amazing if you had a good view and were not too hot. The most exciting thing though was the 2 military aircraft the flew over.

Getting back onto the coach, we were then transported to our next destination, another vineyard, another picturesque location. It was quite hot, so we all tried to stay in the shade whilst we were given a talk about the wine. We then were given a few different ports to try.

It was then time to head back, apparently on one of the best roads in the world to drive, but because of the port nearly everyone had a bit of a snooze (so did the children).

Getting back to Porto, we took a bolt back to the hotel, freshened up and then made our way to the food market, where we got some mixed foods (mostly Italian), I had a gorgenzola with cocoa pasta whilst Bhavni had an aribiata and Airyen a simple tomato.

After dinner we had a nice leisurely walk around the waterfront – seeing the interesting shops and nice photo opportunities. I even got a belt from a seller.

It was then back to the hotel, to get Airyen to bed. With everyone resting I went to the bar for a night cap, where I was joined by Anish, Shelina and the children.

17th Thursday

Today was a bit more of a relaxed breakfast. Airyen and I were down first, everyone else joined over the next hour.

Today was a free day, so whilst the others had their plans, we took took the cable car to the top of the bridge from the waterfront (near the hotel) – There was a small queue, but I got the tickets whilst Bhavni and Airyen stayed in line. We ended sharing the gondola with some excited Americans, regardless nice views – though I think the rides a bit pricey.

At the top we walked to the Miradouro da Serra do Pilar viewpoint, near the Mosteiro da Serra, for some really nice views.

After we crossed the top of the Luis bridge (with the passing trams), again really nice views. On the Porto side, we had a walk around, stopping at a few shops (like ALE HOP), eventually making our way to Sao Bento again.

Soon it was time for lunch, so we went to the Floresta cafe by Hungry biker, where we ordered the Veggie Toast (tofu/mushroom/chickpeas etc) and a sweet waffle dish. It was very good.

After we made our way down with the many stairs to the lower section of the bridge, to cross back, another experience. We then made our way back to the hotel.

It was an afternoon of chilling and going to the pool for us.

For dinner we were celebrating Suryas birthday, we took some bolts to Frida Mexican (R. de Adolfo Casais Monteiro 135, 4050-101 Porto). It was an interesting dinner; some shared starters then I had Mole with some cheese, Bhavni had cactus, Airyen decided he did not like the food and had rice.

It was back then to the hotel, where the rest went to sleep, whilst I chilled in the bar for a while.

18th Friday (Porto – Coimbra – Porto)

Today was another trip day, just us and parents. So after the family breakfast, where the others decided that they were going to the beach (in front of Airyen who then wanted to go there), we left Airyen with parents and walked the hilly 20 minutes to pick up our hire car from Guerin Gaia for around 9am.

The guy at the hire place was very helpful, setting up the car play to Bhavni’s phone and properly going over the toll road systems. It was a nice new car with lots of pilot features in built.

We then drove to the Hilton, parked and picked up parents and Airyen. It was then an easy 1h.20 minute drive to Coimbra, where we found parking (near to where I had planned at the Pedonal Pedro Bridge, though on a side street), though there was a busy main road to cross. The bridge is quite famous and is a nice pedestrian bridge with coloured glass sides, good photo opportunity.

It was already quite hot, and we had to walk around 10 minutes more to get to the botanical gardens, so we took the opportunity to stay in the shade for a bit when we got to some of the tree areas.

After a bit of confusion and asking where the entrance of the gardens were, we got in. The gardens climb the steep hill up to the university area, which was a little tough going for the parents. However there were some nice pools and fountains near the top that we spent a little time at.

Soon enough it was time to get a bite to eat. We decided to head to the Pastelaria Universidade cafe. As it was quite hot we sat inside. For food, we got some sandwiches made which were quite moreish. Airyen for some reason did not want to eat much – just desert.

The cafe was right near the Escadas Monumentais, which are a famous stair case to the university. A bit of photo opportunity and then we were in the grounds. As we had time I tried to find the chemistry department as we could go see the lab, but the directions were a little confusing and it turned out (when finally finding someone to ask) that it was in a different direction and closed for lunch.

We got to the main attractions around 1.30, and straight away went to see St Michaels Chapel, with the oversized pipe organ, a nice building. Then we made out way to the Royal Palace, which was a much bigger place, seeing the hall where doctorates are quizzed, and high up on a walkway with a great view.

We had some time before our entry at 14:40 to the Baroque Library, so we tried our luck to enter early but were not allowed to enter. So the rest waited in the pockets of shade there for 20 minutes whilst I wondered around. When we got to enter the library – we were allowed into the basement with no where to go – so all of the other tourists as well as us just looked a bit confused until they opened the door to the lower library. Lots of books were housed here, and we could take photos, but soon enough the doors to the main library were opened, where photos are prohibited. The main library was really impressive – tall with lots of grand features and lots of guilt work. We spent a bit of time wondering around and reading about the place, before leaving.

From here we took the route down the opposite side of the hill, ending up near the santa clara bridge, where we stopped at a cafe for some drinks and refreshments (with parents getting excited about the pigeons that were hanging around nearby).

We then crossed the bridge and headed to the car (about a 15 minute walk). It was then an hour and a bit journey back to Porto, however the group voted for a little shopping trip, so we ended up going the ‘The Forum’ shopping centre here, for a 30/45 min shopping stop. Only father managed to buy some stuff though.

It was a pleasant enough drive back to porto, where we dropped the car off to the garage (simple enough return), then walked. back with everyone to the hotel (some interesting artwork on the way).

Back at the hotel Shelina had organised dinner for her family at an Italian. Father thought that he was going with them, so I started to organize with Minul about dinner, after all that it turned out that father was mistaken, so in the end I managed to book 7 places for us at 7.30, and Shelina altered her reservation.

Il Nostro Sapore, turned out to be a really nice restaurant which we all enjoyed, so much so Minul wrote a great review. Leaving we decided to walk back, which was all downhill, but Arushi had a little fall, so she and a few others ended up getting a car back.

Back at the hotel, it was time for the children to sleep, I went to the bar for a bit again.

19th Saturday (Porto)

Today was the last full day here at Porto with everyone, and the cloudiest day so far. So after a breakfast together, we and our parents headed to Livraria Lello for a 10.30 entry. We had to wait there for a bit before we could go in, and the timed queues were quite big already.

It is quite a pretty book store, but very very busy. We managed to get some good photos on the famous stair case and walk around the whole place. Airyen had to leave a bit early for a bathroom break, with mother.

The tickets to entry said they could be redeemed against a book purchase there, so after finding something that would actually be nice, we then found that each ticket had to be used separately, which made no sense as the books were at full RRP anyway.

From here we walked to the Crystal palace gardens (where the Super Bock arena is), having a walk around. We saw some baby peacocks whilst walking around the gardens.

From there (11.30) we caught a bolt and went to Gaia Shopping Mall, spending a little while there. Again not much bought there, but after we went to the food hall upstairs and had some lunch, Airyen got some pasta salad not surprisingly whilst we all had little bits an pieces such as espresso with a nata for €2.

A little bit after 1pm we headed back to the hotel, where we had a bit of time for a quick swim. After 3 pm we decided go via walking to the wine museum (catching a bit of a shower). It was a really good museum, which explained a lot about wine and all the stuff that went along with it. Airyen was a little bored due to the reading and wanted to rush a bit, but we were still there for 1.5h. At the end was a room where you had to smell aromas, which were applicable to different wines – this was great fun. Finally we had a bit of a tasting session.

Getting back to the hotel, we had a little bit of a swim, then a meet at the bar before it was dinner time (7.30 booked at Spice Art). We took a lot of clothing with us as there was a laundrette near there and put it for a wash before going to the restaurant. After starters were ordered I went back and moved the clothes to the drier, and again went and got the clothes with Bhavni before the main meal. The food was so so here.

We took some bolts back to the hotel and as usual it was my last night at the bar.

20th Sunday (Porto – Ponte De Lima – Soajo)

Our final breakfast together. It was a chilled start of the day and after breakie, we headed to the pool (Bhavni finished packing), were we spent the last bit of the morning, before we had to check out around 12.30.

Saying bye to everyone we caught a bolt to the Guerin at the airport, to collect our car – not quite as nice as the city centre Guerin as it was all automated (with details that needed changing). Soon enough though we got ourselves into our rental car and were on our way to Ponte De Lima, an hour ride away (90km).

We got there and parked at the Areal Parking area right next to the river. It was significantly hotter here, so after some photos with the Roman phalanx statues there we crossed the famous Roman bridge and found a cafe for a food break – chips and salad with a drink.

After the refreshments we went to gardens for the International Garden Festival, spending some time looking at the different areas and even having some time at the playground there.

At around 5.30pm we headed to the Lidl here to pick up some provisions for the next couple of days, with a moaning Airyen.

It was then around an hour drive to Soajo (40km), where we checked into
Casa da Gandarela after phoning the owner for directions to the place. It was
an old house, with the bedrooms at the lower floors, the kitchen and dining upstairs. Whilst I got dinner organised Airyen amused him self with chasing the local cat.

Dinner was tomato and veg pasta, with some salad and some slightly overcooked focaccia. After dinner, it was bed time for Airyen, and to be honest we retired soon enough after.

