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

Kingfisher restaurant

Puerto Portals from the boat





Playing with friends 

The boat coming back to Palmanova



Katmandu!

Jemima's shape in the giant pin board



3D fish

Springtime in Mallorca

Another week has flown by. Our Mallorcan Easter holidays have had three main themes: many trips to the beach (mostly ours, but also an afternoon stop off at one of Palmanova's three beaches); Jemima befriending any small child she could find, wherever we were (from a German 18 month old boy on the beach to an 8 year old English girl in Heroes, and everywhere in between); and, continuing our Mallorcan theme, lunch. Sunday lunch in Portals Kitchen (the fourth and final Sunday lunch offering in the area - great veg and sides, appalling beef); delicious prawns and calamari in a very nice beach-side place in Palmanova (with 45 different types of gin! Who needs 45 different types of gin...?); and, of course, lunches on the beach and in the wonderful Chameli's. 

We've also had a couple of outings: another trip to the excellent soft play Kids Republik (where I discovered they have a whole extra floor of dressing up, role play and an indoor football pitch - plus very tasty food - avocado and tuna salad, yum); plus a fun afternoon at the Port Adriano Spring Fair (a massive paella for 100 people, a kids' obstacle course, party games, and family Zumba, which Jemima and I enjoyed, and some clowns - all in Spanish - which she wasn't so keen on. Jemima and I also had a fun shopping trip to Porto Pi (the big indoor mall) to get her some more beach stuff (our trips inside actual shops leavened by having a go on the various 1 Euro rides). And we've even been out for dinner, to one of the remaining Portals Nous restaurants we haven't tried yet: Port Blanc, all white as the name suggests, with a very friendly welcome and excellent steak.

It's all been lovely. But the biggest news of the week: on Saturday morning, Kevin and I ran 5k, the culmination of our Couch to 5k training programme! Jemima made us flags to cheer us on - mine had hearts on it, Kevin's was more of an action montage showing Daddy running, then finishing, then sitting down and having an ice-cream. And it was great! We both had a real sense of achievement - and then we did go and have an ice-cream to celebrate. Next challenge: keeping going...

We go home a week today. In my usual way, I've started feeling nostalgic for our trip before it's even finished. We talk about going home, and we are all looking forward to seeing family and friends, and our house; but we are all also very sad to be leaving. As Jemima says, "we love Mallorca!". One week left to enjoy it...

Jemima braving the freezing sea

Palmanova

Porto Pi





Daddy, Jemima and the flags at the finish of his 5k!

Fun at Port Adriano

Jemima showing off her Frozen clip-on earrings (bought with her pocket money)...





Sunday lunch 

Jemima flying her own home-made kite from our balcony

The beach!

Bank holiday Balearic style

My, the Mallorcans do love a fiesta. I was picking rogue bits of Sa Rueta confetti off Kevin's hat only yesterday, and it's already another celebration, this time a two day bank holiday (no school) in honour of the Balearic Islands' autonomy, granted on 1 March 1983. We had seen stalls being set up in Palma the other day, so put the scooter in the car boot and headed out.

It was astonishing weather, literally 14 degrees warmer than two days before: from shivering in woolly hats and winter coats, to sunglasses and a thin cardigan. We parked by the start of Palma's Paseo Maritímo, and set off along the marina's edge in the sunshine.

The Paseo has a red tarmac-ed two-way track for cyclists, so Jemima (with her wheeled conveyance) installed herself on that and scooted off happily, with us walking on the pedestrian bit alongside (Kevin occasionally jogging to keep up). They'd done this route with Uncle Ady the previous weekend, so led me to a lovely marina-side café with a little play area they'd discovered. We had a drink in the sun with a view of the boats, unable to believe the weather change (and feeling slightly guilty about friends and family in the UK suffering minus two...). Then onwards along the Paseo, until we saw the start of the festivities.

Or rather we saw the people. The festivities were mainly a long avenue of stalls - lots of cheese, quite a few knife stalls, and a sprinkling of artisanal alcohol, among the usual jewellery, clothing, and arts and crafts. And beside them, in a thick ribbon, was a mass of people, meandering and browsing. These kind of situations aren't actually that much fun with a four year old, so it became a bit of a mission to get through. And eventually we did make it past the crowds until we were able to turn more towards the old town and some space. 

