Mallorca zero day

On the Camino, a zero day is when you don’t go anywhere. I’m taking one on my final day in Mallorca. Last night’s dinner was delicious as usual: grilled prawns followed by flan:

At bedtime, I looked across the bay to where I assume Jeffrey Archer has his “Writer’s Block” villa. He goes there in winter to work on his latest novel:

At the breakfast buffet this morning was a new addition. What a treat! Now I can make Bucks Fizz:

Mallorca part 5

I started the day’s activities with a visit to the Cathedral. It’s a vast Gothic structure and the enormous interior was already packed with tour groups listening to commentaries in various languages. I didn’t stay long.

I thought about taking a bus to Valdemossa as it would make a nice change from Palma and an opportunity to see some of the Mallorcan countryside.

First, I had to get to the main bus station: another enormous underground operation:

From here, buses go in all directions all over the island. All are powered with natural gas.

Valdemossa itself is surrounded by a mountain range:

View of Valdemossa from the bus.

I had a quick lunch on arrival:

Sangria and a Mallorcan dish of fried liver and veggies.

The main attraction here is the monastery where the ailing Chopin and George Sand spent a “winter in Mallorca”.

View from the terrace garden, looking back towards Palma.

Giant cactus in the garden.

Mallorca part 4

Today, Sunday, I thought I’d go into town to visit the Cathedral and maybe watch a Mass. This didn’t work out, as there were no tourist visits, only genuine religious participants (which I am not). However, the trip was not wasted as there was a literary festival going on:

The whole central street down towards the Cathedral was filled with book stalls and the most amazing thing was a really long queue for a book signing. This is the book:

… and this is the queue, stretching right up the street as far as the eye can see:

99% are teenage girls! They were all waiting patiently for a very long time in order to get their book signed. Just about every teenage girl in Mallorca must have been here.

I walked all round the outside of the Cathedral and took in this view across the bay:



P.S. From a book review:

One of my favorites from Alice Kellen and from life. I recommend it 100%. It made me cry for practically the entire book, living the characters, their stories, their emotions and experiences... there are no words to define what makes you feel and how beautiful it is. 

Mallorca part 3

Today was rather lazy as I slept till 8.30 am, but I still managed a swim before breakfast. The warm pool soon gets filled up with little kids later, being taught to swim by doting parents:

At midday I took a taxi to one of my old haunts: Wellies pub in Punta Portals. I used to go there a lot when I had my place at Bendinat. The whole marina has become quite busy, with lots of trendy shops as well as boats. The old King, Juan Carlos, used to keep his private yacht here; after a few scandals he abdicated and now lives in Saudi Arabia. I walked around, looking at where all the boats were registered, many from Valletta and a couple from London:

Wellies: bigger and better.

This one’s for sale.

There is some serious money here. You need a flash car as well as your yacht:

I just had a drink and did some people watching for half an hour:

Mallorca part 2

On today’s itinerary was a trip on the bus into Palma to do a bit of shopping. My memory served me well and I got off at C and A in the centre. This British store seems to have folded elsewhere but it’s doing good business here. There were fantastic reductions on at the moment. I just wanted an outfit that I could wear for dinner at the BonSol; my Camino gear is a little too casual for their elegant dining room. I also had a look round the Spanish chain store El Corte Ingles  and took a photo from the top floor cafe:

In the late afternoon I had a walk from the hotel in the opposite direction, checking out the public Illetas beaches:

I walked as far as the Ministry of Defence establishment which occupies its own sea access, then turned back.

I changed for dinner into my new outfit:

On the menu tonight: aubergine stuffed with spinach, calves liver with onions and apple, Sachertorte (which I haven’t tasted since I lived in Vienna). There was a violinist playing tonight: I asked him to play the Blue Danube Waltz, but he couldn’t find it on his backing repertoire.

Mallorca part 1

What can I say? This is the perfect place to end a holiday. After a fairly strenuous Camino and an even busier few days of sightseeing, I can now relax and be looked after by the staff of the BonSol Hotel. This is my little corner room:

And best of all, this is my balcony from where I can sit and watch boats coming and going across the Bay of Palma:

Nothing much has changed since I was last here 5 or 6 years ago. The family are visible checking on everything. Martin, the boss aged 81, was walking around early this morning when I first got here. They made an effort to get my room ready for an early check-in. Meanwhile I went for a swim in the heated pool. I was told that the water is kept so warm by using the excess heat from their big fridges. It really is warm (and the weather is cooler than usual for this time of year).

Dinner in the main restaurant is a 4-course affair. Today I could only manage 3 and had to go without dessert. Highlights were a quiche and some grilled fish:

A pianist was entertaining us all through the meal:

Valencia to Mallorca

The ferry to Palma de Mallorca left at 10.20 pm, so rather than hanging around like a lost soul in Valencia, I decided to check into a hotel. I looked for one near the Port: it was called the Sea You Hotel. This meant I could have a shower and a long rest in the afternoon. I was keen to try a paella in Valencia, as the dish originated here, I believe. The receptionist recommended the Pepica.  There was a long queue, stretching out past the kitchens where lots of paella dishes were on the gas:

When I finally got to the front, I was told that they only made paellas for two, so I had to go for something else. I chose a salad, grilled scallops and a beautiful concoction based on crème brûlée for dessert. First came some garlic bread:

Dessert.

This is part of the restaurant looking out onto the beach:

It was a huge place, extremely well organised. When I complained that the salad was too salty, the head waiter appeared straight away and they immediately brought me a new one! They also didn’t charge me for my glass of wine. Service!

At 8.15 pm I took a taxi to the port. All the foot passengers for the huge car ferry were collected onto a bus which drove us all into the bowels of the ship. The car deck was full of lorries, packed tightly side by side, with not an inch to spare. 

Departure.

Mallorca is getting a few more police cars, being loaded last.

Arriving in Palma at 6.30 am. Beautiful sunrise over the Cathedral.