| | Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 | |
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delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 4:03 pm | |
| The start of this holiday was truly memorable for us and I go on to tell you why. The flight from Luton was at 8:30 am and we had ordered a taxi to pick us up at 5:30am. All was fine, except Luton Airport charging £2 to drop/ or pick up anybody and the drop off point seemed further away from what it used to be. We rolled our cases to reach the terminal building at just 6:20am. Once inside, we went upstairs to find the Thomson’s check desk was empty and we walked all the way down the winding maze set up for crowds to reach the desk, when we could have just walked straight to it from an unauthorised aisle next to it lol. This time Mrs Db had booked us extra leg room, after Thomson phoned her offering it at £17.50 pp each way, we had only ever booked leg room once before with another airline, which had put in extra row of seats and were jammed against the bulk head which made it the most uncomfortable journey that we had ever had. As we were the first there at check in, Mrs Db was offered a survey form asking “what did we think would be required for a good check in”. Mrs Db said, not having to queue but by the time she had finished the survey there was a small queue lol. So with cases on their way to the plane, it was time for a breakfast, Mrs Db was going to have a breakfast bap for £5.99 where as I was going to have the traditional English for £7.99. Whilst waiting for a couple in front to be served, the guy from the couple said, "do you want this voucher" and on looking, it was 2 x traditional breakfast for £10, well that’s a good start to the holiday, not sure where the voucher came from but “two traditional breakfast please Miss” and she put an extra piece of bacon on Mrs Db’s lol After breakfast, we watched the flight gate countdown board that Luton has, for the calling of flight gates and spot on at 7:45am our gate was called. As soon as we got to the gate, it was instant boarding, “come on Delboy you haven’t time to take pictures” said a concerned Mrs Db, but we are allocated and first here There were two rows of extra leg room seats half way down the middle of the plane, just over the wing, plenty of leg room, I would say a foot from my knees to the seat. We were sat down by 8am. The hostess came to see us, now if you sit in these seats you have to work the door, you put your hand under the plastic glass and it will come away and then you pull the lever out and down but only if the captain tells you to, “Are you happy with that, or do you want to move”. No we are ok with that. Soon everyone was seated and by 8:15am we were heading out to the runway and the TV’s came down. The hostess said, “I’d like you to put your papers down and pay special attention to the safety video” And here she was again lol I thought, “It’s all right for you little miss, blowing your whistle and showing your torch but I’ve got extra responsibilities here” lol. The video finished and Mrs Db said she could be 40 years old by now, “Oh” I said,” I wonder what she would be doing now, would she perhaps be advertising party mixes for Iceland like Kerry Cantona” The plane was in the air just after 8:20am and after 10 minutes we could have parachuted down to our house that we had left 3 hours earlier lol We decided this time just to a coffee and a tea rather than the Thomson rolls etc but I don’t think the prices have increased since last year. When you put the tray down in the seats you have an adjustable tray which come to you and seemed a waste just having coffee lol I kept bending my knees back into normal plane position, as did Mrs Db, which was strange, as we had all this room available, there was no entertainment on the plane just how far we were from our destination but noticed a couple of ladies were getting concerned about their babies and had put them over their shoulders and then bounced them down the aisle, as if they were direct descendants of Wallace Barnes I then fell asleep, in the comfort of knowing Mrs Db would be digging me in the ribs, if I started to saw up the Portuguese rainforests 35 thousand feet below. Then suddenly, “THIS IS THE CAPTAIN SPEAKING” "what, what does he want the door opening", I thought, as Mrs Db sat nursing a bruised elbow from the sudden awaking but it was “Please fasten your seat belts, as we may be getting some sort of turbulence ahead”, Oh I had been asleep and probably wasted an hour of extra leg room. Soon it was not long before we had started our approach to Arrecife And we would arrive 10 minutes early at 11:50am However our cases were one of the last to come off and no waiting for coaches this year, “down the corridor and turn left” said the rep Up the ramp and passed the old coach bays, now no longer use using a couple of escalators to get to the top of the new coach bay A quick count on the coach by the rep with “don’t drink the water buy bottled and our welcome packs would be in reception” and the coach was away at 12:30pm stopping at the Rubicon Palace, Timanfaya Palace, Flamingo Beach / Blue Village before our drop off but we arrive so early our room wasn’t ready. However, no problems, we just had our cases locked in a room and went over to Lani’s for lunch. I had the bacon sandwich which had about 6 rashers inside, and tasted nice, but I'm fussy and hate fat so after disecting out the fat wouldn't be having one of those again but in fairness there was quite a bit of bacon that was chopped up and fed to the waiting fish below lol
