I awoke this morning after a bit of a restless night but the bed was comfortable and the room was lovely and quiet. After showering and doing some packing we went downstairs to get Mike and headed down to the small dining area for breakfast.
The Hotel Balear is an old-fashioned Spanish hotel with oodles of charm and very friendly staff. The breakfast was a buffet with a choice of bread, rolls, cooked meats and cheeses, boiled eggs, fried eggs, bacon, sausages, cereals and fruit. There was even a choice of cakes! I enjoyed two cups of coffee and a couple of eggs with ham. The place was busier than we expected and there was a constant turnover of guests arriving and leaving.
After we'd eaten our fill we finished packing and checked out, but we were able to leave all of our luggage in the small back office. We asked about getting into Palma and we had a choice of either the local bus or a taxi. I argued for the bus but the others insisted on taking a taxi which cost us about 15 euros. It wasn't a long drive but we took a road along the seafront so we had beautiful views over the marina where we could see a cruise ship docked.
The taxi dropped us off by the cathedral which was already busy with people. Outside, there were various stalls of tourist tat, which we deftly avoided! I took the opportunity to snap some photos...
There was a bit of a queue to get into the cathedral but it moved very quickly. I've always wanted to visit, ever since we started coming to the island in 1996 so it was great to finally be able to have a good look around. It was stunning!
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| The sun shining through the Rose Window |
The photos don't really do justice to the beauty of the stained glass windows or the ornate chapels that line the sides of the cathedral. The building of the cathedral started in 1229 by James I on the site of a mosque, and it wasn't finished until 1601.
We had a lovely time wandering about and absorbing the atmosphere along with lots of other tourists. Although there were plenty of people about, it never felt crowded. We lit a couple of candles and made our way out through the shop where Sophie bought a Christmas decoration!
By now it was pretty warm and we strolled along narrow streets that reminded me very much of Pollenca. The receptionist at the hotel had kindly given us a map of the city and advised us which way to walk and we managed to find the main thoroughfare, which was busy with people looking in the shops that lined the street.
We came to the Placa Major or main square, which was busy with market stalls. Underneath was a modern shopping centre and there were numerous street artists about with someone dressed up as a giant panda for some reason!
By now we were looking forward to sitting down and having a cold drink so we turned off the main square and into a smaller street that sloped downwards. Here there were a couple of bars with tables lined along the street under umbrellas, one of which was called Antiguedades. We sat at a table and ordered four beers. Perfect! This was another thing I always wanted to do in Palma!
It was sheer bliss sitting at the table in the sunshine and watching the constant procession of people walk past. I could have sat there all day!
After our drinks we wandered along a little further but by now the streets were very crowded with people and Keith was beginning to flag a bit in the heat. Mike bought some sunglasses and we made the decision to return to the cathedral area and get a taxi back to the hotel. We found a rank near to where the horses and carriages set off and took one back to our hotel. Again, it was a short journey and on the way we noticed another cruise ship in the port. Did this explain why it was so busy?
Back at the hotel we retrieved our luggage and asked for a taxi to take us to the airport. We were a little early but I think we all wanted to be in Pollenca now and settled into our house. On the way to the airport we noticed the Hiper rental office so we knew we'd be coming back this way again! On reflection, we could have walked the short distance but as we'd arranged to pick up the mini-bus shuttle at the airport, we thought we'd do it the correct way!
We had a short wait before our luggage was loaded onto the bus and we got on. The journey took a mere five minutes and we went into the cool office to sort out our car. We had ordered a Skoda Octavia and we were given a grey estate - not the prettiest of cars but it had plenty of room for our bags and was a diesel!
Pollenca
Driving out of the rental compound was a bit hairy but I took it slowly and Sophie entered the address of our Airbnb into Google maps. We negotiated our way out of Palma and onto the motorway that runs up towards Inca, Alcudia and Pollenca. It was busy with cars but I took it steadily and before long we were turning off the motorway and onto the pretty road surrounded by wooded hills that leads to the coast.
