Beatrix pottering: Going out with a bang

The pace stepped up for the last week - the weather was a bit mixed, but there was still Mallorcan fun to be had! Not forgetting the culmination of Jemima's time at King Richard III College: her English beach picnic leaving party...

But first: Tuesday was a trip to Port de Sóller. This has been on our list of things to do for a while, because it is supposed to be very pretty. And today, when we finally got round to it, we discovered it was! Embraced by the high Tramuntana mountains, it is a gorgeous, almost circular bay, with white sand beaches, a cute little marina, and a very nice promenade fronted with restaurants. We had a little wander, then Kevin found us a restaurant for lunch: Kingfisher, would you believe it, number #1 of 5390 restaurants in Mallorca! What a find. Miraculously (it was fairly early) they had a table - outside, and it was a pretty chilly day; but I got the coats from the car; they gave us some fleecy blankets; and we settled in. Pan-fried prawns for Kevin (wonderful); calamari for Jemima (in panko breadcrumbs, so soft and light); and tuna ceviche for me (amazing wasabi to go with it). Followed by "English-style" fish and chips: the best you'll get, with a fabulous smear of poshed-up mushy peas. Delicious. Not sure it's the #1 meal you'll get in Mallorca (the island does have 9 Michelin stars); but for view and taste, it really would be hard to beat.

But the fun didn't stop there. Jemima has been asking for a while to go on a glass-bottomed boat, after we'd seen one in Palmanova. So today was the day. She and I just made the 3pm sailing of the Esmeralda, while Kevin went off on his own for a bit. It's a good thing he didn't join us: the sea was choppier than it appeared, he wouldn't have liked the ups and downs at all... But luckily, before Jemima had a chance to realise she was sea sick, she made some friends: first, an 8 year old English girl called Caitlyn, here with her grandparents; and then a 7 year old girl (I think with an English mum and a Spanish dad). The three of them were soon playing together (and from what I could hear, Jemima was holding her own with the bigger girls...). As for the boat trip, we had a nice view of the south-west coast from the sea; but didn't see a single fish from the glass hulls, even when we'd stopped (too choppy I think). But Jemima had a nice time anyway, so wasn't too disappointed. We met Kevin at the jetty, and stopped for a cup of tea and an ice cream at an English-style bar just there (where Jemima made another friend - with the five year old daughter of the bar owner). And then it was home - enough fun for one day...

But the fun didn't even stop there. Jemima's other major request for the holiday was a trip to Katmandu. This is a theme park with a crazy upside house that we've driven past a few times. And now it was finally open for the season! The weather wasn't great again - overcast, a bit cold, and very windy - but three day passes later, and we were in (once again in our jackets and long-sleeves alongside some more optimistically dressed holiday-makers...)

It's a tiny theme park, with the main emphasis being on 3D or 4D videos/ rides - a rollercoaster one where you were strapped into a moving chair ("this is actually really fun!" said Jemima); a cowboy one where you sat astride a horse/ chair and tried to shoot the baddies. They were all good fun; but the upside down house itself was the best bit: it was full of weird optical illusion rooms, like an amazingly complex hall of mirrors, or one where the floor was at an extreme angle so you couldn't work out where horizontal was; and some giant versions of kids' games like Connect 4, my favourite, Simon (where you have to remember the sequence of flashing colours), or Jemima's favourite, giant versions of those pin boards where you could make imprints of your whole body. It was lots of fun. And to make it even better, we ended up going round with Evie (aged five) and her dad - from Stafford, where my family is from. The two girls had a great time together, and there were big farewell hugs at the end.

After an entertaining morning, we left Katmandu for lunch at a pub across the road (Finnegans - fantastic chicken burger, decent normal burger); and had a stop in at the Katmandu soft play. By now it was getting late, so we decided to head home. Well done Katmandu - definitely worth a visit. And tomorrow: it's party time!

Port de Sóller