TRIP REPORT - A November week. Part 1

[Belladonna]

Getting there

No delays from Gatwick this time, and seeing there were no children on this flight, I had my copies of OK and Hello to flick through, my usual in flight Snack Pack to nibble on, and the hope of a little doze for an hour or so before we landed.
Oh how life loves throwing those little curve balls!

As we settled down all prepared for the next two hours, a group of about 8 Mallorcan 20 something year olds boarded. 3 sat behind, 3 across the aisle and a few more diagonal from us! We knew then it was definitely not going to be a quiet flight!
We had absolutely no problem with them whatsoever, they were young people really excited to be going home, and a very chatty, happy bunch. However, I did end up reading both magazines from cover to cover and having no doze at all!

We arrived at Palma, almost the first off the plane and dashed expectantly to pick up the car and the luggage.
Something new has been added to the security. Before we got to the luggage there were now two glass security booths to go through. Evidently they have only been there for a month or so and no one really knows what they do. You walk up to the door which opens automatically, then closes behind you, waits about a second then the other door opens to let you out. The only thing in the box appears to be a green light. Answers on a post card please!
Hubby sorted out the car at Europcar in record time (excuse the analogy) and was back at the luggage belts where I was waiting for the cases to come through before the belts had even started up. All a very good start. We stopped off for a cup of Nescafe just before we left the building, which we always do, as I love their coffee.

The drive down was great as usual, and the sun setting behind the hills gave off a lovely rose glow – Red sky at night, shepherds delight, as they say. The weather ended up being very good for most of the week, with the heavy winds and rain relegated to the night times.

Straight into Eroski for the first fun shop. I love this, as we always end up buying lots of different things to eat, and usually end up leaving in them in the fridge unopened!
Dashing around the aisles it was;
Don’t pick up the Elvive – get the Euroski conditioner, not the lavender Airwick, pick up the nuenca; pass by the Comfort conditioner – try the Mimosin; put back the digestives, pick up the dinosaur pack; make sure we pick up the musili activia yoghurts.
Grapes, kiwis, tomatoes and wow! Look at those mushrooms! Huge, strange shaped and full of dirt still. They looked amazing. Lets get some! Him; Why? Me; I love mushrooms and they look great. Him; What will you do with them? Me; Cook them for breakfast. Him; You never cook breakfast.
So we stuck with the tomatoes etc!
Hubbys downfall is cheese and pate. After picking up some of the food from the chiller, we then looked in the fresh part and hubby chose yet more fresh cheese. I noticed some pate still in a lovely apple shaped container and asked if I bought all the pate, could I have the container too!? No chance, so I didn’t buy the pate then, so there, we stuck with the vacuumed pack!

After dumping the suitcases into the apartment and having a quick spruce up, we drove out hoping to try out Trios for the first time. Unfortunately there was no one in the restaurant and it was about 8 – 8.30, so we parked up and went into Nacientes.

This restaurant has had a little bit of a face lift with a nod to commercialism. The courtyard has been tidied up and appears brighter and lighter.
The wonderful log fire was going strong, which was wonderful.
There used to be metal artwork on the walls, all of which has now gone to be replaced by some modern art paintings. The curtains are now plain rather than the patterned ones that used to be there, all in all giving the place a brighter feel.


Food alert!

We had a huge plate of delicious pardon pimentos, some lovely fried baby squid and tasty rustic olives. I had their peppered chicken breast with chunky chips, fried tomato and courgette, with a slice of the huge mushroom laid to look like a tail! Hubby had suckling lamb chops. We had a bottle of Temperillo at 8euros, with coffee, Tia Maria and herbus. Total came to 57euros. The place started to fill up with a couple of large local groups just as we were finishing up.

Saturday

Up and down the motorway to Alcampo, Leroys and Carrefore. Not for the last time this week.

Popped into Confort to order the oven.

We were certainly looking forward to tonight’s meal at Can Cuarassa – the night before they closed for the season.
Possibly not the best idea.

As we drove up towards the restaurant we noticed the road was already full of cars leading up to it. We managed to squeeze ourselves into a space at the front of the restaurant and realised it was a wedding party getting ready for a reception. Not to be downhearted before we even tried, I sent hubby in to see if there were any tables free at the restaurant as the reception was laid up for the party in the room in the garden. Luckily after struggling through the happy crowd at the bar, being part of the 200 wedding guests, hubby was informed there were still a few tables available upstairs.
Unfortunately the fire was not lit tonight, which was a shame as it does give a lovely ambience. Perhaps they were just too busy, or didn’t want the hassle of cleaning it out for the end of the season!

