Beatrix pottering: A Roman bridge, a medieval hill

A surprising fact from the City Sightseeing tour: the Roman capital of Mallorca wasn't in Palma, but instead in the north - the city of Pollentia, which rather unambiguously means "power" in Latin - they were making their presence felt. Our destination today: its namesake, Pollença.

For only the second time this trip, it was a bit overcast in the morning - Jemima and I were back into coats and scarves for our morning scoot. But as Kevin and I drove across the middle of the island, the sky ahead of us lightened; and when we arrived in Port de Pollença, the associated coastal village, it was another sunny, if breezy, day. (Apparently I came here twenty years ago on a family sailing trip around Mallorca, about which I remember very little, much to my dad's chagrin. I definitely didn't remember this, sadly.)

We had a pleasant mooch around the marina (the boats here looked more workmanlike and less flash than the ones at Portals); and a coffee looking out at the boats anchored at safe harbour in the pretty mountain-fringed bay. Then drove 4 miles inland to the main town, parking on its northern edge.

As we started walking to the old town, we passed a sign to the Pont Romà - the only (probably) Roman bridge remaining in Mallorca. Knowing my tendencies, Kevin suggested we take a little detour. It was small, and the so-called Torrent de Sant Jordi that it spanned was anti-climactically dry; but even so I got that thrill when I experience something properly Old - imagine the people who have crossed that bridge over the ages...

Commune with the past over, we continued on, until we saw another sign, this time to Calvari. So we followed it. This was supposed to be a "rest day" on our running schedule; but Calvari is actually Pollença's Hill of Calvary, a famous viewpoint over the town. Which meant a long, windy and thigh-burning road ever upwards.

Glimpses of the view, and the stone crosses appearing periodically along the road, provided appealing distractions from my legs. And then we got to the top, to the little chapel and what appeared to be a very cute stone house attached. Laid out beneath us, accompanied by the strains of a Spanish guitar, was golden Pollença town sitting in a valley surrounded by mountains, with the Bay of Pollença and headland of Formentor stretching away into the distance. Another epic Mallorcan view.

The return journey was down the Avenue of Pines, 365 shallow stone steps lined with cyprus trees. More adorable stone houses appeared either side; and the view remained great either down towards the picturesque town, or looking back up to the white chapel, shining in the sun.

Pollença is actually more medieval than Roman, with lots of attractive little narrow streets. (The area was given to the Knights Templar in the 13th century by King Jaime I of Aragon, as thanks for their help in reconquering Mallorca from the Moors - the Knights used the Hill of Calvary for the town gallows, apparently). After a lovely wander, we found the main square, and stopped for a drink in the sunshine (water for me - I'm off the booze for a few days after yesterday...). Then another wander back to the car, Kevin leading us unerringly through the maze of streets - I don't know how he does it.

Lunch at Chameli's today was fidueá, a sort of noodle version of a paella. (I drank water again, and was very careful to stop when I was full, thank you Granny.) Then off to collect Jemima. I brought a picnic because I thought we could go down to the beach after school, now that she's less tired; but the weather turned as I walked down there, so we came home and she had a picnic in the sitting room instead. The weather isn't supposed to be that great for the next few days, but the wonderful thing about a Mallorcan winter is that I have confidence the sun will return! The beach will still be there then - as will the rest of Mallorca, ready for us to explore.