Booked to stay at the Palmarinha and flying with Thomas Cook, no Monarch for us ever again we vowed and stuck with that vow. Flight was 8.20 am from Manchester, arrived at the airport in good time to be told of a 2 1/2 hour delay, wasn`t too bothered and the wait flew by. The flight was great and comfortable as we managed to grab 2 seats together near the downstairs bit. The food wasn`t too great but we had sandwiches we made for the airport which filled the gap a bit. Arrived in Goa about an hour later than we should have done so made up a bit of time. This is the first time I have ever been bussed to the terminal and as soon as I got on the bus I was bitten by a rogue mosquito
immigration was fairly smooth and the bags were quick and Dhiresh our driver was waiting for us with 2 cold bottles of soft drink and offf we went.Arrived at the Palmarinha about 1.30 am and was given room 416 which is the block on the right as you enter, room was good and the bed was comfy and I was in it soon after. Breakfast the next morning was excellent, eggs made to order included, Indian breakfast like bhaji and rice cake, plenty of choice. Arranged my bike for the 2 weeks, a Bajaj Avenger which I have had previously and quite liked for 270rps per day, had to bargain hard for that too.
I will just do a short review of places we ate at as we didn`t do much at all apart from lay on sunbeds and do a spot of fishing here and there, relax was the key word for this holiday.
Bernards Place - CSM rd Baga
Place was packed out when we went so service was a little slow, to be expected really, had chicken tandoori and it was lovely, 2 whole breast cooked to perfection, meal for the 2 of us with a few beers and starter was 1000 rps
Lazydays - CSN rd Baga
Ate here 3 times and enjoyed the food everytime apart from the last meal we had, the place was busy and we managed to grab the last table for 2 and there were people coming in and waiting for seats after us. Sat there nearly 10 minutes before I had to ask for a menu and a drink, we knew what we were going to have so ordered quickly before anyone else could get in before us. The people waiting were seated (two seperate couples) around 10 minutes a fter we ordered, okay it was busy and I am pretty patient but 30 minutes came and went when one of the couples seated after recieved their main meal followed by the other couple after us. Mrs FTV was livid and asked why this had happened, 10 minutes later we got our food, we couldn`t stomach a desert and the bill came 510 rps and that is what they got.
Kim Faa - Baga
Goes without saying, superb as always, salt and pepper prawns for starters mmmmmmmmm
India Summer - Calangute/Baga
Bit out of the way down the road before CSM rd, met by polite friendly smiling waiter and shown to the table, drinks order taken staright away and returned with a tray with odomos, hand gel for you to use should you need. We had satay Chicken starter between us which was tasty and plenty enough, for the main I had chicken Rosha which I had never heard of but it was labelled spicy and I was in the mood for chillies, Mrs FTV had butter chicken as well as rice and breads and 2 beers each it came to 1050 rps and was probably one of my favourite meals while I was there
Chef Soumyens Kitchen - Calangute
Always my favourite treat when I`m in Goa, sorry but this years offering was below par, the steak was not cooked as ordered medium rare more medium, I don`t mind rare and have eaten blue steak when the mood took me but this had just had its horns removed and its bum wiped it was that rare in the middle. A friend of mine ate there the week before and said the same when I mentioned it, he was also a big fan.
Floyds - Candolim
Always make the trip to Candolim for Floyds Vindaloo, another one off the list for me I`m afarid, the chicken was chewy and didn`t taste fresh at all, opted for chicken tikka which wasn`t bad but the moment had been spoiled for me
Rising waves - Candolim
Seen it mentioned many times on here and other forums so always willing to try new places, wow what a lovely place, thought it was going to be an expensive affair as we walked through the entrance but pleasently suprised at the prices and the comfiest restaurant chairs in Goa. Vindaloo was the choice following the earlier failure at Floyds, not bad and all 4 of us enjoyed our food in particular the ice cream and strawberry desert
Hungry Horse - Calangute
Fancied something plain and English, place is cheap and cheerful, food wasn`t all that great but just okay, always tell myself never to make the mistake of eating English food in Goa it never lives up to expectations
Oriental Thai - Calangute
Always fancied trying this place after many favourable comments and it didn`t fail to impress, can`t even pronounce what we ordered but Mrs FTV ordered something that turned out to be too spicy and we ended up swapping dishes and we both enjoyed it, reasonable priced too for the quality of food.
Mango Tree - Vagator
Made a night of sunset at the 9 bar in Vagator, meal at Mango tree then on to Night market with 2 friends. We ordered 3 chicken shashlick and one paneer tikka,couple of bottles of water, 4 garlic butter naan and 2 chips, the dishes came with rice and sauce. The food was delicious and the bill came to a whopping 750 rupees for the 4 of us and was probably my best meal on a par with the Thai place, well worth making a night of it, we gave the taxi driver we had from 6.30 pm till 10.30 pm 900rps and he waited and found us when we needed him, great night.
Will follow up with a few stories and my trip into darkest Maharashtra soon
I don't know why suddenly my mouth is watering and I feel hungry. 