We started to recognise various sights - it was like seeing old friends again after many years! Just before we reached the town we turned off to the left and followed a road into the old town. Our house was on Carrer del Roser Vell and we were extremely lucky to bag a space right outside!
We lugged our cases into the house and did a quick explore. There was a living room with an L-shaped sofa, a tiny cloakroom and then a large open plan kitchen with a breakfast bar. Doors led out onto a marbled terrace with a large wooden picnic bench, sun loungers, a day bed and steps leading to the small pool.
Upstairs, on the first floor were two bedrooms, a twin and a large double with a tiny shower room in between. A further flight of steep wooden stairs led up to the third bedroom which had its own shower room and a large space with chairs and a desk. The views were lovely from up here!
We gave Sophie the top room as the bathroom was bigger and Keith and I took the large double while Mike had the twin. We unpacked and the owner's sister-in-law arrived to give us forms to fill out and took our passport details.
By now we were hot and tired but we needed some essential supplies, so we took a bag from the kitchen and went off in search of a supermarket. We found our bearings and before long we had discovered the main square in the town, our beloved place, and the cafe where Keith wanted to sit and gaze at the Puig de Maria atop the hill facing the town.
We couldn't resist stopping for a well-earned drink at the Cafe Espanyol, or Ca'n Moixet as it's also known. We took a table on the edge of the seating area and relaxed!
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| Back where he wanted to be! |
After our drinks Keith remembered where there was a supermarket, but before we set off we booked a table at Ca n'Olesa for 8pm just in case it was busy. We were glad we did!
We found the supermarket (Eroski) which had everything we needed for the next few days, including the important stuff such as a bottle of Cava, beer and some lovely looking bread. We trudged back with our bags and had half an hour of relaxation before getting ready to go out. The men were ready first and Keith had already clocked a small bar further down our street called Bar Roser Vell. We arranged to meet them there, which set the pattern for the next few nights! I think Keith was definitely starting to be accepted by the time we left!
When we returned to the square we were a bit dismayed to find there were no tables free at the Cafe Espanyol so we walked a bit further up and found a table at the Monkey Bar (also known as La Birreria) which was situated on the narrow alley running alongside the beautiful church.
There was a middle-aged couple sitting next to us (German I think) who seemed to take as much pleasure in people watching as we did, but the woman had her eye on my son who was very amused by the attention!
The bill came to a reasonable 15 euros for the drinks and we made our way back down to Ca n'Olesa for our much anticipated first dinner. Sophie has very fond memories of this restaurant from years ago and was looking forward to trying out the padron peppers followed by a pizza.
Dining out with two adult children is a lot different - their tastes were much simpler back in 2008 and Mike preferred to go and play football with the other children rather than sit and eat with us! They also didn't drink any alcohol!
We were shown to a table in the very busy restaurant and we were so glad we'd booked! We had a good look at the menu and chose two dishes of the padron peppers to share for a starter, followed by pizza for Sophie and Mike, rabbit with onions for Keith and skewered chicken in a five spice sauce for me. The men asked for a beer but this only came in tiny bottles so they went through quite a few over the course of the evening. Sophie and I indulged in a delicious bottle of white Mortitx, a local Mallorcan wine.
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| Pimientos de Padron |
This was a long-anticipated meal but it disappointed Keith who said that his rabbit had made an escape from the earthenware dish it was served in! The pizzas were unexceptional and my dish, although tasty, would have been better served with veggie rice or noodles as the diced potatoes and vegetables didn't really accompany it very well.
The children enjoyed desserts of lemon meringue pie and chocolate brownie and Keith tackled a plate of cheese after the main course, trying to fob some of it onto us! The bill came to 145 euros and after paying, Sophie and I went into a lovely little shop nearby where she bought a pair of pretty earrings.
It didn't take us long to walk home and we soaked our tired feet in the cold pool for a little while before going to bed. It had been a long, but immensely enjoyable day!
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