After a bit more walking we got to the Plaça Major, a large square in the heart of the old town that, to be honest (and unlike the rest of Palma) could do with a spruce up. But we were hungry, and there was a free table in a sunny corner near a busker playing piano (there are a few "entertainers" - it's like a slightly shabby Covent Garden in feel). But the piano was actually pretty good, and the pizzas looked tasty, so we risked it. Pros: lovely to sit in the sun while Jemima scooted around the open car-free square, or watched the entertainers (the pianist was replaced by a juggler/unicycle rider, and then a clown). Cons: it took twenty-five minutes to get a Diet Coke. But the food, when it came, was good; and it's hard to complain of too much when you're sitting in a T-shirt outside on 1st March. 

Then with the sky finally clouding over, we started the long walk/scoot back to the car. Jemima enjoying scooting has been a huge bonus for this trip - she spends so much time outside doing exercise, and loves every minute; and it means we can walk long distances without complaints - we did 7.5 miles that day and she was still running around with her (longed-for and eventually purchased) Minion balloon at the end.

The scooter was our secret weapon in our Friday plan - Friday being run day. After a very slow morning - painting, TV, pick-up sticks, balloon games and banana bread-making, Kevin persuaded Jemima she'd enjoy scooting with us on our run. In fact, he appealed to her competitive side, and asked whether she could scoot faster than we could run - and the answer turned out to be "definitely".

We drove to a car park on the edge of Portals Nous, where we could join a nicely paved path well-separated from the road that ran south-west towards Palmanova. Kevin turned on our app, and off we set, walking/ jogging and scooting along en famille. The path was great, very safe, and scattered with play areas and outdoor exercise machinery, which we promised we'd stop at on our return journey. Our route rather fortuitously led through a public sports centre with a playground, so our last stint had us running around the edge of the playground while Jemima climbed and slid in the middle.

Training over, and rain threatening, we walked down the road that leads to Palmanova beach (site of the gumball machine from our earlier Great Gumball Adventure). Coffee and a pain au chocolat later, we had a quick diversion to see the (very nice) beach and its playground; and then a slower walk back to the car, stopping at every play area, as promised - although Jemima seemed to enjoy the adult outdoor exercise machines even more, especially the cross trainer which she could just about work at full stretch.

We thought we'd try a lunch venue at this end of the village for a change. The combined Asian Fusion-Angus Steak House restaurant which had confused us every time we had driven past looked even less appealing when we got up close; so we walked around the corner and found a charming if slightly unexpected little café/ bar run by, and full of, English people, in a back street of a Mallorcan village, pretending to be a beach shack in the Caribbean. But the people were very friendly; the food was good, especially my burger; and it turned out to be just what we needed. We got back to the car before the rain set in, and drove home, happy with our small achievements (exercise and a little explore) on a very welcome restful day.

Scooting on the Paseo Maritímo



A marina-side drink



Day of the Balearic Islands' market (with the palm trees wrapped in red and yellow cloth, and giant representations of traditional Mallorcans)

Jemima in La Llotja

Lunch in Plaça Mayor

Another beautiful Palma-n street corner

The playground in the shadow of the Cathedral



Minion fun

Sunday: run/ scoot/ play/ rest

Palmanova beach

Play equipment on the journey home (Jemima taking the photo)

The Ramshackle

Home-making

Before I even unpacked a suitcase when we first arrived, I started re-organising the kitchen. As we're in one place for such a long time, it is a very different feeling to our previous trips, which either involved a pre-packed motorhome or lots of moving around. So making sure the plates are accessible and hiding extraneous Tupperware has been making me quietly, but deeply, happy.

Today was about more of the same. With my well-known food obsession, I needed to do some menu planning and a proper food shop. So we took the recipe books I'd brought (yes, I packed recipe books) and a notebook, and ambled into the village for a café cortado and some list-making. Then off in the car to the Mercadona down the road. 

Kevin went off for an explore (we were in Palmanova, site of the famous Gumball machine), while I did a similar exploration of the supermarket. I'm usually rushing around grabbing bread and ham while Jemima and Kevin wait irritably in the motorhome; today, I had time. I spent ages by the meat counter trying to work out the correct translation for the various cuts of beef (Google Translate offering me "hip" was not that helpful); or what was the distinction between three seemingly identical but differently named types of squid. It was great. I am so looking forward to it all becoming familiar, and getting more experienced at making the most of Spanish ingredients.

Then home to unpack, eat lunch, and for me, go back to bed: I still have a rotten cough/ cold, so took the afternoon to nurse it while Kevin went for a long walk around the northern part of Portals Nous. Then the usual routine of collecting Jemima from school, followed by our first tapas-y (-ish) style dinner: asparagus wrapped in Serrano ham with roast chicken pieces and corn on the cob. Home life, Mallorcan-style.

And here are some photos of our temporary home!

My view from the kitchen:

Jemima's room



Kevin and my room