Well, the Collins family arrived safely and the whole clan (in-laws, Kim, Granville, Dylan, Nick, Alex and I) enjoyed the pool and Ale and I took Kim, Granville and the kids for a proper piri piri chicken at a local restaurant in Ohlos D'Agua - yum! It was great fun for our friends to meet some of our UK family and vice versa as they'd heard so much about one another.
On the Monday, Ray and Di headed back to Wales and we continued with our pattern of bacon and egg sandwiches, daily trips to the supermarket for water and other supplies, wandering into town to peruse all the tat that is sold, and more. The Collins family took a day-trip to the western part of the Algarve and also spent an afternoon at Falesia beach with just the kiddies. And as Granville celebrated his birthday while they were in Portgual, Alex and I offered to watch the kids for the evening while they went out for a grown up dinner. This was our gift to Granville (and Kim) for his birthday. We fared well and the kids were well-behaved and in bed hours before their parents arrived back at the villa.
During the week, the four of us played endless hours of Taboo and Left, Right, Center (LRC). LRC is a dice game involving no skill or strategy, and only a couple of simple rules. Since we play with money, one important rule is that you never touch anyone's money. If they have to turn it over to you, you must wait for them to do so, rather than helping yourself (which is a normal temptation). Anyway, at one point Kim was frustrated with me and when it came time to pay her, she grabbed my coins...we all stopped breathing for a minute, and Kim said "go ahead - throw me in the pool." And although I should have more carefully considered the consequences of throwing my fully dressed friend (with newly coiffed hair) in the pool, I heard the challenge as if she'd said "I dare you to do it but don't think you can" - and she then proceeded to step down to the pool area. Well, after quite a struggle, she went in (and how I didn't end up in there with her I don't know!) Soaking wet and suddenly sober, Kim was not happy with me :o( But I'd been challenged...and I was stronger than she'd thought (thank you, Wii Fit!) so succeeded in tossing her in the water.
Anyway, Nicholas wanted to know why I'd thrown his mother in the pool with her clothes on - and although we explained the situation, he clearly felt the need to avenge his mother, and defend her honor, and throw Miss Leslie in the pool (and *not* in her swimsuit). I had to set it up for him because I could see that he really needed to feel better about the situation - and he managed to throw me in the pool - but not without coming with me. All was right with the world. Nicholas still loves me - as does Kim - but I'll never get her hair wet again!!
We had some very memorable moments and loads of fun - and you can see also from the pics that Dylan and Nicholas are very cute - which is good for them because they are normal, mischievious little gremlins. Kim and Granville are amazing parents and it shows in these very, very well-behaved and adorable kids.
It was a wonderful week. On our last evening we had dinner at a restaurant in Ohlos D'Agua which overlooked the beautiful beach and we filled ourselves with a fabulous dinner, beginning with Sangria and ending with chocolate cake and Bailey's on ice!
All in all, a fabulous time with very good friends. And we were sad to head back to Amsterdam, knowing that the following morning the Collins' would be heading back to Houston.
A bit worried about the culture shock of returning to Holland - which has, frankly lived up to its reputation for not-so-good customer service (which is putting it mildly!) - we had an unexpected but simply delightful experience.
Having arrived in Wassenaar at just before 10 p.m. on Saturday evening, and knowing there'd be no stock of food for us and the Collins crew, we wanted to order some pizza. Well, we knew it'd be touch and go! But when Alex called a local pizza joint, he was told (expectedly) that they were closed....BUT, the owner said that he'd make us some pizzas and deliver them on his way home! HOORAH! He got a sizeable tip and a huge "thank you" from all of his when he arrived.
We thoroughly enjoyed pizza and watching Dylan and Nicholas "duke it out" at Star Wars Lego on the Wii.
Very early on Sunday morning we bid tot ziens to our friends and retreated back to bed!
Here is Part 2 of "Holiday in Ohlos D'Agua" ... enjoy!
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