The Last Lunch

Not literally, our last lunch - we go home three weeks today. But I am off to the UK for a few days, then Jemima breaks up, so it was mine and Kevin's Last Lunch of our wonderful, peaceful Mallorcan weekdays.

We'd had another very good run that morning - 28 minutes, and a faster pace still. Probably because of Kevin's new gear - he tried out all his running accoutrements from our Decathlon stop on Saturday, and they all worked very well, especially his new 20km/hr trainers. It was a really beautiful day - it feels like the weather has turned a corner now, and although the wind is still fresh, bordering on the chilly, the sun has real heat in it. Spring has definitely sprung!

I wanted to make the most of the sunshine, so suggested lunch outside, at the Lebanese restaurant we'd yet to try in the marina (I'd seen yesterday a sign for a menú del día, which makes a marina weekday lunch slightly more financially appealing). I realised, as we went back to the marina for the second time that day, how often we actually go there - three times a week for run, then probably three times more for meals/ coffee/ drinks/ ice-creams. It's definitely been an advantage of having our building, with its direct access.

Sadly when we got down there, the Lebanese was closed. So we went to Cappuccino instead. We got a prime spot at the front, and people-watched while we ate - you get a fascinating array of human life parading before you, including a lot of people who just spend a long time getting ready to go out... Kevin had prawn red curry, I had salmon and avocado sushi rolls, and they were both good; but the bill was three times a Chameli's lunch, and it's not three times as good. It was lovely being outside though.

Another normal Monday evening, and then Tuesday saw me getting ready to go to the UK for a few days. Jemima's last day of term is Wednesday, so after dropping her off I went to the supermarket to sort out some thank you/ goodbye presents for her main teachers, then dropped them off at school. And then it was packing before Kevin gave me a lift to the airport. 

The weather was even better - no chilly wind today, so it felt even more spring-like. (Sunrise this morning was glorious, and the sea from our window this morning was mirror flat, with little patches of darker colour where there was a light breeze - very beautiful. Kevin and I agree, we don't look at our view that often (we're not actually in the flat that much), but when we do, it is wonderful.) Anyway, I am leaving sunny Mallorca for rainy Manchester for a few days (I'm going to my great-aunt's funeral in Stafford, where my dad's family are from). Ah well, it, and my lovely little family, will be waiting for me when I get back...

Cappuccino in the sun 

The Runner

Mum's away, so its marshmallows in bed...

L to R: My great-uncle Roger, my great-aunt Cicely (whose funeral it was), my grandmother Helen, and my grandfather John

A wet weekend

It was raining. Properly raining. So off to Palma Jump we went. (At least there's a fun indoor option nearby.) After a successful bounce for Jemima, we decided to visit FAN, a shopping mall everyone takes about. After we'd got there, we couldn't quite work out why - it seemed like any other shopping mall really. But it was as good a place as any on a miserable, cold wet day.

First stop was lunch. The options were fairly limited - a couple of tapas places, a sushi place, and an American burger place, Foster's Hollywood, so we thought we'd try that. It was quite early for lunch, Mallorcan-time, but the place was rammed. After a little wait, huddling in the doorway out of the freezing rain, we were finally given a table. And there followed one of the worst meals we've had in Mallorca - slow service (they were trying hard, but were completely overwhelmed); bad chips; rubbery pasta - just not great. And what was so bizarre was how popular it was - within 10 minutes of us being seated, there was a queue of twenty people lined up outside. We just didn't get it. But at least we were warm and dry, and had been fed.

Next stop: one of those wonderful Decathlons (that giant, good value, sell everything sports shop). Kevin sidled off to the running section while Jemima and I looked at the bikes; and he emerged later with a new pair of trainers, a new pair of shorts (his old ones are now too big), an arm strap for his phone, and some wireless earphones. It's official - he is now a Runner...

And that was it - home in the driving rain, hoping for better weather tomorrow...

Sunday dawned slightly better. Jemima and I had one of our lovely weekend mornings (pancakes, homework ("hooray!" she says - I wonder how long that will last...), TV and arts and crafts); then I fancied a little trip to Chameli's. No-one else was keen, so they sent me on my own! And it was GREAT - tea, pa amb oli (the traditional Mallorcan breakfast of bread with a puréed tomato and olive oil mixture, which I hadn't tried yet - delicious), and some alone time. Lovely.

