London to Ibiza

On 28th December 2010 we packed up as many possessions we could fit in our newly acquired left hand drive 4×4, added the cat and lots of champagne, and headed off to Ibiza. England delivered it’s worst weather possible, from heavy heavy snow to drizzle, rain and chilly winds, to remind us why we were headed to our little piece of paradise in the sun, and Paris provided an impressive supporting act with 11 hours of drizzle, mist and a deep deep fog as we made the journey down through France. Barely able to see, and mildly elated at reaching our overnight stop entact, as soon as the Man saw the Chateau Lazenay sign he pulled right into that driveway prompt as you like. The electronic gate swung closed for the night, we pulled up in a parking space, and breathed a sigh of relief at reaching our destination.

Until that was, we realised that we were not in fact in the hotel parking, but in a private gated development next door. From which the only exit was with a secure electronic keyfob. The middle of the night, no-one around, the Man, the Cat & I took in our error in disbelief – well in reality he got mad, I laughed a lot and for the cat, he rolled his eyes, and it just reiterated his belief that felines are superior to humans.

To cut a loooong story short, eventually someone else came through the gate, and I managed to explain in faltering French & effusive hand gestures, what exactly we were trying to do, and we managed to exit the development and save ourselves, and the cat, scaling a 20 foot high wall, to finally gain entry to ‘le chateau’. Which to our surprise, our previously travel phobic cat, took to like a true ‘le chat’.

Documented on my new Contax G2 ( a Christmas present from the Man; the acquisition of which deserves a post all it’s own) and of course, all on film.