Obviously, there have been some highs (and a few lows) over the last decade, but in this post I'm going to have a series of awards for the good, the funny, the strange and anything else I can think of, to celebrate another decade!
Best Year: 2019 - A lovely, lovely year - an overnight trip to France in April, a fantastic holiday in California, and then Mallorca in September. Mike had a great job which fitted in with my hours and everything was right with the world. A year to remember!
By contrast, I think 2015 was the worst year - we sold the business which was stressful, and the Scottish whale-watching trip wasn't the most successful holiday we've ever had!
Best Meal: 4 September 2014 - The Sandbar Restaurant, Anna Maria Island. A truly lovely evening with a visit to the City Pier followed by dinner at this fabulous restaurant right on the beach. The sunset was stunning and we almost predicted (to the second) the actual sunset time! Very happy memories!
Best Holiday: August 2017. Our three-week holiday to Orlando's theme parks and then a fortnight in Naples, taking in the Keys. The villa we stayed in in Naples, was probably the best we have ever experienced.
A very close runner-up (but not a family holiday) was mine and Sophie's trip to California this year. We enjoyed everything about our visit and it will remain in our memory for a very long time.
Funniest Moment: August 2012 - I'm not sure I actually wrote about this, but during a meal at The Wavendon Arms, Michael had a dessert with a large chocolate button as the decoration. He held it out to me asking if it was a 2p piece and I promptly ate it. For some reason, I found this hysterical and laughed until the tears ran down my face. Even now I still find it funny!
A runner-up was a drunken moment in Florida (8 April - see below) when I'd had one too many whiskies around the pool after a long day and I said to Keith - "My name is Sophie!" I still get ribbed about it to this day!
Best Christmas: Lanzarote 2011, for several reasons: the gorgeous weather and the longer days, the relaxed attitude to the festive season and the weirdness of it being Christmas but feeling like midsummer.
Best Day: 8 April 2013. We were in Florida and visited Anna Maria Island for the very first time. We loved the island, the City Pier (now being re-built after Hurricane Irma), lunch in Yoder's restaurant in Sarasota and the lovely journey home via Route 64. In the evening we relaxed with drinks around the pool - a perfect end to a perfect day!
Best Birthday: A personal one here - my birthday in January 2018 when we visited The Imperial War Museum in London, followed by a trip up The Shard. A really lovely day rounded off by a Shake Shack burger in Covent Garden.
Best Short Break: Berlin - December 2016. Although the start was marred by the terrorist attack at the Christmas market, we loved our short city break, the visit to the Olympic Stadium (hot chocolate!), and the weird bar we found. The markets were beautiful, especially Gendarmenmarkt.
A very close runner-up was our trip to Mallorca in September 2019.
Strangest Happening: The winner is the missing key in Florida, August 2017 - we still don't know what happened... was it found? We were never charged for the changing of the locks or a new key but the search delayed our journey to Naples by a good two hours. The key simply disappeared into thin air and I still don't know why I decided to take it off the fob the night before we left.
The runner-up is the member of staff at Alcatraz who randomly said he knew of a local restaurant in Northampton (the Mandarin Buffet), which was totally bizarre!
Best Drink: It has to be any drink we've enjoyed in Otello, in Berlin. Before we eat at Reinhard's a visit here is a must. Normally we're the only ones in the lovely, little, cosy bar and it's a real treat. Sadly Reinhard's is no longer and I can only assume that the bar isn't open either which is very sad. We haven't been back to Berlin since December 2016 and we hope that when we go back again, someone else will have taken over the restaurant and the bar. Here's hoping.
A close runner-up was cocktails in The Top of the Mark for Sophie and I in May 2019. The views, the ambience and the friendly staff were brilliant!
Let's hope the next decade brings more good times and lovely, happy memories!
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