We’ve had a fabulous May, starting with 2 1/2 weeks in Mexico with our daughter and her new husband. Initially with them at their home in Queretaro, then to Cancun for their wedding celebration. What a fabulous occasion that was! It was fun to have a couple of weeks first to acclimatise to the warmth of Mexico and just have no pressures to do anything, other than accompany our family on their dog-walks and attend their gym sessions, eat fabulous Mexican food and enjoy new surroundings. We got a bit of sightseeing done, but this was very much a downtime to recover from the busy-ness of travel preparation and end of month work stresses. No more of those, Chris is very much (semi) retired now.

From here, we flew to Cancun to our destination resort – Moon Palace (Nizuc) for 5 days of pre and post wedding celebrations. The all-inclusive resort promised much and we were unsure if it would live up to the hype, but it exceeded our expectations. No, it was not an authentic Mexican experience, but it had a definite local flavour that made it more than an “overcrowded land based cruise experience”. The grounds were expansive, the staff helpful and friendly and many food options – even at the buffet we had a raft of healthy options (thankfully, for Chris’ dodgy belly) plus numerous other a-la-carte restaurant choices. The pools were great to recline and relax in and out of, the beach was white sand – even if the water was an unappealing brown. Our garden view room looked out over the wedding chapel and to the sea beyond. We ate well and slept well and then the culmination was a wonderful wedding celebration with family and friends. Katie had a few school and university friends who made the trip from NZ and it was great to see these faces again after many years. It was a lovely day and we were so pleased to have been a part of it all. We are excited to see what the future hold for this beautiful couple.

Now, back to reality with a thump – a very early morning checkout of the resort (4:15am) to fly to Houston with a 7 hour layover, then a 9 hour flight to Manchester in the UK. We left 31^o and landed in 16^o – a bit of a shock to the system. We appreciated the relative quiet of both Houston and Manchester airports for arrivals and departures but, once again, struggled with the complexities of picking up a pre-booked rental car – organised months in advance but, no sir, we don’t have your car ready at the moment. It took us 20 minutes to get through immigration, and pick up our bags at the airport, and an hour and a half to collect our rental car. Not in the best mood after almost 24 hours on the go. Finally on our way, we took a break to change SIM cards in our phones and get a good coffee before heading to St Annes near Blackpool for a couple of nights to adjust to the new climate and time zone. A lovely place to wander, but rugged up against the chill wind. Then, all too soon, we depart for our first housesitting adventure in a little village just outside of Derby.