Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Simon and I had to cancel our mini honeymoon to Amsterdam and our main honeymoon which was a Mediterranean cruise for two weeks. Then we had to move back into my Dad's house at the end of June as our landlord wanted our house for himself. I was gutted that we didn't get to go away on our trips but we knew we wouldn't be able to get away for a long time. Once the hotels started opening up again, we decided to book a staycation somewhere. I was lucky to have a Saturday and Sunday off work so we had a good look at our options. We opted for Curran Court Hotel in Larne which is along the Antrim Coastline. Larne itself, isn't the most interesting place in the world but there was plenty to see and do around the coast line. I think it was about £70 per night but Simon upgraded our room to a sea view, superking room. This also included breakfast which is always important to us.
Friday 31st July
I finished work at 5pm and rushed home where Simon had dinner ready. I wolfed down my dinner then finished packing the last few things. I had spent the previous evening doing all our packing. Simon and I packed up the car then we took off for Larne. Larne is about 30 minutes away from us. It was a pleasant evening too which made the journey enjoyable. The hotel is situated near to the Larne harbour docks. It's right across the road from an Asda, KFC and cinema. There is also a service station straight across from it too. The retail park isn't too far away either. The hotel had sanitiser available as you entered the door and outside the entrance of the restaurant. Check in was very quick. Our room was on the first floor number 215. The hotel was very clean and the corridor smelt really nice. Our room was so nice and really big with a superking bed and a sea view as promised. We did overlook the main road down to the docks though but it didn't appear too busy.
We unpacked our bags then got a shower. The shower was one of the best showers I have ever experienced in a hotel. I could have spent ages in it and I'm not even joking. After our showers, we chilled out for a bit before we decided on what to do. The hairdryer in the room wasn't the best though. My hair was a bit of a frizz ball after I had dried it. We decided to go down to the sea front and have a walk. We stopped off at the shop first though then jumped into the car and drove to the leisure centre car park. It was such a lovely evening too. We had a lovely walk, taking our time. We did end up walking up a really steep hill which was sore on the old legs. We then went back to the hotel and changed into our pyjamas and enjoyed a cup of tea. The bed was so big and comfortable. We had started watching a movie but both of us were so tired that we wanted to sleep.
Saturday 1st August
I honestly had the best night's sleep. It was great having a superking bed rather than the double we were sleeping in at my Dad's. Somehow Simon and I both ended up waking up at the edges of the bed lol. I grabbed a shower and got dressed. Once we were both showered and dressed, we went down to get breakfast. Breakfast buffets are currently not allowed due to the pandemic which is fine. We were given a menu of various items. I opted for the fry with tea and a glass of apple juice. Simon went for a fruit bowl with yogurt and a fry with coffee. The tables were well separated with plenty of space between them. The food was really nice. I do love a good hotel breakfast.
We returned to our room and finished getting ourselves ready. We decided to go to Carnfunnick Park which is a huge park filled with various things to do for all the family. It's about 20 minutes drive from Larne. I used to go there all the time when I was a child then we took my niece and nephew there for years too. It was £4 to get in and the car park wasn't very busy. We set off, stopping off at the gift shop to pick up a map. We decided to go on the red route. I had never done it before. There was a huge steep hill which wasn't fun to walk up. We sat down on the bench at the top. A small dog came over to me and put it's dirty paws on my clean jeans (and the only pair of jeans I had with me). We continued on our walk in the hope to find the maze. Sadly, the maze was closed. That took us down to the walled gardens. We sat down for a bit and relaxed. It was such a beautiful day and we decided what to do for lunch. I had wanted to play some crazy golf but we decided to give it a miss.
Me by the huge sundial at Carnfunnick
We then left Carnfunnick Park and drove along more of the coast to Ballygally. Driving along the coast brought back so many memories from when I was a child. I used to go the beach at Ballygally when I was younger. There were quite a lot of people on the beach and in the carpark. We parked in the Ballygally Hotel carpark. We had booked to eat in the hotel for lunch. We did have to sit in the lobby though as the actual restaurant wasn't opened. I felt a little uneasy having to sit on the sofas rather than at a proper table. The menu was quite expensive so all I opted for was some breaded mushrooms from the starter menu and a portion of chips and a sprite to drink. In hotel it came to about £25. The tables and seats weren't exactly spaced out to accommodate social distancing which was annoying. Then a woman came in who was one of those people who'd be your worst nightmare to take out for dinner, a fuss pot who doesn't like anything. Simon and I then left but I left my phone sitting at the table but thankfully I got it back as it had been handed into reception. We continued on around the coast to Glenarm to visit the Castle. The last time I had been at Glenarm Castle was at a fun day event with a friend from school many, many years ago. The castle wasn't open so there wasn't much else to do other than walk around the Gardens. It cost us £6 each and honestly? It wasn't that interesting and not worth the money. We hopped back in the car and parked up at the Glenarm Harbour and took a walk around there. Then we drove back to the hotel.
Once back at the hotel, we chilled out for a bit then showered. I had only brought two pairs of trainers with me which weren't the most dressiest of shoes. So I ran over to the Asda across the road to look for a pair of shoes but they didn't have one single pair. I had to put my white Adidas trainers with my dress which was fine as we were only having dinner in the hotel. I curled my hair with my new curlers. We then went down to the restaurant to have dinner. We started with the sharing platter between the two of us which was so tasty. I had a Malibu and coke and Simon had a beer. I then had pasta for main and Simon had steak. It was so sickening that I couldn't even manage half of it. I think I've learnt my lesson about ordering creamy pastas from now on. We didn't overstay our welcome in the restaurant, returning to our room to chill out and watch a movie. I think it was called The Heat. Again, we didn't finish watching it and ended up going to sleep quite early.
Sunday 2nd August
I had another amazing night's sleep in our huge bed. We showered then went down for breakfast. Again, I had the fry with tea and apple juice. We then returned to our room to figure out what to do and pack our things before check out at 11am. For some annoying reason, both of us were absolutely shattered. We had planned on visiting Glenarrif Forest Park and have lunch at the restaurant there. We realised that Larne was actually further away than our town from the forest so we agreed to head home first. Then we decided to cancel our dinner reservation. I was glad we did as I began to feel unwell and my IBS started to flare up. Then just as I had hung some washing out to dry on the line, it began to lash down with heavy rain.
All in all, we had a lovely weekend away to recharge our batteries and spend some time together. Living a Dad's is hard as we don't have our own space other than the bedroom and Simon's office room. It was nice having some peace and quiet. The hotel was lovely and the rooms clean with plenty of space. The bed was so comfortable and the shower in the bathroom was amazing. It's in a good location if you're wanting to explore more of the Antrim coast or are just looking for a night or two away. With Covid-19 still at large and many places having large cases again, it could be a while before we feel safe travelling to another country so Staycations are the way forward. Simon and I will be celebrating our 3rd year anniversary in October so we will try and get away again then for a few days.
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