21st Monday (Parque National Peneda-Gerês)

Today was going to be a tour of the national park. So after breakfast at 7.30ish, we made some sandwiches for lunch (with the bread rolls delivered to the door) and got ready to head out.

Our fist stop was the Tibo lookout point – around 20 minutes drive. It is a nice viewpoint over the town of its namesake, with boards explaining the view. Back on the road, there was another good viewpoint 200m from there with a view of the lake in the valley. Another photo opportunity.

Our next destination was the Alto Lindoso Dam, which was around 20mins away. We got here around 10.30, driving across the dam its self, where we parked. We could walk on the top of the dam – One side with the reservoir and the other with the outlet. The pathway overhangs the dam so looking out on that side made the dam look like it fell away really steeply. Near where we had parked the car was the inauguration monument for the dam – with a fountain.

From the dam our next destination was the Portela do Homem Waterfall, which we had to go to via driving into Spain. It was around a 35 minute drive. There was not much to signify the first border crossing, but we were in Spain. The directions on out sat nav then decided to take us on an more interesting route, through narrow lanes, hills and farms. Soon we got to the border. We parked on the Spanish side of the border and walked past the herd of cows gathered there to the waterfall.

The waterfall was not actually very far on the tree lined route (around a km), but it felt a lot longer with having to convince Airyen. What was surprising was that there were lots and lots of locals going or coming back from the waterfall, nearly all wearing bathing suits; was not expecting that. We got the a bend in the road with a bridge, and this is where the path to the waterfall was. We could see it from a little distance. Airyen decided he wanted to follow the locals by wanting to go wading. We all made our way down to look at the falls, though I took I closer look, then joined Bhavni sitting on some rocks near the bridge, with Airyen trying to wade.

After convincing Airyen that it was time to leave (with him wanting 5 more minutes), getting to our car past the herd of cows. From here we set our again to the town of Geres – roughly 20mins away. When we got to Gares, we drove up and down the main street which was quite busy, but luckily we managed to find a park and pay, as Airyen needed to use the facilities. We had a walk around the main street wondering where to stop; we found ourselves at the end of the main street and ended up having a drink at the Hotel Baltazar; a beer for me, lemonade for Bhavni and apple juice for Airyen – we even managed to have our sandwiches here.

After lunch it was a 20 minute drive to Miradouro da Pedra Bela viewpoint, which had a lovely view of the valley we were just in and the reservoir.

It was then a 10m drive to the Rocus viewpoint. To get to the viewpoint you had to climb up, with it having a lookout platform at the top. Nice place to take some photos allowed us to try to see where the next place, the Arado Waterfall was, and the parking there. The waterfall was around 900m away from Rocus, so we walked along the dusty hot path there, with many locals in their swim wear making their way to or back.

Getting to the bridge near the waterfall, Bhavni and Airyen made their way down the rocky slope, whilst I decided to have a little closer look by climbing the path to the overlook of the waterfall (with a view of the pool at the bottom where there were quite a few swimming). I then joined Bhavni and Airyen near the rocks just a bit further from the bridge. Airyen and I both had our feet in the water.

After quite a while it was time to leave and instead of having everyone walk I left and retrieved the car driving partially back to collect them from the road.

To go back to the accommodation the quickest way was pretty much to retrace our steps, going back into Spain. As we wanted to have Risotto for dinner and we had been unable to find suitable supplies, we decided to stop in Lobios (Spain) buy stock in a shop there – actually found veg stock cubes. Then it was a drive all the way back to Saojo, past the damn.

In Saojo, we found we were early enough in time to go and see the famous grain silos there, up on the rock hill nearby. All different sizes of grain silos.

Then it was back at the apartment for a cooked dinner of mushroom risotto, bread and salad. After putting Airyen to sleep, we all went to bed quite early (though I did a little star gazing).

22nd Tuesday (Soajo – Boulder Vilages – Castelo de Vide)

Today was going to be a big drive day especially as the heat wave was starting to bite. We started with breakfast and then made some sandwiches from the bread that the owners father came to give. While we were getting ready to go, Airyen befriended him and was helping water the plants and see the animals there. After we loaded the car he showed us some plants and picked some fruit there.

Soon enough it was time to leave (9.00 a bit later than planned). We pretty much drove all the way, going past Porto to Belmonte, which was about 3.30h away. We stopped at a fuel station on the way. There was a cafe there, but they had no vegetarian food for a snack.

We got to Belmonte at around 12.30, it is one of the boulder villages/towns and it sat on a hill, with the castle at the top. This is where we found our selves; with parking near by and a very short climb up.

It was quite a nice castle to visit (€2/pp), with a nice outside amphitheatre that Airyen pretended to de a performance on, first, before we went up on the ramparts and up into the tower, which was via a metal staircase as the entry was on the second floor. There was a display of the evolution of the castle and stairs to the next floor up which had historic artefacts in it. Then finally there was a spiral staircase to the roof of the tower where we had a great view of the city.

It was lunch time, so we made our way to a cafe in the town. The dish of the day was fish, so was a little surprised when we said we were vegetarian. However they managed to get some nice chips and salad for us, however also a mushroom and egg dish (which was discussed but I don’t think we ordered). They seemed so pleased by it I ended up eating it. Desert looked nice, but was too much for us.

Our next stop was going to be Manstanto, 1h away, the very famous boulder town. As we drove, we saw a large hilltop and slowly it dawned on us that it was where we were headed. The road lead quite far up the hill to the main town, where we parked. From the guides we were told to expect huge crowds in the summer, but due to the heat, which was in the low 40C range, it was pretty quiet, which was great for seeing the place (as long as you could cope with the heat). We just walked into the tourist information and for the quick visit we were doing the guy suggested we should just go to the castle at the peak.

The castle required a decent walk up quite some steep slopes, but even though the heat was oppressive, the views with big boulders perched around houses (or houses perched round them) and the slight breeze kept us going (we did encounter a couple of really tired looking young tourists – who said it was really hard – must have been unfit or not able to stand the heat). The last bit was the steepest, but it was worth it to get to the castle. The castle was really good to explore for Airyen with walls and ramparts to walk on, and the views at the top were absolutely stunning. There was also plenty of history to absorb.

Leaving the castle we retraced our steps, it was getting close to 5pm. We got back into the town and bought a couple of real fruit ice lollies – the pineapple and mint one was particularly good. Not sure but the locals were not very friendly like some other places, and not even sure if they made up the price !

It was around 5pm when we left, continuing our journey to Parque Natural da Serra. It was around 2.5 hours when we got to Castelo de Vide (stop for supplies). Now our maps gave us directions to our accommodation, but following them was not possible as there were one way signs and some of the roads were quite narrow, with tight turns. At one a man was leaning out of a window, with a amused look – probably having seen this many times.

In the end we stopped on the outer ring road, and made our way to a square where Bhavni phoned the agents. After figuring out where we were, she sent someone to come fetch us; a older gentleman who only spoke Portuguese. However it was quite easy to get him to our car, where he proceeded to show us the directions – really really challenging. The worst was a steep slope up, where you would not have been able to get our of any of the doors (without contortioning). A little bit of slipping the clutch and we were at the Sefardita Guest House, where we were shown around the apartment by a different lady – who only spoke Portuguese, but again not a problem.

Now it was time for dinner; Bhavni and I did a bean curry with rice – tasty but had to coax Airyen to eat. After dinner we walked into to town square – 10 min walk, which was surprisingly lively. After debating a bit, we got a few drinks at the pizza place (though as it was closing were in bottles), and chilled for a bit before going back to the apartment. We all called it a night soon after as at was 11pm.

23rd Wednesday (Parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede)

We had to get up reasonably early again, due to the heat are morning event had been changed to 8am (rather than 8.30), so after breakfast we left to drive to Beira around 7.20.

I had book a cycle tour, on train tracks, (https://www.railbikemarvao.com/en/). There were a few people for the tour, so while the guy was getting the trains ready we had a walk around the old station for this disused train line – quite nice architecture.

Soon enough it was 8 and we were at the trains. Airyen sat with me, on the second train, with the first being Bhavni and the guide. We were then off, I got the slightly short straw, as Airyen initially interested in peddling was soon clever to realise he did not need to. It was a quite lovely cycle as the scenery now and then opened up, and we were shown old buildings and sights, with plenty of stopping. Our first 2 trains stayed together, with the rest strung behind a little. It was sedate enough to take some videos.

It was just over 1 hour later when we got to our furthest point – a high bridge over a stream. We manhandled our first 2 trains off the track, whilst the rest of the trains caught up. They however were just turned on a turntable to the correct way back. We had a bit of time to look out and relax before it was time to head back.

Airyen had had enough of me and wanted to go with the guide! So on the way back it was Bhavni and I following them. As we were just cycling and enjoying, so much so Airyen had his feet up and looked like he was sunbathing, we did not realise that the rest of the group had disappeared until we were almost back – where we had to wait a full 10 minutes for the next lot of people to appear! Back at Beira we had a small drink at the bar there, then headed to the car.

We headed back to Castelo de Vide, parking on the ring road (to avoid the narrow roads, although this caused Airyen to melt down a bit). As it was still early enough we headed to the top of town and into the castle, having a look around with again some great views of the surrounding. Then it was time to head back, where we decided to chill in the apartment during the hottest part of the day, having lunch there and playing a few games.

