We'd only driven about two miles towards Stansted when I suddenly realised I didn't have my phone with me! This provoked a lot of ribbing from Keith, Sophie and Mike but at least I'd remembered before we went any further!
The journey to Stansted was fine, except for a short hold-up in the roadworks on the A14. We had booked a space in the long stay parking and none of us could believe how many cars were parked! We made a note of our row and area and walked the short distance to the shuttle bus stop.
It's been another glorious day today and it was warm and sunny. Sophie was wearing a new, very soft and cuddly fleece but she quickly took it off as it was quite hot! When we arrived at the terminal we weren't able to drop our case off straight away so we stood and waited a little while and did a spot of people watching. It was far busier than I had imagined!
Once the case was dropped off via a self-serve bag drop, we made our way through security and into the departure lounge. It was packed with people and we scoured the map for somewhere to eat. Mike wanted to go to a Wetherspoons pub but in the end we decided on Coast to Coast which was busy with people eating and drinking before their flights.
It was lovely to relax and order some drinks, safe in the knowledge I wasn't driving any more today. Sophie and I had a glass of wine while the men went for lager. We chose our meals - burger for Mike, pizza for Sophie, fish and chips for Keith and a prawn tempura wrap for me - and settled back to enjoy our holiday. I think all of us were a little disappointed with the food, which was unimaginative and quite bland. I would have loved a side salad with my meal!
The bill came to £86 which we thought was expensive for what we had. Mike asked again if we could go to Wetherspoons for a drink so we gave in and found a table among the hordes of people waiting for their flights. It was a lot cheaper than Coast to Coast so Mike looked slightly smug and Sophie was annoyed to see a vegan burger on the menu! Oh well!
We sat and enjoyed a couple of drinks and got chatting to the couple on the next table who offered to charge Mike's phone in the plug by their seats. Later, we found out they were on our flight!
Just before we were due to travel, easyJet had sent me an email hinting about alcohol use on the flight and the dire consequences of drinking too much. It then dawned on me that we were travelling just before the weekend on a late flight and there may be stag or hen parties flying out for the weekend...
The flight itself was not the most pleasant I have ever been on and the seats really felt cramped and uncomfortable. We had a group of women behind us who came on and were quite loud, but unfortunately their behaviour just grew worse throughout the (mercifully) short journey to Palma. We had them screaming with laughter, shouting and then singing while eyeing up any poor male nearby and propositioning the two male cabin crew... And they weren't in the first flush of youth either!
As we were queuing to go through passport control at Palma airport, two other young women appeared wearing next to nothing and still holding their drinks. With a couple of young lads they were loud and raucous! At the moment I feel the British are the laughing stock of Europe due to the Brexit fiasco and this just made things worse! Heaven knows what the staff at the airport thought of them!
After we'd collected our case we made our way outside into the humid night and queued up for a taxi. The whole organisation was very smooth and efficient and we were soon on our way to the Hotel Balear about a mile away from the airport in Can Pastilla. Our taxi driver was a maniac (much like the one we had in Berlin once) and tore along the motorway to the first exit. Thankfully it only took about five minutes and we paid 20 euros for the privilege!
We'd booked two rooms and had warned them we'd be arriving late. Check in was easy and we were given the keys to our rooms, one on the first floor, the other on the second. We all managed to cram into the tiny lift with our luggage, which I think was a mistake! We never did it again! The first room we came to was really a suite as it had two bedrooms so that was a bonus for Sophie and Mike! Keith and I left them there and carried on up to the second floor where we had a whole series of rooms! There were two bedrooms (interconnecting), a living room with another sofa bed and three bathrooms! We couldn't believe our luck! If we'd known this we would only have booked the one room, but for about £160 for the accommodation and breakfast, I think it was really good value.
We went back down to the first floor and sorted out what we needed for the night. Sophie said she'd prefer to sleep with us as we had two bedrooms, which was fine - there was certainly enough space! It all felt a bit strange as the hotel itself was really quiet and we had these huge rooms to ourselves - it was a bit like entering the twilight zone!
We decided on a final drink and Sophie and I had a second beer each. We all felt very relaxed by now and with the third round came another plate of food. All of it was delicious. When the bill came I tensed thinking it would be about 35-40 euros, but it was just 18! For ten beers and three plates of delicious food! What a bargain!
We made our weary way back to the hotel as it was now about 2am and said goodnight to Mike after agreeing to meet up in the morning at 9am for breakfast!
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