Unfortunately, we awoke this morning to grey skies and wet streets as it had been raining. Not really what we were expecting and a bit annoying seeing as the weather was so good back in the UK!
We all surfaced slightly blearily and I set about discovering how the washing machine worked. One of the delights about renting a new house is discovering how everything works and opening cupboards and drawers to see what's inside! Luckily we had supplies of tea, coffee, sugar and condiments as well as an array of herbs and spices so obviously a previous guest liked cooking!
We had a quick breakfast of muesli and toast and decided to drive into Puerto Pollensa to see what had changed since we last visited. We found a parking space behind the square and walked the short distance to the promenade. A lot of people had the same idea as us - to take a stroll along the front and wait for the weather to improve.
We stopped at "Cappuccino" which had beautiful views over the bay and ordered some drinks. It's never too early for beer for the men but Sophie and I settled for coffee - cappuccino for my daughter and a cafe con leche for me.
Again, it was lovely to sit and relax and look forward to the days ahead. The sun did come out between the clouds and it was lovely and warm. Sophie and I visited a shop nearby and we found a lizard tee-shirt for Keith for his birthday. Years ago we'd bought a similar one when he celebrated his birthday on the island so this was perfect! I also picked up a wooden bottle opener as a souvenir.
Lots of people were out and about and a few holidaymakers were already on the beach. The day promised to improve weather-wise and I could already feel the heat of the sun.
We walked on a little further and decided to go and see what had happened to Cafe L'Algar, another favourite haunt from the past. This was the place to go for huge ice-cream sundaes but I had heard that the cafe had changed hands...
It had, but although it was now called Voss, they still did delicious desserts. Well, we just had to have one!
Oh, how the times have changed...
Sophie and I shared a Stracciatella ice-cream while Mike went for a hot chocolate cake. Delicious!
After popping into a nearby Tabac (and being forced, I mean forced to buy a bottle of Gordon's Gin) we returned to the car and went back to the house. Parking was a bit tricky (parallel parking is not my strong point) so Keith took over, much to the amusement of the local residents who turned out to watch...
Relaxing
We spent the afternoon by the pool as by now the sun had come out and the previously grey skies had turned a gorgeous blue.
Getting into the pool was a bit of a feat for us oldies but it was bliss to feel the lovely cool water on our skin after the heat of the sun. It was very deep but had a ledge running around the perimeter where we could stand up. We lounged about, read and enjoyed pizza for lunch sitting on the wooden table in the shade.
When it came time to get ready I had a cold shower... Sophie had already been in so I asked her to contact our host because surely there should be enough hot water? He immediately responded and within half an hour a plumber arrived to have a look at the boiler. He gave the phone to me and Francisco said that we had to wait an hour between showers to allow time for the water to heat up again! Hmmm! The house is designed to sleep six so that would require an awful lot of planning to get everyone ready to go out in the evening!
However, I'm not sure whether the plumber actually did something as afterwards we had plenty of hot water even though we showered in quick succession!
La Font del Gall
After we'd all freshened up and dressed, we walked up to the square, but before sitting down we booked a table at La Font del Gall, a restaurant that we had visited years previously and which used to be run by Scottish owners.
It's situated on a pretty little square dominated by a cockerel fountain, hence the name.
We decided to enjoy a drink at the Monkey bar, but we waited ages to be served so we moved onto the Cafe Espanyol where we were able to bag a table. The German couple were sitting at the Monkey bar again and the woman looked overjoyed to see Mike! They followed us to the Cafe Espanyol shortly afterwards and we could see them watching everyone walking past and commenting!
We enjoyed pre-dinner drinks overlooking the Puig de Maria and there was a lovely atmosphere in the square. The place was very busy with tourists eating and drinking but this time there were very few local children about and the older generation didn't seem to make an appearance as they did years ago. Maybe it was because we were out after the school holidays?
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| The view! |
We were given menus and we ordered drinks - beers for the men and a bottle of Mallorcan red for Sophie and I - it had a very unusual name - Butibalausi! Certainly not one I had come across before!
It was lovely, dry with a hint of tannins, but went well with our food choices.
Before the meal we were given the ubiquitous bread, olives and aioli. Tonight, they were a great deal better than last night at Ca n'Olesa. In years gone by Sophie devoured the bread and garlicky mayonnaise and nothing had changed there, but this year we managed to persuade both children to sample the fat green olives that accompanied the meals. They were converts!
We set about the serious business of perusing the menu and decided on a warm salad of bacon and chicken for Mike and I, mussels in a tomato sauce for Sophie and a strawberry, almond and ham salad for Keith.
The starters were delicious and Mike and I particularly enjoyed our salads which were plentiful and lightly covered in olive oil. Sophie relished her mussels and Keith enjoyed his salad.
Our main course options were suckling pig for Keith, Entrecote steak for me, spinach fettucine with stips of beef for Sophie and a seafood and meat paella for Mike. There was a decent interval between courses and it gave us the opportunity to have a chat and do yet more people watching. Next to us was a group of Spanish couples and they seemed to wait ages for their meals to appear but it didn't seem to matter - they were all talking non-stop!
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| Mike's Paella and Sophie's pasta dish |
The food was delicious and the gristly bits of steak on my plate (not much of it) found a good home with a little cat who sat patiently under my chair. The children made a fuss of some other cats who were hanging about and they all looked well fed! No wonder!
We were given complimentary liqueurs on the house which were delicious and then another round appeared, double the size of the previous glasses! I think we did really well! The bill came to 170 euros, plus a tip which we thought was reasonable.
Before heading back to the house we treated ourselves to a nightcap at the Cafe Espanyol - Drambuie for us girls and Brandy for the boys. Sophie had never had Drambuie before but she liked it and commented on how aniseedy it was.
There were still people eating and drinking and lots of children about. As a treat we each had an ice-cream from the lovely little cafe next door and very good they were, too!
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