After 3.30, we headed back out, driving to Marvao. We parked outside the main walls and entered through the main gate, making our way to the castle, its another great castle to walk around and has some lovely views. On the way down, as Airyen was being difficult (and Bhavni had run out was water), I went with him to the car, waiting for Bhavni – it was nearly 6pm.

For dinner I had seen a vegan restaurant with good reviews in Portalegra, which was around 30 mins away. Driving there we stopped at a Dolce for picking up some rations – after confusion finding the entrance. Heading to the restaurant (which I tried to phone and got some confusing Portugese person on the phone), we found the place in a proper residential area, and … it was closed for repairs!

After that disappointment we started to head back to castle de vide, with a unhappy car, we pretty much got to Castelo de Vide, when the plan was updated to go back to Marvao. So driving there we got to the parking outside the walls and made our way inside to the “Natural Bar”, where we ordered some drinks for whilst sitting on the terrace there with a view of the plains as the sun was setting. I was peckish so I ordered some bruchetta , which we all ate some of. Leaving around 9pm we drove back to Castelo do Vide, as it was our last night I drove all the way to the apartment – though I had a few issues and slipped the clutch a couple of times. We had some dinner and had a walk around town before calling it a night.

24th Thursday (Castelo de Vide – Sintra)

Today was another day with a road trip in it. After breakfast and some final packing I started loading up the car. Soon enough it was around 9am and time to set off (saying bye to the people who looked after the house).

The journey to Sintra was just under 3 hours, getting to our accommodation; Pestana Sintra Golf Resort & SPA, where we checked in and got our room (on the ground floor). After sorting our selves out and a quick break, we made our way to the reception and called a Bolt.

The bolt driver was an Indian who spoke to Bhani in Hindi a bit. However as he relied on his Sat Nav without knowing the area that well, he tried to take us to an entrance for the Moorish Castle, which was not the one that you could drive to. So we ended jumping out and walking to the entrance. This entrance was a decent climb up, through a nice forested path with plenty of switchbacks.

Presenting the tickets we got in. There were a few glass mounds showing burial sites here, which interested Airyen a lot. We saw a few structures and the cistern before heading to the ramparts. From here you could see some of the other sites such as the Pena Palace.

We followed the rampart trail – really cool scaling this, right to the highest points, Airyen and I led, Bhavni followed taking photos. From the top there was a different to the entrance where we saw a model of the castle. It was around 2pm when we left the Moorish Castle. We followed the signs to the Pena palace, another nice forested walk.

We got to the entrance and got through the expected queue (which was not that bad as I had bought the tickets in the UK). The usual looking for the bathrooms for Airyen before walking up to the castle – Airyen wanted to take the pay for bus, but we managed to distract him. At the castle we had to wait a little as our entrance time was 3pm, so we had plenty of time to admire the really fairytale look of the castle. We bought a audio guide for the palace (which turned out to not be that useful as the signs had nearly identical information).

Going through the castle, it was a self guided tour going through the different sections and rooms of the castle. Some of the rooms were very simple, whilst the others were decadent (as royalty had lived there) There was lot of history in the palace (relatively modern stuff as the last king had been here).

The tour ended at a balcony area. Airyen was quite tired at this point and we needed a bit of a refresh, but the area was quite busy and there were not many tables. Bhavni managed to find a place to sit, but I had a better idea and led them to the restaurant a level below, which was much quieter. Here we got a few muffins and drinks for us all sitting in comfort.

It was around 4.30 when we left and made our way out of the pena palace and into the ground surrounding it. Our aim was to go to the lakes, so we meandered our way there, taking in the parkland en route. The lakes were quite pretty and had plenty of unexpected mini houses and castles there.

Leaving the park we got the taxi drivers coming up to us and asking whether we wanted a lift (at a little inflated pricing). After not committing to anything we said we were going to have a bit more of a look around and headed to the path down from the mountain. We were joined ny a family (who had taken a photo of us at the lakes) who had 2 children a little older then Airyen. This was great as the walk was a decent decent and the distraction was great for the Boy! The decent was interesting with lots of forest interspersed with interesting building and vantages – well worth the walk.

Getting to the old town, we said bye to the others (who were getting a train back to Lisbon), then we headed to a restaurant – Larmanjet – which was on the second floor of an apartment complex. We sat outside on a “terrace” and had a mixture of dishes including bagel sandwich, pizza, soup and chips, we even had a desert.

After dinner we caught a bolt to the hotel, where we settled ourselves in for the night.

25th Friday (Sintra)

Our second day in Sintra. We headed down reasonably early to breakfast, which was a buffet affair. The food was ok, but was a little limited for us vegetarians.

After breakfast we got ready and were out of the hotel, catching a bolt, where we made our way to the Quinta Da Regaleira, which is another amazing property set in some lavish landscaping. We had bought tickets for getting in only recently, after Bhavni was surprised I had not booked this.

The fist thing we did was head to the Initiation Well, which already had a big queue for it along a few of the switchbacks on the path. If we had come here after seeing something else I cant image how many hours we would have to wait.

After about 40mins we were at the entrance, a small cave entrance, which almost immediately opened up into the famous circular stairwell. Slowly descending with the queue of people, there was lots of photo taking and marvelling at the view. We did get a few pictures without the crowds, but this was hard to do.

At the base of the well, it opened up into some lit cave systems which we could explore, with multiple exits. After thoroughly exploring, we exited the caves and continued to explore the grounds. There were some cool faux castles and ramparts dotted around to climb and see.

At around midday we headed to the main house, which had a much smaller queue to enter. Its another very interesting house, with lots of modern history, with the self guided tour around lots of different rooms.

After finishing the house, we made our way to the exit, where there were the ponds, which were cool with fishes that excited Airyen. From here we headed in to the old town, which was just a short walk. In town we stopped at a cafe for some drinks and a snack, but then quickly moved to a restaurant for a bit more of a meal (including chips).

It was then time to get a bolt back to hotel, where we got ready and headed to the pools for a swim. Airyen was unhappy with the temperature of the outdoor pool, so we had to go to the inner pool.

In the late afternoon/evening, we had decided to head to a coastal area. We had been recommended “Priai des Mecas”, which was much less commercial than the Cescais area. It was not a very long drive and soon we were at the coastal town. We found parking a short distance away at a car park off the coastal road, then we walked along to the beach. The beach is in a sheltered bay with a great expanse of sand before the sea. We found a place to settle down and Airyen was soon playing with the sand and running from the sea. We stayed for quite a while before heading back to the car.

For dinner, we headed just up the road to AMA Pizzeria, which is definitely popular with the locals, with a few other outlets in the outdoor area. We ordered a couple of pizzas (which were pretty good) and a pasta for Airyen and ended up sharing a table with a student Dr from the UK who was on a climbing holiday. As usual we had the tablet out for Airyen, but soon he was joined by a number of other children watching with him.

It was nearly 9pm when we left and headed back to the hotel.

26th Saturday (Sintra – Lisbon)

Today was a little more relaxed pace. In the morning we went for our 8.30 breakfast (again with picking our food carefully). Then after leaving Bhavni to finish packing in peace, we went to the indoor pool for a swim. Bhavni joined us a little later.

We got everything ready, loaded up the car and checked out of the hotel at midday. It was roughly a 30min drive to Lisbon airport, which was not much of an issue, except for filling the car up and getting to a fuel station (and a bit of raised tempers). The next issue was actually returning the car, which involved waiting in a really slow moving queue into a parking garage, so much so we gave the car a little later than 1pm.

After returning the car we called a bolt to get us. First problem was they parked, but a different place to where we were, so it was quite a while of confusion finding out where the driver was. When we found the car, it became apparent the car was way too small for our luggage (mislabelled in bolt). So we had to order another one (he had to cancel his) and telling the driver to not accept. We then got a decent car a little bit later. All this had eaten into our time, as we originally were intending to go to a cafe for a bit before going to our apartment, but now there was no time.

We got dropped to the Principe Real Central Home (google translate was our friend), where we met someone who showed us to the apartment (including the dodgy key). It was defiantly a smaller apartment. After settling down and a little sort out, we had to head out to Piazza del commercio. As it was a little distance we actually ended up catching a tram (which was coincidently tram 28)

We got to the Piazza and met our walking tour. The guide was a little interesting with more stories than sights. However we got to have a intro into the city, seeing quite a few of the main sights, culminating at the top of the Santa Justa lift.

It was past 6pm by now so we headed just a short distance to “Plant Base”, a vegan-ish restaurant. The food was great here with Momos, veg fish and chips, tacos and some nice cocktails.

After dinner we slowly made our way to the apparent, enjoying the window shopping and the great views at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara. Getting to the apartment it was a chilled night.

27th Sunday (Lisbon)

After a breakfast of cereal and bread, we leisurely headed out having a quick walk into the botanical gardens entrance, before a slight wonder around towards the Liberdade avenue. We got to one of the nicer squares and saw one of the hop on hop off bus companies. We decided to buy ticket for this; getting the ability to use 3 of the routes; opting for the castle, city and belem routes.

