Menorca 2012 Day 10 - Beer pulling, aerobics and sun beds

Each year I always introduce you to my beer puller for the holiday. This year it is the lovely Flor who is more interested in rugby than football as she is from Argentina. Good girl!

Always making sure that my glass is full and the olives or peanuts are on hand.

The other person that always brings joy to the day is young Danielle who is the Events Coordinator for the hotel/Thomson. Always stopping for a chat and always smiling. How she does 45mins of aerobics by the side of the pool in 36c of heat and humidity is beyond me, whilst the over 60's are doing their "Aqua Fit"

If you ever need a rub down afterwards Danielle, just give me shout!

The one downside of pool life at this hotel is that the terrace is very small in proportion to the number of occupants. It means that the positioning of the sunbeds is a little intimate. For instance, look what I had to endure yesterday! (yes that is my foot in the pic but I am not touching her calf).

Menorca 2012 Day 9 - Missing Day, Quiz answers & Microwaves

Thanks to Mrs Beeney for pointing out that I had completely missed a day of my holiday. This is somewhat of a worry as I have no recollection of this!

So welcome to Day 9 which was 30th August, a Thursday I think. Obviously an unremarkable day for the lack of events or annoyances. However I forgot to post the quiz answers from the other night.

1) Who has won most Oscars - Walt Disney of course. Mrs CT & I where almost unique in getting this correct.
2) Where was Barack Obama born? - According to The White House, Hawaii. This was contended by several people claiming Kenya or Indonesia. A heated debate ensued.
3) Which national chain took its name from a character in Moby Dick and has 2 mermaids tails as part of its logo? - Surprisingly the answer was not Captain Birdseye as suggested by Mrs CT but Starbucks.

As I have no pictures of Thursday, here are a couple of my favourites so far.

I am blaming the next picture on my memory lapse. It's not as though we are just getting our bodies fried in the Mediterranean sun but also our brains courtesy of Vodafone microwaves from the top of the hotel :(

Menorca 2012 Day 8 - Raffle Winners & Pedicures

The quiz yesterday was just one part of a charity day organised by Thomson. There was also a raffle to win any of several prizes donated by local establishments. Out of the options there really was only one we DIDN'T want to win but sod's law was always going to intervene.

Bottle of champagne
90 minute spa treatment for 2
Designer sun hats & bag
Champagne & chocolates on flight home
Luxury meal at local restaurant
3 hour Kayak expedition

Guess which one we won??!! Howls of laughter ensued as we collected our prize. One woman at the front even suggested I might want to start on a diet beforehand. Bitch!

The hotel possesses a nicely equipped spa with the usual saunas, Turkish baths and pools. Going from the 38c pool to the 12c pool takes your breath away, literately. We have purchased a 3 day pass so have spent a very quiet and leisurely day away from the crowds which included a pedicure!

The last person to pay such attention to my pinkies was my mother some 45 years ago. One look at the tray of equipment the beauty woman had, made me feel I was at the dentists or torture dungeon, not sure which is worse.

The outcome is soft feet and toenails that won't need abusing for at least a fortnight.

Menorca 2012 Day 7 - Diversification and Quizes

Times are tough economically all over the world and Spain is no exception. There a few empty shops and restaurants but by no means as many as Greece.

Some retailers are having to diversify into selling related goods ie coffee and bakery goods, newsagents and sandwiches etc. the owners of this shop have taken this to the extreme.

Many a time I have wished there was somewhere convenient to buy a new pair of deck shoes, a shark rod and a bag of mixed floats at the same time. Thank goodness for Maruxa.

Quiz time around the pool today. I think we have failed miserably but have shone at some of the more obscure answers.

1) who has won the most oscars?
2) where was Barack Obama born?
3) what national chain took its name from a character in Moby Dick and features 2 mermaid tails in its logo?

Answers later (no cheating by using Google).

Menorca 2012 Day 6 - Gin, Tonic & Tomatoes

One thing we have learnt in our short time on the island is that the Menorcans are rather fond of a good G&T. So much so they have developed it into an art form.