I got back to the apartment to find Jemima and Kevin dressed, and heading out to the garden to play football. I had a clear up, then went to collect for lunch at the Chinese in the marina.

The food was pretty indifferent - I had read something about how Mallorcans don't generally do Indian or Asian food that well, and this was certainly true here: overly greasy prawn toast and spring rolls, flavourless chicken satay, very basic chicken chow mein, although the sizzling prawns with ginger and spring onion were great. The big draw here: the kids all playing together outside. And today was no exception: Jemima befriended two Spanish sisters who spoke good English, and the playing went on and on... Kevin went back to watch the Formula One in Heroes, and I sat reading on a wall while they played football, catch, took scooter rides, played in the fountain, made potions - Jemima had a whale of a time.

By this point it was getting pretty cold, so we went to collect Kevin from Heroes (they weren't showing the F1 after all), and went across the road to Chameli's together instead. Femi had been planning to watch the F1 too, so he joined us in Chameli's for a convivial dinner. Jemima was amazing: she played quietly with her toy (a very rubbish action man figure Kevin had won for her in a fairground-style grabber machine in Heroes - his first time ever apparently - I heard his whoop of joy from the next door room...); she joined in the chatting; and she tucked into her dinner (although it was pizza and ice cream, so not exactly challenging for her). Still, I was very proud.

Then, as it was getting late, I spirited her away and off to bed, to be joined later by Kevin. According to reports, this weekend was the last of the bad weather - from here on, it's a countdown to summer. We will see...

Ants in Your Pants at the Chinese restaurant

Games

Pottering in Portals

You can tell the start of the tourist season is approaching - there is a bit more traffic on the roads; nearly everything is open now; and the prevalence of pale people in shorts and T-shirts is increasing (I'm still going fully Mallorcan with my coat on - the sun may be out but the wind is cold). And the beach umbrellas on Portals Nous beach are progressing well: after our run on Friday morning (28 mins!!!), we watched a tractor hauling the frondy top bits around to go on the poles already implanted in the sand in neat rows...

Kevin's new friend Femi had invited us to view the house he was buying that morning, so after our run we drove 5 minutes towards Palma to next door Bendinat, then up the hill to a lovely area called Bendinat Golf (yes, near the golf course). And it was quite a pad - absolutely ginormous, with three floors, five en-suite bedrooms (plus a staff apartment), a cinema, a spa with sauna and steam room, and (Kevin's favourite) a humungous garage. And the view was spectacular - it was 360 degrees from the roof terrace (with jacuzzi of course), from the mountains behind, to the crenellated towers of Bendinat Castle, the green valley with the golf course, and then beautiful views out to the Bay of Palma. We also met another friend of Femi's, a very nice English lady with an adorable miniature schnauser, who also now lives in Mallorca.

After a fun tour, we left them to it; but re-joined them a bit later for lunch at a place we've not yet tried in Portals Nous called The Ship. (Pros: we could sit outside in the sun; and a friendly waitress; cons: fairly rubbish food - my tuna salad was very basic. We won't be returning to eat.) And then another friendly lady came along too, who is English but teaches in a Spanish school in Palma. Femi seems to know everyone - as he says, he is an equal opportunities chatter, a trait I fully admire. 

After a fun hour or so, it was time for school pick-up. We'd promised Jemima a trip to Flanagans for some ambrosial jamón and chocolate ice-cream, so wandered straight down to the marina (for the second time that day). As ever, it was simply delicious. Then we walked/ scooted back to the flat making the most of the late afternoon sunshine - it's due to rain all weekend. But it had been a lovely day.

Jemima being European with bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar...

Umbrellas on the beach!

The Interior, or Plaça Major x 3

I had a go at devising a Car Tour today. Looking at our Rough Guide to Mallorca, I realised we had ticked off various sights in all its sections, except the one about Mallorca's central region. So that was our destination.

We started down the same road Jemima and I had taken to Natura Parc, so I could show Kevin the agricultural interior. Mallorca was looking particularly pretty today: sun, blue skies, green fields liberally sprinkled with the stone tower remains of old windmills, and a lovely soft hazy light over everything. Beautiful. 

