Our day out with Amy and Edward was the beginning of a gradual ease back into what we never thought of anything else but “normal”. Just as we were thinking beyond the garden gate and our diaries were beginning to fill again, last month the virus caught us both and plans had to be cancelled. It’s just what we’ve become used to: adding that “all being well” and “if things go according to plan” to the end of any discussion of intent!

So it had been when all of this pandemic began, two years ago. With the news that none of us were going to be going anywhere for a while, when our cruise from Abu Dhabi to Rome was cancelled and our plans to explore Egypt were dashed, we thought that perhaps we’d look closer to home and tentatively put in place some summer holiday bookings in Galicia, the north west corner of Spain. After all, this virus would soon be sorted, wouldn’t it?

So confident were we, that we reserved flights and rooms in a couple of hotels for Summer 2020, paying up front to achieve the “internet price”, which included a “no refund” condition. We are not the sort of people to change our minds, thinking it through carefully before we commit to anything. Except this time, things were beyond our control. In Summer 2020, we were going nowhere.

We tried again for 2021 but around this time last year we replaced those plans with a trip to Scotland and Yorkshire and put Spain on hold once more. Thankfully, the flight costs were refunded and the two hotels in Spain (which were still closed because of the pandemic) agreed to hold our booking and payment until such time as we would be able to travel.

We kept an eye on the situation, watching for Vueling to resume flights to A Coruña and when they did so earlier this year, we quickly contacted both hotels to see if they would accept a replacement booking as well. Yes, they would - though our “payment in full” became “a deposit” (!) partly because the only room available in one of them was a suite. Not only was it “a suite”, it was “The Suite”! Having begun to question whether we would ever make it there at all, we agreed to go for it anyway and plans were put in place.

All being well.

A few days ago, then, having eyed the weather forecast for that corner of Spain, I began to put out a few clothes to pack with layers in mind. We were not going to need anything fancy, just warm, comfortable and adaptable tops, jeans and a raincoat.

A theme began to emerge!

Mary might recall my buying that scarf in Austin, TX on one of our road trips. As I tied it to my red bag and plonked it on the seat whilst getting my act togerher, I recognised that all of my “love colour” traits were being satisifed.

It was, I’ll admit, quite hard to leave our lovely Cotswold village which was looking glorious in the Spring sunshine, but with everything in the capable hands of our house sitters, it really did appear that those plans we made and postponed at least twice, were finally coming to fruition.

All being well.

We’re doing ok so far….we made it to the airport!