Last edited by delboy on Wed May 21, 2014 7:49 am; edited 3 times in total |
| | | 4thforum
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 4:10 pm | |
| where were u staying Del? |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 4:16 pm | |
| all to come 4th but Pueblo Marinero at the marina |
| | | Mick ALL ROUND GOOD GUY
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 5:08 pm | |
| Good start as usual mate. _________________ Mick
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| | | 4thforum
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 5:11 pm | |
| I cant wait to see the photos of the storms |
| | | Daryn Admin
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 5:49 pm | |
| Nice start have a rep, only 999 photos to go lol. Looking forward to it though as we nearly went there this year _________________ |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 6:19 pm | |
| anyway after suitably fed and the first taste of holiday beer it was back to the Pueblo Marinero to be given our room keys, now the hotel apartments have been under going a refurbishment, no longer do you have much chance to get a sea / pool room unless one pays the extra price for a premier room. However, we had a sea view room last year, so I am able to give you a comparison, so quickly the room last year which is a mirror image of this years room. This year I will go into great detail on the apartments separately, as there is a lot more going on around the apartments but it looks nicer but really cosmetic stuff like new curtains bedding etc but very little change to the bathroom which really needs to be upgraded to get the boutique feel. this years views similar which we were extremely happy with but didnt pay for the cloud lol So Mrs Db likes to unpack and I had the horrible job of going to Wax's bar to get the football scores for her I counted, they had eight TV's in the place lol and it was 2.5 euros for large beers Then a quick shop for breakfast tomorrow and then get back to Mrs Db, I didnt take photos of the shop but later it will come clear why lol We decided that we would eat at Lani's this evening only a 3 minute walk away, as we were both really tired, not sure whether there was a sunset. On arriving at Lani's I didn't think the food had gone up, the house read was 11.75 a bottle we decided to eat inside, basically to keep the food hot I chose pork ribs, which seem to turn out to be a whole pig on a plate and a lot to eat Mrs Db had chicken stroganoff which she said was nice a nice evening ending up with coffees and watching the lights in the town and harbour from our balcony |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:11 pm | |
| Day 2, Monday It looks a lovely morning Mrs Db So it was breakfast on the balcony, just muesli and toast and marmalade with a view Las Palmas the glass bottom boat was heading to Fuerteventura and it's sister boat the Princess Ico was heading to the harbour from the marina to take its place Corralejo in Fuerteventura could be seen in the distance but today for us would be a beach day on Dorada I think I dipped my toes in here, it looked tempting chairbeds and parasols are still 3 euros a component above the beach is the 5 star Princesa Yaiza The true eye distance of Furteventura without the zoom lens small cafes are at both ends of the beach a lovely relaxing morning soon it was lunchtime and not too happy with the food in the cafe above last year, we decided to try one in the Papagaya Centre, not quite the same view as the cafe but we tried the harp, I had a burger of monster size for 4.50 Mrs Db had a toasted sandwich which was cheaper, sorry didn't photo the menu but by 3pm the clouds had come across at it was time for tea on the balcony
Last edited by delboy on Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:30 pm; edited 2 times in total |
| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:38 pm | |
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| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 9:37 am | |
| The road next to the Pueblo Marinero has quite a bit of parking, mainly because there is an indoor shopping centre so I thought I pop across to show you whats inside, to me it's not used to it's potential but I expect its hard to get the shops to invest in there a few dress shops and jewellery shops so its a mish mash of entertainment stuff included as well, also a stage a large supermarket but i'm told, not as cheap as the one in town It also has a ten lane bowling alley upstairs which I had never looked at before, so delboy has a gander up there according to a leaflet I picked up in Spanish, at the right time, it's 8 euro's pp for 2 games also a range of billard tables, for a wet day perhaps also upstairs, it has a new Japanese restaurant, with a range of dishes so Delboy has a nosey in, it has views overlooking the marina so making my way out, next door is another set of apartments that over look the marina call Rubimar so I thought I would go along and have a look they are both kids/ adult apartments but I did read one or two people saying the walls are a bit thin lol but not been so you need to decide for yourselves next the Hotel Volcan backs on to the marina and has a roof in the shape of a volcano and lights looking like lava flow are alight at night so I had a look at their pool I haven't stayed there but an equally good location and only 20 minutes walk into town I did walk around the marina but I'll save that for later, so it was now evening and we decided to try Casale Franco an Italian restaurant recommended at the Papagaya Centre, which has wood burning fires I had the campagnola pizza, I have had many pizzas in my life but this had to be the best, the caramelised onions and goats cheese was delicious Mrs Db had the tagliatelle bolognese, which she said was lovely the house wine was reasonably priced around 11 euro's but don't have the list we said we would return before going home then it was back to our apartment after another nice day |