After about half an hour we had a little detour through the tiny villages of Ses Olleries (one row of ancient honey-coloured stone buildings with green shuttered windows, surrounded by lemon and orange trees - the epitome of rural Mallorca); and then Santa Eugenia, slightly bigger, with a church, on a slight lump sticking out of the flat interior plain (El Pla) - not even enough to call it a hill - which nonetheless gave it gorgeous views over the green interior. Our little detour was on equally little roads - dry-stone wall-lined one laners, where thankfully the only other traffic was cyclists. But it was all very pretty.

After that, it was on to Sineu, the oldest town in the interior, a former stronghold of the Moors, which has been holding its market since 1318. We navigated our way to the heart of the old town and found a parking spot outside the 14th Century Palace of the Kings of Mallorca, now a Convent (I do love an old building with a bit of history - just parking outside it gave me a thrill...). Then we ambled to the Plaça Major for a coffee in the sun. 

It was a very attractive square: not too big, enclosed on most sides which gave it a cosy feel, with the church on one corner and little bars and restaurants on the other sides. We found a table in the sun to watch the world go by. The world turned out mainly to be cyclists: by the time we left, there must have been about 40 in the square, including one table of twenty Germans on an "Easy Tour" (sounds like my kind of cycling). It was all very jolly, and the bar/restaurant owners must love them.

Onwards and upwards, literally this time: we got back to the car and drove north through Inca into the foothills of the Serra de Tramuntana. After the last few chilly days, we could see snow scattered over their tips (shocked newspaper headlines: Spring Snow!). Our destination: Caimari, an almost Alpine town with the Pla spreading out below in one direction and the mountains towering behind in another. We had a little wander (a Plaça Major meant for summer days and fiestas, with benches set in the shade of the trees lining it, and a little playpark, but not much else). It was very peaceful - there was not a lot going on - and looked like a very nice place to live, away from the hustle and bustle of the south-west.

Then it was back to the car for our last stop, Campanet, another appealing little town, where our main purpose was lunch. I'd read good things about the restaurants lining the Plaça Major (almost a cross between the first two: a church and little bars, but more open than Sineu). So we headed there and sat on a bench in the sun for some TripAdvising. Thrn it turned out restaurant number 25 out of the 5400-ish in Mallorca was in Campanet. How could we resist... 

A two minute walk from the Plaça Major later, and we'd found a sign for Restaurant Sa Tercera above an unloved-looking staircase. At the top, there was an off-putting metal door - closed. After some head-scratching, we eventually tried the door, and it surprisingly opened, onto a large room with the feeling of a canteen, and a huge TV showing Spanish news. This was not the best of starts. But then it all started looking up: Tomeu, our charming, friendly waiter, turned out to be the owner; and his wife was the chef - "we make it the same for everybody" he said, worryingly (for other places) implying that despite our tourist status they were going to serve us good food anyway... 

On Tripadvisor's recommendation, we ordered some tapas: pimientos de padrón, patatas bravas, chiperones (like calamari, but whole baby squid rather than rings), and pan-fried prawns. And oh my. Patatas bravas: best ever, with an amazingly moreish spicy sauce. The squid: as good as we've ever had, tender, crispy and delicious. And the prawns: just perfect, sweet and flavourful, and not garlicky which made Kevin happy. (You basically can't go wrong with pimientos de padrón, but they were tasty too.) A carafe of red wine, a large water, tea, coffee and bread: €36. Plus a free grappa after (although I'd actually rather they didn't - you feel obliged to drink it because they're being generous, but I do hate the stuff.)  One of our tastiest, and one of our best value meals ever. And after such an unprepossessing start. As Kevin said, that's what TripAdvisor was made for. We drove home happy. Hurrah for El Pla.

The Palace of the Kings of Mallorca

Sineu's Plaça Major

The cyclists arrive...

The amazing interior of the bar/ Celler



A traditional grape press 

The road to the snow-capped Serra de Tramuntana

Caimari's Plaça Major

The mountains peeking through 



The green interior

Campanet's Plaça Major

Winding up, winding down...

The blog posts have now become fewer and further between. We are very aware now that our time here is coming to an end, so the urge to Explore is much reduced - we are doing quite a lot of local pottering instead. And preparations for the return are building: I'm spending more and more time sorting out the launch of my life coach business, which is scary but fun. So I'm afraid there is a lot less blog-worthy activity underway... But there are still four Mallorcan weeks left to record, so here goes!