Foodie alert!
The MDD was 28euros, and we had;
Amuse bouche, and bread and pate.
Starters of scrambled eggs with chorizo, serano ham and artichoke; and vegetable ravioli. Very good-sized portions.
During the starters, the restaurant began to really fill up and the maitre de as well as 4 waiters were pretty pushed to keep up.
Our mains consisted of Stuffed aubergine with cheese and Pork fillet. Unfortunately we considered both out main courses to be a little overcooked.
The wine was a very acceptable Penedes red.
There was no choice for the dessert for the MDD, and it consisted of two scoops of strawberry ice cream with chocolate bits in and drizzled with chocolate, with slices of pineapple, kiwi and orange.
I’m not keen on chocolate or strawberry ice cream, but it was ok.
Hubby though was not happy with any of it and asked if they could change it for him.
They were happy to do so and he had a cold crème brulee made with yoghurt, which tasted a bit like rice pudding actually and was rather nice!
The restaurant was really busy by now and we were happy to have finished our meal. We declined the offered liquors, paid the bill and got up to leave.
Quite disappointed that not one of the waiters or the maitre de said goodbye to us, but put that down to the extreme business of the evening.

Sunday – the Fira

A beautiful sunny day, sunglasses and t-shirt required for the outing to the Fira in Pollensa.
The whole town was laid out in sections, and I so wish we had got up earlier to have been able to explore longer.
Our first stop was to look at the fabulous bikes on show. From Vespa scooters, Mosquito bikes to Goldwings, Harleys, BMW’s and old Triumphs, all shining in the sun, and trial bikes being ridden by youngsters in a set up area.
There was a craft exhibition set up in the convent, with live music of a violin and piano in the actual courtyard (where hopefully the wine festival will be in April!). There was a tapas bar set up out there too and a scene of a boat on a causeway with nets and sand to add to the scene.

There were separate areas in the town showing various crafts, handmade produce, cakes, olives, fruits and …. Mushrooms galore!! So many really weird shapes and sizes. If I saw many of them growing wild, I’m sure I would run a mile thinking they were poisonous!
In the square there were bunyolas and crepes being fried, along with cheeses, honey and many other fresh produce.
The centre had been laid out as an allotment with a scarecrow in the centre and many vegetables growing in soil – a real masterpiece.
There was also a re-enactment of what appeared to be cotton thrashing, although I’m not too sure if it was!
There was also an area taken by the Mallorcan Hunting Club, who were showing their fabulous birds of prey – huge eagles, barn owls, hawks, and tiny falcons were among those on show. Young children were allowed to stroke some of the quieter ones, although one of them did give a couple of nips – the bird that is, not the child!

An area near a café had old wooden children’s games being played with – wooden skittles, a huge connect 4 – probably more like a connect a hundred actually – wooden ice hockey and various puzzles.
Obviously lots of meat was also for sale.
There was some very interesting farm machinery for sale too, and I was rather interested to see an Olive shaker demonstrated, not something you see in England very often.
It looks like a very tall metal pole, with two large plastic rake heads facing each other at the top.
When it is switched on, the pole vibrates and the two rake heads vibrate and shake against each other, obviously then shaking the olives down. The simple things are always the best.

A car park area was taken over by animals in pens. There was a black pig sow with about 5 gorgeous piglets, a couple of longhaired cows, a very strange looking animal with very large twisted horns, goats and a few others. Also a petting area with rabbits and a goat in for the children. I must admit I was not too happy seeing that, as I didn’t think there was enough control with the way the children were allowed to pick them up etc, and no where for the animals to escape when they were frightened.
There was also an area set aside for a fun fair. Usual suspects, including bumper cars where people and even young children, were allowed to actually bump each other and go the wrong way round for fun!!

