Return to Mallorca! 19-25 September 2019

Renewing old acquaintances...

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?

The view!

After our drinks we strolled up to the restaurant and were seated at a table on the street. The place was very busy but again, the atmosphere was brilliant. I think the restaurant has definitely changed hands as the focus was on Spanish fare and our waiter was definitely not Scottish!

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!

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!

Return to Mallorca! 19-25 September 2019

Palma

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!

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!

Back where he wanted to be!

We had a drink and soaked up the sights, realising there were a few changes to the square since we'd last visited in 2008. One of the old buildings opposite the bar had been restored and developed into a smart restaurant called Onze.

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.

We ordered two beers, a glass of white wine and a G&T for me. It was lovely to sit and people watch as there was a constant procession of people strolling by. One of the things I really love about Mallorca is the smell - a mix of garlic, exotic cigarettes and delicious food being cooked. I really wish I could bottle it and waft it about at home to remind me of sunny days when it's cold and wet!

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.

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!

Return to Mallorca! 19-25 September 2019

Departure!

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!

Rather than go straight to sleep we decided to have a nightcap at the bar next door which had the same name. There were still people having drinks outside but we sat inside and ordered some beers. With the drinks came slices of crusty bread with ham, which delighted all of us! By now it was well past midnight but nobody seemed to want to go to sleep! Mike and Keith ordered some more beers and we had another plate of tapas placed in front of us even though we had never asked for it! People stopped by for a late drink and the staff seemed to operate on Duracell batteries!

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!

Last working day!

I was at work until 1pm today as I wanted to use as least holiday as possible and both Sophie and Mike were off so I was the only one toiling away! Sophie gave me a lift in as she wanted to go for one last session at the gym and I looked forward to seeing her in the afternoon when she was returning to pick me up.

Work was lovely today and there was a really good atmosphere, which always helps! Thankfully, things seem to have calmed down a bit now so I was able to get some work done for Sheila and Ipm arrived very quickly!

Sophie picked me up and said she had done all the packing and managed to squeeze a lot of clothes into the two hand luggage cases we are taking. Mike had his own bag and he was all packed as well. Wonders will never cease! However, we were very close to the 23kg limit so we will have to be careful on the way home if we want to bring some wine back!

A long list of chores!

Keith and I had a huge list of things we needed to do today and he took Mike to work while I stripped our bed and put the bedding on to wash. I also needed to print off our car hire documents, the car rental voucher and the address for the hotel in Palma where we're spending Thursday night.

Once all that was out of the way, I cleaned the house from top to bottom and asked Keith to give our en-suite an extra clean tomorrow. We had to split up to get all the chores done and Keith went to Tesco to get food for the cat and dinner for tonight. When he arrived back he pruned some of the bushes in the garden and mowed the lawn! Phew! The weather has been gorgeous today with blue skies and plenty of sunshine, so that was a bonus!

We had some deliveries due from Amazon today so I stayed at home while Keith went to collect Mike from work. The house was looking lovely and clean, all the jobs had been completed and we were ready to pack everything for our break!

Sophie arrived home and was glad that she had tomorrow off as she had her own list of things she needed to do before we go tomorrow! My last job was to wallow in the bath but my husband, without my knowledge, had turned the water off so I had a lukewarm wallow, something I was not very happy about!

An unexpected bonus!

I took Sophie to my Mum's this morning and Sophie's manager arrived shortly afterwards. I went home, had a coffee and got ready for work. This morning, taking Mike, we saw a huge Virgin hot air balloon and I thought it was going to come down in Abington Park! It floated off, though and disappeared so it must have been bound for another landing place.

Work was fine again today and it seems like the phones have calmed down a bit. I went home at 2pm and caught up with Sophie who had been to a prison in Birmingham. There were numerous accidents on the M6 so they had taken a different route home.

She arrived home after we'd gone to collect Mike, so it was a real bonus to have her back so early! We chatted about our holiday which is rushing up at a very speedy rate! We have started packing and I've written a list of things I need to do tomorrow when I'm off. It's rather long!

We have also borrowed two small cases from Mum to take as cabin baggage and I'm sure we'll be able to fill them! I also need to print off various documents so that will be done tomorrow.

Sophie and I watched a rather depressing programme called Crime and Punishment set in Winchester prison, and which she had a huge interest in, given the nature of her job. Afterwards, as light relief, we watched the Hairy Bikers drive Route 66 - it was a great show and we're already looking forward to cooking some of the recipes!