Monday: as usual, run day. I am pleased to report that we are in the final stages of our Couch to 5k training programme. Our goal in the last week is three runs of 30 minutes each, and today we did our first 25 minute run! The whole way around our normal marina route including to the end of the sea wall and back, plus a bit more! The ability of the human body to go from running 1 minute to running 25 minutes in 6 weeks is pretty staggering. Anyway, we were pretty proud of ourselves...

As it was a sunny day, we decided to try out the Es Capdellà poolside restaurant we'd seen the other day. After another amazingly pretty drive through the green Mallorcan countryside (with all the almond trees now covered in fresh young leaves), we got back into the village and parked up. The swimming pool restaurant still looked pretty but already had three huge tables of 20 or more - two of cyclists, one of walkers - so we decided to visit another day. Instead, around the corner was Bar Nou, Es Capdellà's number 1 restaurant. After a little wait we got a seat on their enclosed, light-filled terrace (it felt very Chameli-esque) and ordered paella mixta. Very delicious it was too, especially the artichokes (my favourite). Then another lovely drive to school pick-up and the usual Monday-overtired Jemima.

On Tuesday, Kevin's new running enthusiasm saw him appear unexpectedly from the bedroom in the morning dressed in his running clothes! He had decided to catch up on the run we missed last week, with Jemima being off school. I declined - it was extremely rainy, and I am a fair-weather runner by choice. He was brave and headed out; then came back saying he'd done over 30 minutes, which was very impressive (but I was still pleased I didn't go). We then popped into Palma for Kevin to buy a new jacket, after his got broken on the boat over the weekend.

It's amazing, popping into Palma. Ten minutes away, we have an amazingly beautiful medieval city of 400,000 people, with all your 21st century conveniences, including brilliant parking, and Spanish fun and fiestas. It is all so easy. Apparently it's not like that in the summer - local people we've spoken to don't go near Palma at all in July and August. But right now, it's great.

Mission accomplished, it was back to Chameli's where we were having lunch with Kevin's new friend from his night out in Heroes. He is from England but been here for two years (mostly house-hunting it seems); and is a former investment banker who likes supercars and personal development. A great combination! And we had a jolly time - lots to talk about. Kevin and he stayed talking while I went to get Jemima, and then it was home again, still raining (really grim weather today).

Wednesday is always Run Two of the week - or run three, for Kevin. The weather was better, but it was windy, which makes the sea wall section harder work. But we did it, and our pace improved (Kevin has now started taking his phone so he can use Map My Run, and even I've got interested in our stats...). It is getting busier in the marina as we get closer to Easter: more people strolling about; obvious security guards; and most exciting of all, they have started putting out the umbrellas on the beach! We watched for a while as the tractor towed them around the sand - it's all beginning to look like holiday season is warming up alongside the weather. It's quite exciting.

Then it was a pottering in Portals Nous day - a few errands, lunch in Chameli's. The time just slipped by, very happily. But there's no run tomorrow so I have plans for an Outing...

Bar Nou

St Patrick in Ponsa

Kevin was off early again, but Jemima and I took it rather slower this morning - in fact we only just made it to Chameli's during breakfast hours. We were given a table inside, by the bar, with a view of the TV; so our fried eggs were accompanied, rather unexpectedly, by discussion about a La Liga football match between Seville and someone in blue (who kept scoring the goals). Eventually, Jemima decided that she wanted to be a referee when she grew up, because I described them as the boss on the pitch.

My intention was just to pop back to collect the car keys, but Jemima was enjoying the slower pace, so in the end we didn't leave the flat again until about 3pm. Eventually we made it to Santa Ponça (or just "Ponsa" to aficionados), and after a bit of driving around, found a parking place at the far end of the main drag. After a nice scoot to the other end, we could see all the excitement: a St Patrick's Day fiesta, with stalls all along the road behind the beach. (Not satisfied by the plethora of home-grown festivities, the Mallorcans have imported this one.)

