Back again!

Well after a wonderful holiday in Spain I have come back down to earth with a hell of a bump! I returned on Sunday of last week, the 8th July, and since then it has been a pretty awful 9 days! I have been in the most horrific pain, to the extent that I have been in tears, and then on Friday last I awoke with a headache that completely floored me, I felt exhausted, and everything I tried to do was like climbing a mountain!

Since then, I have tried really hard to work through the illness that is Fibromyalgia, all to no avail, and on Sunday I had to give in and spend the day in bed! When I tried to get out of bed on Friday, the whole room spun, I felt sick and I literally fell back into bed! My head felt like it would burst and my ears actually burned and were bright red and hurt to touch! I then found out that there is a virus going around, and these were the symptoms! I would say it likened to my thermometer going haywire and not working! One minute I was shivering with cold, the next I had to turn the fan on, in fact both Saturday and Sunday night I had to sleep with the fan on! Poor Richard was wrapped in the quilt with it up to his neck, and I was lying there dripping in sweat! The fact that I spent two days in bed is rare, but after spending a wonderful holiday resting, I think it all got a bit too much having to come home to the cleaning, washing and the bills to sort out, and of course the wonderful British weather!

As we left the apartment in Spain, at 10.30 in the morning, the temperature was 32 degrees and rising, and as we came into the UK the temperature was 16 degrees and dropping! Quite a shock for my body I think, and perhaps why I have suddenly hit that damned brick wall and come to a complete full stop!

The one good thing that we came back to was a cheque that was sent from a PPI claim that we had started about 18 months ago! Because of this we have decided to take another holiday later this year, we weren't sure we would be able to have another holiday until much later this year, but now we have decided to use some of the money for another break. I am so much better when I am out in the sunshine, in fact I would say I am like a new woman! The pain is still there but because I am resting more and in the heat, it is more manageable!

When I was out in Spain, I was really looking forward to the fact that the Bar and Restaurant on site was open, and I was hoping to be able to walk round there for a drink and a meal, but I had forgotten just how far it was to the bar, and poor Richard had to drive round because it was just too far for me! Really frustrating to be away in such beautiful weather and not be well enough to walk as far as the bar! Fortunately Richard is not much of a drinker, and a couple of beers and a glass of wine is as much as he will have in an evening, and the roads on site are also private, so there is no chance of the police coming into the resort without us all knowing, as they would have to come through the security gates, and even they would have to stop and show their I.D.!!

I will say though that Coppola's was an absolute delight, the staff, the food, the ambience, everything about it was right! They had entertainment on at the weekends, and since we have returned from holiday they have also started a Quiz night on a Monday and a Karaoke and Disco night on a Wednesday (not my favourite is Karaoke!!), but the best thing of all is that the resort has lots of Spanish people living there, the entertainment is in Spanish and English, and one staff member, the wonderful Alicia, has been helping us with our Spanish, so we have come on leaps and bounds with our language skills during this break!  

 Alicia is the one on the far left next to me, behind Richard is Paco the chef, and I am unsure of the names of the other people, but the man in the blue checked shirt is the owner and the young boy is Paco's son! They asked us for a photo because we are now part of the Coppola's family!

Alicia and another staff member serving up our wonderful paella!

Richard having a lovely afternoon of golf, I drove the cart!

Alicia and I on our last night! I miss her very much, delightful young lady who was always smiling! She also used to spoil Jess, who became quite a celebrity, and bring her out pieces of steak! Paco, the chef, also used to bring Jess slices of ham when the boss wasn't looking!

While we were out in Spain, the dog was with us, and she became quite a celebrity with everyone! People would come and speak to us, many people thought we lived there because we had the dog with us! In the evening when we started to get ready to go out, Jess would start 'padding', and as soon as I said 'are you coming to the pub', she would start making a lot of noise, and would pick up her bag with her bowl, chews and toy in it! It was so funny to watch her! Because she is such a good dog, we never put her on the lead when we walk her, but because often people were eating we would put her on the lead until we found a seat. She would carry her bag into the square where the seats were - outside dining is just great - and everyone would watch in awe as she walked to the table, sat down and we then gave the staff her water bowl which they would fill, even before we got a drink! The Spanish are not usually good with big dogs, they tend to have small ones, and big dogs are used as guard dogs, but because Jess was so well behaved, everyone wanted to pet her! Jess really did us proud and was very well behaved, even when Spain won the European Cup and there were fireworks going off everywhere, she just sat quietly and never made a fuss! That was definitely one of the highlights of the holiday, the atmosphere was brilliant, everyone was watching the football and we were all rooting for Spain, and even though Rich had a bad foot and a bite that had swollen up, we had a good night!

On Saturday just gone we had Abby's parents over for a Chinese Take Away, and we gave them the information folder and the keys to our apartment. They are taking a holiday on their own for the first time since they had their children, which is over 23 years ago! They are flying out to Spain and using our apartment so they can have a really relaxing and stress free holiday, I hope they will love it there as much as we do! It may be out in the sticks, but personally I prefer that to being in the middle of bars and restaurants, being kept awake by noisy holiday goers, having the smell of food from restaurants and take aways around me, the peace and quiet is what I enjoy, I would rather drive to find the noise and night life, at least then you can drive away and leave it!

This is where our apartment is, ours is the one right in the middle of the picture, second floor, with the ornament on the wall! It may only be small, but it is our little piece of paradise!

An update on the fiasco with the benefits people, I have to be reassessed, they are paying me at the moment, at the lowest rate, until my appeal is heard, so now it is just a waiting game. However, I have started a complaint against the doctor who examined me, because he blatantly lied, and every doctor takes the hippocratic oath, and part of that oath is to always tell the truth, and I will make sure that he pays for the lies he has told, in more ways than one, and that he never does this to anyone else!