We left home on schedule and were in the departure hall at Luton airport by ten thirty after dropping the car off at an off airport parking place about 10 minutes from the airport. It took about half an hour to check in one bag and then we decided to stop and have some noodles before going through customs. The noodles were okay; I made the best choice with yellow chicken curry with rice but Phil’s chilli chicken came with rice noodles which he is not very fond of. You didn’t get much for your 5 quid portion though and we were still hungry afterwards. Luton airport seemed unusually quiet and we sailed through customs. Well not quite, it took forever for Phil to unload his technology and I got body searched, but at least there weren’t any long queues. Once through customs, we did the usual, WH Smith’s so Phil could buy his copy of ‘The New Scientist’ then a trip to Boots for our meal deal lunch to take on the plane, and then lastly, but not least, a trip to the bar before boarding.
We thought we had loads of time but we were only way through our drinks when our flight was called but we didn’t rush, because for the first time ever, I had paid for priority boarding. It was cheap, 4 quid each so I thought I’d give it a go. And actually, boarding was a dream, I felt like I was going first class when I saw the long queues for those that didn’t have priority. The only glitch was they made me put my handbag and our plastic bag with our Boots meal into Phil’s backpack. I know the rule is only one piece of hand luggage but even so. It was a struggle to get it all in but we managed. Of course, as soon as we got on board we had to unload it all again but that wasn’t really a problem. We were lucky and got 3 seats to ourselves right at the back of the plane. Priority boarding worked for us and I will certainly pay for this again.
The 4 and a half hour flight was long without any in-flight entertainment, but with a few mini bottles of red wine and lots of reading material, we were happy enough. It was nearly 6pm by the time we’d cleared customs and collected Phil’s bag. Finding the airport pickup was a little confusing but we found our ride to the hotel in the end. The VIP pickup turned out to be just a normal taxi so that was disappointing but I suppose it was much better than a coach transfer that goes all round the houses. It took 10 minutes to get to our allocated timeshare accommodation, which was Beverly Hills Heights in Los Christianos. Beverley Hills Heights is at the end of Christianos and is situated at the top of a steel hill in the mountains.
Our reception greeting was friendly and informative and we were soon in our room on the second floor. And what a nice surprise we got. Our room, which overlooks the pool, is great. We have a lounge with a fully equipped kitchen complete with a large fridge/freezer and an oven and 4 plate hob. Lovely, but we were even more thrilled with our balcony which is huge and we have doors out to it from both the lounge and the kitchen. Phil was delighted with the full size flat screen TV and the fact that we get BBC1 which means that he can watch the Grand Prix.
We quickly unpacked and went to find somewhere to go for dinner. We didn’t have to venture too far as we found a restaurant just 2 minutes down the hill from our hotel, called Belvedere. The restaurant was quiet; we had a steak platter and a nice bottle of red. We had a great view overlooking the sea and actually it was quite a romantic evening. There was a supermarket just by the Belvedere so we stocked up on supplies and then went back to Beverly Hill Heights. A full day of travelling and lots of wine had made us sleepy. I had a soak in the bath and then we were both tucked up in 100% white Egyptian cotton sheets by 9pm.
Shame really that Phil woke me up with his pee problem at 4am but I don’t suppose that mattered, I guess we’d had enough sleep. We switched the light on and read for a few hours. Breakfast was tea and cornflakes and then we set off to explore. Phil had found a map in the hotel literature and he’d decided we would walk down the hill to the beach and then head to the end of the beach path. It was only 8.30am so it was fairly quiet. It was interesting walking along the boulevard by the beach, watching all of the bars and restaurants opening and setting up for the day ahead. The temperature here in Tenerife is about 22, which is great for walking; there is some cloud in the morning and I was glad of Harriet’s cardigan. The walk from Playa de Christianos took us past Playa de Las Vista & Playa de Troya, through Puerto Colon and eventually we walked to Playa del Duque. We eventually got to the Riu hotel when the path stopped and we couldn’t go any further, or at least we couldn’t carry on by the coast. I didn’t mind one bit, we’d been walking for 3 hours by this time and my hamstring was hurting.
We turned back and walked back the way we came and after half an hour, Phil eventually agreed to stop for a beer. It was much needed and well earned, I can tell you! We walked in the direction of Los Christianos and eventually found a little terrace restaurant for lunch in Puerto Colon. The restaurant was Spanish owned and we opted for the 2 course menu for 6.95 euros each. Lunch was pleasant enough, a shared mixed salad followed by sardines with Canarian potatoes for Phil and chicken for me. The joints had stiffened up after sitting down for an hour so we got the waiter to call us a taxi rather then walk for another 3 hours back to our hotel.
We stocked up at the supermarket and then decided to chill for the rest of the afternoon. Phil started writing his book but he wasn’t really in the mood so he gave up in the end; he made us a jug of sangria and we sunbathed on the balcony listening to Steve Harley. What a lovely way to spend an afternoon; we stayed out until about 6.30 and were surprised to see how much sun we’d caught, Phil’s face was very red. We had showers and baths, smothered generous amounts of Banana boat on our burnt skin, Phil read some of his research whilst I watched TV. Then it was early to bed; all this sun and sangria is knackering!
So far, we are having a lovely time, so far so good. The apartment is great and Phil and I both agree that it is the best self-catering accommodation that we have ever stayed in, aside from some of the places in Australia last year. The most important thing to me is that Phil relaxes and gets some good writing done. He hasn’t done very much so far, but there is, still lots of time. I do like Tenerife, I like the climate, the locals are friendly and it is so clean. Of course, we still have the timeshare presentation to endure on Monday which I am not looking forward too. But I am sure I will be sharing this experience with you all when it’s over. But right now I need to pour us a cold beer and catch some of the rays of sunshine whilst we partake in a light lunch on our balcony.
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