[Belladonna]

We couldn’t stay for the late night activities as we had planned to meet Lorenzo at Neptuno and then go onto Hostal Paris to see the Hustlers. We were lucky to find out that Lorenzo was over at the same time as us, as we couldn’t find Hostal Paris for love nor money when we tried on our own.
Unfortunately Neptuno was closed, and we had a quick bite to eat in Nicos first.
What an eye opener H. Paris was! I had been forewarned by a couple of people, and was determined to go in. A real local smoky Joes café, and the only time I found the smoke acceptable and almost necessary!
The drinks were truly ridiculously cheap too.
But the real beauty of it was obviously the Hustlers playing, which really took us back to the old days. Fabulous talent by guys who obviously love what they do and are good at it. The icing on the cake was an appearance by the jazz singer Carol Kidd. Her singing was amazing and just transported everyone to a wonderful place. Except the idiot who had drunk too much and kept talking, to which Carol leaned over and told him to Shut up – with a few more words thrown in!
Only found out when we got back that there was another member of the forum in that night and we just didn’t know. So near and yet so far eh?!

Monday

Juan and his assistant came, took out the old oven, fixed in the new oven, took the old oven away, and even showed us to get new HD channels on our TV which we bought from them last year.
Switch on with this controller, change to this one, press this button, scroll down to this, alter that, change the language, simples!! Ok, may actually stick with the boring usual channels, but its good to know we have them.
Brilliant service from Confort as usual.
Stayed in and heated up a lasagne!

Tuesday

Desperately needed a day away from cleaning and decided to drive to Portal Vells.
Took us ages to get there, as it is not signposted that easily once you are close to it so we took a few wrong turns before we found the correct bay. It was all closed up with at least 9 cats wandering around looking suspiciously like the cast from Cats, and two with faces like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.
I’m sure the couple of restaurants that we found in the two bays will be lovely during the summer and may well take another trip down to find out. The rocks actually have fossils in them too, so a good place for the children to explore.
Drove back via Alcampo – again, and as now starving we had lunch in the new café part. I ordered a salad and it was HUGE! Lovely and fresh though, but I do miss the old bar/café of old with its patisserie on the side.
So tired when we got back that we decided to try Mirch Massala for an Indian takeaway.
Unfortunately we are still of the opinion that it’s not for us. Personal taste that’s all.

Wednesday

Sent hubby out to buy some filled baguettes from the Baguette shop.
About an hour later he returned - with a story naturally.
Evidently as it was out of season the baguette shop no longer does filled baguettes, but does sell them as ordinary loaves.
Hubby ordered a couple of small ones, which cost 1 euro each! He took the change, but as he walked back to the car, he thought that they felt pretty hard and decided to go to Eroski to buy a fresh one. In Eroski after picking up a lovely warm, soft, large baguette for 75c, he gave out the change of what he thought was a 2euro piece from the change he had from the baguette shop.
Oh no. We can’t take that, it is not right! On closer inspection it works out that the shop had paid him out with a Turkish coin worth considerably less than 2 euros!
So it ended up that those two unfilled baguettes cost 4 euros and ended up in the bin anyway!!

Luckily we were meeting up with friends for a meal at Stay that night.
So much has been said about Stay that it’s hardly worth commenting on any more – but I will.
We had a window seat and obviously went for the MDD at 33Euros. The food is always acceptable here and the service usually very good. A very enjoyable evening and we were the last to leave the restaurant, the fact that there was no smoking in the restaurant encouraging a few extra drinks.
Still too awake to call it a night, we wandered over the Mombasa Bar.
The boys decided to stay inside for their drinks and chats, whilst us two girls avoided the smoke and sat outside on the swinging seats with the rugs over us.
It was lovely to be under cover yet still see the breeze in the trees, and hear the clanging of the boats. Late night dog walkers and the occasional couple strolled past us on their way home at midnight. A lovely end to the evening.

Thursday

So much traffic as we drove past Inca as it was their biggest Fira yet. It looked amazing as we glanced down the roads, but we were on a mission yet again to Alcampo etc.
This time we drove through the various villages though, and took in the sights of the huge orange groves laden to dropping with their crop. Small smoky fires in the fields as they burnt the cropped trees, and sheep and lambs in the lush fields. There were even brand new tractors in some of the fields, perhaps from the Firas themselves!
We considered going into Inca on the way back, but as the car parking was now up to the MacDonald’s roundabout, we decided against it. Such a shame though, and hope to manage it next year.
We ended up at PP into Maxims Bistro for a quick lunch. Fabulous cheese and ham quiche with very tasty salad and chips. Only downside is they allow smoking which really makes me want to leave ASAP, so we missed out on their delicious desserts.

Food alert!

Nostalgia Thai Night.

