Spain in the new restrictions!

Well December is nearly upon us and to start getting in the Christmas mood we headed to Palma to see the Christmas lights and do a spot of Black Friday shopping.  We parked near the cathedral which was as beautiful as ever:

This year they had a huge Christmas tree installation in the Parc de la Mar the other side of the lake in front of the cathedral.  It had a lit tunnel through the bottom and the lights were moving - it was quite the most spectacular thing I've seen in a long while and really made us - and lots of other people it seems - smile 😁

Everyone was wearing a mask and staying at a safe distance automatically and we felt perfectly safe.  The Borne lights (top right in the above photo collage) were, as ever, classically beautiful.  The area was pretty busy due to Black Friday but again, masks were de rigeur.  My friend and I enjoyed a browse in Zara and then H&M and I got my major purchase of a bargain price gorgeous coat.  The guys, with inevitable predictability, parked themselves in a bar/cafe to wait for us. After a cheap pizza meal in a backstreet cafe in the old town behind the cathedral we headed back to PP having quite literally enjoyed the "bright lights, big city" for an evening.

Locally I finally found myself having a coffee on Wednesday in Loqueria just off the square.  It's run by an Italian couple and really is the most astonishing place!  Coffee was in bone china cups and freshly brewed (no coffee machine in sight) with a complementary piece of tart - a sweet tapas if you will, and rather a cut above the normal biscuit in a packet 😝 And the decor is very different, you feel as if you've just stepped into someone's rather lovely living room.

The furniture, glasses, crockery etc are all non-matching and it's wonderfully eclectic and interesting.  They're currently only open during the day on Wednesday mornings while the market is on, but they are open in the evening and the prices on the modest menu seem very reasonable although I believe the wine is a bit pricey - not by UK standards but by what we're used to round here.  In any event, for a coffee in gorgeous surroundings I'm not sure it could be beaten 😎

Today was mostly grey and miserable but the forecasted downpours didn't happen.  As we started walking from a wonderful Sunday roast at Liberty Kitchen down the seafront to Bar Bondia's second Crafternoon, it was fantastic to see the playground near Stay restaurant finally open for business again:

We had a great time at the Crafternoon; some stalls were the same as before but there were also some new ones and I bought some yummy American scones and Rocky Road from Darcey's Bakes.  Darcey is the very talented young daughter of Rachel, my gym instructor and I have a blueberry and lemon scone all lined up for later with a cup of tea 🥮 whilst watching the Strictly Come Dancing results show - don't judge me, I love it!

In local Covid-19 related news, as at 27 November no new cases had been reported in the Pollensa area in the previous 24 hours which is fantastic news, especially as we approach the festive season.  And the Balearic Islands government this week announced that a free PCR test will be available to any returning Balearic Islands residents at their own PAC if they want one.  Interesting!  As an asthmatic (mild), I'm off for my flu vaccination tomorrow so here's hoping I don't feel too delicate afterwards.  Mind you, although I've not had one for a few years as I didn't identify myself as asthmatic at the PAC here until the beginning of this year (yes, yes, I know!), I can't recall ever having any particular reaction before so hey ho.  The Spanish government has, like the UK one, outlined it's plan for rolling out the Covid-19 vaccination across the population here and I for one will be taking that up at the first possible opportunity.  I'm more than confident that the various vaccinations have been well tested and the airlines are starting to suggest that in due course it may only be possible to fly if in possession of a certificate of vaccination.  Everyone must make the decision they feel best for them of course, but for me frankly I want my life and the ability to travel back! 

We're away next weekend so the next blog will be in two weeks' time.  In the meantime I'll leave you with this picture taken this evening across the bay:

Stay safe and hasta luego! 

Spain in the new restrictions!

So...as November races by, the situation here remains unchanged in terms of the restrictions and the numbers of Covid-19 cases in the Pollensa area (53 as of yesterday) but we feel quite lucky compared to the current restrictions in most of the UK so no-one here has any complaints.  Officially we have another 10 days under the current restrictions but much of Spain is extending theirs to around the 9th so it may be that we get some sort of indication as to how the Balearic government is thinking in the next week.  Personally I don't expect much to change here other than an extension of the date from the current 2nd, but we're watching what is happening in the UK with a great deal of interest.....  We don't yet have any indication about what may change here for Christmas but although we feel fine about the festivities under the current restrictions, I suspect many larger Mallorcan/Spanish families may beg to differ though.  However, we shall see.....