It was a little time to the next bus, so Bhavni explored some shops… I still cant figure whether we missed a bus or not. The bus when we caught it went to Eduardo 7th park, where we got a bit of time till we started again. Just a little time for a walk around to the top for a better view.

The castle route which we were on wound its way through the older neighbourhoods, passing sights like the old monestry, some other churches and schools and then onto the Castelo de S. Jorgeto, where we got out to explore the eclectic shops and sights. Bhavni and Airyen bought some wallets and purses here.

After a bit of exploring we made our way to Organi Chaido for lunch. We had to wait a little while, but not very long as we ate inside rather than on the terrace. The food was nicely presented though not quite as tasty as yesterdays meal.

After lunch we made our way to the water front and walked along the river for a little bit then followed the roads until we came across the famous pink street – plenty of opportunities for photos.

This street was right next to the famous Bica Funicular ride, where we climbed a bit and managed to get some of the famous type shots with the bright yellow trams. After we headed to the Time out Market for a little wonder around (and a snack or 2) as we had a little time.

Directly outside we then caught a hop on hop off bus which went to Belem. This bus we stayed on all the way seeing all the stops and sights on this route from the top deck in the nice (and cooler) sun, though I nearly lost my cap there.

We were pretty much on the last bus of the day which terminated at the Eduardo 7th park. Airyen had a little play on the children’s playground here.

We took some photos with the low sun before calling a a bolt to take us to the Mercado de Campo de Ourique (smaller sibling to the Time out one). Here we got some lovely pasta for Airyen & Bhavni and some Falafel & Hummus as well. After the nice dinner it was a bolt back to our area. We stopped at the top of the road so we could go to Niva, which was a great ice cream place – flavours were amazing. Then off to the apartment for the night.

28th Monday (Lisbon)

After breakfast (tea, toast and cereal), we headed out. Bhavni wanted to do some shopping, so I took Airyen to Jardim da Estrela. It was actually up a decent hill. The park had plenty of slides and climbing frames for him to play on as well as some animals such as turtles and peacocks. After spending a little time there, we made our way to the commercial area where Bhavni was. It was then a little hunt to find some model trams for Airyen (plenty of little shops and a hint of bargaining).

We made our way to the Time Out market and got our selves some lunch there – it was a really busy place and finding seating was a little hard.

It was around 2pm when we caught the hop on hop off bus going to Belem. This time we got off near the Torre de Belem (near the Biplane memorial). The Torre was quote a cool sight to see (was also closed), as the defence of Lisbon from long ago.

We then walked around the harbour to the next sight which was the old lighthouse, not a very large building but interesting red brick design.

A little walk later we got to Padrão dos Descobrimentos (was to commemorate 500 years since Henry the navigator), which was another interesting monument to walk around and take photos of. Right near by was a lovely stone map of the world with dates and routes of exploration ships.

Then it was across the main road (via underpass) to the gardens that were in front of the Jerónimos Monastery. These gardens were really nice to walk through, then photo opportunities outside the monastery – we did not try to go in as our timings may have been tight and we wanted to go see MAAB.

Not far away was Pastéis de Belém, the original place to get the tarts – we bought a few to take home and one to eat (though after we found out they probably were not vegetarian). We stopped at the Garden of Afonso de Albuquerque to have some food and the tart as well as a small rest.

Then it was onto the MAAT, where we got tickets to the Electricity Museum. This turned out to be great (after the too high brow art exhibits there), as the decommissioned station had lost of levers and items for Airyen to move. It also had lots for us adults to read and see. After the control rooms of the plant there were the exhibits that showed power use through the ages and the focuses on renewable with plenty of interactive exhibits. Outside of the electricity museum we got to walk on the top of MAAT (taking in the view) before we went into the MAAT. Here there were a few exhibits we could see, lots to do with environmental themes, so after a walk through, we then found a little food at the restaurant here.

Then it was a 20 minute walk to Homecooking Lisbon, where Bhavni had organised a Pastel de Nata Pastry Class. There ended up being only 4 of us including Airyen for the class (as 4 did not show up). It was great to learn to make these (vegetarian) desserts with our cool teacher and we ended up with a quite a few to take home with us (after eating a few after).

A bolt ride later we were back at the apartment. for bed and packing (and a take away ice cream). A slightly concerning thing was that we had the news on TV and heard there were some problems with British Airspace….. lets see.

29th Tuesday (Lisbon – UK?)

Our last morning here. So after a breakfast, we had a little time before we had to check out, so we went for a last walk to look around before getting back to the apartment – we already new there was going to be issues with the flights, due to the computer failure in the UK, but the advice for our flight was still to head to the airport. So around 11, we got into a bolt and headed.

At the Airport our suspicions were confirmed – there would be a delay and they were not really sure when it would depart, but it was not cancelled.

Now however the story unravels. It was decided that due to the delay we should go to the oceanarium. Suffice to say this was very stressful and the events caused us to miss our flight.

17^th Monday (London – Athens)

It was an early start – 3am wakeup as the taxi came at 4am to take us to Heathrow T5. At the airport, it was a relatively easy check-in (as we could not do it online) and security screening.

As we were early enough, we had some time for breakfast at Giraffe – though we ended up ordering a bit too much food.

We boarded the plane pretty much on time, and were just about to push off just after 7am, when one of the passengers alerted the crew of an emergency situation. The couple in the end left the plane for medical attention. In the meantime a plane taking off also left debris on the floor, so had to return (and a runway had to close for a while). So in the end we left around 2.5h late.

The plane managed to catch up a little in time, so we landed about 2h later then scheduled. Customs was quite straight forward and we went to collect the bags – Both of our bags were severely damaged (though not open). So we then had to talk to the baggage logistics. We ended up taking the replacement baggage they offered (black) as we could not continue with our baggage for further flights.

After this excitement we got to the nearby metro station and took the train to Athens town centre, which was slow going. With half a dozen stops left, the train stopped and everybody had disembark – there was a bomb scare in town. So we exited and tried to figure out how to continue our journey by bus. This was pretty hard as they are not clearly marked at all, and google maps refused to show bus directions. We eventually found the stop – on the other side of the main road and 300m up it. The bus arrived – it was packed. Bhavni was desperately trying to find other bus routes, but luckily I managed to get the freenow app working and got a taxi.

The taxi dropped us just outside our apartments – Feel Athens, Monastiraki – it was 6pm. It was nice to be somewhere finally. We got ready then headed down for dinner. We ended up sitting in Just Pita, having falafel – quite good. We then bought a bit of breakfast items and then had a walk around the streets near Monastiraki, before heading back to the apartment and calling it a night.

18^th Tuesday (Athens)

After a morning breakfast with cereal and tea in the apartment, we headed out, walking around 15 minutes to the Acropolis Museum.

Airyen’s ticket was free (as he was 5), ours were €10 each. Airyen got a trail card to find some items, which helped keep his interest whilst we walked around. It is quite a good museum, showing lots of the items found in the Acropolis and the relevance of them. The museum is on 3 main levels, with a nice view from the upper floors to the surroundings and the Acropolis.

After we had finished the main museum we went and had a look at the excavated neighbourhood below it.

After finishing the museum we crossed the main road and had a look at Hadrian’s Arch, before going to the entrance of the Temple of Olympian Zeus on Vasilssis Olgas Avenue. Here we bought the Combination Ticket for €30 each with Airyen being free. It was amazing to see the ruins of the temple, which would have been really impressive with the massive columns and stones. We walked all the way around enjoying the sight in the sun. Some of the columns are being repaired / restored and you could see work being done. As we were walking back, we spotted some tortoises, Airyen had some fun watching them and even feeding one some flowers.

After leaving, we carried on down Vasilssis Olgas Avenue. It was lunch time so we stopped at Ramblas City Pleasure, which was quite nice, with our first Greek salad.

From here we went to the Panathenaic Stadium (again Airyen was free). The ticket here includes an audio guide. It was nice to walk around the stadium and up the the top of the seating, even though Airyen made me do a race around the track. Part of the tour took us up the passage way to the rooms, were all the Olympic torches (or copies) were on display with the posters for the games. We continued and took some more photos and had another couple of small races, though we got told off for using the dry skis that were there in the open.

From the stadium, we crossed over into the national gardens and made our way up to Zappeion Hall. A practice for a evening show a bit like surf de solei was going on, which got Bhavnis and Airyens interest for a while. We then tried to go to the playground in the gardens, but they had cordoned off all of the area for works, so we made it to the pond and after Airyen had seen the birds, and the bridge, we headed back and walked next to the Presidential palace. I thought from the maps we could have a closer look, but no such luck. However we saw the famous guards practising their marching.

We next ended up at the Lyceum of Aristotle, where we had a look around, interesting how many books end other items were there.

Next we walked along the main road towards the busy Syntagma Square, where we had to stop for the fountains. From here we continued to Monastiraki along Ermou street, with the nice shops, and an ice cream from Davinci Gellato. Then back to the apartment.

We had an idea to go to a roof garden to see the sunset and have a drink, so after getting ready we headed to A for Athens, but it was a waste of time. We got to the top, but the waiter said there was a wait, but did not take any details from us, whilst letting others who came in walk in. We did not want food, so asked about booking for the next day – no only online – but 4 ppl minimum for drinks. I had been online and there was no such information like any of this. So we left and went back to the apartment for a bit.

