Adventures and goodbyes

Jemima was thrilled to be going back to school, and even more thrilled that big brother Ben was going to walk with her. We both waved as she cheerfully skipped off on her "train" of small children to morning line-up. "Bye Ben, bye Mummy!" It's so wonderful (and still a relief) that she enjoys it.

It was back to school for me too today: I needed to do some studying for my coaching course to catch up on the half term week off. So Kevin took Ben into Palma for the day while I hit the books.

They had a lovely time: the Cathedral, the Mercet d'Olivar, the streets of the Old Town; and then (I was very jealous) they went to a recommended vegan restaurant Bon Lloc to try out their menú - four courses for €15, excellent apparently; as well as explored that area of Palma - full of art galleries. Finally Kevin showed Ben our top spots: our wonderful Ermita and Deia (Ben did not enjoy the narrow drive, but then the view was worth it).

And while they were enjoying my perfect kind of day, I was revising, with some Super Noodles for lunch... But at least I got a lot done.

Then the usual afternoon of school pick up and dinner for Jemima; plus, in honour of Ben's visit and a glorious evening, a post-dinner ice cream down at the marina. Followed by an extra treat for me - Ben kindly agreed to babysit so that Kevin and I could have dinner out to celebrate my birthday.

We had a lovely evening. I chose the very nice Japanese restaurant, Tahini, in the marina (Kevin is not so keen on Japanese food, so my birthday seemed a good opportunity to try it out). And it was a beautiful restaurant, lovely service, hideously expensive, but great food.  And we had a very jolly time. I felt suitably celebrated. 

The next day (Tuesday), Ben's last, was also a big day for Jemima: her first ever school trip, on a coach with the other Reception children to visit an art foundation in the north of the island. She was very excited. Kevin and I in the meantime started our day with a run (back on track now); then we also went north, with Ben, to do some sightseeing up there.

I had a whole itinerary planned, from the wonderful Sunflower book. But unfortunately  I hadn't bargained on how far away it all was - about an hour and a quarter drive, Mallorca is bigger than you think. So, given the time available, my itinerary was slimmed down to just one highlight: Artà, supposedly an attractive medieval hill town in the north-west of Mallorca.

And attractive it was. We climbed to the top of the Sanctuarí de Sant Salvador, a former 13th century Moorish fortress with brilliantly crenellated walls, now with a church at its heart, and wonderful views over the town. Then we wandered through the heart of Artà's old town, past their weekly market, until we found a restaurant advertising vegetarian paella - potentially a vegan-friendly lunch...

It was vegan-friendly; it was delicious (I shared it with Ben); and they also had a menú del dia for Kevin (although it wasn't up to Chameli's standards, of course). And then it was time to go home to collect Jemima (I slept most of the way back, snoring quietly - I hope - on the backseat.)

Jemima was also tired after her exciting day, which she had loved - I couldn't really make head or tail about what they'd done - apparently some stone animals had been magicked to life? Anyway, she enjoyed it, although she was actually too knackered to eat when she first got home - unheard of... So no ice cream trips today but another early night, with promises from Ben to take her to school the next day. 

And that brings us up to date. Ben did walk with us to school on Wednesday morning, and we both said big goodbyes to little (perfectly happy) Jemima - he is moving to Toronto for work in mid-March, so it will be a few months before we next see him. And I am flying to London today until Monday, for part of my life coaching course. So Jemima and Daddy will be home alone until Friday afternoon when Uncle Ady (Daddy's brother) arrives for the weekend. Who knows what mischief they will all get up to...

So the morning was packing and preparing for departure, followed by eggs in Chameli's, and then we all drove to the airport to drop me off - Ben's flight was later in the afternoon after mine, so he and Kevin were going to potter in Palma for a few hours. And that was goodbye to my beloveds until Monday! I'll be home in time to collect Jemima from school.

And so that is also goodbye for now for the blog. I will see if I can add any updates on Kevin and Jemima's adventures, especially with Uncle Ady. But normal service will resume next week, once my Mallorcan adventure continues!

Views from Ben and Kevin's adventures

Marina trip

Jemima having fun with her camera

Birthday dinner

Tuesday: Artà

Last hurrah

The sun finally returned for the last day of Granny and Grandpa's visit. They took Jemima to school, then their plan was to explore Palma - I was very keen they did, because they love a Cathedral, and this is a good one.

Kevin and I did our usual morning work/ run combo (the scheduled runs are getting longer and slightly harder work now). Then we had toyed with the idea of a little walk, but after the run neither of us were feeling that energetic. So instead we had a little drive around the nearby south-west coast.

First to Santa Ponça, where Kevin showed me what he'd discovered (including an extremely nice house we can't afford - it had workmen in, so seeing us lurking they offered to show us around - lovely house, phenomenal view...). Second, Peguera, with a nice big, easily accessible beach. And then finally the Costa de la Calma, a quieter residential area (as the name suggests). A diverting little potter.

And then it was lunchtime: off to Chameli's for a final meal with mum and dad. They had had a great time in Palma, and dad took some very good photos in the Cathedral (he deserves some photo credits for the previous few blog pages too, actually). 

As it was a special occasion, Kevin and I both went off-piste and ordered the non-menú del día dishes we've been eyeing up for a while: the giant Chameli's burger for Kevin, and linguine alla vongole for me. Mum and Dad stuck with the menú and a cannelloni bean and beef cheek stew. The stew was a big hit; Kevin enjoyed his burger; and as for me: the smell of garlic hit me as my vongole arrived, so I knew I wouldn't be able to breathe near Kevin for at least two days after this (he is hyper-sensitive to garlic). But it was worth it - DELICIOUS.

After school pick-up, Granny and Grandpa took Jemima back to the hotel for a final play. She has so loved having them here, but it's probably a good thing she can have a quiet few days now - it's been a very busy time, and she is getting pretty overtired. So it was a very early night for her, and much blog-catching up for me. What a lovely visit, and how great to be able to share the joys of Mallorca. I think my parents are now converts too.

Dad's photos of Palma Cathedral

The rose window!

A postcard dad kindly bought me of what the "double rose" would have looked like...

Peguera beach

The "double rose" that wasn't

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...