Yesterday we went for a walk along Pine Walk down past the Illa d'Or hotel and back.  

They're currently doing work on the Illa d'Or terrace so I'm sure it will look gorgeous for the 2021 season and this is the current state of play:

The weather was lovely although it was a little breezy and there was a modest swell which splashed up against the Pine Walk with such enthusiasm that there were quite a few very wet parts of the path!  I managed to catch one of the splashy moments:

On Friday evening we had a lovely meal at Liberty Kitchen - I had the famous fish 'n chips and Ian had the liver and bacon and chose to have chips with it.  Completely yummy and we could hardly move afterwards 😛 We're so lucky having so many wonderful places to choose from if we're going out to eat, even in the winter.

Today we cycled to Pollensa via the entrance to Hotel Llenaire (seen from the road in the first pic below) and stopped in our favourite little cafe in Pollensa for a coffee and toast with tomato and olive oil with a nice view of the Puig.  We didn't go to the market as there was nothing we needed and we didn't want to leave the bikes anywhere just in case!  So we set off through the back streets to come out at the old carpet factory and home down the main road.  We did about 15km altogether although the journey home is rather quicker as it's actually very slightly downhill from Pollensa to the Port; in a car you just never realise but on a bike you really do!  It was great to get out in the fresh air with such gorgeous scenery although there was quite a chilly breeze; mind you, any warmer and we really would have worked up a sweat.  As it was, it was perfect weather and a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning.

Our little canine prince Alfie (whose birthday is today 🎂) is on the mend although has developed an unhealthy expectation that we will carry him up every flight of stairs even if he has just come in from outside where he has been straining at the leash like a Husky in order to give a Pitbull or a German Shepherd a piece of his mind - all 9kg and 10" tall of him 😳  So he goes from a diminutive (and deluded!) canine prize-fighter to an eyelash fluttering helpless invalid within a couple of minutes.  We're beginning to think we're being taken advantage of........  As for Tally she surpassed her previous levels of diva-ness this week.  Ian keeps a couple of small rucksacks with a few tools in on top of her crate where she sleeps in her rather gorgeous velveteen princess-y bed.  And it came to pass that some WD40 dripped onto said princess-y bed and made the mattress part absolutely stink when you got close although we didn't at first notice.  It was only when she went to enter our bedroom as usual for her bedtime biscuit and suddenly turned and went back downstairs that we wondered what was going on.  And what was going on was that she'd remembered that, as retribution for what had happened to her bed, she had previously sneaked upstairs and wee'd on our bottom sheet - re-tally-ation if you will 😂  So despite the fact that she ended up sleeping on a spare cushion in her bed that night, we ended up having to change our bottom sheet and mattress protector (mercifully the duvet was folded back) late at night so it's game, set and match to the four-leggeds I think! 

The Port is still quite quiet although on Saturday evening the square was pretty busy with people coming and going so that is at least a reminder of 'normal' times.  Mask wearing is obligatory and has been for ages but yesterday, for the first time, I took the dogs for their evening toilet walk with Ian and got right down to the grass by the 1919 roundabout before realising, to my horror, that I had forgotten my mask.  Ian had his on so how we both missed the fact that I hadn't got mine is beyond us - let's call it a 'senior moment' shall we 😳?  Given that the fines out here for not wearing a mask are pretty hefty, I was appalled and had to walk home like a tortoise with my coat done right up to my chin and me trying to shrink down so that it covered at least my mouth, it certainly got my heart rate up!!  Luckily I managed to slink home in disgrace without being spotted to my great relief 😓

I'm still teaching and all is going very well in terms of the safety precautions we have in place at the school.  And a bonus - this year (and I hope I'm not tempting fate by saying this!) for the first year in living memory I haven't had a cold AT ALL.  Normally by now I'm on at least my second (and out here they seem to go on for EVER, not sure why) courtesy of the younger students.  But because we're all wearing masks and cleaning everything and using industrial quantities of hand sanitiser it just goes to show how in normal circumstances bugs and viruses are spread which aren't even as contagious as Covid-19.  Do you think anyone would notice if I did it again next winter whilst teaching....😂

Stay safe and hasta el próximo domingo!

Spain in the new restrictions!