We then headed out for dinner which we had at Kitro, a pity there was no live music like the day before. Greek salad, pasta and falafel. After this we headed back to the apartment.

19^th Wednesday

Breakfast again in the apartment before we headed out at around 8.30am. We again walked the 15 minutes towards Acropoli station, where we entered the Acropolis entrance (Acropoli Dionysus); the ticket inspector even said ready for the adventure!

The Acropoli Dionysus entrance is the better entrance for us as this way we saw some other sights on the way up; the first of which was the Theater of Dionysis, which is a large amphitheatre dating from the 6th C BC. Only the lower tiers still had remnants of stone on them, but it was still impressive. We passed a couple of other sights such as Stoas and other ruins, before reaching the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. This was really impressive and is in good condition as its still used today (There were no concerts there for while we were in Greece, which would have been nice to go to).

After this we reached the crowds coming from the main entrance on the tour buses etc. So we filtered in with them through the main entrance to the Acropolis. We spent the next 45minuites up at the top, looking at the monuments and views, although Airyen needed a break so he had a rest on the a bench there with us taking turns walking around.

We then made our way out, through the main gate and onto Thiorias Rd. We did the little climb on to Areopagus Hill (very small climb), before proceeding to the Roman Agora which involved some steep streets and steps. This site had few columns and facades standing, from the old Agora. Quite a lot of information here also to absorb.

From here we then went to the Ancient Agora (over the metro line), where there were quite a few ruins to see. However up the slope was the Temple of Hephaestus, which was pretty well preserved. We spent a little while here and Airyen got to see more tortoises around.

From here we got lunch on Adrianou street at one of the eateries with Greek food – where we got our Greek Salad and other items. Leaving we went to Monastiraki station (with Airyen and Bhavni having an ice cream on the way). I got 2 tikets for travel and we took the metro 2 stops to Evangelismos station.

From here it was a walk uphill (past the hospital) and then up plenty of steps to the Lycabettus Hill Cable Car station (I had plenty of complaints about the climbs). I bought some one way tickets to the top (with some confusion about how to pay), and we got the train up (though it was not a massive climb in retrospect). At the top we got the the church and the viewing area there. What a great view. We could clearly see the Acropolis, the Panathenaic stadium, the national park and lots more. Bhavni and Airyen played a game of finding domed roofs.

Then it was a walk to the road and then the path down off road. We gave some encouragement to some Americans who were climbing up this way. When back on the roads, it was a decent towards town centre. We made a stop at a cafe called Bollard, for a capachino and hot chocolate for Bhavni and Airyen (though Bhavni had it all and I had to get another for takeaway).

Getting back to the apartment, we were early enough that we had some time to relax. I got out the wine and we had olives on the balcony absorbing the heat – so much so everyone got a little sleepy! But we watched the sunset and saw the light over the Acropolis from the shared balcony.

For dinner we went to Eatery, which was just a short walk away. Most of the food was quite good, after asking for a place a bit further from the busy road, though there was a chill in the air there. After it was back to the apartment, where we put Airyen to sleep then packed the bags for the next day.

20^th Thursday (Athens – Santorini)

Breakfast was a bit later today, after which we put our bags in order. Then it was off to Hadrains library, which we had missed out yesterday, arriving about 10am.

After a little walk about the ruins, we walked back to the apartment, where we did a final pack and clear out, leaving the apartment and leaving our bags in the locked hallway.

The plan was to catch a bus going north to the National Architectural Museum, but after the bus failed to materialise we walked it. We quickly went past Athens central market with its strong odours, to Omonia Square, where there was a nice bakery to which had some tempting items, then onto the museum (Where Airyen again was free). It was quite big, with a lot of cultural items and quite heavy for us. We kept Airyen amused with the large sculptures and depictions, staying there from 12 to 1.30.

Again we walked back as there were no buses due for a while. For lunch we stopped at Vegan Beat. Here we had some Spiral potato, Greek Dakos and a big boss burger. Then Airyen surprised the staff by ordering a Key Lime Pie, of which he ate a fair bit.

It was then time to get to the our bags from the accommodation. Due to the exploits from getting into Athens, we decided to play it safe and I ordered a taxi using the freenow app. The taxi arrived quite quickly and it took us 45 minutes to get to the airport.

Checking in was fairly straight forward, just a couple of American tourists causing a fuss and trying to jump queues. The domestic gates were very quick to get to.

Our flight (Volotea) left just after the scheduled time of 6pm, arriving at Santorini about 7pm.

Retrieving our bags, we met a person from the car rental (Caldera) who showed us to our car – compact! After squeezing the bags in, we put set off. It was dark, so had not view at all. We stopped at a supermarket so we could pick up some essentials for the next day. Then it was onto Emporio and Mantilida Villa. The final road was quite narrow, though Bhavni kept repeating that this car was tiny.

We got in (following the instructions for the keys), partly settling ourselves, before going to Filipos on the main high street for a couple of take away pizzas and greek salad (there was no seating). Whilst we waited Bhavni could not resist some shopping.

Back to the Villa and we had dinner before settling down for the night.

21^st Friday

A new morning on the new Island – So after not being able so see any scenery last night, we found ourselves in a rugged landscape with quite steep hills near by. We had a look around the villa and its complex and had breakfast.

Today was a day to do a little local exploring – getting into the tiny car, we drove a little way to the windmill nearby taking in the views including Emporio from the hill.

We then drove to Vlychada down some scenic roads, where we stopped at the Tomato Museum just past 11am, where we went and bought tickets – We were the only tourists at that time, just with a group of school children having a tour also. It was interesting, with an audio guide for all 3 of us, showing all the machinery and rooms in the factory and a lot of the history of the place. At the end of the tour, we got a taste of the tomato paste produced on the islands, then Airyen had a go at drawing a label which he got to stick onto an empty can and close the can “himself”. All in all a nice 1h tour.

We left the car where it was and just had a short walk to Vlychada beach. We walked down the course black sanded beach, with our feet in the blue water – not that warm – with the cliffs on the side. It was really tranquil as there were hardly any other people. Airyen really loved running in the water.

Getting back to the car, we drove the short distance to Perivolos beach, where we parked on the actual sand on near the road. After a bit of debate, we ordered food at the nearby Margarita restaurant and sat down on some of the sun loungers on the beach. The food was quite good – Chips, Greek Salad, Local Beer and a lemonade.

After being fed and watered we went for a 30 minute walk along the beach, with Airyen running through the lapping waves. By the time we got back to the car it was around 3pm, which was time to head back to the villa, for some relaxing time.

After a little time, we headed out again at around 5PM. We were to make our way to Akrotiri, to see the sunset at the western point lighthouse. It was quite a scenic road, with plenty of inclines and views of the main villages over the caldera. We got to the parking and managed to find a spot not too far away from the path to the lighthouse. Past the lighthouse, there was a rocky area overlooking the ocean, where we settled down as we had 45 minutes to wait – it was a game of entertaining Airyen.

The sunset was amazing and picture perfect. After the sun went down we scrambled back up the rocks and back to the car, making our way back to the villa in the reducing light. When back we made some pasta for dinner along with a little of the left over pizza from the day before.

22^nd Saturday

It was a semi early start today as we had to catch a coach from the main road in Emporio at 9 (with a pit stop at a cafe for Airyen). The Coach did a couple more pick ups before driving down the steep cliffs of Santorini Ferry port, arriving just after 9.30am. Offloading we made our way onto the awaiting boat, claiming a space near the front of it.

The boat left just after 10am, a little chilly but otherwise great conditions. It was around a 30 minute sail to the Nea Kameni Volcanic Park, with some introductions and notices by the guide on board, where we docked on Jetty B. We were warned that if we disembarked we had to make sure we got back in time and on to the correct jetty.

All 3 of joined the rest making out way up the path and paying the park fee at a small gate. We all then made our way up to the volcano craters (in a long staggered march). On the way the guide stopped to explain the crators and the significance on Santorini. The explosion that broke Santorini into the islands that exist was one of the highest category explosion.

At the top the guide explained some more about the 7 vents on the island, and which are still “active”. We were then left to explore the area for the next half hour, where we just explored.

It was then time to head back – we did go to dock B and were one of the last lot on board. Time for some snacks as the boat got underway towards the north of the island where it stopped for allowing people to swim in volcanicity warmed waters in the caldera. Airyen was not allowed to go as it was sea swimming (which did not please him). I had a go – pretty cold to tepid water.

The Ship then sailed onto the Thirasia where we docked for the next few hours to allow exploring and lunch. We changed Airyen and tried to let him swim in the shallow waters near the shops – but he was very hesitant as it was rocky and there was plenty of algae and plants in the water, even with me in the water to help him. So back to normal clothes.

Most people seemed happy staying down, but we took the stairs up (150m+) to the main town making a game of it with Airyen – looking out for the donkey leavings (which was accompanied with a trail of donkeys descending). Getting to the top with the great views, we went further in the small town and ended up in the Different restaurant. Lovely location with an amazing view (especially after we nabbed a table near the edge). I had a local beer, Bhavni a Fanta and Airyen a juice. We stayed there for a while taking in the views (and photos) before a quick look around then heading back down to the docks, where it was time for Airyen and Bhavni to have a desert – waffle with ice cream.

