3 nights in Gibraltar! Travel days

The short background to this trip is that Rob went to Gibraltar in Jan 2025 for work and I wanted to go along but sadly I had work stuff that meant I couldn't be away.

Then when we were planning our trips for 2026 I decided why not go for my birthday trip. It was actually a fairly good value trip as the weather can be changeable in Feb.

Friday 20th February

Rob had the day off yesterday and had done most of the cleaning, washing and ironing.

We got up at 0730, I went in the gym while Rob put the bed linen on to wash and then once I was ready we headed to breakfast, after putting the towels on to wash.

We had our standard Saturday breakfast just a day earlier than normal.

We then popped to town to get some toiletries and to take some flowers to the cemetery (it would have been Rob’s mum’s birthday while we were away).

Back home I logged on to my work computer as I had forgotten to do a couple of things (these were time sensitive so I didn’t want to leave them).

We did our ironing and packed our bags then Rob did his gym class.

We finished off my birthday cake and sorted out exciting stuff like the bins (it’s bin day when we get home).



Finally, at about 1430 we were ready to leave so we loaded our bag into the car and started on our way.

We had a perfect storm of Friday travel combined with half term so we expected some delays.

It took us a while to reach Stonehenge and I was amused to see an Apache helicopter flying over the stones as we drove past.

We stopped briefly at Fleet services - this had taken 2 hours which is longer than normal. Then the sat nav told us there was a faster route and we accepted the option.

It turned out that there was an issue on the M25 so we were glad to avoid the 30 min queue that it suggested…!

We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn near Hatton Cross at 1730, so about 3 hours in total.

We dropped off our bags and went to get dinner downstairs, where the restaurant was fairly quiet and mostly in darkness (which was a little odd.)


Rob ordered the butter chicken and I had a burger, we then had dessert, passion fruit cheesecake for me, Rob had a chocolate mousse thing. I’m sure it was called Everest something.

The total cost inc service charge was just under £70 which definitely felt a little expensive but it was convenient.

We headed back to our room where we watched tv before bed.

In an annoying twist the heating/air con was very noisy and made a high-pitched noise at irregular intervals.

Sat 21st February

Our alarm went off at 0645 and we got ready, we headed downstairs and paid the parking charge of £18 (our hotel was paid with points and was much cheaper than the Hilton T2/3.)

The sat nav said it was a 30 min drive to the short stay car park which felt ridiculous but as we got a bit closer we realised there was absolute chaos nearer the terminal.

There are roadworks on one of the tunnels and there was a significant delay. We also had to queue into the short stay car park as it is used for passenger pick up and other stuff.

In the end it took us about 45 mins to travel 3 miles which was more stressful than anticipated.

We got into the terminal and dropped off our bag. We headed through security and Rob’s bag was stopped because apparently Jennifer’s book was deemed a threat.

We headed to the lounge and got breakfast. I had waffles, coffee and a pastry while Rob had a cooked breakfast.

We also picked up a couple of cans for the flight as BA only give you a small water and some sad biscuits.

We headed to the gate at about 0940, we were using buses to board and thankfully it wasn’t raining.

We got on board at about 1000 and took off just after 1045 having been due to depart at 1025.

We were given our water and biscuits but decided to have my birthday cake (sent to me in the mail by my friend Kate) and one of our cans of Diet Coke.

I read another chapter of Jennifer’s book which took up a little bit of time.

There was some kind of issue a few rows behind us, we weren’t entirely sure but I suspect someone was unwell.

Weirdly a few people seemed to think it was acceptable to stare in their direction while the crew were dealing with whatever it was.

We landed just after 1400 (Gibraltar is one hour ahead) and waited until the paramedics came on to see the passenger that was unwell (we knew this as it was announced).

We got off and walked into the terminal, passport control was very quick. Our bag took a little while but we were on our way at 1445.

We walked the 20 mins from the airport in part because I wanted to walk across the runway!



We arrived at the hotel just after 1500, we had booked a package with BA and there was no option to choose a view.

We were asked if we wanted to upgrade, I said no and miraculously we were allocated a room with a sea (and runway) view.

