A slightly later awakening today saw us not making breakfast until gone 8am. How very decadent. The pleasing sight to greet us was the sun being out and there were some lovely patches of blue sky intermittent with cloud.
For breakfast today we decided to try the omelette bar. These were very acceptable. Then after collecting some beach towels, we headed to the Hot Tub. We were the only ones in there as it was still quite early. I still think it should be renamed the Flipping Hot Hot Tub.
It was then time to secure some of our favoured sunbeds so that I could try and listen to the FA Cup match from Carrow Road. I settled down and was delighted that I managed to tune into Radio Norfolk for the pre match build up. It was bliss. The sun was shining, we were on the edge of the property overlooking the sea and there was a lovely strong but warm breeze. Despite this I still had pangs of regret of not being at the game with my boys for the new managers first match.
Then I lost the commentary at kick off. It took me 5 minutes of swearing to find another link. That lasted for another 20 minutes before I lost it completely. It seemed our sunbeds were just on the very edge of where the Wifi would reach. I was not happy and only managed to follow the game thereafter through intermittent updates on Twitter. I therefore accept responsibility for the subsequent defeat as they did not receive my full and undivided support. Secretly I was somewhat relieved we were out of the cup as foolishly we have booked to be away when the final is held and I cannot imagine the grief I would have got having to fly back from Portugal just for the match, as there is no way I would miss us in our first ever FA Cup Final.
At half time I wandered over to one of Tiki Bars and we had our first cocktail of the day of a Dirty Banana and a Daiquiri.
After the match we went back to the Hot Tub and were once again joined by the New Yorkers. We talked about travel and it seemed we had visited far more of the US than they had. We ended up giving them advice on the own country.
For lunch I tried a Pizza which was not great whilst Karen had a grilled fish sandwich which she was not enamoured about either. The good thing is that we hadn’t had to pay for them.
I am still not sure about these all-inclusive resorts. Not sure if we are getting great or poor value for money. It is pleasing that no one seems to be eating or drinking to excess. We are trying but are having a hard job doing so. The resort is supposedly full but it feels quite empty. Whether it is because the resort sits in 85 acres and people are just spread about so much that we don’t see them. Certainly, all the pools are mostly empty and there are hundreds of vacant places to lay and sit. I have never had to queue at a bar.
The clientele is mainly American with a scattering of Canadians and then a small sprinkling of British. It is probably 99% white clientele whereas the staff are 100% Black. I know that is hardly surprising for where we are and that tourism makes up 70% of income here but it still doesn’t feel quite right to me. The staff here from the gardeners to security to waiting staff all seem happy and all want to wish you Good Morning etc. Probably because I am getting older, they also all seem young and good looking as well. They all seem to work hard and have long hours. They do make it a pleasure staying here.
After a chill back in our room we decided to take a walk along the beach around the bay. It was a lovely 1 mile 30-minute stroll with our feet in the Caribbean Sea. We passed someone kite surfing and decided even if we were younger, it was not something we would try. Karen feared she would be like Del Boy and end up perhaps somewhere off the coast of Venezuela.
On our way back to the room Karen suggested we stop for a drink. She went and fetched us some Mimosa’s which were so good we had to have another each just to double check. It did cause us to debate and then google the difference between a Mimosa and a Bucks Fizz. Apparently traditionally a Mimosa is one part fizz to two parts orange juice whereas a Bucks Fizz is the reverse and therefore stronger. Nowadays the names are interchangeable with the Americans more familiar with the term Mimosa. Certainly, the ones we were drinking were two thirds fizz.
For dinner tonight we had booked a table at Trattoria one of the posher restaurants which was outside and as the name suggests served Italian. Initially we thought that had to dress up but fortunately shorts were allowed along with Flipflops. Karen did moan though that I was only one of two people without a collared shirt, like that would bother me.
We were given some sangria to start with as we mulled over the menu. I had a Caesar Salad for my appetiser whilst Karen had Melon with Ham. We both had some delicious pasta for our mains washed down with a couple of glasses of wine.
It was only about 8.30pm but I was shattered. Doing nothing all day is so tiring (along with perhaps too much alcohol). We sat in the lobby for a while where a singer was performing but I was in a zombie like daze and so we went back to our room where I was soon out for the count.
Accidentally whilst trying to follow the match we had both caught a bit too much of the sun today and so both had a healthy red glow which is very unlike us as we are normally ultra-careful. Much longer and we would have been properly burnt. Despite that it had been a good day where the time had just passed us so quickly.