The weather remains glorious here in Mallorca and is a constant reminder of one of the (many!) reasons why we moved here.  And of course at the moment, whilst we have a number of restrictions including a midnight - 6am curfew, compulsory mask wearing and table gatherings of no more than 6 people, we are still lucky enough to be able to go out for a drink or a meal, to do non-essential shopping, go to the gym etc.  Mind you, numbers had gone up certainly in the Pollensa area so we shouldn't - mustn't - become complacent, but the good news is that as of Friday, the number of active cases in the municipality had gone down to 52 and no new cases reported 👌 long may that continue......

On Thursday we got up at silly o'clock to get to Palma for Ian to join the queue at the police office for foreign nationals to collect his new, post-Brexit TIE (ID) card.  I'm not going to roam into the politics of Brexit and anyway it's a done deal now, but trust me when I say that those who don't think it will make any difference to UK nationals living in the EU and the ability of UK nationals to come here to live and/or work in the future, are sadly incorrect.  In any event, Ian had already been to sort the paperwork out and now that his card was back from Madrid where they're processed, it was time to collect it.  You have to book an appointment online and my goodness they're difficult to get.  For quite a while the only place that had appointments was Mahon in Menorca!  The fact that having an appointment makes absolutely no difference to having to queue up to get in is an interesting, but typically Spanish, anomaly 😂  Sorry indeed is the person who turns up at the time on their appointment confirmation; Ian was in that queue by 8.30am with a 10.30am appointment as we've been around the block a few times here (much like the queue in busy periods 😂) and there was no fooling us.  And it came to pass that, as ever, once the doors open they got through the queue really quite quickly and Ian was done and dusted more than an hour ahead of his actual appointment and able to join me for coffee in the convenient little cafe opposite where I'd gone to have a delicious breakfast of coffee and toast with tomato with a side order of a few olives.  I've been in there quite a few times and the owner is a cheerful guy but he surpassed himself this time by singing along lustily to Whitney Houston's Greatest Hits with the climax of the performance being "The Greateeeest Loff of All" which provided an interesting but very entertaining ambience at 8.30am! The man was born to perform I tell you and totally wasted on cafe ownership 😝  I should point out that he only sang along when well away from anyone else such as clearing a vacated table, in a very spacious and airy premises and was fully masked at all times, so it was all perfectly safe.  In any event and in case you're wondering, the reason I haven't had to change my residence card in the same way is that I'm a dual national UK/Irish and have made sure that my residency here is based on my Irish (and therefore EU) citizenship.

Today we went along to Bar Bondia (opposite the Pollensa Park Hotel) who, after their Sunday roast lunchtime service, had a Christmas Crafternoon where local small businesses sold their homemade goods, decorations, jewellery and foods.  Only 6 people were allowed in at a time and everyone had a wonderful time browsing the lovely things on offer.  

Amongst other things we bought a jar of caramelised onion chutney and a pack of homemade Cumberland sausages - yum!   It is more important than ever before to support our local small businesses and artisans in these challenging times and even when things return to normal - and they will - I intend to continue doing so 👍

This week has been a challenging one with regard to one of our dogs who, long story short, appears to have a herniated (slipped) disc in his back near his rear end.  So there have been several visits to the vets behind the church culminating in him being sedated for an x-ray, and some blood tests.  You can actually see how narrow the gap is between his vertebrae in one spot so we're now on tablet, back warming and massaging plus carrying duties.  He only walks a little way and then can't/won't go any further so we have to pick him up just so, in order not to make things worse.   He's also not allowed to go up and down stairs, on/off the sofa etc and as we live quite high up and with no lift this is proving to be a test of our fitness - he's just shy of 10kg which feels very heavy after a while!  I just wonder what we'd do if he was a Great Dane 😳  Anyhow, we've ordered a dog buggy online so that when his back is bad we can wheel him around in his chariot like the little prince he is; this will also help us if we're honest as staggering around carrying 10kg across both your arms to keep his spine straight whilst trying to manage our other dog's lead plus making every effort not to squash the inevitable bag of dog poo really is as tricky as it sounds 😂

In wider news, most of us are now very aware of the need for travellers to Spain from countries on the EU high risk of infection list needing to have had a negative PCR test done within the previous 72 hours.  This will have the effect for most of preventing travel as I believe costs for these specialised tests are around £150 a time.  But on the bright side, the news about the new vaccination seems more than hopeful although for sure it will be many months yet before it, and others like it, are widely available.  But patience is a virtue as they say so......