To begin with I must explain that the Brits brought gin making to the island in the 18th century and it has since become the national spirit. At our hotel cocktail bar, The Blue Cafe, it is not sufficient to just ask for a G&T, you must specify which one of 8 gins AND which one of 4 tonics. I kid you not! A bit like trying to order " a coffee" in Starbucks and failing.

As you can see, what we would think are up market gins, Bombay and Tanqueray, are well down the pecking order. (BTW prices are for a treble as you will see from the next pictures). All sorts of different accompaniments are thrown in, from the humble lime all the way to cherry tomatoes.

This first one is your standard Bombay & Schweppes (the pint glass is there for scaling purposes only).

Even some of the 18 year old girls from around our way who can "chug" for England, would take a while to finish one of those. You know who you are Miss JB and Miss LR.

This next one is the house speciality, Gin Mare, Tonic 1724, lime juice, sugar, mint, basil and yes, cherry tomatoes. Weird yet delicious!

We are off for a tour of the gin distillery on Saturday (after the shopping expedition of Mahon, naturally). The next person who asks for a G&T at our house is in for a treat, pleasant or not!

Menorca 2012 Day 5 - Walking, Strippers and Fire

Sunday mornings are usually reserved for a brisk 5 mile walk around our local lakes followed by a cup of tea, and sometimes breakfast, at the visitors centre.

Today we had breakfast, eggs, bacon, beans & toast, the usual Spanish fare but the furthest we walked was to the pool!

There are some lovely walks here but are not for the faint hearted. Check out the one below.

It is a walk to the next village. 9.6km which isn't too bad but at an estimated time of 7 hours probably one to leave to the mountain goats. Just the look of the stone stairs starting the route were enough to put me off.

The evening entertainment has been getting a little bizarre following on from James and his Blankets. Last night we had a rock band with fairly good musicians in particular the lead guitar......but......every now and then they would be joined by a fire wielding lunatic girl dressed loosely as a stripper. Setting ropes on fire and then waving them above your head and the audience is just random.

The only connection I could find was the title of the evening, Fire and Ice. Where the ice got to, heaven knows. The band perhaps? No they were the Blue Jays........

.......and here is another act, a couple of brothers from Cuba who to be fair had good rythem on the sax and bongos. They too were joined by what appeared to be another lady of the night. Old enough to be their mother (but probably just the filling in the menage a trois sandwich) she had a skirt so short you were regularly introduced to her white knickers and could clearly read the label. Great pair of legs though!

First shopping expedition tomorrow albeit a small one. Just into the village to a great little shop selling Lacoste, branded perfumes and some nice leather goods. They have a 50% Rebejas at the moment......ladies I am sure you don't need to look up what that translates as.

Menorca 2012 Day 4 - Footie and Pigeons,

Not much to report today. Too hot and humid to carry out any sort of exploration, including tracking down the nearest Sky Sports Bar for the footie. I have since found out it is the Black & White bar around the corner and naturally you can get a full English breakfast if you wish or a baguette and beer for €5 at lunchtime. The weeks live footie matches are proudly displayed on a blackboard in a child's handwriting.

Never mind, made a few quid by 'laying the draw' on Watford v Brum. As write the Hornets are 2-0 up so I have closed out my bet with a slight leaning towards Birmingham performing a miracle in the 2nd half. As you can see I still win what ever the result. Go to www.betfair.co.uk for further information. (PS - Hope you are enjoying the game Grace & Joel).

This morning tried to take a picture of a pigeon standing atop the waterfall having a drink (yes I know I need to get a better life). Failed miserably. See if you can spot him?

More tomorrow, I promise. Off to our evening entertainment later, Fire & Ice around the pool. Ooh I can hardly wait,

Menorca 2012 Day 3 - Guitars, Blankets and Fakes

The Audax is an adults only hotel which is another reason for Mrs CT's selection. As such it puts on quite a good entertainments programme. Not a kids disco in sight.

