Had a wonderful few days on the Pride of Bilbao - yes a ferry! But we took a mini cruise from Portsmouth to Bilbao, got off for a couple of hours & came back. I love it. Have been a couple of times before way back in the day and I still enjoyed it. Lots of entertainment, which was surprisingly good. Included lots of musical shows, and a lovely piano singer in the “POSH” bar. Lots of bars of differing styles & food. A small plunge pool and gym helped make up for the excesses. And there were loads of places to sit & look at the sea or read a book (3 in 4 days!). Deliberately booked an inside cabin with no daylight to ensure lots of unhindered sleep. Even went to the cinema. Unfortunately we were so busy we didn’t have much time to spend on deck looking for whales & dolphins, but apart from that it was great. Even Kieran enjoyed wandering around, the video games room and playing cards. It was lovely.
On our return we took a detour to Bournemouth (once we got the car started as we had a dead battery) and stayed overnight with Lou & Darren (eldest step-daughter). That was really lovely. Haven’t seen them since their wedding nearly two years ago but its as if no time has past. Lou is a primary school teacher, and knowing her I’d bet anything that she’s good at it. I’m very proud at how wonderful she has turned out - she knows that I expected her future to be somewhat different when I knew her as a child. She has grown beautifully.
Hope I get to see Katie and Holly some time soon too.
All back to normal now though but a rest is always important. Will definitely do another mini cruise sometime.