As I've been writing, the Christmas ads are showing thick and fast on the TV plus I've been seeing people on social media who have already put their Christmas trees up; normally I'm a dyed in the wool "Christmas starts on 1 Dec at the absolute earliest" kinda gal but you know what?  This year it all makes me smile - whatever makes people happy is just fine and dandy.  

Hasta el próximo domingo!  Stay safe 🤗

Spain in the new restrictions!

How is everyone in the UK 4 days into the second lockdown?  Hope everyone's ok.  The weeks here seem to be going past fairly rapidly now and, given that this hasn't been a year that we'll ever forget but for all the wrong reasons, that is not necessarily the worst thing if I'm honest.  Mind you, I don't think I've ever looked forward so much to Christmas possibly because that's a reference point of normality which I think a lot of us need right now.  And we're going to Stay restaurant for Christmas dinner so that's certainly a wonderful treat to look forward to 😃

On Friday we went to Bar Bondia (near the Pollensa Park hotel) for a one-off Elvis aka Dennis extravaganza (who hasn't performed at all in 2020 but gave us his all for nearly 2.5 hours 🎤 he never stopped and must have lost about half a stone in weight!  We had sausage baps beforehand - delicious - and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It was almost like being back to 'normal' and we agreed we haven't had such a good night in a loooooong time.  Here he is in all his glory:

After admiring 'Elvis's" exertions, I'm still keeping pretty fit and since I re-started running after the heat of the summer, my 5km times are almost back to my PB pre-summer.  Gyms are still allowed to be open here thank goodness, so classes continue as normal.  In many of the mainland regions life has continued as normal, with non-essential businesses such as restaurants, bars and gyms remaining open just as they are here, albeit with obligatory mask-wearing etc and curfews varying from 10pm-midnight until 6-7am.  But things are starting to change as today Andalucia has announced the closure of non-essential activity (details not yet clear) and Murcia has announced the closure of bars/restaurants for the next two weeks.  The autonomous regions have for the most part kept their borders closed though, although the Balearic border is still open as such but it isn't possible to travel to the mainland unless for a seriously good reason.  And of course flights to and from the UK for example are few and far between due to the second lockdown there.  Sadly numbers of coronavirus cases in the Pollensa area have gone up and are apparently now at 43 which is more by some way than we had during the spring which is slightly concerning, but I guess something we just have to accept can happen here as it can happen anywhere and the numbers are still low considering the population of 16,000+ so......

Earlier this week we went to the big Eroski and sat outside at the nice little cafe there to have a coffee in the sunshine beforehand.  And what should be there but this little beauty:

Hands up who had a Chopper bike? ✋ Yep, me too.  It was certainly very unexpected to see one and it was in immaculate condition so I had to take a photo of it.  It wasn't locked or anything so we assumed its owner was just inside and keeping a close eye on it.  Anyway, in due course a guy of a 'certain age' came out, got on it, and off he pedalled.  I like to think he'd had it since his youth and looked after it all these years. 

Yesterday, before the radio show (the studio is in the cloisters in Pollensa) I popped into De Cor - also The Present House, check out their online shop or via FB - to have a browse.  My goodness, their lovely shop is choc full of gorgeous things.  Anyhow, I treated myself to a gorgeous lime, basil & mandarin scented candle - I've been meaning to get one for ages as so many people have raved about them.  The scent is divine 💕

Today, after watching the Remembrance Day coverage at the Cenotaph we took the dogs for a walk in the lovely sunshine along the bypass towards Formentor and then down into town and back through the square.  What a truly beautiful place this is 💝

When we walked past the car park at the start of the Boquer Valley walk, it was so full that cars had parked down the service road of the bypass.  Anyone thinking they'd have the place pretty much to themselves would have been sorely mistaken!  It reminded me of the fact that I'd never thought of the Spanish as walkers/hikers particularly, seeing it as certainly more popular amongst those of us from countries further north.  But during the cooler weather here the Spanish in their hike boots and rucksacks, flock to the countryside and mountains which is something I hadn't expected before living here.  Anyway, to reward our rather more modest exertions - well that's our excuse and we're sticking to it 😂 - went for a yummy roast dinner at Liberty Kitchen - their roasts are so generous we simply didn't have room for a dessert!  

Stay safe everyone 🤗 and hasta el próximo domingo....... 

Spain in the new restrictions!