Soon enough we had to board the boat which then began its sail back to the main island, sailing past Oia then Fira before getting to the main port. Getting off we were directed to a coach which would take us back to Emporio. With drop offs – we got to the main town around 5.30pm.

Rather than going back directly we stopped at Desiderio, for a drink and snack – nice little cafe / bar. Then instead of going to the villa, we decided to explore some of Emporio, climbing towards the tower through the lovely windy streets. Airyen picked up a follower – a dog – who we could not shake for nearly 20 minutes of exploring, before it finally got bored. We got to see the sunset before we made our way to the villa (before it got dark). We then made ourselves some dinner and chilled for the rest of the evening.

23^rd Sunday

After breakfast we set off on our drive to Thera (about 30 minuites). Getting there we ended up going round the block in the one way system looking for parking. We found the parking where we entered the main city about 11am.

We walked into Thera, past the museum of prehistoric thera and then towards the path near the cliff edge. We continued on this scenic walk north past quite a few churches and other areas of interest. The views were amazing in the wall to wall sunshine and heat. We carried on past the 3 Bells church and slowly made out way to Imerovigli. (I ended carrying Airyen as it was uphill and he was getting tired slowly climbing uphill).

From the path we could see Skaros Rock, but it was not going to be a good idea with Airyen to visit. In Imerovigli we walked all the way into the town seeing the many blue domes, eventually making it to a tower with a blue dome.

After this it was a return journey, as it was more downhill we managed to persuade Airyen to walk. We also got some fruit from a market hawker so have on our way.

En route back we stopped about half way as it was approaching 1pm at a cafe called Onar, where I had a coffee and Bhavni/Airyen had a chocolate milkshake. I was right on the cliff face with a beautiful view over the caldera. With us being fed and watered it was soon time to carry on the amazing walk until we got to the car.

From Thera it was around a 25 minute drive to get to Oia. We drive quite a way in looking for parking – (there was very little), but luckily we found a space just opposite the Hungry Donkey restaurant. Before we set of into town I bought some water from the store there (refilling our stocks).

It was time for lunch as it was around 3pm, so Bhavni guided us through the streets to a restaurant, where we got seated upstairs in very nice surroundings. We ordered pasta, with chips and a Greek salad for our late lunch and took our time, even getting some photos with the owner.

It was near enough 4pm when we left, we went to see the castle of Ola, which was quite busy. Then we went for a walk to discover more of Ola, with amazing views all around. We headed to the windmills higher up (finding the paths was part of the battle). Near one of the further windmills we found a semi secluded spot with no tourists around at about 5.30, where we decided stick around. There was a photo shoot and some American tourists to keep us a little amused initially. After a while another tourist family turned up, and a little girl similar age to Airyen played some card game with him.

Sunset was amazing at 6.30, even the party boats quietened down for it. After the sun descended into the blue, we headed back to the car, surprising how far it was in the end, past the bus stops where most people ended up (though had to make a pit stop for Airyen).

As it was so late, we decided to go to Thera to get some food (as it could easily be on our way). We went to Veganissimo and took a take away (though they had no hummus), then headed on back to Emporio and our apartment for a well deserved dinner.

24^th Monday

After a hectic few days, it was time for a bit more of a chilled day; so after breakfast, we sat outside near the pool area. Airyen tried his luck in the pool for a bit, but it was chilly so soon it was Bhavni and Airyen playing cards around the table and reading for me.

After lunch, we took an afternoon walk to the monestory (around 3pm) which was at the end of our road in Emporio. It was a lovely short walk with some interesting sights like paths with cacti and old walls. The monestory was closed, but it was still worth it.

Back at the apartment it was time to leave; as we had to go to the Lost Atlantis Experience, but as we had a little time we visited Megalochori at around 4.30, having a look at the famous church there.

It was then back to the Lost Atlantis Experience for 5pm, first with the 4D cinema showing the volcanic explosion, then the other experiences about the civilisation on Santorini and the relation to Atlantis.

After the experience, we headed back to Emporio, and to the Laurel and Hardey for dinner, with some lovely food (and an interesting chef/owner) – fried feta with honey anyone ?

Back at the apartment after Airyen went to sleep, we packed everything ready for the next day.

25^th Tuesday (Santorini – Athens – Delphi)

It was a very early start with me waking up at around 4.30am, getting things finalised before everyone else got ready. We were out of the door around 5.45am and made our way to the airport, where we dropped of our car and checked in for our flight.

A few last photos of the pre dawn at 7am on the tarmac before boarding the plane, then we were off on our short 30min flight.

Arriving in Athens, it was not too long a wait for our bags, then we met a gentleman from Caldera cars who took us to the minivan then drove us 15minuites to where the car hire company was based. They were surprised that we had only hired the car for 2 days when going to Delphi, but that was all the time we had. Anyway in no time we were in a nice automatic car and then en route to Delphi.

As it was quite a long drive (through some lovely scenery even though it was a motorway), we stopped for a break at Orchomenos, a small town, at 11am. Bhavni suggested a cafe to go to and I completely misunderstood (due to Airyen being a bit loud), so ended up in a local cafe sitting on tables under some trees. I had to go inside to choose a tea for Bhavni (as they did not normally serve it). It was a pleasant place to have a rest. After we had a little walk around (mostly cafes and such) before letting Airyen blow off some steam in a playground

After we headed on our way (with Bhavni and Airyen sleeping a bit). We got there around 1pm and checked into the Amaili Hotel and made our way to our room.

The original plan was to go see the Delphi ruins – but everyone was so exhausted and it was really hot – 25C+, so Airyen and I went out for a walk into the town. After scoping out some of the restaurants we ended up in the Agora Cafe. Airyen had a large orange juice and I an iced coffee. Soon Bhavni joined us and we got a light bite there. We were so impressed with the view (and a suitable menu) that we reserved it for dinner.

Heading back to the hotel, it was going to be a time to recover, so we changed and headed to the pool. I was being lazy and reading on the side, but Airyen wanted to go in the pool, so I jumped in – I dont think ive been in a colder pool ever! It took a while before I could breathe normally. Airyen tried to jump in – his eyes went was wide as they could, so i pushed him out – but he decided that he wanted to try again – for the same to happen. He then spent the rest of the time with a towel on him saying he was cold.

After getting ready and resting in the room (and a explore of the hotel) we headed out to the Agora Cafe at 6pm, sitting outside with the great view. A lovely last dinner in Greece – Our usual Greek salad, pasta for Airyen and Pizza, and watching the sunset at around 6.30.

It was then back to the hotel where we retired quite quickly.

26^th Wednesday (Delphi – Athens – London)

Today was again a reasonably early start, as we had to see Delphi (luckily Bhavni asked for a little later checkout so we did not have to empty the room). Breakfast was downstairs, with so many coach groups around. It was quite a reasonable selection. They even filled our water bottles for us.

We were out at around 8am and headed strait to to old Delphi, where we were able to park near to the entrance, unlike yesterday where there were so many cars.

It was a nice slow walk up through the ruins (from around 8.30am to 10am), seeing the Treasuries, the ancient theatre, and then to the top with the Ancient Stadium. Airyen was amused by counting the stairs down.

After it was a short stroll to the Delphi Museum, which was quite good for the 45 minutes we spent there.

It was time then to get to the car and back to the hotel, where we checked out and then headed on our drive home.

Bhavni wanted to stop at Arachova – which is a ski town about half an hour away. We managed to find parking (quite busy), with a shopkeeper beckoning us to come into his shop. We said we would come later. Nice little town, we walked to the iconic church on a rocky hill area, then went to a cafe/chocolate shop for some coffee/hot chocolate and orange juice, with Bhavni ordering a number of chocolate cookies (which we gorged ourselves on).

Heading back to the car (around 1pm), we had to go to the shopkeepers shop – a little time – but only one item.

We were then on our way, however soon Airyen was getting peckish, so we got off the road at Livadia, where we were stopped by the police (a random stop). The police officer had a birthday only a few days different from mine, anyway Bhavni asked about Italian places to eat, which the police officer suggested a few – However they were all closed. We parked in town and walked a bit, but could not find much, so we got chips, then carried on.

Soon enough we were approaching Athens, and we had to deal with the local traffic and local driving getting around to the car hire place. A little stressful as we were getting a little tight for time compared to my original timing. However we got there and managed to fill up before returning the car. Returning was quite easy and the guy dropped us to Athens Airport in the same car we drove (showing us there was AC in the car).

At the airport we checked in the bags then went to La Pasteria, where we ordered a couple of pastas for us.

It was then trough security and then soon onto our 18:15 flight to London.

The flight was fine, and we arrived in Heathrow on time. Security and bags were quite quick, but a little wait for the taxi. Then it was home time.

23rd December – Monday

I was still at work today, so I left around 2pm, helped with some final clearing & packing, before our taxi came at 5pm. We got to Heathrow at around 6pm and after checking in and going through security, we met the rest of the troops, who had been here a while – they got picked up at 4pm. We went and sat near the gate whilst having some of our pastries, whilst Neer and Prisha had some take away melt.

