Ola!! I’m back & in one piece!!!

I’m happy to report that I’ve returned from my week away without incident, injury or ailment…a first for me in quite a while!!!

I actually arrived home on Tuesday afternoon, but as you can imagine, having left Lee & the boys at home, it has taken me two full days to de-crumb the kitchen & blitz the bathrooms!!! Not to mention unpack & clear the backlog of laundry as well as my own suitcase full!!  But it feels good to say that the house is straight, the fridge/freezer & cupboards restocked, all that washing dry & awaiting it’s appointment with the iron!!!  Lee headed off for his annual Golf tournament this lunchtime & will be away till Sunday night, so I’m planning some serious scrapping time this weekend…oh & of course that ironing….maybe!!!!

Now…the holiday! We left Birmingham Airport in the early morning sunshine & enjoyed a turbulent free flight & easy landing, only to discover as we headed out of Palma Airport that while we had been collecting our luggage, the heavens had opened!!! All I can say is that I’m glad I always carry an umbrella!!

We had an hours drive to our resort & I took the opportunity to sleep….when we arrived the rain had stopped & the sky was blue!

We were pleased to find our Aparthotel  was set in a very salubrious residential area & was very well presented. The reception staff were very efficient & it took only a few minutes for us to be checked in & allocated our apartment.

 

We set off past the large swimming pool & it’s literal maze of sun loungers…I couldn’t help thinking how, if every bed was occupied, just how crowded & noisy it would be!!

We soon found our apartment, on the first floor of the far corner block, with it’s balcony facing the right way to catch the early afternoon sun. Looking out of the bedroom window we saw another smaller pool, which we decided would be our choice!!

We also noticed a HUGE covered area, which turned out to be the ‘Show Tent’ & as we unpacked we heard the ‘In House Entertainment Team’ rehearsing their musical numbers for that nights show. On checking our welcome pack we learned that the programme was DAILY…& EVERY night from 7pm there was a Kids Disco, Bingo, Karaoke…& from 10pm till midnight a musical extravaganza!!! Oh Joy!!!…& our apartment not even 50 yards away from the stage!!!!

Once unpacked, we set off to explore the local terrain! There was a complimentary land train running between the hotel & the Sa Coma seafront & we hopped onto that to get the lie of the land!

Rosemary & I holding on tight during the very bumpy ‘train’ ride!!

 

Rosemary’s friend, Carol kept asking ‘Are we there yet?’…it did seem like quite a way! We later learned that it was actually one & a half Kilometres, & we ended up walking that, sometimes four times a day!!

 

As I mentioned before, we were right at the top of a very respectable residential area, with lovely gated villas. Everywhere was landscaped beautifully with architectural plants & a riot of colour…

These home owners must have cringed the day they found out what was planned for their neighbourhood!!

There was constant traffic, both vehicular & pedestrian, not to mention the regular promoters of various clubs & bars standing at each corner handing out flyers!…& that was before we discovered just how loud that show was each night too!!

We were amazed at how many families with children were there, in term time. Mainly  UK northerners, judging by the variety of accents from Yorkshire, Newcastle & Manchester. I have never seen so many tattoos & piercings in one place…& if I had any qualms about my size in a swimsuit, I need not have worried…there were too many women of indeterminate dress sizes to count, in bikinis too… without a care in the world!!

But hey!! We were there to chill & enjoy ourselves, our apartment was really only a place to sleep & prepare breakfast…we weren’t going to be around to witness the great unwashed playing Bingo or singing Karaoke..were we?!!!

After stopping off at the supermarket for supplies & at a restaurant for a light meal that first day, we walked back to the hotel…along this long road……

 

 

…around the corner & along this long road…

…up as hill, across the road & up another long stretch of road & back into our hotel complex!!

We decided to catch the evening rays on the balcony, before getting an early night to be fresh for an early start the next morning…well, it had been over 36hours since we’d all last been to bed!!!

All I can say is that at 10pm when the show started, the windows in our apartment were vibrating & no earplugs in the world would have silenced the sounds of the Michael Jackson Tribute show that was happening right outside…& I love MJ’s music, but I was so glad when midnight came & there was relative quiet again!!

The next morning, we set off to the beach, bright & early at 8am. The sun was shining & we walked briskly, looking forward to our first full day at the beach. The sand was clean, the water azure & we’d been told you could walk out for 100yards & still be only waist deep…I love the sea!!

 

We walked along the seafront until we found a nice looking spot….an unusual landmark in the shape of this tree caught my eye…

 

 

 

 

 

…& we made our way down the boardwalk to the waters edge, choosing a parasol & three sun beds at the edge of the ‘block’, so as not to be in the middle of things!!!! How little we knew!!!  While Carol stayed with the beds & our belongings, Rosemary & I ventured in to the sea for a glorious swim…it really was lovely!!

When we got back to the beds, Carol told us that the guy had been to collect payment for the bed/parasol hire…€18.50 for the day!!! That’s £6.00 each just to lie on a bed under a single shared parasol!!!! Daylight robbery!!…but, as we’d paid, we settled down to enjoy our investment!!

I dozed off as I dried in the sunshine….when I awoke, you could barely see a patch of sand between the bodies, tents, inflatable's & beach paraphernalia. Nor could a word of English be heard!! We had obviously chosen the ‘German’ end of the beach!!  By midday the weather had turned & we beat a hasty retreat into a nearby restaurant to shelter from the storm & ended up taking three hours over toasted sandwiches, pecan waffles & several bottles of San Miguel!!! Well, sometimes these things just have to be done!!!

With valuable lessons learned we soon established a routine that meant we sunbathed ‘rent free’ by the small pool at the hotel…visited the beach to swim/paddle without needing to hire sun beds…ate later in the evening so that by the time we returned to the apartment the evenings entertainment was winding up & we were able to avoid the drunken masses & get to sleep!!

 

The whole week went smoothly from there on in…the weather alternated between scorching sun accompanied by a cool breeze & humid sticky thunderstorms, but we all came home with respectable suntans & with all that walking I’m happy to report that in spite of eating some amazing dinners…all followed by lush desserts…I gained only 3lbs!! Add to that the fact that although we window-shopped each evening, I bought only a small gift each for Lee & the boys & for the first time ever, came home with a generous portion of my spending money intact!!!! Result!!

To wind up, I’d like to share some photo’s I took out of the window of the airplane on the return flight. Now I am not a good flyer…just climbing inside the metal tube of an aircraft makes me nervous & I will never argue with anyone who wants a window seat…quite frankly I’d prefer not to know how far off the ground I actually am. So when it was unavoidable that I sit by the window I thought I’d spend the entire flight with the blind drawn!!

BUT…it was such a gorgeous morning that I soon became mesmerised as I watched Majorca growing smaller..

 

 

 

Just look at the blue of that sea….sitting just behind the wings meant that there was heat haze from the engines but everything was just so visible!!!

We were soon over the snow tipped Alps….just so beautiful!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then over the south English coastline &  pleased to see that the sun was shining to welcome us home!!

 

And finally, we were descending over the Warwickshire countryside for a very bumpy landing which made me so glad to be back on terra firma…but for the first time I can remember I actually enjoyed the view from my seat on a plane!!!

 

So that’s it…a non eventful holiday for a change!! Not a slip, trip or tumble to report, nothing lost or stolen & no confrontation with anyone at all!!  But as much as I’m chilled & rested, I don’t think I’ll be hurrying back to Sa Coma anytime soon!!

Thanks for stopping by…I’m hoping to get around to everyone over the next couple of days for a spot of catching up & commenting!  I hope you have a great weekend wherever you are!! :)