Didn't bother going to bed last night as I knew I needed to be up at 2am so would just feel worse if I went to bed. Kirsty stayed up with me and we just had a nanna nap on the sofa together. Before I knew it, it was time to get up and get dressed to go to the airport. Taxi came on time at 3am and then picked Mum up on the way to the airport. The traffic was really quiet so we got there in plenty of time.
Check-in was pretty painless as mum had special assistance so we sailed through. Met Emily (a taverner) once we were through security. The flight was delayed 2 hours as the original Tui 767 Dreamliner we were meant to be on had gone tech so the flight had been split into two smaller aircraft operated byt Getjet, who I've never heard of.
The flight was one of the worst I have been on in a long while, nothing to do with the crew etc, but we had a young couple behind us with two kids, one of whom screamed for the whole flight. There didn't seem to be any reason for it, he would scream for his mum and was then passed to mum, then screamed for his dad and was passed back they were sat with an aisle between them. He didn't let up for the whole flight, I was just thankful it wasn't a longhaul to Florida or something. I think I would gladly pay a supplement for an adult-only flight. Just like you get adult-only hotels I think they should do kid-free flights too.
Had some T-shirts made for the trip to spread the word about the Tavern and just walking through the airport I could hear a girl behind me saying "take a photo of his T-shirt". When she passed me she said "I love your T-shirt" so hopefully it will have the desired effect in resort and when people ask where I got it I can say "The Virtual Tavern" :-)
By the time we got off the flight and through the other end with assistance, our cases were among the last few on the conveyor belt so there was no pushing and shoving to get our bags. The transfer was about 45 minutes and then we got checked in and up to our room. I had said to myself that no matter what floor we were on I was not going to get the lift to and from our room and instead would do the stairs to help get my daily steps up and also improve my fitness. We are on the 8th floor ! :-/ Might regret this lol.
The weather was very overcast by the time we had unpacked, but it was actually quite a nice welcome as it helped ease you into it, rather than arriving baking hot and trying to unpack sweating.
Had dinner in the restaurant, which was a bit like an all-inclusive but on half board. People overloading their p[lates with food "cos they've paid for it" only to end up leaving loads of it. I had a salad to start then some hot food and a piece of cake. I didn't leave loads though, but even that for me was way too much and I won't be doing that again. I felt stuffed and uncomfortable and I wouldn't have 3 courses at home every night so will just do a quick scan around next time and then get he one plate a combo of salad and hot. We did a little exploring nearby and experienced the hotel entertainment at the evening with a couple of drinks (aqua con gas for me) with mum and Emily and then called it an early night around 11pm as it's been a long day.
