Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 64

So Ian awoke this morning to me singing "Happy Birthday" which I suspect he'd have been happy to have avoided if possible but he was a captive audience 😂  After he opened his cards and presents we had breakfast and then generally mooched about.  It's amazing how time flies when you're mooching about!

We headed out to Meraki tapas bar in the square for Ian's birthday lunch and spent a couple of hours chatting to friends and thoroughly enjoying a selection of tapas in gentle sunshine.  The weather had been projected to be wet but was really pleasant, not hot, but warm with a gentle breeze.  Bar Manolo and Hostal Borras were also open (well, the terraces) and there was a gentle hum of people which makes such a contrast to the total silence that there was in the square previously.  After lunch we headed home and Ian in particular had several video calls with family - his son, daughter-in-law and three grand-daughters all sang him happy birthday together and he chatted with everyone for ages which was lovely.

We had a table booked at Stay for Ian's birthday meal 😎 but it was early at 6.30pm as currently they are closing at 9pm with last orders at 8pm and we certainly didn't want to be rushed.  During the last few weeks I have walked up to and past or around Stay whilst it's been empty so many times, so to finally actually sit down on their terrace was simply wonderful 🎉🍹 The staff were all wearing gloves and masks but were as attentive and welcoming as ever.  Tables were all well spaced and staff thoroughly sprayed and cleaned tables and chairs after they had been used.  We had their lovely menu del dia and wanted to have a long relaxing evening to enjoy it which was exactly what we got.  The meal was wonderful and although it had clouded over slightly, the breeze which had picked up a bit from 'gentle', died and the sea was like a mirror.  I was wearing a light cardigan but had brought a warm wrap assuming I'd need it later but I brought it home as folded as I took it!   They brought out his dessert with a candle (like they do) and he had an additional complimentary brandy on top of the ones included in the menu del dia.  So Ian was a very happy birthday boy!

FYI, the toilets were open but only one person is allowed in at a time and a sign reminds people to respect the 2m distance.  By the toilets was a table with a hand sanitiser, a box of tissues and a sign reminding of the importance of cleaning hands, disposing of tissues after use etc.  Very reassuring and I guess this is the new normal everywhere for the foreseeable future.

And so Ian's birthday ended with us feeling very lucky to have been able to spend it in such a lovely location, with such a great view and with such lovely food and service.  Not so long ago we thought the best case scenario was getting home delivery pizza - but I think we're all more than aware by now of how quickly things can change.  And sometimes in a good way.  

Stay safe and hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 63

Phase 1 seems to be going well so far - as of today there are 15 new cases in the Balearics but none required hospital admission and there have been no deaths.  We need to see how things go over a lot longer to be sure that Phase 1 has been a success mind you.  There are definitely some rather contradictory and 'hard to understand the sense of' rules; for example, you can go and sit on a bar's terrace with up to 10 other people at the same table but you aren't allowed to take exercise by going bathing in the sea (or communal pools).  However you can swim in the sea during the exercising time slot if you are a serious swimmer (like a triathlete).  You can only go for a walk up to 1km from your home but if you are properly striding out (ish!) and do so during the exercise time slot you can go as far as you like within the municipality.  You can't do exercise with friends you don't live with eg. cycling, but you can sit and have a drink or a meal in a group of up to 10 at a restaurant or in your home!  All a bit odd, but it is what it is and as far as I can see pretty much everyone is sticking to the rules.  I really hope so because the Balearics moving on to Phase 2 in a week's time depends on how well we do.  I believe the Balearic government has applied for us to do so - I have all my fingers and toes crossed!

On the subject of government, the Spanish government is asking for the state of alarm here to be extended for another month.  This would be whilst working our way, hopefully, through the various Phases.  And with regard to travel, Spain has extended entry restrictions for international travellers until 15th June.  This of course means no tourism is possible until at least then but with the state of the airline industry and countries at various stages of success in dealing with the current situation, I can't see that any other decision could have been made. 

Today started with a 5km run on our trusty running machine before breakfast so I felt very virtuous whilst eating my porridge 😇  Once showered, I went off to Lidl.  Bit rash to do so on a Saturday but I felt like living dangerously.  There was a small queue to get in but it moved really quickly and Lidl seems fully stocked now (there were a few minor gaps before but I haven't noticed any recently).  However it is sometimes difficult to stick to social distancing when someone stops right by what you need and doesn't seem to hear your polite request for them to move.  I ended up having to practically elbow one woman out the way to get to some garlic bread; not as bad as it sounds, I did it by sort of looming - I'm good at looming as I'm not far short of 6' tall.  Anyway, it did the trick and she moved out of the way sharpish.  Never fails......