Dressed up for the cold evening with knee high boots and jumper. Walked into Nostalgia to see Mr and Mrs Sparky still in their summer flip flops – pretty ones of course! Hanging on in there Sparky, there is still some sun left!
We had a table for 4 at the back of the restaurant which gave us a lovely view all along the newly refurbished bar. A very good job. Hubby also says he saw Snowys photo on the TV, although each time the rest of us looked up it had changed!
Anyway, to the food.
Really really tasty. Absolutely loved my starter fish soup, followed by a brilliant fish curry. The coconut ice cream was lovely, but may have been better without the drizzle of raspberry syrup – personal taste.
A very good idea not to have the karaoke going I think, it made it a more special evening, although Colin did give us a rendition or two himself.
A lovely evening with great company and fantastic food.
At the end of the meal we found that the music was a little too loud for any more conversation to be held comfortably, and the smoke had now won over the room so we said our good nights.

Friday

Hate to say it, but back again to Leroys.
Watch out for the speed police now guys! We came across a few of them this week on roundabouts with their speed guns, - and also on top of bridges!! Cheeky chappies!

It is always an interesting drive though, and this time we could see that many farmers had started their orange harvesting, and driving with the windows open we could smell the lovely smoke from the wood fires.

We aimed to have lunch in Pollensa town, but found that the town had effectively shut down too after the day of the Fira, and was now very very quiet. El Temple was open, although it is up for sale, but what really surprised us was the site of the sign outside La Font De Gall. That business is another one which sadly up for sale.

We decided on lunch at Stay.
For a lunch in November, sitting outside under the heaters, with no boats moored up which allows for a full view of the bay, Stay is second to none. With a choice of either tapas or a full lunch, and with waiters dressed smartly – reminding me of the waiters in Paris actually – we spent a lovely afternoon, seeing the occasional flash of colour along the road as the cyclist team returned from where ever they had been that day.

The Galleon Hotel is closed surprisingly, anyone know why?
La Llonga did not seem open any time we passed, and found out that it did infact close this Sunday for the season.
Can Ferrar could not longer afford to stay open all winter and closed for the season on the Sunday after the PP fira.

[Belladonna]

O Lume

So lucky to have managed to be there this week as Jaime said he was worried we would miss seeing him before he closes next week for a well earned family holiday – followed by some changes in the restaurant!! All secret squirrel stuff and he wouldn’t give any hints!

This restaurant is one of the few which have weathered the financial storm of the last couple of months, and so many people must be pleased that he has.

Roasted veg for hubbys starters, and fois gras with sauces for me, along with the bread and different butters.
I had another starter of seafood frito for my main course, which was ample and so very delicious.
Hubby had steak, and actually managed to finish it, cooked how he likes it, but a little too rare for my liking!
Desert for me was the last coconut caramelised brulee – actually hubby wanted it, but I ordered it first and Jaime said it was the last one – result!

Jaime is a wonderful host, imparting just enough port gossip and information to keep you entertained and in the loop.

One question I asked him was his omission of suckling pig on his menu. His answer surprised me at first, then made sense!
On our “best suckling pig” debates, it often happens that a restaurant is deemed as “the best suckling pig ever” by one member, then almost the following day someone can not be impressed.
The reason evidently, is that suckling pig MUST be eaten on the day it is cooked for the meat to be succulent and the crackling to be top rate. Many restaurants cook it one day, then obviously it is served for a couple of days after being reheated, therefore not being as wonderful as day one.
The best way is to actually have a number of people in a party and order the suckling pig as a special.

Oh, and grape vines should be pruned when there is no moon (don’t cut your fingers if you cant see well) probably at the end of this month. This may be right for Majorca, but I have a feeling we are best pruning ours after Christmas.

Saturday

Home day. Lots of cheese and pate left in the fridge for our lovely neighbour to have.
The weight of the suitcases had been judged to be spot on with towels etc brought out and now left. So Hubby was happy to know that we were well under weight not, surely a bar of chocolate and some bin bags wouldn’t take us over.
We took advantage of our last few mins of sun to walk round the block and see a huge ship moored out in the bay. King Carlos perhaps!
We then hurriedly packed the suitcases and hubby took them down to the car. On doing a last min check we found that all of MY clothes that had been in the chest of drawers were still there! Suitcases were brought back up and repacked. Then of course it was a mad dash to the petrol station, stuck behind the slowest car ever naturally, then a mad dash down the motorway, praying that the Speed Police had already got their quota today!
Boarding the plane first was the Majorcan tennis player with his wife and baby.
The rain started as we boarded the plane, and the kiddies started crying. The holiday had ended – roll on the wine festival!