| | | NannyJen Girl Power Member
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:12 am | |
| A great read, as usual, DB. Looking forward to more. A rep on the way. |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 1:28 pm | |
| Thanks Jen, hopefully it will be finished by Christmas day |
| | | Daryn Admin
| | | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:22 pm | |
| Day 3 Tuesday another good looking day from the balcony but looking at the flags flying we must have thought a bit too breezy for the beach so it was time for one of our walks, we notice this year a no cycling sign had disappeared at the marina end but unsure if you can now cycle that bit however, getting near to the pitch and putt the sign of no cycling remains, a bit whiffy at that point too So at the pitch and putt now, after a speed up lol new cafe from last year remains not so many on the beach, so perhaps a good choice of a walk the hedgerows around the Princesa Yaiza are particularly colourful this year Armas ferry comes in and the glassbottom boat goes out, you can see their sizes together so a quick run through the town's restaurants to see the changes The Asia is a new one, classy chandeliers inside but more later on that one lol Hello what's going on here, why so many people watching lol what are all these seagulls doing oh boxes of fish being delivered well the fish don't come fresher than this, not sure which restaurant/s has them anyway excitement over we continue towards the harbour don't think the google van can get pics down here lol Now people often ask whether you can buy fresh fish in Playa Blanca and someone suggested the harbour had a shop, so that one had to be investigated lol so around by the harbour edge is this place inside I go lol all kinds of fish, even yellow coloured snake like fish I noticed a wahoo/barracuda type fish, they are the 7.50 ones lol I'm pretty certain the one at the back with the ribbed fin is a tuna but what do I know I never catch the things "Oh that's Delboy, he always throws up around our breeding grounds", said the fish well I bet you didn't guess you would be looking on a fishmonger's slab in this walk lol anyway someboy said a guy called Phil in the harbourside kiosk gave good deals on trips, so I thought I would have a look several kiosks down at the harbour anyway this is his kiosk Phil was out but the lady in charge said I could have her picture lol I did see Phil later and said I had read about him on TA but he said he was innocent lol nice guy anyway now the otherside of the harbour and another good TV place mentioned was called Popeyes and the Irish Anvil coming up a centre called Limanes here but not many shops taken up The cheapest English breakfast here at the El Volan cafe on the end at 2.80 euro's but you have to compare what others give for more money further along is the Puerto Chico apartments and the town centre is not far away so now passed the Iberostar Lanzarote Park and down to Flamingo Beach where at this time of writing there are no chairbeds stories of they are put away for winter didnt wash with me, and I understand there is a dispute with the bed people and the council after a coffee, we had a walk around the Flamingo Beach Resort They have a splash tree and a very small laned pool perhaps for kid competitions and back to the promenade we then took the next turning to the main road and came across the Lanzur Water Park and accomodation people have wondered what it was like, so I took some pics I think this is their accomodation further along the road we came to the front entrance of Puerto Chico's and their back entrance down a side road and then we returned to our apartment where it had got quite cloudy on the TV we only had 3 news channels and two arab channels which show films, even here we couldnt get rid of Simon Cowell with Arabs got Talent, I imagined the final would be between a belly dancer and a snake charmer but the winner was apparently school children dancing on chairs, like Chico time in the eurovision song competition lol this evening we had a sunset the evening meal we went to the harbour front where we dined at the Volcano De Timafaya a bottle of the house red was still 9.25 euros I had the fillet steak with Rochefort sauce, very nice it was Mrs Db had chicken kebabs also very good friendly waiters and a nice atmosphere The jungle bar on the way back had a guitarist on but we dont stop lol another nice day over End of Day 3
Last edited by delboy on Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:43 pm; edited 9 times in total |
| | | 4thforum
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:41 pm | |
| Del, that little cafe at the pitch and putt does the most lovely fruit smoothie. @ 3.50 for half pint glass but gorgeous. |
| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:45 pm | |
| I'm enjoying this del. How far was that walk? Compare it to Benidorm.