We have a full time resident musician, James, a surfer type lad from the UK who is rather good with a guitar and his arrangements of well known modern tunes.

The only downside, he pops up everywhere - at the pool at lunchtime, in the Spa and the cocktail bar........and even the beach!

Twice a week the event "James and his blankets on the beach" takes place. An intimate little gathering with gentle strumming and polite silence and appreciation from the audience.

That is until we turned up. Arriving 30 minutes after the start and in the pitch black we managed to trip and fall on to the blankets (thank you to the 2 young Spanish ladies who provided me with a soft but interesting landing). Fuelled by several Mojitos this set Mrs CT off into a giggling fit which was compounded by my new Spanish friends joining in. Ooh the looks of disapproval we got from the others.

Well done James for carrying on for the next hour.

I suspect that the entertainment is of better quality than the hotel down the road. Just check out their flyer for the evening's gig. The 3 worst fakes I have ever seen! If you can, zoom in on Elvis. Surely he has avoided the confines of the Sex Offenders Register and escaped to Spain.

Anyway, enough of last night and back to today. Weather very good and set to continue so. The pool inviting and beer cold, not much more you can want.

Talk again tomorrow.

Menorca 2012 Day 2 - Bubble Baths & Boquerones

One of the things that attracted Mrs CT to the Audax Hotel was the room and the fact that it had a Jacuzzi bath (common name for a bath with water jets but actually a brand name, a bit similar to Hoover. The system bath was actually from Roca. My friends in the bathroom industry will understand this).

Anyway, today after a day around the pool was declared bubble bath time. The remnants of the freebie bottle of fizz was poured and the water did flow.

The bath is the size of a small swimming pool and the jets very powerful. My first bath for probably 2 years - I prefer showers. Soapy bubbles, back scrubbing and lather ensued. Made Prince Harry's hotel activities look positively tame ;)

Mrs CT declared that this shall be our chosen method of washing from now on - dirty girl!

For those that have followed this blog over the past 4 years will know that food is one of the more common entries.

I took a small walk (less than 100m) into town this lunchtime to track down the now über trendy Tapas. I wasn't disappointed, with several establishments offering the tasty little dishes.

I am partial to the odd plate of anchovies (not those in oil from a tin but the fresh ones) otherwise known as Boquerones. A dish of these was ordered together with some crispy Calamares. I wasn't too sure how the anchovies would be presented but the result surprised even me!

On crisps, are you taking the proverbial pi$$! As it happens they were a taste sensation with the crisps soaking up the tasty vinegary juices.

Finally back to the after bath (pun intended) here is a nice pic of Mrs CT finishing off her fizzy with book in hand, not 50 Shades, which she says is too tame and lacks imagination!

Menorca 2012 Day 1 - Luton, Mahon & Giant Beer

So off we go on another annual adventure to the sun. This time to Menorca, a sunny isle in The Balearics, and somewhere that we have not been before.

Greece and her islands were given a miss this year after 6 on the trot as it was clearly visible last year that there was trouble afoot.

Luton airport at 6 in the morning was its usual mix of suits and holiday makers all jostling for breakfast, the only difference being that the latter were having a pint with their bacon bap, including moi.

No, not a giant pint, just an odd photo angle.

TOP TIP #1
Spend a few quid on purchasing Priority Lane for the security hall. The normal queues were 40mins long! We sailed through in 3mins

So onwards to gate 23, fighting our way through the hoards of Czechs, Polish, Hungarians, Romanians etc who are waiting for one of the 13 WizzAir flights that depart Luton between 7.15 - 8.00

Well, well ThomsonFly I spot a modern plane compared to the 20 year old crates that we have flown for the last 2 years (see blog from last year). A Boeing 737-800 awaits resplendent with oversized bent wing tips.

Despite what this next picture looks like, the flight was full.

As I write, sitting in seat 16D, we are on final approach into Mahon. Speak later!