On the plane, Airyen fell asleep soon after take off, whilst I was fully intending to watch some TV, but fell asleep. Bhavni however did not have a great sleep.

24th December- Tuesday

We arrived in Abu Dhabi at 7am and disembarked the plane going through the security. Milan did a proper change by the time we got to baggage claim.

The bags came out without too much trouble and we got some taxis (changing a bit of cash from the changers). The taxi ride was not that long and we soon were crossing over onto Yas island and to Radisson Blu.

Although we checked into the hotel, it was too early to get our rooms, though we could use the hotel facilities. So we left our bags and split up. Bhavni and I went to parentages room / Mitens room to say hello (though we got a guest opposite saying we were talking too loud). After hellos @9.30 we left Bhavni and Fathering and went down to the main restaurant as we had asked for breakfast for a few of us and the children. Bhavni came down half an hour later.

We spent the next couple of hours outside waiting. Bhavni went to her parents room and went to sleep, so I spent a bit of time mooching around near pool, but it was not that comfortable and Airyen was getting fidgetty. In the end I found our costumes from our bags so that I could let Airyen put his feet in the pool. Slowly he shuffled around the pool edge splashing away.

It was around 2pm when we got our room – 6th floor. It was nice to get there change, and start to unpack. Airyen fell asleep before 3, and after unpacking even I had a cat nap. It was around 4.30 when Bhavni showed up.

We had agreed to go for dinner at 7, which was in the main restaurant. We got a big table and all of us went to see what was in the buffet. The food choice seemed ok but the labelling was awful, so we had to be a bit weary of what we took.

After dinner we went to the mezzanine floor (which I had seen whilst exploring earlier), for all 13 of us to chill. Milan and I tried for night cap in the executive lounge, but it was already finished at 8pm. Back down we stayed for a while, before retiring for the night. Airyen was a little excited still so it took a little longer for him to sleep.

25th December – Wednesday

Airyen got up at 7am, ran to the curtain, pulled it open and exclaimed it is morning…. too early with the time difference. Luckily he fell asleep again.

In the end we went down for breakfast at 9.30. Breakfast was in the ballroom, and we all eventually congregated around one of the big tables, taking turns to go for the buffet – mixture of continental with some middle eastern.

After breakfast we all gathered in our room, for the opening of the secret Santa presents. Some great gifts and some interesting ones.

It was time to head to the pool. I went for the gym for a little bit first though, whilst the rest went into the water. The pool was not the biggest and was quite busy, so we did not stay in for very long.

It was around 2pm and some of the guys were getting hungry, so they ordered some food which was eaten outside near the pool – pizza and pasta. Most then went to their rooms as we had to meet at 4. We stayed out in the sun for a bit, going up just to get ready.

It was around 4.30 when we caught the taxis to the Grand Mosque, about a 20min drive. What a difference, when we came here last time a few years ago, we drove in and it was quite peaceful. Now we had to walk from the dropoff point through a shopping center and then quite a decent walk (with travilators) to the entrance of the mosque, with lots of crowds. Taking Airyen in his stroller was an advantage as half us were fast tracked, whilst the others got fast tracked because of parentage.

This time you had to follow a much more guided path around the complex, so much so that you could not even go into the main carpentered area, as it was all cordoned off and required a special ticket. I was with Neer, Prisha and Airyen, so we got around quite quick. Getting back to the entrance we waited for the rest to come – some were taking rides back, some were slow.

Then we all got some taxis to go to the world trade centre, which was a short ride away. There we made our way to Tamba, which we had booked for dinner. It was a modern take on Indian, and had some nice and interesting dishes, though I’m not sure you could get away using liquid nitrogen whilst serving food in the UK. We had a some birthday cakes and deserts at the end for the wedding anniversary and the upcoming birthdays.

It was then back to the hotel at 11pm. We got an interesting driver who was Sri Lankan and had worked in quite a few of the gulf cities. But in the end we forgot the stroller, though I did not notice until the next morning.

26th December – Thursday

First thing was to go down to the reception and talk to the concierge about our missing stroller. Then it was time to go to breakfast, with Airyen and Bhavni coming soon after. The rest of our group slowly make appearances.

After breakfast a number of us went and got ready, to meet at the entrance at around 10.30. We crossed the Yaz Plaza to get the blue bus to Ferrari world. A bit of fun was had by some Indians trying to reserve seating on the bus, with Milan exclaiming “This is not India”.

After getting into the venue with the tickets that Milan had pre purchased, Miten hired a stroller for Airyen. First things first was to go on a coaster, so we made our way to Formula Rossa, apparently the fastest coaster. Only Saanya, Bhavni and Airyen stayed behind. It was fast, but was quite simple and over quickly. It was time for Bhavni to go, with Neer who wanted to go again – however soon they were back as there was a technical fault.

So we went towards Flying Aces. Bhani went instead of me, instead I joined the slow moving queue for Bell’ Italia. Eventually Airyen and I got on the car, which he immensely enjoyed pretending to drive. It was quite interesting as most of the towns that we “passed”, we had travelled around in Italy only a few months ago. Getting out I joined Milan and some of the others having another go on Flying aces. We got into the queue, and there was a announcement that there was a technical problem. We decided to stick it out, luckily 10 minutes later it was working again. Now this ride was quite good – though apparently bit fast for Miten.

We went to look at Gravity – which goes vertical, but we thought the queue was too long, so we went as a group to see a simulator ride, but Airyen was 4cm too short. So whilst the rest went in, Airyen and I wondered – the show Bhavni suggested was already in progress, but we got into a silly show with magic and dancing.

After meeting the rest we tried to see Made in Malano – but guess what it was broken, so we got out and everyone went for lunch – pizzas and chips. Whilst the rest were still finishing off, we took the children to the ice skating show to get good seats – which we did. The rest made it in time, though they had to sit to the side. It was quite a good show.

We then went to the GT Challenge, the queue was not to crazy. The ride was a bit boring, but Miten thought it was the best thing since sliced bread.

Milan, Neer and I then joined the queue to Gravity, which was quite long for what it was. Yes it went vertical and backwards, but was quick.

We then took our time looking at some of the shops there, with the model F1 car around which Airyen ran. Bhanvni and I went with Airyen to Benno’s Great Race. I don’t think we realised how long a queue it was as it took an hour to get through. We got an applause from the rest as we left – apparently they could not do the ride they were intending to go on, so had been waiting for us.

It was time to go back. We caught the bus back and freshened up before dinner. They initially set us up outside, which would have been nice, but there were stray cats walking around and climbing on the chairs, with much screaming from some, so we got moved inside. Food choice was quite limited. Our stroller was returned to us.

After dinner we reconvened on the mezzanine level, where we played a interactive game using our phones – I won the geography round.

27th December – Friday

For some reason I was up early, so I bided my time for a bit on the balcony with the laptop, until Airyen awoke, at which point I went up to the 8th level lounge. We got thrown out after a bit as no children were allowed. Both of us then went down, the ballroom was being used for a meeting of a church, so we had a bit of breakfast, before returning upstairs, to get Bhavni up.

We all went down proper, where as usual everyone started appearing. After breakfast we got ready and headed to the pool – the second one near the twin hotel, which was smaller but quieter. Neer and I went to the gym for a while.

Lunch was had outside, after which some of us caught the bus to Yaz Mall. We had a wonder around (splitting up), not really buying anything (though Miten nearly bought a apple ipad at the apple store). I was disappointed I could not get bubble tea from anywhere.

We got back in time for sunset, after which we relaxed for a bit until dinner time, with Milan, Miten and I going to the lounge for a drink. Dinner was in the hotel, they has made corn sagg with paratha especially for us, which was by far the nicest thing we had had at the hotel at dinner. After dinner we did the usual and went to the mezzanine level for a bit.

28th December – Saturday

Today we all managed to have a slightly later start, all going down for breakfast at 9 onwards, which was back in the ball room.

For the morning we spent some time around the pools (initially at the secondary pool). After which we all met in the main restaurant for the lunch buffet.

We all were to get ready and meet at 3pm in the reception – but IST applied so it was nearly 30 mins later when we all caught taxis to go to the dates market. Airyen went with Milan and Rajvi – unfortunately their taxi dropped them to the wrong place (the fish market), so they had to make their way to the market – 10 mins walk away. In the mean time Bijal did a lot of bargaining and buying quite a few dates.

After everyone had their fill, Miten ordered some taxis to go to Rotana Mall (a place that Milan chose assuming it would be a good place to get some food), however the Mall was a dump, so we quickly made an exit and just walked to the Cornish. There we took some sunset photos (and enquired about getting some “family” trike for the ones that could not walk much, but it was not suitable). So in the end a lot of us walked to the Nation Galleria, whilst we sent the others by Taxi to there.

At the mall we found everyone and took a weird vote about dinner – settling for Leopold’s of London (only in UAE). We had a lot dishes which we shared. After which there was cake and candles for 4 children.

We then sent the non walkers (including Airyen) via taxi, whilst we walked to the Palace hotel, taking pictures along the way. However our group got stopped and were not allowed in – due to the “dress code” (Bhavni and I were not foul of that). This got into a heated argument between the security and Miten, but to no – avail. In the end we sent Milan and Rajvi in to get the troops inside sorted (as they had not seen it before – whereas Bhavni and I had). We got taxis back and at the hotel and we went back to out room.

