Most of the blog this trip is about mine and Kevin's adventures because Jemima is at school five days a week. So today I'm going to redress the balance a bit with a Jemima Update.
When asked what is her favourite thing about Mallorca, Jemima says, "school!" They spend most of the day outside, which she loves, whether it's playing dressing up or doing maths using sticks they've found and painted. And she talks a lot about PE - on Mondays and Thursdays they go to school in their (fully-crested) sports outfit of tracksuit top and bottoms, with a polo shirt underneath, so they don't have the palaver of needing to change outfits at school - a particularly good idea given the dressing challenge of her regular uniform, tie, buttoned shirt and all. We hear all about their games, which include a lot of running and chasing, from "silly bananas" to "Bruce", based on the shark from Finding Nemo.
Mr Almond is the main PE teacher, but Jemima prefers Miss Kingerly, who works with him and also assists Miss Oliver (Jemima's form teacher, who is brilliant - lovely with the kids, and really supportive and helpful to us). Miss Kingerly is there every morning drop-off and pick-up, and leads the "train" at 8.45 when the class goes to line up in the playground to hear a "thought for the day" from the Head of the Primary School Mr McCormick, who Jemima also loves - he stands at the gate in the morning, and they exchange cheery greetings every day as Jemima scoots past.
All of the teachers I have met (and they all seem to know Jemima - "yes, we have nice chats" said one) are English, apart from Miss Rodriguez, who is Jemima's Spanish teacher. Jemima also likes Miss Rodriguez, and comes home most days singing a Spanish song with actions they've learned that day ("grande, pequeño", for example, about big and small). Her Spanish vocabulary is improving, but what's more surprising to us is her accent, which is thick Spanish, with that mixed b/v sound I find so hard, and lots of cchh noises in the back of her throat - it's hilarious (and I'm jealous too - its way better than mine...). Whether she'll end up speaking sentences by April is another question, but she is certainly creating a good foundation for the future.
And the most surprising thing: "it was my favourite today: rice soup!". Jemima enjoys different flavours including (mild) curries, satay or Mexican; but she's not always very adventurous with new food, particularly anything fruit or vegetable. So the way she's taken to Spanish school food has been a welcome shock. I never thought I'd hear her say she loved lentil soup.
A lot of that has been down to peer pressure: she told us she ate it because her school friends were eating it. And they are a cosmopolitan bunch: her class of 17 includes Spanish, Russian, German and English children, so there are a lot of different influences. Guy, the other English child, is her favourite (he waits outside for her in the morning, and runs up to hug her when she arrives); but she also talks about her other friends - Juliana, Lili, Spanish twins Eric and Blanca, Russian Ricard - they seem to have a jolly time together.
And they seem to be learning well together - maybe because there are few native English speakers in the class, they spend a lot of time learning things through songs. I quite often arrive at school pick-up to find one of the other teachers playing beautiful guitar while they sing songs - the one about the days of the week to the tune of the Addams Family is my favourite. Jemima's reading and writing have both improved too - they go to the school Library on a Friday to choose a book each for the week, and thanks to "Pooh! Was that you Bertie?", Jemima can now read "poot", "parp", "boff" and "trump". Important skills.
So all in all, school is a great success, which is a massive relief. It is a very long day - much longer than in England, from 8.45 to 4pm - so she comes home starving and knackered most evenings. But she is enjoying herself, which means Kevin and I can enjoy ourselves too, with a clear conscience.
Which is what we did today. We woke up to real rain, which wasn't so much fun for the scoot to school, normally one of the best bits of the day (marred only by the copious amounts of dog poo to dodge - I haven't mentioned this before, but it is a pain). Kevin and I had planned to go straight to the Catedral for the biannual event of the "double rose", when the big rose window is reflected on the wall beneath the rose window at the other end of the building. But there was no sun, so we assumed no "double rose", so stayed at home, waiting for the rain to stop.
It didn't. So we ran anyway, getting very wet feet by accidentally running through some major puddles - they're not great at drainage here, given the general lack of need for it. Then we decided to visit the Catedral after all, as we haven't yet been inside, and at least it would be dry.
What a shame about the weather. Inside, the huge space is completely dominated by the main rose window - the largest in Europe apparently, and absolutely stunning. The "double rose" must be quite a sight. The Catedral featured all sorts of interior decoration, including creations hanging over the altar by Gaudí, and a side chapel dressed in modernist ceramics by Miquel Barceló, as well as the traditional carved gold leaf extravaganzas. But, as Kevin said, they were all overshadowed by the magnificence of the building itself: the enormity of the space; the incredible height of the columns; and the stunning stained glass, especially that fabulous window. The Catedral dominates Palma's sea front, and the inside was as impressive as the outside. Definitely worth a visit.
And that was it for today's outing. Back to Portals Nous for lunch - another popular local today, Casa Paco, for their tapas menu. It was ok, but not as good as Chameli's. The place was packed though, mainly with Brits; and nearly everyone had a bottle of wine on the table (our waiter looked surprised when I resisted a second glass). And then school pick-up, and home to await the very exciting arrival of our first visitors: my parents, aka Granny and Grandpa!
At about 6pm we scooted around the corner to their hotel. (They'd had trouble with their room, as they all smelled of paint - the hotel has only just re-opened after its winter refit). A welcome drink in the bar, with Jemima dressed as a caterpillar (Mum had kindly brought with her the Carnaval costume I'd ordered - Jemima's class are all dressing as mini-beasts for the Primary School Carnaval parade). And then home to bed, with a fun day out planned for tomorrow, in (hopefully) the return of the sunshine. We look forward to showing our visitors wonderful Mallorca.
The Catedral
Where the "double rose" would have been...
Barceló's loaves and fishes
Gaudí's altar creation
More of a traditional chapel look
My slightly rubbish photos can't do it justice, especially the vivid colours of the window...