I like the look of the Rubicon, similar to the C'as Saboners in PN, villa style around a lagoon pool. Sort of. But the Flamingo also looked good. |
| | | theboss Girl Power Member
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Tue Dec 17, 2013 11:27 pm | |
| Lovely entertaining review as usual . . good to have you back. That steak is looking good . . not to mention the baked spud . . I won't sleep now . . Just as a matter of interest, why is it that some pics appear very large and I've got to scroll from right to left to read the text on my netbook? Rep added |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:06 am | |
| The walk down to Flamingo would take 40 minutes Mark, it's 20 mins to the town from the marina at a holiday stroll
Some of the pictures are panarama Boss and the only way I could show them in their true size is to snapshot them unfortunately it mucks the text up,I can show them in small size but loses the effect |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:57 am | |
| Day 4 Wednesday Well the day started of cloudy and we could quite decide if it would turn out nice, so Mrs Db read her kindle whilst I went across to the market There was a guy engraving glasses with football emblems and I fancied buying Rodney an Everton one, but they were 12 euro's each which is a lot of money for him to drop and break lol The guy had a blue serviette in a Liverpool glass I was one of the first few there probably 50% of the stalls were jewellery and bracelets etc others had tables clothes and dresses etc the time was about 10:06am and that cloud hadn't lifted so I went back to the apartment and talked Mrs Db in to coming over by that time more people had arrived Coaches were coming in from other resorts The guy was extracting juice from sugar cane to make drinks I was fascinated buying one of these bottle covers in a suit of armour but wallet kept saying what do you want one of those for ? and would it be a sort of chastity belt trying to stop me reaching for the wine not sure whether that picture would fit over my fireplace lol however, i have many pictures of the market but not wanting to bore you all we decided to go lol soon the sun came out a guy was fishing and it was time for the beach oh ah that's better another toe dip lol we delayed the lunch until two, incase the sun went in but our fears were unfounded we went to the Harp again but this time I got the menu lol I had the Italian burger, it had gorgonzola in it but I wasn't as impressed as the previous one Mrs Db was good and had a salad, no comments please but it did look plain The sun continued for the rest of the afternoon which was spent on the beach followed by a mug of tea on the balcony watching the sun go down Mrs Db has my bath run yet lol In the evening we went to our favourite mexican and we were the only ones in there. We both had the Buffalo Bill's but the chicken seem to come from the wrong parts and not sure what the beef was made of, we were both disappointed, as the rest of it was nice
Last edited by delboy on Wed Dec 18, 2013 1:22 pm; edited 1 time in total |
| | | 4thforum
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 11:11 am | |
| did you walk end to end on the marine walk DB? I did, nearly killed me. About 6 miles I reckon |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 1:00 pm | |
| no did that last year 4th in last years review but tried to make things different this year for variety |
| | | delboy Mad Destination Expert
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 2:15 pm | |
| Day 5 Thursday It's 7:30am Mrs Db, I have been thinking, I have never taken a sunrise picture in Lanzarote because our balcony faces west. I would need to go to the Pirate Tower to get the shot. "Your mad", said Mrs Db as I quickly made her a cup of tea, changed from my pyjamas into a tee shirt and shorts which seemed to be the same as my pyjamas. "Listen very carefully I will do this only once" as I grabbed my camera and raced down the prom. My god, it's coming up who said, you could walk the marina in 5 minutes, as I got faster and faster to try and catch it Oh sugar, I'm just 5 minutes late That's annoying I wanted it to rise from the sea well I'll cover the pirate tower with the sun lol oh well can't waste the good light, I'll go round the marina lol The Rubimar hasn't awoken yet Casa Brigida Lady Russ Vino Blanco Joyeria expensive jewellery and watches Blue Note for Jazz nights shoe shop for the yachters Little Marmite run by a French couple a few boats lol so walking back to other restaurants on the prom that was covered yesterday with market stalls La Taberna Le Commendatore El Mano Casa de Comidas Lani's Supermarket Afrodite Little Italy Lani's snack bar Then is was back to Mrs Db, I blinking well missed it by 5 minute, perhaps I'll try tomorrow lol The lovely morning continue an angler was fishing golfers were teeing off lol but we were off to the beach once Mrs Db was settled with the sunbeds, I was off to check out the Papagaya Centre to see what had changed There is a supermarket on the front, their exchange rate was 6 euro's per hundred less than most others various snack bars a cafe and a fish and chip shop Taberna