the good, the bad and the ugly...part 1

home sweet home

we are back home

going away is great but nothing beats coming back to the comforts of home, especially my bed which is the only place I seem to be able to sleep properly and soundly

as I look back at the past 2 weeks, that Ennio Morricone song from that Clint Eastwood movie comes to mind (a song which I performed ages ago in front of a whole auditorium with other fellow music school students)

thank God there was more good than bad and more bad than ugly

today: the good...

no cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no schedules for mom for the whole time away...now that was worth it!

First we spent a few days in Montreal One of those days was spent at La Ronde, an amusement park I hadn't gone to in 25 years! So many memories there of my childhood and rowdy teenage years ;). Was great to see my own kids enjoying themselves . There were rides for everyone and lots of laughter too!

We finally headed to the airport for our flight to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The kids were buzzing with excitement and me too. Nothing like going somewhere new to get me all tingled up!

The flight went great, kids got cool toys and we saw Blades of Glory, what a hoot! Upon our arrival, we were greeted by locals dressed in national outfits and a band playing local music. Talk about putting you in the mood. Right away we were surrounded with the flowing language of Spanish around us. A short ride in a mini bus saw us to our sumptuous hotel. We hadn't done an all-inclusive package holiday for a very long time and I was looking forward to it. Its great with kids cause whenever they're hungry or thirsty, there's something available for them.

The beach turned out to be absolutely beautiful: white sand going on forever, turquoise water, little waves, swaying palm trees, comfortable lounge chairs with cushions and towels, absolutely idyllic. There was a Kids Club where the kids went for an hour one day but they much preferred to stay with us. And there was so much to keep them busy: building sand castles, going in the super humongous pool complete with jacuzzi s, getting a drink at the swim up bar, Spanish lessons, pool aerobics, introduction to scuba diving, archery (where good old mom proved to be unbelievable), rock climbing wall, several games of indoor bowling, beach and pool volleyball, beach soccer, snorkelling, beach bocce ball competition (where yours truly won first prize...a bottle of rum!), pool tables, nightly shows, foosball, got the girls hair braided and big sis got a henna dolphin tattoo. We basically took advantage of everything available.

We added a few extras: bartering with the locals at shops right on the beach, hubby went scuba diving (one of his most favorite activities); big sis and I went on a banana boat ride (completely nuts) as well as an excursion to a nearby ranch where we got to go horseback riding on a beach at sunset...absolutely phenomenal!

I was in heaven. Lounging by the pool or the beach while the kids would entertain themselves and go get themselves drinks at the bar or food at the cafeteria. I actually got to read two whole books, usually unheard of on holidays. And it was so wonderful to hear a multitude of languages around us. The hotel was filled to capacity which surprised me. The vacationers were mostly Puerto Ricans, other Dominicans, Spanish speaking Floridians, Europeans from Spain and France and Italy and Germany and a very few Canadians and Americans. I really got to practice my Spanish which was awesome. Our French proved useful too as a lot of the workers there come from nearby Haiti. And baby boy was quite taken by the Europeans habit of going topless on the beach;)