On Holiday

The balcony is in the shade but the building across from me where I can read the hotel’s name backwards is in sunshine. One spot of sky is a beautiful mid blue. If I had brought my compass I would be able to say how it fades to blue white in the west or east, but I shall just have to settle to the fact that it fades.

A porter has just brought my bag to the room. I was enjoying the fact that with no bag, and only my walking boots, which I travelled in and was more than happy to remove on arrival, I was an effective prisoner in my room, and sitting lazily on one of the two comfortable chairs with my cooling feet solid against the balcony was the limit of available activities.

There is a fountain I can hear but not see, and a reassuringly bright fire extinguisher I can see that hints at health and safety taken seriously. A lady in pink has spoken to me in German and I managed to both understand her question and supply the right answer.

The only downsides I have discovered so far is that the water is not safe to drink, Internet activity is rationed, and I am not sure where I can discreetly dry my washing, but I dare say I shall get by.

I didn’t warm to the group leader at the airport, but that was, I think, mainly due to having had to get up at an insane hour of the morning, (MasterB thought I had set my alarm for 3.45 in order to play with him. Bless.) only to find the flight delayed by an hour when I got to the airport. The train was full of young men returning to the London suburbs after a night out clubbing. They were loud and raucous. I put my headphones in and tried to screen them out.

The leader was already here and had evidently had a normal amount of sleep. When she attempted to talk over the airport PA system I felt my patience levels dropping. She earned Brownie points by giving us a bottle of water each when we got on the coach, and not talking too much on the way to the hotel. I shall probably be a fully paid up fan by Monday.

I booked the holiday back in January, and have not thought about it much. MasterB was booked into the Cattery, but that of course has closed, so Lovely Neighbour B was returning at lunchtime ready to spend the week with him. I am not sure he’ll want me back.

There is a cat here. She greeted us with her tail held high when we trooped out of reception. She may even be on the payroll.

We have a group meeting in just over an hour, so I am resisting the urge to lie down on what seems a very comfortable bed and catch up on sleep. But that bag won’t unpack itself, so I suppose I had better get busy.

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