We sorted out our stuff and headed out for an explore, Rob came here last year for work and he had to stay in a pretty rubbish hotel (The Bristol) due to work hotel limits.

He took me to see it and then we went along Main Street before ending up in Casemates Square where we decided to have an early dinner as we had missed lunch.

We had 2 pepperoni pizzas, garlic fries and 2 diet cokes and our bill was about £31. The pizza was fab and we couldn’t manage dessert!

We headed back to the hotel, getting some drinks for our room on the way.

We were a bit tired so watched some of the Olympic curling on tv.

Boxing Day Break 2025 - Wilmington, Delaware Last 2 days and trip home!

30th December

This morning we started off with toast and coffee before we resumed the shopping!

We started off at Costco which we always enjoy even though we rarely buy anything and today was no exception as it was very busy and we all decided we didn’t want to wait in a line to buy anything!

We went to Pure Bread (like Panera Bread but a local company) for lunch.

I had the classic combo of tomato soup and grilled cheese, Rob ordered a sandwich which he thought was going to be hot but it wasn’t.

Sadly, his was a disappointment, but mine was yummy!

After lunch we did our usual circuit around Williams Sonoma, Pottery barn and Anthropologie but again no purchases were made 

We then headed to Home Depot where Rob and Tom looked at some DIY supplies and Rob got himself some kind of screwdriver set.

We then went to Target which had an in store Starbucks so we topped up on caffeine on our way around 

Our final stop on this shopping extravaganza was Total wine which was the biggest liquor store we have seen! Rob picked up a couple of bottles for our garden bar at home.


We headed back to the house and decided on dinner from Pats Pizza, although I am not sure any of us actually had pizza.

I had a chicken sandwich and Rob had what looks a bit like another cheesesteak type sandwich (I didn’t take a note!)

We also had some cake for dessert but it came as like cupcakes where we were all expecting slices!

I know we watched tv after this as I have photos of Latte on my lap 

31st December

Almost at the end of our trip already, we started with toast and coffee again before we went to Wegmans for food shopping – I took video of the train in the store again 

We picked up a brunch from First Watch on our way home. Oddly I have no photos but I’m pretty sure I had the pancake option this time 

We decided to catch up on some of our favourite home improvement shows and then headed out for a walk before it got too cold.

We had a mix of pizza, chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks for dinner which we had picked up at Wegmans earlier in the day.

We also got 2 cakes, one of which was a gingerbread flavour (and was discounted and so a complete bargain) and we also got a chocolate cake!

It was the final episode of Stranger Things and I am a baby so we left Jennifer and Tom to watch it while we went to bed!

We did watch the New Years fireworks from London earlier in the evening though 

1st January

Time to go home  We had toast and coffee this morning and got our stuff ready.

We headed out to find lunch, we tried Kid Shelleen’s but they had a long wait.

So we went to Opa Opa instead and then onto Best Buy because you need to squeeze as much shopping time in as possible!

My notes essentially ended at this point (can you tell we were going home?!) but I know that we went back to the house and sorted out our last bits. We loaded up the car and headed to the airport.

Car drop off was simple and we took the shuttle bus across to the terminal where check in was also super easy.

We had notifications that AA were seeking volunteers to offload but because we had booked our flights separately (to get a cheaper price by only booking hold luggage for one of us) we didn’t want to volunteer in case they split us up….

All checked in, we went through security and into the lounge which was very busy. We had some food and ice cream 

Our flight boarded pretty much on time, it was as expected very busy and a few people were moved into premium economy (not us sadly). We were in the exit row but it still felt quite cramped (note to self – find ways to upgrade!)

We skipped the meal and tried to get some sleep, it wasn’t very successful for me but I think Rob managed to sleep a little bit.

We landed back at Heathrow pretty much on time and for once we got through baggage collection reasonably quickly.

We grabbed a quick snack on the way out and caught the bus to the car park before heading home.

We stopped at Amesbury to add some charge to the car, and I grabbed a quick coffee at Costa. A short while after we made it home so another trip complete!