holiday

Here are some holiday snapshots. Nothing more than snaps, sadly, the camera's not great and there wasn't much time for musing about them. The volcano bit would have been great, but you're in a car/on a bus the whole time. Anyway. Let us start with an unflattering photo of moi! Just to get us in the mood. 

 Portrait with hotdog. I am wearing clothes, I promise. Yes, I have boobs, they're somewhere under the table. Sigh. Why am I putting this here? I have no idea. 

 poooool

 In Lazarote, there's restaurant row beyond the port, where they vie to tell you how much pressure they won't put you under. And there's a racist busker. In the middle of 'Big Wheel Keep on Turning' he burst into an improvised chorus of 'Oh there's lots of Pakis in Walthamstow' just as my 20c was dropping into the basket. Perhaps it keeps the English tourists happy? 

 Sea slug in the aquarium I didn't get to go to, because Olivia wouldn't put on any clothes and had an extended screaming tantrum. 

 Tired from hours of cannonballing into the pool

 On a Yellow Submarine! 

 Sadly they saw no more than fish. Lots of fish, though.

 I stayed on dry land, in the air, like a wimp. No regrets. 

Then we went to the moon. 

Well... a volcanic desert that looks like the moon. The bus tour was narrated by a suave Spanish voiced recording. It was brilliant, altogether, we were awe struck. You drive out of the sun and into this misty black landscape with very little but lichen and scrub occasionally. 

 Blurred camels. Er - there were some camels. 

 Melted rock!

 What'd'youcallit. Tops of volcanoes. What are those again? 

 This was so cool. Dude with bucket pours water into hole in ground, seconds later there's a steam geyser. I could watch that all day. 

 Mad prehistoric looking cactus tree that caught my fancy. 

 It was too windy to go to the beach most of the time, and when we got there, it was too hot, but the water was freezing! A slight disappointment as it was apparently warm in November. I made it in up to my tummy. I wasn't really feeling the beach, I have to admit. I wanted to go to the white sandy ones, but they were too far away. 

 Bouganvalia in the corner of our garden. The house was deadly. 

Lizard hunt!

Can you see it?

We came back broke and needing another holiday. I kind of need to get away from my kids, I'm afraid. It was great to be in the sun and to eat nice things and it was all v child friendly, I just have one child who's not very ... friendly. I think it'll be a while before we try one again. Which is sad, because they loved it, but they loved the pool and house best.

I read a lot, that was nice, except I read a Patricia Cornwell and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and thoroughly unnerved myself. Olivia wasn't sleeping, because of the heat/lack of nightie/uncomfortable duvet etc and at the end of the GWTDT I was reading it in bed at about 1 am, and she silently tiptoed down the hall and lurked in the archway into my room and then said JO? and scared the living breath out of me. Gah.

http://www.lanzarote-leisure-villas.co.uk/propertyinfo.asp?id=59

Here's the house, if anyone's looking, it was lovely. Well looked after. Bright and airy and modern. Gorgeous gardeny bits.