Pinky166
12-28-2008, 01:13 PM
Cast:
Me = Claire (33), massive Disney fan, chief planner…(a little on the OCD side ;)) obsessive shopper, addicted to scrapbooking and very impulsive which doesn’t bode well for our credit cards!
Hubby = Lee (34), not a massive Disney fan but still enjoys it, adrenaline junkie, easy going and the sensible half of our partnership!
Day 1 - Overnight stay at Gatwick:
1st December 2008.
I should note that I have changed the title of my trip report.....from "Getting merry with the Maguire's" to "Getting ill with the Maguire's". :rolleyes:
And so our journey begins…..
I had barely slept all night as I was too excited but also a little stressed. I had no reason to be stressed but I am always a little anxious in the few days leading up to our holidays. I have never managed to work out why, it is not the flight as I love flying, it’s not the worry of forgetting something as I know I can pick up anything I may forget when we get there? Oh well, I guess i’m just a worrier. :confused:
We got up about 7ish and had a cup of tea. I then pottered around tidying the last few bits and doing the usual emptying the bins etc whilst Lee took the dogs out for a walk over the fields. We then had showers and got dressed, chucked the last few toiletries in the case and loaded the car with two suitcases, two hand luggage bags & the two dogs. We checked the house over, set the alarm and we are on our way. :banana:
First stop my parents house, we got there around 12.30pm and took the dogs in (we had dropped all their food, toys, beds etc over the day before) we had a cup of tea & a ham roll with my mum & dad and stayed for about an hour and a half. I knew the dogs would be fine as my parents love them to bits but we were sad to be leaving them, especially Bailey (the puppy) as it was the first time we had left her. We said our goodbyes and were off it was a clear run around the M25 & took a little less than 90 mins to get to the Sofitel at Gatwick. We checked in and were given room 106:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk318/pinky166_photos/Dec%2008%20Trippie/P1030365.jpg
I had to move the car into the hotel car park as it was being picked up a little later and parked offsite until our return. We went up to the room and dropped off our coats, overnight bag and the hand luggage before making our way with the suitcases to the South terminal (via the monorail) to the Virgin Twilight Check In desks. There was no queue and within no time at all we had our boarding passes, got rid of the cases & had been given the seats I had reserved months ago on the website, 80 H & K, which are the last two in the upstairs section of Premium Economy, at the back by the stairs. :thumbsup2
We went back to the North terminal & had a look around the few shops there, mainly to see what the food options were for later….not much! There was 6 armed police spaced around the seating area and another policeman with a sniffer dog walking around smelling all the people and their bags. We decided to eat in ‘Le Brasserie’ at the hotel but it doesn’t open until 6.30pm so headed back to the room for a while and chilled out watching the tv.
We freshened up & headed down to the restaurant and got a table straight away. I ordered the 6oz fillet steak with peppercorn sauce, sautéed mushrooms & hand cut frites, it was very nice. Lee had a pork joint with creamy mash & carrots, he said his was just ok. We both had donut balls for dessert (you only get three tiny little balls but they were yummy!) I had coke & Lee had a Budweiser. £75 + tip. Afterwards we went back to the room and I set a wake up call for 7.45am – just incase! We watched a bit more tv and had an early night.
Day 2 coming up shortly....
Me = Claire (33), massive Disney fan, chief planner…(a little on the OCD side ;)) obsessive shopper, addicted to scrapbooking and very impulsive which doesn’t bode well for our credit cards!
Hubby = Lee (34), not a massive Disney fan but still enjoys it, adrenaline junkie, easy going and the sensible half of our partnership!
Day 1 - Overnight stay at Gatwick:
1st December 2008.
I should note that I have changed the title of my trip report.....from "Getting merry with the Maguire's" to "Getting ill with the Maguire's". :rolleyes:
And so our journey begins…..
I had barely slept all night as I was too excited but also a little stressed. I had no reason to be stressed but I am always a little anxious in the few days leading up to our holidays. I have never managed to work out why, it is not the flight as I love flying, it’s not the worry of forgetting something as I know I can pick up anything I may forget when we get there? Oh well, I guess i’m just a worrier. :confused:
We got up about 7ish and had a cup of tea. I then pottered around tidying the last few bits and doing the usual emptying the bins etc whilst Lee took the dogs out for a walk over the fields. We then had showers and got dressed, chucked the last few toiletries in the case and loaded the car with two suitcases, two hand luggage bags & the two dogs. We checked the house over, set the alarm and we are on our way. :banana:
First stop my parents house, we got there around 12.30pm and took the dogs in (we had dropped all their food, toys, beds etc over the day before) we had a cup of tea & a ham roll with my mum & dad and stayed for about an hour and a half. I knew the dogs would be fine as my parents love them to bits but we were sad to be leaving them, especially Bailey (the puppy) as it was the first time we had left her. We said our goodbyes and were off it was a clear run around the M25 & took a little less than 90 mins to get to the Sofitel at Gatwick. We checked in and were given room 106:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk318/pinky166_photos/Dec%2008%20Trippie/P1030365.jpg
I had to move the car into the hotel car park as it was being picked up a little later and parked offsite until our return. We went up to the room and dropped off our coats, overnight bag and the hand luggage before making our way with the suitcases to the South terminal (via the monorail) to the Virgin Twilight Check In desks. There was no queue and within no time at all we had our boarding passes, got rid of the cases & had been given the seats I had reserved months ago on the website, 80 H & K, which are the last two in the upstairs section of Premium Economy, at the back by the stairs. :thumbsup2
We went back to the North terminal & had a look around the few shops there, mainly to see what the food options were for later….not much! There was 6 armed police spaced around the seating area and another policeman with a sniffer dog walking around smelling all the people and their bags. We decided to eat in ‘Le Brasserie’ at the hotel but it doesn’t open until 6.30pm so headed back to the room for a while and chilled out watching the tv.
We freshened up & headed down to the restaurant and got a table straight away. I ordered the 6oz fillet steak with peppercorn sauce, sautéed mushrooms & hand cut frites, it was very nice. Lee had a pork joint with creamy mash & carrots, he said his was just ok. We both had donut balls for dessert (you only get three tiny little balls but they were yummy!) I had coke & Lee had a Budweiser. £75 + tip. Afterwards we went back to the room and I set a wake up call for 7.45am – just incase! We watched a bit more tv and had an early night.
Day 2 coming up shortly....