29th December

After breakfast, we headed for the pool area, with some of us swimming whilst the rest when they turned up playing cards. We had lunch outside near the pool area with some drinks. Most of the group went up to chill, while we stayed down (along with Anji and Saanya). Airyen entertained pretending the chairs were carriages of a train.

We got ready to leave at 5pm, where we dropped Airyen to Parentages so that they and Anji could look after him. Then we took the 30 minute walk to the Marina circuit for the public biking. We were the only people walking – some of us faster then others.

When we got there, we signed in and went to collect our bikes. Bhavni convinced me to go for a road bike, so I had to ask as I had not ridden on one before.

Then it was time to get in line. With best intentions we started of in a small gaggle – Milan, Prisha, Neer, Saanya, Bhavni and I, but that only lasted a bit, as Neer and I went ahead. We ended up doing 2 laps in under 25 minutes. It was slightly surreal cycling on a race track, but it was very nice, and well organised. After the 2, we caught up with Milan and Saanya, so I did a partial round with him before going ahead. I was about to wait after the 3rd, when Rajvi (who walked a bit) said that the others had just gone, so I did a last round, catching up quickly with Miten, Bhavni and Prisha. We did a really lazy round together.

After the 4th round we finished, taking some photos, then returning our bikes. Then it was a odd debate about some taking Taxis back. I walked back with Neer, Rajvi and Milan.

I got back and Airyen was still asleep, so I had time to freshen up before our dinner at 8.30. Dinner was paneer with parotha.

We all met in Anjis room after.

30th December

Our last morning here. By the time we had awoken Miten, Bijal and Parentage were at the airport. We woke to a foggy morning, so Airyen and I went and took some reluctant photos. With the rest joining us for breakfast, we found that our flight was delayed an hour, so we ended leaving for the Airport at 12.00.

It was not a long journey to the airport and soon we were checked in. The flight was on a Dreamliner and Airyen fell asleep for 3h. I in the mean time watched 4 films.

We got pick up by Hamid and got home, pretty tired.

Saturday 14^th September

It was an early start today, having to wake up at 3.30, to get everything finalised. In the end we loaded up the car and were en route by about 4.50.

We got to Heathrow without much of a hitch (except finding the pod parking itself), parked and then had to take a bus as the pods were not running. Getting in we went to the family check in and dropped the bags of, before going thorough security – when will we learn not to have full bottles of water which we have to drink?

Not much shopping or browsing then we were getting onto the plane – Airyen still in his PJ’s, for a 7am flight. The flight was mostly uneventful apart from Airyen not wanting to settle down and sit at all.

We arrived in Copenhagen just before 10am local time, with us getting out and collecting our bags in about 30 mins. Then we made our way to the trains – catching one to Nordhavn. We had to activate our 48H Copenhagen card.

We dropped of our bags at Charlottehaven, which was a 5 minute walk from the station then took the train back into the town center at Norreport.

We made our way to the round tower, making our way up to the fist show area. Here we found that Airyen had fallen asleep. Continuing to the top area – hard work pushing a pushchair all the way up – we took turns to have a lookout from the top, which was a brilliant view of the city, before going down.

As Airyen was sleeping, we thought it best to go for lunch. We made our way to SimpleRaw – a vegan restraunt and had some nice food there; a temph burger and a take on a full breakfast with tofu eggs.

Making our way to the Christiansborg Palace, we stopped at the boat tours at Ved Straden and booked out place for 3.30. At the palace, we sat outside and gave Airyen Lunch, before going inside to look at opulent the palace. We even managed to keep Airyen occupied for a while by counting clocks and “playing” in the rooms.

We got to the boat with only a few minutes to spare, so it was quite full by then. It was an hour tour around the waterways, seeing some of the modern architecture – most things pointed our were made after 2000, such as the opera house and library. A bit too long for Airyen though as he wanted to run around by the end.

After docking we walked to Trivoli Gardens (having a bit of fun finding the entrance). The person at the gate asked are we sure we wanted to use the card today to get in as it was quite late – I guess most people spend a long time here and I can see why, lots to see even without the rides.

We were immediately greeted by a parade, after which we had a wonder – eventually making our way to the lake where Airyen and Bhavni had a ride on the flying Animal ride. Airyen then caught sight of a playground, so spent some time there. We had some ice cream and enjoyed seeing all the areas before leaving after 7pm.

Getting the train back from Norreport, we went to Aldi and picked up some pasta and sauce for dinner, before finally checking in at Charlottehaven. Dinner was quick, but it was dark by the time we were eating. Then we settled in for the night.

Sunday 15^th September

After a breakfast which had cereal with silly amounts of sweet chocolate, we headed out. The idea was to catch the bus (and we waited a good 15 mins), but we were told by some locals that the service is not running due to the Copenhagen marathon taking place, so we took the train into town then out to Valby.

Here it was a bit of a walk (20 mins) in the breeze to the zoo. Getting in we wondered around seeing the animals. The first was the elusive polar bear – only because after going through the whole enclosure they were at the last place. Then it was the bears and wolves, pandas, mountain leopards then the monkeys and lemurs in their habitats. Finally on this side we found the elephants inside their enclosure, where we stopped for a bit.

We then took the tunnel to the other side of the road – initially for the petting zoo, where Airyen tried to pet some goats. A few had washes later, he found the playground, so was occupied for half an hour. We thought about eating lunch here, but the choice was not that great.

So after we had a look at the savannah animals. With the giraffes and antelope. We found the rhinos after ascending the upper walkway and facing the meerkats.

Crossing back under the tunnel, we had a look at the main restaurant area – the first we walked into they cautiously told us it was a pure vegan restaurant, and the menu seemed good – perfect! We ordered a few sharing plates – including falafel and a kids platter for Airyen.

After lunch we headed out of the zoo and walked north to Fasanvej St and caught the metro there, (Airyen fell asleep on the walk after he accepted having the plastic wind shield on him). We caught the train all the way to Kastrup which was just before the airport.

From Kastrup it was a 10 minute walk to the National Aquarium. One thing to notice was all the street furniture had changed to have wavy blue accents.

At the Aquarium, we started to explore; the aquarium was vaguely split into 3 areas – tropical, ocean and northern. We started in the ocean area and had a walk around to the tropical and rainforest areas. We even watched a film about coral reefs.

Airyen woke and was happy to find himself in another place he could see things. We spent a while looking at different areas including trying to see if Airyen could pet the rays – no too fast.

We then went to a talk outside about feeding the arctic otters, which we watched only for a while as it was a bit cold outside standing still.

Back inside we spent a while infront of the main tank (with the sharks and other ocean animals), before leaving with the closing of the aquarium.

We caught the train to Norreport as we had decided with all the good restaurants to have dinner in town. Bhavni had been looking at a restaurant on the other side of the canal, which was a 20 minuite walk away, but with the breezy evening we came up to Souls which was another vegan restaurant we recognised.

We had a short wait before we were seated. I ordered a beyond meat burger and Bhavni had a nice big bowl. The food was quite good, though the people serving seemed to forget things a bit.

After dinner we walked back to the station and caught the train back to Nordhavn and the apartment. They had changed our beds to 2 single beds after we asked them in the morning after having an uncomfortable night.

Monday 16^th September

After a morning breakfast, with Bhavni having taken the chocolate out of the cereal, we checked out and left our bags at the reception. It was then a train to Norreport, where we walked to the Rosenburg Castle. We were there just after opening, so there was a queue, but not that bad. We placed our stuff in some lockers and then had a small wonder as we still had 20 minuites until our timed entry.

Getting in, we followed the way looking at all the different rooms, starting on the fist floor before going all the way to the top throne rooms. There were lots of interesting items around, and some weirder ones such as the display of glass.

After getting out of the main house we could go to the basement which was full of the treasure and expensive artefacts. First was things such as Ivory and similar things of which there were a lot. Unfortunately Airyen wanted to get out so Bhavni and he did not get to see the next rooms – through a vault door – which were the royal crowns, jewellery and swords.

Getting out we saw a small marching display just outside before we wondered out and went across the road to the grounds around the Botanical and Geological museums. Really nice gardens, though as we realised the time we thought we better leave to go for lunch, however as there was lots of renovation work getting done we found it hard to get out – ending up walking all the way to the way we walked in.

Bhavni wanted to go to a restaurant called sidecar, but that was quite a walk away so we instead went to cafe Bla – another vegan cafe. We ended up ordering a large sharing platter, some side and a children’s plate – far too much food.

After a quite long meal, we realised we needed to get a move on – since we had a plane to get. However instead of getting back to the train it was quicker getting a bus – which we had to get a ticket for as our Copenhagen card passes had expired.

We rushed and got our bags then headed on the train to the Airport. We arrived just before 3pm and checked our bags in. We got through security and did a bit of shopping (biscuits and such). Soon we were boarding the plane and on our way (after a bit of reshuffling bags).

Was mostly uneventful a flight apart from Airyen not wanting to sit with a belt on his own. We were meant to be early in, but the plane had a go around, so we pretty much were on time at 17:30. Getting through imigration and getting the bags went smoothly and we got the pod back to the car park, which was a novel experience. It was then a drive round the M25 to home.