[Bean Counter]

Belladonna, sitting here in cold, damp London - I loved reading your marvellous account of your November visit. Great fun, just what I needed to transport me to PP.

[eleanor]

Hi Bella and welcome home!
What a wonderful read - as usual! Your descriptive writing makes the reader feel part of your holiday.
Thank you for sharing your week with us. Glad you had a good time too.

[snowy2007]

Glad you had a good time me on TV never must have been BL in drag.

[its cd]

Wow

Fantastic post ......... I just want to be THERE

So glad you stuck with it when you walked in the door of the Hotel Paris and experienced the 1070's drinks proces and absolutely marvelous Hustlers

[Kym]

I enjoyed reading your trip report belladonna. Especially as it wasn't all about food!

[whaleywanderer]

Originally Posted by Belladonna

.

Think we must have been Can Ferrar's last customers as we had a lovely meal there last week. First time we had been and were very impressed with the homely feel and the chatty, friendly owner.

I did keep my eye open for you and your hubby (checked your photo on the site) but unfortunately we must have just missed you on a couple of occasions. Forgot about the Thai night at Nostalgia, which we really regretted when we realised. We did lunch at Stay one day and agree the view is simply the best. As you say the Fira in Pollensa was excellent, we were there also on the Sunday. Intended to go to Hostal Paris to see Hustlers on the same night as you, but watching English TV I'm afraid I got the timing wrong

Oh, and loved your reports.

[Belladonna]

Thanks all!
November must be one of the lovliest months if you are not looking for a sun tan - although some days are definitely warm enough, and we did actually see people in the sea!
It is a month of contrasts; the sky can be clear blue with light fluffy clouds and a calm sea, then turn in a couple of hours to storm grey with the tops of the mountains shrouded in cloud and the sea a murky mud. The unpolluted crispness of the air lets you see for absolute miles on the many clear days, and the absence of crowds just shows up the space that is really there.
It has the peace of the island able to breath again look after its own, so to speak.
Although the port may slow down to almost a standstill, there are many Firas around the island this month and you can be kept busy and entertained by just working out which one to visit - some more than once - then return "home" to the peace of PP. The drives around the island are lovely, although with hubby taking his eyes off the road to appreciate the landscapes whilst driving, I wished I had dual control sometimes!

Whilst wandering around the town, I did see some wonderful winter shoe and boots in the shops, and could have brought our suitcases well over weight by buying a few pairs, but as we had spent quite a bit on buying the oven and other bits and pieces for the apartment I was forbidden to buy any this year! I wont be taking any boots out next year though, then I will just HAVE to buy a pair!

I'm hoping to be able to do a couple of weeks in November next year - with fewer drives to Alcampo and Leroys hopefully - and bump into a few more forum members!

[favie]

Lovely report Bella....made a great read with my cup of coffee earlier this morning, much better than all the doom and gloom in the morning papers.
Glad you managed to fit in a few leisure moments as well as all your tasks!!

[usandthewoof]

Bella, What a fabulous descriptive report. You really must try to do a longer trip next November then we can take in Dijous Bo in the evening without worrying about losing the next day! As you have been so busy in the DIY front this trip next time you should make sure you get some quality R&R

[Lorenzo]

Yes, great trip reports - thanks Bella!
Great to meet up with you both in PP this time.
Look forward to the next time!

[Sea Captain]

We took advantage of our last few mins of sun to walk round the block and see a huge ship moored out in the bay. King Carlos perhaps!

Ah! I can help out there
From our roof we have a telescope, and managed to pick out the name "Titan".
And after a short bit of research on the internet I saw that it was a brand new super yacht delivered to Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich in the summer 2010.
I had a look at the AIS and it appears that it came from having a refit in Barcelona.

It arrived Saturday morning, and left just as a storm started to whip up.
But then this morning it seems to have re appeared!


Billionaire Roman Abramovich super yacht fleet extended with 78 meter yacht called M/Y Titan

Kind Regards
- The Sea Captain

[Belladonna]

Well thank you very much Sea Captain! That is really interesting - well done. I am so pleased we took that little walk round the block now. I took a video of it too, so now I am pleased to be able to put a bit of knowledge to it, thanks to you!