It didn't look particularly St. Patrick-y to be honest: the odd stall had a bit of green, and the odd person a giant Guinness hat; but apart from that, it looked like any other jolly fiesta, with food stalls, jewellery stalls and tat stalls (inspired by our conversation this morning, I bought Jemima a sign for her birthday saying "The Boss" - I made her close her eyes while I was buying it, the stall holder thought it was very funny). And of course, it had the kids' entertainment: trampolines, bouncy castles, and a big dinosaur vs gorilla slide. I'd stopped at the bank to get cash out, but I'd forgotten - this is Mallorca, so it was all free.

Jemima got thoroughly into the spirit - trying candy floss (great to start with, then she went off it), and throwing herself into all the entertainments.  Then she had a run about on the beach, before we stopped for a crêpe on the way home. This was a mistake: it had been a lovely sunny day, but the wind by the beach was bitter; and the queue for the crêpes was deceptively slow. I got steadily more grumpy, while Jemima whiled away the time perfectly happily, digging with driftwood in the sand. But the crêpes were delicious when they finally arrived.

Due to the crêpe palaver, we got home slightly later than planned: Kevin was already back, trying to warm up again after another chilly day on the water. He'd passed his course though, so can now officially hire and safely captain a powerboat up to 10m! Bring it on. I made a proper dinner (for the first time in a long while) - scallops and prawns with mashed potato with peas and mint, and we swapped stories about our respective days. And that was it for another weekend! 

Determined to get there...

Fun at the fiesta

Candy floss!

Not so sure now...

More fun

Taking a Panda to the Zoo

Kevin left early on Saturday to get to Port de Pollença for his power-boating course, so Jemima and I were up and out fairly early too. Our destination, after collecting the Fiat Panda I'd hired for the weekend: Natura Parc, an animal sanctuary/ zoo about half an hour away.

We had an easy drive through the agricultural centre, tomato poly-tunnels and all (a very common sight in much of Spain, but we hadn't seen any yet in Mallorca). And then we arrived, at the same time as about forty other people, at Natura Parc.

It turned out they were all together on mass outing, so Jemima and I took advantage of their group inertia to skip past and get into the Parc first. We scuttled down a pretty, shady, tree-lined pathway, and then took our bearings. 

It was all very charming. Lovely landscaping surrounded lots of waterfowl enclosures, each focussing on different parts of the world: a huge variety of ducks; flamingoes; and even enormous pelicans with three foot long (worrying sharp) beaks, who I swear were bigger than Jemima. There were also lots of very glossy-looking cockerels wandering free, looking as they owned the place.

Then as we kept wandering (it was a maze, I soon gave up on the map), we found more delights: porcupines all huddled in their hut looking like a spiky mound; an adorable armadillo; large bird cages with canaries, parrots and owls; a bat cave, where you could see them flying around in a dimly lit room the other side of glass; tortoises and turtles; little wallabies sunning themselves; a section with traditional Mallorcan farm buildings containing a horse, sheep and a cow; and a row of stalls with Pygmy goats, including one so newborn we watched it stand up for the first time; and more guinea pigs than I've ever seen (or perhaps want to see) in one place.

Jemima's favourite was the meerkats, who were extremely cute as always. And my favourite was the lemurs: we were allowed to go into their large enclosure, and got amazingly close to them, with more perched just overhead. "They look like they're meditating" Jemima said - and they did, sitting upright with their hands resting on their knees, eyes closed as they basked in the sun. It was adorable, and very human. (And one of them wee'd from above on the young, rather well-groomed keeper, which was very funny - he was not impressed...)

After this my phone battery ran out, which was actually a mercy. Because then we got to the bigger animals. I know they say they're a rescue centre, but I really did feel sorry for the lioness and tiger: their enclosures just didn't look big enough. Although the single ostrich and single zebra did fare better, with a large paddock for the two of them. You don't know the back-stories, maybe where they were rescued from was worse; but with huge, magnificent big cats like that, I did think they deserved something a bit better. 

By this time we were hungry, so with some false starts and going round in circles, I eventually led us to the café where we had a very nice panini each, sitting in a patch of sunshine on their verandah (it was fresh in the shade, but the sun felt warm, which was lovely). And then trip over, it was back via Palma for a bit of shopping.

