Winter Sun in the Canaries with Phil, Isobel, Netty & Colin

  Winter Sun in the Canaries  

We made our way to Teide National Park, this was a fantastic chance to visit Mount Teide, an active Volcano on the Island. We enjoyed the walk along the paths and the beautiful landscape that surrounded us.

At the ‘Monkey World’ everyone loved seeing the various species of monkeys, alligators and we were even allowed to get up close and stroke the guinea pigs, tortoise, lemurs and parrots. 

In the evening  we danced the nights away in some brilliant bars with live music!

We took the stage for some amazing Karaoke performance! 

One evening we were treated to amazing traditional Flamenco Dancing. 

This was incredible to watch!

During our week we enjoyed a few fun activities. We played a few games of mini golf,  pool, table tennis and some of us even tried spinning bikes! 

During our boat trip we spotted Pilot Whales. There were quite a few swimming around us, giving some of the group their first experience of not only enjoying a boat trip but also to see these beautiful Whales so close up. We carried on our journey for a while before the Captain stopped the engine and allowed some of the passengers to take the opportunity to jump off the boat and enjoy a quick dip in the crystal clear waters. 

Bowling & Pool Competition - Notts with John, Ase & Andy

  Bowling & Pool Competition - Nottinghamshire  

We were all extremely excited about the coming days. A short walk away was the Snooker Club which was close to the market square. The busy markets were filled with Christmas decorations certainly made us feel very festive and jolly!

 

We had our first pool tournament, playing each other in a series of games, to determine who would make it through to the next round. The next day we played the semi-finals and finals of the pool competition. All very tense but exciting! We all had a chance to play some more frames before crowing the overall champion. It was great to see such sportsmanship and team spirit.

On our first day the competitive games began. Each of us played 2 games, celebrating a number of strikes and spares whilst enjoying the great atmosphere in the bowling alley. It was almost like being in a disco with the lively music and funky lights. The following day we returned to the bowling alley for some more games, hopefully improving on our scores from yesterday. On our last day we we all woke up very excited as it was the finals in the bowling competition! We went straight to the bowling alley and prepared for our final games. There were some very good scores and a few of us managed to get the perfect strike once again. Practice makes perfect!

 

 When we had finished the bowling final, we went to a lovely, cosy pub for lunch and the presentation of the prizes. The competitions had been good fun and the results were incredibly close. Everyone was presented with medals and a certificates for wonderful participation. Then, with a drum roll, we nervously awaited for the results of the winners of both competitions! Both winners were presented with a trophies for their super effort and everyone happily clapped and cheered their success.

Attractions of Blackpool with Steve & Michaela

   Attractions of Blackpool   

After exploring the Tower and enjoying the spectacular views we walked along the prom to the Sea Life Centre where we spent a couple of hours admiring all of the different species of fish. Our favourite parts were the sharks and being able to walk through the glass tunnel whilst they swam around us. We all felt very brave! 

 At the Madam Tussauds Wax Works museum we spent the afternoon mingling with our favourite stars of stage and screen. They were so life like to look at and we got some really great photos. 

We visited the famous Blackpool Ballroom, where they film Strictly Come Dancing for a spot of dancing and a delicious afternoon cream tea. We really enjoyed watching the professionals whirl around the dance floor. We even had a bit of a dance ourselves. 

Today we were going on a trip to the Lake District. We started our day in Bowness on Lake Windermere. It was great to see the famous lake and spectacular scenery surrounding it. The highlight was a visit to the Beatrix Potter experience. We were surrounded by the characters from her books, in what can only be described as a trip into a magical wonderland.

We were going on a magical mystery tour of Liverpool, following the footsteps of the Beatles. We drove to the houses where the music legends used to live and past the Cavern Club where they often used to perform. We visited the waterfront and strolled around the Christmas markets and the Beatles museum.