Gordino which apparently does good tapas but I've not tried it an Italian restaurent Wax's bar for the football with eight TV's lol Barney's a new one that makes homemade burgers, I might try that lunchtime and a Burger King opposite upstairs is Mollies Bar, not tried it Casale Franco's the Italian restaurant that we ate in the other night, recommend it looking down at the floor below DJ sports bar not been in it And the White Bar which I haven't seen before that seems to have a nice dining area There is also a diving centre / shop downstairs So going down the high St now we come to the town's church Opposite appears to be a new childrens play area being developed Then a run of cafes and restaurants Then I spotted PB had a night club upstairs on the left is the well known Atlantico restaurant and if you go downstairs you could end up with a lap dance lol, so dont get confused with the rabbit on the menu front of the church This coffee and cake shop has a very high rating on TA Cevantes that we will try this year on a recommendation now across the road is a pirate ship for kids to play on and I completely missed it last year I thought that the ship was good for the kids and free to use as I get down to the bottom of the high st I will let you know what my target for today is This place is good for ice creams another diving shop here so on the left hand side we come to PB biggest taxi rank where as opposite more shops which now includes the Last Minute travel excursion shop for cheap tours The another Hiperdino store back on the left we have the rear of a number of restaurants that overlook the promenade the well known Romanica restaurant and a club bar now just before the Spar in the precinct the road bears round to the right and goes up hill no people often have asked where the bus garage is, the big cheapest supermarket and the medical centre where they will accept the EHIC card in an emergency (but not for coughs and colds), so I'm going to point them out so up here on the right appears to be a sports betting shop but we continue up the road there is surf school then a vet and a private doctor now at this roundabout for the bus station and the large supermarket we turn left however the health clinic is straight ahead, with the yellow and blue cross and a left turn next to this restaurant now if we go back to the roundabout as before and turn left the bus garage is that flat building over there on the right so straight ahead now, now the number 30 runs around the town from on end to the other so if you are at the extremes of town you can catch the no 30 the flat fare is 1,35 euro's I'm told the number 61 goes to Puerto del Carmen and is often crowded but this bus shows 161 this is what the local no 30 looks like, as it's difficult if you don't know with so may tour buses about now across the road from the bus station the square flat building is the main supermarket which few people and myself knew little about and it's where the locals shop It is said to be cheaper than the other smaller shops, so Delboy goes to investigate lol The entrance is around the back of it and not on the main road so lol now thay have a fresh fish counter a meat deli a christmas area but couldn't photograph everything and fruit, the idea was that if anybody wants to know the prices I can zoom in on some stuff It also has an underground car park but you need to get a shopping receipt, one you know where it is you can weave your way back into town via the side streets now it's back to Mrs Db for lunch lol we tried Barney's in the Papagay Centre and found IMO the best burgers in town, so far and thick homemade ones Mrs Db had a salad and we shared a bowl of chips, beer was only 2.5 euros the rest of the afternoon was on the beach Then we cracked open the complimentary sparking wine the hotel had given us and watched the sun go down This evening we would go posh, dining at the Casa Brigida at the marina I ordered Duck at 15.50 and the house red was the same price Mrs Db had pork with layered tower of creamed potatoes however, we didn't have starters and declined the water and bread which are extra, after which we both felt we not part of the ambience and with a bill of nearly 50 euro's it was the only place that didn't give us a small drink at the end but it's nearly christmas and we were not going to let that spoil the day
Last edited by delboy on Thu Dec 19, 2013 2:41 pm; edited 7 times in total |
| | | Mick ALL ROUND GOOD GUY
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 5:48 pm | |
| Same place as last year, but a totally different review, rep from me mate. _________________ Mick
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| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:53 pm | |
| The pics are a better size in the last two posts del. A great tour so far I've added a couple of reps |
| | | Mark Majorca Mad
| Subject: Re: Canary Islands, Lanzarote, Playa Blanca, 2013 Wed Dec 18, 2013 8:56 pm | |
| We used to buy those linen tablecloths (in sets) every few years/trips, but don't now since the airlines became stricter on the luggage weight. Another knock on the economy of these places |
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