Once back, triumphantly clutching my garlic bread, we watched some TV and I had a good go at my jigsaw puzzle which I'm determined to finish this weekend.  And I'm very close...

Mind you, I won't get much done tomorrow because it is Ian's birthday so maybe I'll extend until Monday.  We're going out for a meal which is more than we had thought might be possible until fairly recently, having resigned ourselves to a home delivery.  We will of course have to eat outside on a terrace and the weather forecast for tomorrow is cloudy and wet 😂  Where are we going? Hmmmm.......🤔

Stay safe and hasta luego!

Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 62

We got up pretty promptly as we knew our morning was going to be full on learning how to groom the dogs.  And it certainly was!  My goodness, we have two but they aren't that big - both are Lhasa Apsos (very slightly larger than a Shih Tzu) and weight about 9kg each - so given that they'd both been bathed yesterday, how long can it take?  The answer is ....... ages!!  I doff my cap to all dog groomers because it's just epic.  Our dogs are non-shedding which means they don't moult and are wonderful in terms of no dog hair around the house and given that it means they're also hypo-allergenic, useful as Ian is allergic to shedding dogs.  So they do get very hairy, even between the pads on their paws.  It seems that a relatively small dog is divided into parts consisting of body, legs, skirt (don't ask!), chest, bum, tail, ears, head, undercarriage (a sort of short strip, a bit like a Brazilian but in reverse 😳😂).  It was never-ending!  I videoed, photographed, made notes, asked questions, you name it.  Clippers with different lengths, scissors for this, scissors for that.  By the time it was over, I needed to lie down in a quiet room for about an hour afterwards just for my brain to process everything!  And respect also to our two fur babies; they're always really tired after they've been to be groomed and now I totally get why as it's a tiring process for all concerned.  Here they are on the grooming table as we were about to learn how to do their heads.  Epic stuff 💪

In other news, my jigsaw habit is definitely well-established now; I will definitely buy some from the charity shop in the Port when it re-opens (and I've seen some great ones there) but my first action will be to count the pieces first as I'm not sure I could cope if I was a piece or two short at the finish.  That isn't the case with new ones but I must admit, I'm currently absolutely convinced that certain pieces aren't there - hmm, we'll see....

We went out this evening again, respecting social distancing, and had a lovely time.  It is so nice to see people and chat face to face even if it is from a distance.  Everyone is still so happy and smiley and I just get the impression that we're all so grateful - grateful to be here, grateful to have made it thus far through a weird shared experience, grateful to be able to talk to people other than those we live with.  Whether or not there will be a 'season' at all this year is the talk of the Port - of course no-one actually knows what will happen but people can't help but speculate.  With good reason to be fair because so many livelihoods here depend on tourism either directly or indirectly.  None of the hotels in the Port are open and I'm not sure any of them will find it viable to do so.  I'm a teacher but am indirectly affected - currently furloughed  - and whenever the language school re-opens who knows how many will be able to afford to attend?  It just boggles the mind though that just about every country in the world has been affected economically in a major way and that this is the stuff of major events in history in a seriously global way.  Our somewhat dubious claim to fame 😱

Tomorrow is a Lidl trip day which is still an exciting event as I get to drive our car.  But this is tame compared to going further afield.  Apparently if you drive to Al Campo you line up on marks on the floor in three areas at the one open entrance and when a security guard blows a whistle - boom! in you go and "get wild in the aisles" as per Rylan's entreaties in Supermarket Sweep.  I'm almost tempted to go there just for the craic 😂

Stay safe and hasta mañana!

Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 61

Rain was forecast today so we got up and ready pretty swiftly and headed off on our bikes for a nifty little 15km bike ride.  We headed out Hotel Llenaire way and just rode around mentally buying lots of lovely villas.  We stopped for some water beside an unoccupied and semi-derelict villa on a corner; it wasn't that old but the last time any work had been done there was certainly more than a few years ago.  It was on a large plot with lots of space in front which was overgrown but gardening services were being provided by a modest herd of goats who were wandering happily all over the place.  And in effect, the villa was acting as a giant goat shed.  Now given the cost of property here, wouldn't it be wonderful to have a villa on a decent plot in such a wonderful area that you could just use for goat-keeping?!  Lucky goats 🐐

We stopped for a coffee at Cafe Vitho on the seafront (next to what was Mombasa) on the way home and this time no police to tell us we couldn't sit on the beach wall!  Once home after breakfast we tackled washing the dogs.  They were NOT impressed!  We did Tally first who immediately did her inability to stand act so had to be carried in.  Once she was done I went in search of Alfie who was eventually discovered hiding in Tally's bed which was not a bad place to be honest as the lining is black as is Alfie and at first I didn't actually spot him - maybe he's not as daft as he looks!  They're being washed because tomorrow a friend who is a dog groomer is coming to show us how to groom them properly; as we managed a basic groom a few weeks ago we decided we would aim to do them ourselves if we could as it will save us a fortune.  So tomorrow both we, and the dogs, will be on a steep learning curve 🐶

After lunch and given that it was by now raining I thought I'd better renew my domestic goddess credentials and so after a spot of cleaning, I made a Swiss Roll.  As you do.  I've never made one before ever but I saw a recipe last week that appealed to me with it's simplicity and provenance.  I found it as part of the media coverage on VE Day anniversary celebrations and it was titled "Churchill's Swiss Roll".  After giving a VE Day speech, Churchill told his chef Georgina Landemare he could not have got through the war without her.   Apparently Georgina was with the family for twenty-two years.  The recipe uses no butter which was intriguing and if it was good enough for Churchill it's good enough for us, so I had to try it.  Long story short - it did roll and didn't crack.  Nigella eat your heart out 😂 I was delighted and here it is:

After a nice cup of tea and a piece of the fruits of my labour, I calmed down from such excitement by doing some more jigsaw puzzle.  Another one arrived in the post today but I've boobed - I thought I'd ordered a 1,000 piece puzzle of flags of the world; well I got the subject right but......it's only 300 pieces, oops!  Never mind, I might set myself a challenge and try to do it against the clock or something.  

Even though the weather hasn't been great today and people have to sit outside on terraces, there have been people out for coffees, drinks etc and I'm glad for the cafes/restaurants trying to make a living.  However even if the weather had been good, we are being careful about how often and where we go out now as it's important not to be too complacent; Covid-19 hasn't gone never to return, more's the pity and we want to strike a happy balance between, well, everything!  

Stay safe and hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 60

Yep, we've reached 60 days now!  To be fair, the last 3 days have felt so different because we've been able to socialise - carefully mind you!  The big emphasis is on being careful.  And from what I can see, people are sticking to the rules, it's strange to see the Spanish greeting each other vocally only - no kissing etc - and very occasionally doing the foot tap greeting.  Hand sanitiser seems to be de rigeur in our bags now, and bars have bottles of it in strategic places.  No menus - there are QR codes on the tables and you read the menu from them.  Staff in places I've been to all wear masks and gloves.  Phase 1 is scheduled to last two weeks so hopefully we'll all make it through Phase 1 successfully without a rise in Covid-19 cases but all we can do is be careful and wait to see.

Today I did my online gym class first thing and then had a good jigsaw puzzle session - think I might be becoming addicted!  We then took the dogs for their lunchtime toilet walk along Pine Walk to Pascolinos where we sat and had a coffee in the gorgeous sunshine.  Just because we could if I'm honest 😎 Here is the view from my seat:

Looking one way towards Cafe 1919 and the other towards the Sis Pins hotel the views are this:

Absolutely gorgeous but fairly deserted, especially when you consider what it would normally be like on a lovely day in mid-May.  This is what we'd expect to see during the winter as both Pascalinos and Cafe 1919 (far distant in the first photo) are both open in the winter as well.

Other places open that I didn't mention yesterday are ChefTable and Hostal Borras.  Several clothes shops are now also open but only 2 people are allowed in at a time and clothes tried on are set aside for a period of time plus Vero Moda for example has a steamer doodah to steam them as well.  I had wondered how buying clothes and whether we could try them on was going to work - and may have just popped in to Vero Moda just to find out, as you do.....😳

This afternoon I did some marking of student assignments and general online faffing about with teaching resources and then this evening we headed out for a couple of beers - well a coke and a couple of coffees in my case.  Everyone is so happy to see each other and it really is fantastic to see people face to face when you haven't seen them in 60 days!  I've never seen so many smiley people and it's really wonderful to think we've re-discovered the joys of friendship, chatting, joking - simple things that we all took for granted before I think.

