Day 6 – Breaded Mushrooms & Black Ball Blunders

The day started off like most others — breakfast, pool, sunbathing. The usual. The morning was packed with fun in the water: breathing challenges, swimming games, family competitions. If there were medals, we’d all be getting honorary mentions.

For lunch, we decided to mix things up and eat out at a nearby restaurant. They didn’t have the mist fan on at first because it would’ve soaked the girl in front. But the waiter turned it on anyway… and soaked her. To be fair, she loved it.

There was a long back-and-forth conversation about what Alison should get as she was torn between a burger or a toastie. When the waiter came we had no idea what she would pick before she went rogue and ordered breaded mushrooms. A bold call.

Alexander had sausages which he thoroughly enjoyed right up until the moment he launched them all onto the ground. The waiter kept checking in every five minutes — sweet, but borderline too much.

Over lunch, we made a spontaneous decision to take a little day trip to Luz in the car — which just so happens to be where Madeleine McCann went missing. We passed the resort and apartment where it all happened, and Anna was in her element. A little true-crime sightseeing.

After a bit more exploring, we stopped for a drink in a shaded spot under some lovely lime trees. Then it was time to head back.

Anna, Alexander and I hit the pool again while the rest got ready for dinner at a local chicken spot (which, by all accounts, served life-changing chicken). We attempted a nap for Alexander, who was clearly cranky… but no luck. So we showered, changed, and waited until the others returned. They then took over childcare duties while Marshall dropped us down to the marina for our own evening out.

We wandered briefly before quickly deciding on an Asian restaurant and managed to avoid standing in the endless queues. It had waterfalls out front and walkways inside over sunken stones — a cool vibe I fully appreciated. The food was also lovely, although I’d applied so much Avon Skin So Soft that I couldn’t even open the water bottle and had to ask the waiter to do it. Humiliating.

(Side note: if I haven’t mentioned it already, Avon Skin So Soft is an absolute game changer. Keeps the flies away, leaves your skin silky, and apparently the army uses it!)

After dinner, we popped into the nearest bar, which happened to be an Irish bar called the ‘Irish Pub’, caught the tail end of the darts final and ordered an Uber home. As we waited, we had a shot of Tequila Rose because why not?

Our Uber dropped us straight to Jakks Bar for a special treat because what’s better than holidaying with your family? The extended family arriving too. We walked in to a chorus of hellos and I was instantly hugged by at least 8 people — enough to last me until next year. The Ward families had both arrived and it has been a while since we last saw them - the kids have grown so much, the adults surprisingly looked younger!

Word had apparently spread that I was the reigning pool master (spread by me of course), so I was challenged by Fergus. It was a tight game, but he got cocky on the black ball, missed, and the whole bar erupted. Loud enough to wake poor Alexander, who had been sleeping peacefully in the pram. Not ideal. I capitalised on the miss, potted the rest and won — much to everyone’s disappointment. I’m fine being the sporting villain.

We took Alexander home to bed while the rest of the gang stayed out a bit longer. Another full day comes to an end.