I try to put the disappointment of my broken Apple Watch exercise streak behind me when I wake at about 06:00, as I need to devote all of my positivity towards Sandra today, her special day.
She is still asleep, so I quietly set about picking-up my Laidlaw paperback rather than Duolingering or blogging, and eventually read about 70 pages, slowly coming to terms with the broad Scottish dialect in the prose from my early days of growing-up in the North-East of England, when reading ‘The Broons’ and ‘Oor Wullie’ in the Sunday Post.
By 07:30, we are up and about and Sandra opens her 13 birthday cards that arrived in the post before we left home and subsequently arranges them around the lovely bouquet of flowers that I have arranged for the room, whilst we stay here at Son Vida.
Photography
I hope that no-one has noticed any reduction in the quality of the photos that I have used to illustrate the various posts to date, but it is a fact that only one from amongst the selection has been taken on my Nikon DSLR.
All of the others have been captured on my iPhone 11 Pro, with its inbuilt three lensed camera - wide angle, normal and zoom telephoto, which is remarkably good quality for its size and portability - the same cannot be said for the Nikon and associated lenses etc, which take-up most of my carry-on baggage allowance.
Even taking just the camera and spare lens is cumbersome as we walk about and a security risk driving with it on the floor of the Kadjar, or leaving it in a car park.
If anyone can identify the single shot using the DSLR amongst the various photos in the various posts, then I’ll offer them a special prize!
Port d’Alcudia
Sandra has decided that she’d like to revisit the Port of Alcudia, which is really a beach resort in the North of the island, but one with a beach of golden sands around the long Bay of Alcudia and with a splendid promenade alongside the beach, where you can walk for up to an hour towards the resort of Ca’n Picafort.
We find a space for the car after driving up the autopista from Palma, past Inca, and then on towards the Port, where we find our usual free car park behind the main shopping centre and then stride out along the promenade, where we turn at the bridge over the river after about 3.5Kms and turn tail and re-trace our steps.
It is a beautiful sunny day, the wind has dropped overnight and the exercise and sunshine make for a very pleasant walk, the only hiccough being when a rude jogger shouts as we pass a couple with a baby and dog, but we are used to avoiding cyclists on the Basingstoke Canal as we walk to St Johns, so let him pass on the outside - life in the fast lane!
We don’t linger amongst the ‘touristy’ bars and cafes along the resort centre, but head straight back to the car, where we jump in for the short drive inland to Alcudia.
Alcudia
There couldn’t be a sharper contrast between the tourist resort at Port D’Alcudia and the main town just a few kilometres inland, which still has an ancient feel to it. Avid bloggees, who take careful note of the rubbish that I write may recall that I featured a visit to the Roman remains on the outskirts of town, which featured in the ‘What Did The Romans Ever Do For Us’ segment of my Life of Brian blog two years ago.
Our intended destination is the Cafe Bar which lies behind the Casa Consistorial in the centro historico, where we know that we might get a decent cup of coffee in a sheltered Placa, which is a real sun-trap.
We are surprised to be served by a young Scottish waiter, who brings our cafes con leche and a piece of almond cake to keep us going on the next step of the excursion.
We head along Calle Major and pick-up the Cami del Ronda beside the Porta de Mallorca, and then find the steps up to the Murada Medieval walkway that has been created along the ancient walls that encircle the town, and then complete the short walk along the Northern section which is still more or less complete, descending beside the Pont de la Vila Rioja and then heading back to the centro historico along the Carrer del Quarter de la Cavalleria, returning more or less at the focal point of the centro, Placa de la Constitucio.
I spy an ice cream shop and even though I’m not hungry, due to the vast quantities of beef from last night and breakfast still filling my alimentary system.......well, it would be rude not to and besides, apart from the odd scoop with torta de almendra, I’ve not had a helado at all this holiday.
Now what shall we do? It’s about 14:00 and a little early to return to Son Vida, so we detour along the coast and then cut inland just outside the Port of Pollenca to the North, with the intention of perhaps calling into the town of Pollenca........but then decide that it would be just as well to leave that for another day.
The weather hasn’t been conducive thus far to spending time on the Balcony of Mallorca back at Castillo Hotel Son Vida and if that is what Sandra would like to do, it’s good enough for me.
Feliz cumpleaños From Son Vida
Popping back into Room #653 to drop off the bits and pieces that we won’t need on the terrace, Sandra is greeted with a lovely surprise from the Front Office team; Chocolate Cake, beautiful rose heads in a bowl and a personalised birthday card, complete with photo cut and pasted from Facebook - a lovely personal touch which she appreciates greatly.
We then join the few other hardy guests out on the terrace for our drinks from the bar, Sandra confusing Francesco the barman, when she asks for a Rose Cava, instead of the usual white stuff. When I ask for a beer, I am offered a Corona, but feign indifference due to the virus of the same name, having read in the news that the sales of the eponymous Mexican beer have fallen through the floor in recent weeks - the waiter gets the joke and brings me my usual Paulaner, which goes down very nicely. It’s not hot, in fact I’m surprised to see that the temperature is as low as 13 degrees Celsius, but that must be on account of the cooling breeze, as it is very sunny.
I don’t feel the cold at all in my t-shirt and shorts; I’m a tough Geordie, who wears shorts year-round back on the streets of Woking all through Winter, come rain or shine, hell or high-water! This dress sense (or lack of it) continues to draw comments from the Front Office staff, particularly the ladies, Bettina & Davinia, who must think that I’m mad!
Conflict of Interest
I’ve not fired-up Duolingo since a quick burst before breakfast and have no intention of doing so again today, even if I slip down the league table ahead of tomorrow’s critical deadline which will determine whether I am promoted to the next league - didn’t I say earlier that I would devote myself entirely to my dear wife’s birthday wishes................
