Summer 2022

In June we went on a family holiday to Mallorca for ten days. We've been a few times before but this was our first time going since our daughter was born. We love it because it's only a short flight away from Germany and it's a beautiful island. It has gotten a bad reputation at times in the past as being a hotspot for drunkenness and bad behaviour from tourists but it's very easy to avoid those areas! We stayed in the Play de Muro region.

The beaches were long and beautiful. We stayed at a very family friendly hotel which was perfect because they had kids disco in the evening followed by an entertainment program with live music /dancing etc. They also had a kids club from age 4 which we brought Mini to a few times. My Dad and his partner as well as my sister and her family all stayed at the same hotel so it was a really nice way of spending time with family while also having a holiday! Mini hasn't learned to swim yet but she had great fun splashing around in the pool with her arm bands on. Oh and the food was delicious too!

An Irish Summer in Lanzarote

We spent last week on holidays in Lanzarote, one of the Canary islands. When we were in Mallorca before, we couldn't help noticing how many Germans there were. Well Lanzarote seems to be a top destination for fellow Irish people as we heard familiar accents everywhere we went!

We also lost count of the amount of Irish pubs there are in Puerto del Carmen, the region where we stayed, but we managed to have a drink in several of them - I always try to support other Irish people living abroad! We enjoyed some great live music in one and even took part in the karaoke evening at another.

The Canary islands belong to Spain but because of their location close to Africa it is normally much warmer compared to the rest of Europe. We were rather unlucky with the weather while we were there though, which was reminiscent of an Irish summer - very changeable - one minute sunny and pleasant and the next overcast and rainy. so yeah, I felt quite at home, haha!

Puerto del Carmen has a seven kilometer long promenade beside lovely beaches and there are plenty of great restaurants, pubs, and cafes. The island is also covered with volcanoes and an excursion to the Timanfaya National Park is worth a visit. We opted for a half day trip which included some wine tasting. It probably sounds bad if I admit I was more looking forward to the latter, which ended up being a little disappointing with only one half glass to taste! There was also an option to ride camels up the volcanic mountains, which neither of us particularly wanted to do so we wandered around taking photos at that stage and then went back to the bus when it got too cold.

Visiting Lanzarote in February is still a little risky if you are counting on great weather and a beach holiday. The lowest temperature there during Winter would only be about 14 degrees so it's really quite pleasant all year around. That said the evenings were chilly and there was a very cold wind!

Still though, we had a fun relaxing time. Our next trip planned will be Dublin over the Easter break.

And our karaoke songs of choice in case you are wondering? I attempted "Help" by the Beatles and the GerMann had a go at the Garth Brooks classic "Friends in Low Places". Neither of us can sing particularly well but didn't matter since nobody knows us in Lanzarote!

Mallorca #MicroblogMonday

Where was I this time last week? Drinking cocktails after a day on the beach probably! The GerMann and I booked a last minute one week trip to Mallorca and it was amazing - a sunny 30 degrees by day and still warm in the evenings, delicious seafood with sangria and long sandy beaches with turquoise water.

We purposely avoided the crazy party area of Mallorca which gives the place a bad reputation. The rest of the island has so many beautiful spots. It seems to be especially loved by German and British pensioners - I'd put the average age of our resort at about 60! The last time we were in Mallorca, this time two years ago, the GerMann proposed, so it was also nice to go back as a now married couple!