Before I had been abroad I used to imagine what a foreign country would be like, I used to daydream about the palm trees and the white sand and the clear blue sea. It took a couple of times and then I finally managed to go to the place I’d been dreaming about, Cyprus.
Our son was only six months old at the time and we went against everyone’s advice and took him with us for the week, our parents offered to have him, but it was also because our son was coming with us that made it special. Therefore, in October 2000 we went on our first ‘family’ holiday.
The booking
We unfortunately are not what you would call ‘flush’, infact most of the time we’re struggling to make ends meet, so we decided to scrimp on a few luxuries (toilet roll, hot water, shampoo…etc!) for a month and during that time we saved hard. By the middle of October, we had managed to save nearly a thousand pounds. We felt proud of our efforts and we were looking forward to seeing what we could afford.
We went to 'Lunn Poly' and decided we would go on one of those last minute packages. Outside the travel agents we did get a little bit nervous, we had worked really hard for this money and we were about to blow it all, after a few seconds of thought we decided that we’d earned it and that we needed a break. We told the agent how much money we had and when we could go and it was only a matter of minutes before they were bowling us over with bargain breaks. After a lot of discussion (we were in there about two hours!), we decided on a self-catering break
in Limassol, Cyprus. The actual holiday cost us about £500 for the three of us including flights and transfers for 7 nights and then the travel agents sorted out all the supplements and insurance, and even after that we still had a couple of hundred quid to spend! Therefore, we went home and waited for the departure date to arrive.
The Build up
Ten days to go and I was phoning all my family and friends telling them that we wouldn’t be home the last week in October, just in case they were thinking of phoning us, because we were going abroad.
Nine days to go and I spent the day washing all our holiday clothes; I really enjoyed doing the ironing that day!
Eight days to go and I decided it was time to start getting a ‘base’ tan so my skin was ready for my ‘real’ one that I’ll get when I’m abroad so I take a trip down to the local sun bed shop.
Seven days to go and I’m pulling the suitcases out of the loft and starting to pack.
Six days to go and our tickets arrive and I’m down at the travel agents exchanging our hard earned cash for Travelers cheques.
Five days to go and I’m at the hairdressers getting a grooming so I look fab at the airport.
Four days to go and I’m washing and ironing again, this time it’s our ‘Airport’ outfit.
Three days to go and I can’t sleep a wink at night; instead, I empty out my suitcase and try on all my holiday clothes, - Oh my God!!! My swimwear doesn’t fit; it’s shrunk (okay, maybe I have put on a few pounds but I thought swim wear was elasticated!)!
Two days to go and I spend a whole day trying to find some suitably flattering swimwear and beachwear for my ‘new’ shape.
One day to go and I’m out of my mind double and treble checking everything. Tickets, passports, sterilizer, trolley, suitcases, airport bag, toothbrushes (which I bought new, so I definitely wouldn’t forget them).
The traveling
Well the day is here; our well-deserved holiday is finally upon us. My dad picked us up at about 5am to take us to the airport. Our check in time was 2 hours before our flight, we decided to have our breakfast at the airport, and although it was expensive (about £5 each), it took up a good hour, which made the waiting at the airport go quicker.
We were quite lucky as there were no delays with our journey that day.
The flight proved to be the most inconvenient part of the holiday as our son had to sit on our laps, we alternated as we got dead legs and when we had the in flight meal. The food was okay, but I was glad we had a good breakfast first.
The transfer from Larnaca airport took around an hour, and the scenery was beautiful. However, it wasn’t as beautiful as the complex where we stayed.
The Hotel
The complex comprised of two different types of accommodation, there was the Atlantica Hotel for those who were all-inclusive or half board, and The Royal Court Apartments for self-catering, which was where we were. The apartment was beautifully furnished and well equipped with kitchenette, T.V. and both a bath and a shower. They also provided a cot free of charge. The decoration of the entire place was extremely elegant and I was impressed from the start.
The Pools
The pools were fabulous; they have two outside (one at the Royal court and one at the Atlantica) surrounded by palm trees and free sun loungers, and a heated one inside. There are also squash courts and a gym, but they weren’t really very well equipped and the equipment they did have was obviously very old. Nevertheless, apart from that it was okay. We spent most of our days by the pool, having a young baby with us proved a bit difficult as far as going out was concerned but the facilities were so good that we didn’t really need to go anywhere anyway.
The Staff
The reception was open 24 hours and they spoke very good English, as did the rest of the staff. Another thing I couldn’t help noticing was how friendly they were with us, the women absolutely adored our son and he thrived of all the attention they were giving him.
The Food
There were also two restaurants and a poolside café, and after sampling the local food (one of our favorite dishes was the moussaka) we decided that it would be more cost effective for us to upgrade to all inclusive, and we were able to stay in a self-catering accommodation also, so we had the best of both worlds.
Entertainment
The evening entertainment was great; there were acts on each night in one of the bars and entertainment in the other bar, such as quizzes and a karaoke (You couldn’t get me off it!)
They also had a movie room showing all the latest films on a giant screen at no extra charge. We went to see a couple of films during the holiday, but it could only be when our son was asleep because he didn’t like sitting in the dark!
Going All inclusive
The all-inclusive option also gave us unlimited ice cream, alcoholic drinks (including cocktails), soft drinks, food (including pizza), daytime and evening entertainment; it was well worth the money as everything was of the highest quality.
For the kids
They have there own adventure playground at the complex and They also have kids clubs so we will definitely be going again when our sons are old enough to appreciate it more.
For the adults
They do have a babysitting facility on request payable locally, but I must admit I couldn’t use it; I would never leave my children with someone I don’t know. But it’s there if you need it anyway.
Out and about
We didn’t go very far from the complex, but we did manage to see some of the scenery and the beaches as we weren’t far from them, they were beautiful and when we looked back towards the hotel, you could see green mountains behind us. Apparently, there are a lot more tourist attractions out there including the Limassol castle where Richard the Lionheart is said to have married Queen Berengara.
The weather
Even though we had gone in October it was still quite warm without being too hot for comfort, we tended to keep the baby covered and put him in loose cotton articles rather than stripping him off completely. We had to go and spend at least an hour a day back at the apartment as the baby always has a nap in the afternoon, we usually made it when it was at its hottest outside that way he would not get burnt.
The End
We were sad to leave as it gave us a proper chance to do some real family bonding but ‘all good things must come to an end’ as they say. They’ll be more holidays, and I’ll let you know about them too.
Overall
We thought this holiday was superb value overall, and we will definitely be visiting again. We would certainly recommend it to anyone, and if you can get it as a late deal like us then that’s even better.
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Jan 2nd, 2003
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