BUT - there’s a certain rugby match scheduled for 17:45 here in Spain and wouldn’t you just know, it’s being televised live on ITV, which is one of the channels available via the Hotel’s satellite TV service.
I couldn’t, could I?
I shouldn’t, should I!
She’s resting on the chaise longue, exhausted by the morning’s excursion and catching-up on the lost hours of sleep over the past few days.
If I turn the sound down, I might just get away with it and the game could be all over by the time we need to wash / dress for dinner at 19:00.
Failing which, I’ve subscribed to ITV Hub +, which will allow me to watch catch-up TV outside the UK later when we return to the hotel - there’s probably a good chance that I might avoid finding out the result, so as not to spoil it. There’s little or no interest in the Six Nations amongst the Spanish and the restaurant that we’re eating at tonight is run by a German couple, who cater to a largely German clientele out in Santa Maria del Cami, so it’s not as if I might just walk past a bar in the City screening the match live!
Is anyone out there old enough to recall the Likely Lads episode where Bob & Terry attempted something similar with an England football game all those years ago?
In reality, with Sandra’s blessing on her big day, as she knows how much I want to watch it, I sit down and watch the first half, before jumping in the bath and getting dressed at half-time, and then seeing England build a 33-16 lead, before we leave at 19:20 with 15 / 20 minutes until full-time and despite a history of famous comebacks we’re surely going to prevail...........................
Moli Des Torrent
For the past six visits to Mallorca, Sandra has always opted to enjoy her ‘birthday meal’ at this restaurant housed in a windmill in the middle of nowhere between Santa Maria del Cami and Bunyola, about 20 Kms North of Palma, albeit a bit further from Son Vida, with the need to drive down the hill to pick-up the Ring Road and then head North.
And there lies a problem, in that of the previous occasions that we’ve eaten here, on a couple of occasions the taxi drivers have taken different routes - one getting hopelessly lost and having to call base on his mobile phone to keep checking. As a result, we normally ask Matthew or Miquel to ensure that the driver knows where he is headed before setting out.......but there’s no sign of a doorman tonight. Fear not, Davinia has written the address down on a slip of paper and the driver assures us that he knows the place.
So all is well, as we pull-up at the restaurant just before 20:00, to be greeted by the Chef Patron, a German by the name of Peter Himbert and his delightful wife Herta, who overseas the service, provided by two lovely Mallorquin ladies who we have got to know well since we first dined here in 2013. If there is awkwardness with the social niceties of greetings elsewhere in the World on account of Coronavirus preventative measures, they are not in this quiet corner of Mallorca - it’s hugs and kisses all round, before we are shown to a table in the main dining area on the ground floor.
We’ve sat here twice before, although we’ve also been seated in one of the two rooms upstairs, both of which are equally acceptable, but its nice to be in the middle of things, surrounded by a mostly German clientele of parties ranging from just couples like ourselves, to two much larger tables, including one behind us with an extended family and number of small children.
We study the menu with a glass of rose cava, and quickly decide that we’d like to try one of Peter’s two set menus, the one featuring the duck ‘beast’ (you can forgive the odd spelling mistake!) main course.
Once decided, and agreeing to try a locally grown 3.030 vino rosado, the plates come thick and fast, as the service here is impeccable, starting with a leek & potato soup and ternera (veal) cannoli thingie on the side - dog owners should think of a jumbone (in appearance, I’ve never actually tried one!)
Just when we thought it was all over, Sandra was surprised when the background music was changed-up to a Happy Birthday rendition over the tannoy system and she was one of two diners presented with a birthday cake and Roman candle, which I tried to capture on my iPhone - her face is a picture and she is threatening to do me untold damage when we get home, as she professes not to enjoy being the centre of attention.
And so the evening has to end with the usual paying the bill and calling a taxi, before saying our goodbyes and promising to return next year - a lovely end to a special day, which Sandra has really enjoyed.
I’ve previously been quite taken with some of the art which adorns the restaurant and on this occasion, despite being partially concealed by a plant and with another couple sitting below it, I fire off a snap of one such painting to help us remember the event.
The return taxi ride drops us back at the hotel and Ferran gratefully accepts the birthday cake, which we have brought back in a doggie bag, so that the Front Office team can enjoy it later.
The Idiom’s Guide to Mallorca
When we arrive back at the room, the usual tray is lying on the bed, complete with today’s thought for the day, attributable to Davinia:-
‘Aixo es Ca’n Bum’...........
.......which I immediately thought must be another cheeky reference to my predilection for wearing shorts, but no nothing of the sort.
It seemingly has no literal translation, but might be used when one encounters a place without organisation - none of that around these parts, of course!
Sports Report
Although I’d tried to obtain a quick up-date on the rugby during a break between courses at Moli Des Torrent, the lack of a wifi signal left me in complete ignorance of the final score, but I wasn’t too worried, as we had been controlling the game and with a very healthy seventeen point safety margin in the scoreline when we left.............
............only to find that Wales had come back strongly as usual and only just fallen short of overhauling England, who had been reduced to thirteen men after Ellis Genge was sin-binned and Manu Tuilagi controversially sent-off for a high tackle.
Phew, although with hindsight it is just as well that I didn’t watch the rest of the game, as I recall my Apple Watch ‘beeping’ a High Heart Rate notification when I watched the RWC19 semi-final against the All Blacks, after another tense encounter.
To cap a wholly satisfactory day, the Toon have moved three points nearer to Premier League safety with a 0-1 victory at fellow strugglers Southampton - one more win from the nine remaining games should be enough.
No time for blogging, Duolingering or reading tonight - we’re both shattered and its much later than we habitually retire, so head for bed............zzzzzzz!
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