The dark and gloomy winter weather is starting to really get to me. I am missing the sunshine and the warmer weather. Writing up posts about our holiday to Majorca and Florida really hasn’t helped either. In a bid to cheer myself up, or perhaps as a distraction from the mountain of work sat on my desk, I have begun planning travels for 2018.
It is well documented that I want to run in every country of the world, and so most of my holidays are running holidays. I have started looking at races abroad and have my name in several ballots for marathons in various countries, fingers crossed. I also have been looking at a villa holiday in the sun for next year, as the girls have been asking to stay in one.
The girls have very specific requirements, they like their own private pool, like to share a bedroom and they like to walk to the beach. I like to be close to the beach too and prefer open plan in a villa as I like the space. Another requirement is that they have space for a car as when we stay in a villa we like to be able to drive around to explore the local area. Of course if local amenities are all close by then we tend to walk and only really use the car to get to and from the airport.
We would love to visit Florida again and stay in a villa this time. Whilst we loved the hotel we stayed in a villa in Florida would give us more space and flexibility. Florida holidays tend to be very busy especially with young kids. Long days at theme parks and often long evenings watching various shows. A villa in Florida would have given us more wind down time. A day relaxing by our own private pool and time to chill out more.
In our hotel we were very lucky that we had our own kitchen facilities, like we would have in a private villa. This meant we could prepare food to take with us on the theme park days and have breakfast at our own pace. Many hotels would not have offered this and we would have been stuck to set times for food. A villa gives you much more flexibility when you have young children. Particularly with meal times.
Florida might be a few years away as we saved for several years last time to go, and perhaps a villa might be a more affordable choice. For 2018 I think we will be staying closer to home and travelling more around Europe. The girls love Portugal and we have visited a few times as a family. Lagos is one of our favourite spots, the marina is so incredibly beautiful and makes for a perfect way to spend a day, and it is usually around this area that we tend to stay. We might therefore look at other areas in Portugal to see what more the country has to offer.
For now I shall continue looking at beautiful villa holidays, dreaming of warm sunny skies and planning our next holiday in the sun. The question is where to go and how long to stay there for? A long weekend, a week or more? I shall certainly be trying to fit a race in wherever we go and of course meet the girls wish list!
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