I'd had a washing disaster that week: I'd unaccountably shrunk two of Kevin's very nice jumpers. So Jemima and I were off to Hugo Boss in Palma to replace them. It turned out the shop I'd googled was actually a section of El Corte Inglés, the big Spanish department store; so after some successful jumper purchasing in Menswear we had a little explore. As a result, Jemima decided to spend her pocket money on a toy on the Kids' floor rather than another trip to Claire's Accessories, and I bought her a new jumper too; and then we had a detour to the hat section. This was a lot of fun: we spent about fifteen minutes trying on various styles and laughing at ourselves in the mirror: Jemima in a fuschia pink wedding fascinator in the bizarre shape of a headband was quite a sight. I got myself something a little more discreet, and then it was back to the car and home to meet Daddy. (I was very proud of myself, I managed to find my way into Palma, park, and get home again, all without a sat nav - I'm finally learning my way around...)

Kevin had had a good day on his course, if pretty chilly on the water, and he was pleased with his new jumpers. So we celebrated with dinner in Chameli's. "I want pork knuckle" said Jemima, but that was from the menú del día, so she had to content herself with sharing our steaks. We walked back home in the dusk, all tired and full but happy.

Flamingoes

Squawk from Swashbuckle

One of the free-roaming cockerels, plus a beautiful escapee...

...who wanted to get back in his cage to see his mate, who was missing him

Huge Pelicans...

...with worrying beaks

Meerkats!

The newborn baby goat

Too many guinea pigs

Meditating lemurs

Lunchtime sunshine

Lunching (again...)

The end of the week wasn't quite as adventurous as the start. On Wednesday, Jemima woke up a bit feverish (to go with the hacking cough she's had for a few days) so I decided school was out. Instead, we had a quiet day at home, punctuated by a family trip to Chameli's for the menú (Jemima and I had John Dory and rice, Kevin had pork knuckle and jacket potato - except Jemima loved the pork knuckle, so basically shared Kevin's as well as eating her own. 

I'd planned a catch-up with my friend Tor that night, so Kevin decided to go to Heroes (the sports bar) for a drink. He staggered in past midnight, bouncing off the walls, having met a new friend who kept buying him drinks. As a result our run, postponed from Wednesday (because Jemima was off school), was postponed once again. Instead, we decided to venture into Santa Ponça for lunch, as part of our continued exploration of the local area.

Santa Ponça is a big local expat area, with lots of villas in a slightly built-up suburban environment, but with a very nice beach. We had a wander, then tried one of the top Tripadvisor restaurants, the Italian "Vivo!", and ordered their menú del día (weirdly only printed in German, which was not encouraging...). The green bean soup was surprisingly really delicious; but the chicken and rösti main was bland, and the apple doughnuts stodgy. (I know I do go on about Chameli's, but we still haven't found anywhere to match it, or even come close, especially for the price.)

After lunch we took a detour home through Magaluf, to see if it was waking up yet. And it was definitely busier - more people, restaurants having renovations and hotels having paint jobs. We finally found our way onto the beach near the Nikki Beach Club, and you can see why Magaluf was developed first - it's a huge expanse of lovely white sand. We'll return when it's all in full swing, to compare.

Then Friday, after a lovely sunny run, was another trip inland, this time to Es Capdellà, a pretty hilltop village a bit past Calvià set in some beautiful countryside. Despite being much smaller than Calvià it seemed a lot more lively, with about four restaurants open. We tried the menú at Es Molí d'Es Capdellà, a roadside restaurant with a nice (sadly full) terrace and a slightly canteen-style interior. It was phenomenally cheap: three courses, plus bread, water, and wine, all for €9.90; and the portions were enormous - our paella mixta starter would have been enough for a main. But it wasn't brilliant - my calamari was definitely straight from the freezer. But it was a jolly stop off (especially after most of a carafe of red wine, as Kevin was driving).

We had a little tour around the village, and it was very pretty, with some lovely old buildings, but feeling much more open and welcoming than Calvià. But there was not much else, apart a Council-run outdoor swimming pool (right next to a restaurant), which must be amazing in the summer.

And that was it for the week. Jemima was shattered again at school pick-up - I think she's been fighting something off - so we had a quiet night to be ready for the weekend. Kevin is off all day Saturday and Sunday on an RYA Powerboating Course, so Jemima and I are having Girls' Weekend: the Sequel. Bring it on!

The beach at Magaluf

Es Capdellà's outdoor pool

A very posh-looking hotel just outside Es Capdellà