Our first week under the new restrictions here has gone well, helped by the decision of the Balearic regional government to move the curfew time from 11pm to midnight.  Spain has so far avoided a national second lockdown, devolving such decisions to the autonomous regions.  They, in turn, have for the most part locked their borders with only essential travel between the regions allowed.  There are a couple of exceptions on the mainland but as they are surrounded by other 'locked' areas, it's sort of a done deal!  The Balearics have not locked their regional border but again, with most of the rest of Spain having done so and as islands anyway the effect is much the same.  Either way, this will have prevented people travelling this bank holiday weekend (All Souls Day is 1 Nov, therefore in true Spanish fashion the Monday is considered fair game as a bank holiday).

It has been sobering to see the UK announcement yesterday about a second lockdown starting on Thursday.  Mind you, it's rather different to the previous one and world's away from the one we had here earlier in the year.  Is that progress?  Damned if I know 😳  Nevertheless, these are challenging times to say the least and those of us lucky enough to live here are still concerned for for the well-being of family members and friends in the UK.  Let's hope things are improved enough to allow for a modest degree of Christmas festivities.......

Here in the Port, Cheftable Thai restaurant and Patio de Frida have just closed for the season although many businesses have always closed at the end of October.  Last night's full moon (and a blue one ie. the second full moon in the same month) on Halloween was lovely: 

Although trick or treating was a non-event here this year, it didn't prevent quite a number of local bars decorating themselves to stunning effect and quite a lot of people out enjoying their Saturday night food/drink but just dressed as a wide range of spooky beings 👻  This included us and here we are in all our 'glory' 😂

We went out on our bikes so mask wearing was kept to a minimum with all that face paint!  Mind you, two zombie school students pedalling away along the sea front did raise quite a few smiles 😁  And it was pretty chilly on the way home in that short skirt let me tell you 😱  But I've jumped ahead so.... first we went to Meraki in the square which was stunningly decorated and really well attended (although everyone was at well spaced tables etc) which was good to see.

The picture makes it look more crowded than it actually was by the way.  Mika and Cato - the two sisters who run the bar - were both dressed as Wednesday Addams and you can just see both of them standing facing the bar on the left collecting the orders.  I can highly recommend their sangria - tasted purely in the interests of research you understand 😳

We then headed on our bikes off to Palms Bar (near the Pollensa Park Hotel) to meet friends and had a great evening, helped along by one of the music TV channels playing the Top 60 Halloween songs - sadly no dancing allowed of course, but nevertheless a spooktastically good time was had by all.  We left about 11.45pm and pedalled like fury along the sea front to beat the curfew at midnight - a bit like two ghoulish Cinderellas 😂  We made it with a few minutes to spare.....

In other local news, there has been yet another possible poisoning incident at the dog beach in Llenaire 😡 police are investigating and the area is currently closed although I understand the dog affected is making good progress at Moixica vets thank goodness!  This is not the first time it has happened; feral cat colonies also get poisoned from time to time, most recently at least one colony in Cala san Vicente.  It is such a cruel thing to do, many of the feral cats have been castrated and are fed by local volunteers so there really is no reason to do this.  And as for putting poison on a dog beach - well there really are no words! 😡😢

We've done a number of dog walks during the past week including round La Gola nature reserve which is looking very autumnally pretty right now.  Here are a few views we've enjoyed  whilst doing so:

Yes, we know we're very lucky 😍

On Friday we took a cheeky trip to Fan shopping centre (near to Palma Airport) for a small spot of Christmas shopping and to get a few things in Carrefour.  We didn't want to leave it until later in case commercial centres get closed or if not, they get busy as Christmas approaches.  Anyway, it's an open air centre so we felt it would be safe and it was - everyone wearing a mask, social distancing etc and it wasn't over busy either so just perfect.  I needed to shall we say, use the'facilities' 😳 the ladies had an attendant to allow only a certain number of people in; this meant there was a small queue outside but everyone socially distanced automatically there.  Predictably there was no queue for the gents - there never is, is there?! - but Ian told me they'd taped off every other toilet and urinal so people stayed separate.  All very organised and we felt perfectly safe 👌

We are now well and truly into autumn here but the weather is still glorious with temperatures in the early 20's and lots of azure blue skies and sunshine.  By contrast the weather in the UK seems to be.....well....not quite so glorious.  But if you want a reminder of what blue skies look like, here's a final picture taken behind Siller during today's dog walk - you're welcome! 😎

Stay safe and hasta el próximo domingo!