\\ Couples' Center Parcs Getaway! //

Well, it finally happened! Last Monday my Dad drove me and my boyfriend, Dec, up to Center Parcs Sherwood Forest to meet our friend Harrison, his parents and his girlfriend, Emily, for our triple date holiday! We were too busy enjoying the holiday that we didn't take too many photos. We spent most of our time either swimming (or bobbing in my case) or just chilling or playing poker in the villa. The villa was gorgeous but I wasn't expecting it to be one-storey!

On the first day we went to the massive indoor swimming plaza. As I can't swim, I stayed in the pool that allowed my head to be just above the water, and I didn't try anything really out of my comfort zone - meaning I avoided the 'cooling pool' where you dive in freezing cold water. I also talked myself out of going on 'the rapids' that day, which is basically just a series of slides, some meant for children and some meant for adults. What scared me was the idea that I might be too small for my head to stay above the water at the bottom of the slide. Instead, I tried to follow Dec under the mini waterfall but even that made me feel claustrophobic and I had to fight off a panic attack. The others would go off and do their own thing for a couple of minutes (I wasn't going to stop them having fun) but they'd always come back to the main pool right after and I was never left on my own for long. We all tested out the jacuzzis which were glorious, although when we got back to the villa and experienced a sauna for the first time I wasn't too impressed. The humidity made us all feel a little bit suffocated (and Emily was petrified by the spiders trying to get through the door). On our first night we all played 'guesstures' whilst getting drunk, which is like a better version of charades. I made Sex on the Beach cocktails using my new barmaid knowledge.

On day two we went back to the swimming plaza for another round. Again, I bobbed, but this time the guys persuaded me to try a slide where all four of us would get in a rubber dinghy. It was actually a lot of fun, and it gave me the confidence to try the first level of the dreaded rapids. That was a bit of an embarrassing experience to be honest as I got stuck halfway down with a woman watching me from her deckchair as all the children flew past, swimming. There I was, an eighteen year old girl, trying to shuffle out of the situation and being mugged off by kids. After that we showered (obviously) and got ready for our slap-up meal at Huck's; which was an American-style diner similar to TGI Friday's; but without the amazing decor. The food, however, was just as great. I had a cheeseburger and fries which were both to die for. I wore my new black dress from Asos. I bought it with the money from my first week's wages and it's not to be regretted - I think this is one I'll be keeping for a long time! It's really simple and sleek, and it makes me feel pulled in. I didn't buy it from the petite range like I normally do, so instead it's a little bit long. It looks and feels like a maxi dress - a good maxi dress is hard for me to find, being 5'0! Not to mention I'd had my eye on it for a while, then suddenly it was reduced from £18.00 to £10.50. Craziness. Here we all are looking gorgeous:


Day three was fairly chilled. All four of us had a go together on the rowing boats, where we discovered I am not so good at rowing. At all. After the boys (mostly) took over the the responsibility of rowing, it was really enjoyable and peaceful. Back at the villa we watched a lot of Phineas and Ferb and Supernatural.  I think we might have watched (or rewatched, if you're me or Emily) Rock of Ages. It really is a good film. Good weather had been forecast for Wednesday so Harrison's dad set about getting the BBQ up and running - the food was lovely but I couldn't eat much after the dinner at Huck's the night before!



After the guys had done pretending to be Rose and Jack from The Titanic, us girls went on a lovely late night stroll where I captured my favourite photo of the holiday: the sun setting above the trees on the lake.


Day four was a bit complicated - Dec wasn't there for the start of the day as he had to be driven to an interview - so for the first part of the day I was a bit of a fifth wheel, but I didn't mind that as it meant I could lay on the sofa in my joggers without a care in the world. Later on, when he had rejoined the group, we each had a pre-bowling Jägerbomb and some Kopparbergs, then made our way down to the bowling alley. With it being the last night of our holiday, Dec and I decided to surprise Harrison's parents with some wine and flowers for so kindly taking us. Then... ALCOHOL. The others carried on with shots of Jäger, whereas I had vodka shots. After four, I had never felt so ill... but after a few glasses of water I recovered... and carried on.

Friday was our last day (or morning, as we had to be packed and out of the villa by 10am). Although we were leaving the villa, the suitcases were put in the car and we all stayed in the Parc until midday. During those two hours Harrison, Emily, Dec and I, had a nice breakfast at the Sports Café and milled around in the gift shops. Dec bought a hell of a lot of fudge, and I bought a bookmark and some 'thank you' chocolate for my dad.

On Saturday I was right back to work and that was the end of that! Thank you for sharing the experience with me... it's been very therapeutic to write it all out and remember exactly what happened!


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I have a glitch on my blog at the moment that's deleting all the posts from my main page, but there's plenty more available in the Archive, search bar or 'Older Posts' buttons.

MB x