Off for a week........

[Frances999]

We've checked in online and are just leaving for Gatwick before our flight to Barbados tomorrow (booked Good Friday when Virgin Holidays were offering 15% discount!). I was hoping for some rest and sunshine :sunny: .....but just looked at the 10-day forecast and it is looking very lousy indeed - Wilma has clearly had some effect (obviously not as much as in Florida though :( ). Hope everyone else who is heading away for half-term arrives safely and has a good trip. "See" you in a week :) :flower:

:wizard:

[mandymouse]

:sunny: Have a fab time, and I hope the weather brightens up for you :sunny:

[natalielongstaff]

hope you have a great time frances :)

[KayleeUK]

Have a lovely time :)

[Deedee]

So it was you who was singing wow i'm going to Barbados at the top of your voice frances. have a good one.

[jns]

Have a ball

[Miffy2003]

Frances, have a brilliant trip. I would love to hear all about it on your return - DH is unpersuaded by the idea of Barbados as he views it as the Med but a further flight :rolleyes1 so it would be great to be able to convince him otherwise ;)

Have fun and I hope the weather picks up for you! :sunny: :sunny: :sunny: :sunny:

[gilld]

Have a really lovely time. Have only been to Barbados from a cruise ship or enroute to other Caribbean Islands.

[diberry]

Have a really wonderful time and tell us all about it when you get back!!! You'll definitely be warmer than us!!!

[florida sun]

Have a fantastic time, I hope the weather improves for you. :cheer2: :cheer2:


Sue :wave:

[Claddagh]

Enjoy!

:banana: :banana:

[Minniespal]

Hope you have a fantastic time and that the weather is ok for you.

[emily1982]

wow, my friend is off to barbados tomorrow from gatwick! what time u flying?

[Mrs Dazzle]

Frances, have a brilliant trip. I would love to hear all about it on your return - DH is unpersuaded by the idea of Barbados as he views it as the Med but a further flight :rolleyes1 so it would be great to be able to convince him otherwise ;)


OMG - wash his mouth out with soap Karen ;)

The caribbean is a beautiful place. Totally unlike the med.

Whilst I've only visited St Lucia (and the Bahamas ;) ), DH's best man is a Bajan and has told us many things, photos etc about Barbados so in the next few years we'll be off to visit him now he's gone back home.

The people on St Lucia were incredibly friendly - even more so that Florida :earseek: The scenery was breathtaking, the resorts pristine, beautiful warm beaches, lovely shops and markets . . . . and the food was superb. I won't even go into how many cocktails I tried whilst out there :drinking: :rolleyes1

Well worth a visit.

Frances - hope you all have a wonderful time :sunny: :sunny:

[Miffy2003]

Annie - thank you!

I have the soap positioned and ready ;)

[Frances999]

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone :wave2: , we have just returned and had a wonderful time. The flight on the way home yesterday was delayed from 5.25pm to 11pm, so it was all a bit crazy at the airport and too much for DD who is now in bed feeling ill :( .

The weather was better than I expected, although there were scattered showers there was lots of sunshine and the rain was usually only in short bursts during the late afternoon/evening. The hotel we stayed at was wonderful and perfectly situated. It was a country house style hotel with just 40 rooms, so the service was very personal. The room we were allocated was absolutely huge! I could not get over the size - it had two separate bedrooms and bathrooms plus a gorgeous living area and two terraces! We certainly did not book this through Virgin Holidays! It was all very boutique-style and so very friendly, all the staff got to know everyone really well - even the owner, who introduced himself upon arrival. The food was to die for! So fresh and tasty, especially the seafood. We ate at the hotel restaurant on 6 out of 7 evenings - it was that good! One evening there was a barbecue and cocktail party - all organised by the manager so he could get to know the guests! As I said, great service!

The beaches were beautiful and there were lots of activities to keep our 3 children entertained! To be honest I think we only just scratched the very surface of Barbados - we didn't do much exploring and only left the hotel a couple of times. We have all said it is somewhere we would like to go back one day....I would highly recommend it. It was a very family friendly hotel, and the children enjoyed meeting lots of new friends and always had lots of activities to keep them occupied (arts and crafts, beach time, swimming, snorkeling, tennis...). Anyway, time to start the washing ..... we're supposed to be back at work/school tomorrow.....I think we may need the day off though to recover from the flight and jetlag :flower:

[Minniespal]

Sounds as though you had a fantastic time ~ Shame about the flight home.

[diberry]

It sounds absolutely wonderful Frances. I bet you all feel really relaxed and refreshed now!!

[mandymouse]

Welcome home Frances, glad you have a great time :sunny:

[Verity Chambers]

So glad that you had a GREAT time :) .

[carolfoy]

Glad you had a great time, I love Barbados, its incredibly beautiful, agree though that the airport is a nightmare, when we left we went through security and then were left to just wander over the tarmac towards our plane, it was crazy, there was NOTHING to stop us from just switching routes and getting on a totally different flight! semmed a bit mad after all that 'increased security'

[Frances999]

Glad you had a great time, I love Barbados, its incredibly beautiful, agree though that the airport is a nightmare, when we left we went through security and then were left to just wander over the tarmac towards our plane, it was crazy, there was NOTHING to stop us from just switching routes and getting on a totally different flight! semmed a bit mad after all that 'increased security'
Yes, the airport certainly was a bit of a pain and very low-tech comapred to our airports! I was worried out baggage would be loaded on okay! Luckily Virgin Holidays do a "check-in, chill out" service wherby you can check-in at your hotel so only need to arrive an hour before the flight. Our hotel wasn't participating apparently, but VA came over anyway after I complained :teeth:

[KayleeUK]

Sounds like you had a great time :)