Holiday report.

So we're back from holiday, and as a whole it was OK. I've not had a holiday in the true sense of the word since our honeymoon in 2000. Thanks to the pitiful 10 days annual vacation I get from my job in America, it took two years to build up enough time to fly to Europe with enough time for some respectable rest between jetlag. The first three days in Holland were great, seeing old friends for the first time in 4 years. But the part I was really excited about - two weeks in Mallorca - turned out to be less than ideal. Two days in I caught a cold. Thanks to a particularly viscious bug, I blocked up so bad that even going out in the sun made my head feel like it was going to explode. Swimming was off because I could hardly breathe, and thus so was snorkelling. Five years without a holiday, nine months without a cold, and I had to catch one exactly to coincide with the two weeks I wanted to be lying in the sun, swimming, and snorkelling. Instead I had to spend 9 of the 12 days inside. Hence I am about as white now as I was when we left..
Still, I cleared up for the last few days but the weather turned on us. Not one to miss an opportunity, bad weather in Mallorca means rough seas so I along with 3 other hardy souls went out in the rain on sunday to go and frolic in the churning waves coming ashore. Fun.
The flights back were fine but when we got to Schiphol, we discovered Iberia had conveniently lost all our luggage. (Delta lost it all on the way out - we've spent very little time with our luggage in the last few weeks). Because we were overnighting in Amsterdam then travelling on, we had to leave some bloody complicated notes in the bag search system about one case going to England and the other coming back to America etc. I called Paula in England this morning and she's been on to Schiphol. They've found the the suitcases - they were in Madrid. Don't ask why - we went from Palma to Barcelona, but anyway, they're going to be in Schiphol tonight. Paula should get hers tomorrow, I'll get mine the day after. It's an improvement though - this time yesterday they hadn't the faintest idea where they were....
Got home to find the cat asleep under the table. I startled her and she ran for the cat flap but realised it was me. Rather than give me the could shoulder for leaving her for three weeks (as cats do), it's been an absolute love-fest. She's following me everywhere at the moment, and right now as I type, she's asleep on my lap.
There'll be some holiday photos when Paula gets back next week - she's still got the digital camera in England.

And now for the "most unbelievable coincidence ever" section of this entry.
When we were at Schiphol a couple of weeks ago waiting for our flights to Mallorca, we got to the gate early and so had a seat near the doorway at the front. When they started boarding I stood up and peered through the terminal windows at nothing in particular. The lady next to me then tapped me on the shoulder and said "someone down there is waving at you". I looked down and bugger me, there was Mike De Best. I've not seen him for something like 8 years. It turns out he's the ground handling manager for Aviapartner at Schiphol - the luggage people. They'd had a question about something on our flight so he'd driven down to speak to the loaders. When he turned around, I stood up and looked out the window and he saw me. He blagged a jetway key from one of the aircraft handlers and came up through the gate the wrong way and we had a 3-minute catch-up on the previous 8 years. It was amazing to see him again!
Now I'm sorry, but I challenge anyone to come up with a better coincidence than that, especially as he technically should have been on vacation except that his wife had taken a tumble and they'd had to move it by a week.

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