Tomorrow we're going out for a bike ride first thing before we approach the weekend when, as is ever the way, the weather looks like rain - some things never change, even in Mallorca 😂

Stay safe and hasta luego!

Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 59

Well after yesterday's exciting and heady day, we woke up feeling tired - and no I didn't have a hangover; two glasses of wine does not a hangover make.  Ian admitted to feeling sluggish and has remained so all day, mind you he had more than two glasses of wine.....😳  The idea had been to go for a bike ride this morning but that didn't happen - wonder why?!

Anyhow, after breakfast I went for a run on our trusty running machine and listened to the Graham and Sarah Saturday (radio) Show's playlist from the weekend where I'd asked listeners for suggestions on a theme of exercise.  Great playlist with some wonderful suggestions, as ever 💜  Once I'd showered and changed, we headed off to.....drum roll.....the Chinese shop in C/Juan XXIII.  I've been hoping one of them would open soon as I needed several things and this one, the smallest, opened yesterday.  They can make hay while the sun shines so to speak, because the other two in the Port are too large to be allowed to open just yet (retail premises have to be less than 400 sq m).  They had everything on my list so I was more than pleased.  We then went for a coffee at Dolc Sa Pobla behind the church just for the sheer pleasure of being able to.  Whilst out we had a WhatsApp from our party animal neighbours opposite who had kindly taken in a parcel for us, so we collected that and then took the dogs out for their lunchtime toilet walk.  We also returned the paella pan to Los Faroles; we had had a table booked for the Sunday that we went into lockdown here all those weeks ago on 15th March which seems like another lifetime now, so obviously that was cancelled, but we had takeaway paella from them instead before they shut their doors for the past few weeks and of course still had the pan.  

Places that are definitely open in various ways because I've seen them myself are Norai, Celler La Parra, Can Ferra, Ca Les Monges/Los Faroles, Cafe 1919, Tecun, Nostalgia, Meraki, Bar Manolo, La Vall, Bodeguita, the Music Bar, Pascalinos and what was Tonik Bar (can't recall the new name); Stay apparently opens on Friday and Moll de Bellagio opens their back terrace next Monday.  I so hope they all manage to do well but only time will tell.....

All day I felt absolutely shattered for no reason and although it sounds ridiculous, all I can think is that suddenly speaking to lots of people, the excitement and giddy headiness of yesterday, just drained me.  It's sort of like when you have a major event at work or in your personal life and then afterwards you feel sooooo tired, in a good way, but tired.  For 57 days I've basically interacted with hardly anyone face to face apart from Ian and then suddenly - BOOM! - you see and speak to just about everyone you know and it's bizarre and certainly unexpected but I don't think it's just coincidence.  

In the afternoon I had a good session with my new jigsaw puzzle; it is harder but I'm definitely getting better at doing them.  And, following yesterday's haircut, I did a bit of a pamper manicure/pedicure session during which the dogs entertained me playing with their toys of which, I think, they have far too many.  Here they are doing their impersonation of the Chuckle Brothers "to me, to you, to me, to you..."

They have been unimpressed with the last couple of weeks because for ages they had us 24/7 and I think they thought they'd finally got us properly trained, but now we go out sometimes so I expect we're heading for the naughty corner sometime very soon 😂

So we're ending our day quietly; it's important to enjoy going out in a socially responsible way but equally important not to do so too much - we've got a long way to go and we want to get there!

Stay safe and hasta pronto!

Spain in lockdown Phase 1 - Day 58

Day 1 of Phase 1 dawned bright and sunny and after breakfast we headed out for our haircuts - and my goodness how wonderful it was!  Once I'd had my hair layers and fringe sorted out properly I felt all swishy like a Pantene advert.  Heady with excitement we then made our way to Dolc Sa Pobla (behind the church) for a long awaited cafe con leche in a proper coffee cup ie. not takeaway.  Bliss!

The atmosphere out in the Port was like Christmas only with warmer weather - everyone was smiling and excited and a little bit giddy!  It was fabulous and it was clear how much everyone was enjoying themselves 😀  We walked a long way round, very excited that we weren't bound by any timing or having to keep an eye out for police as such.  We saw lots of friends and everyone was as excited and smiley as we were so the energy in the air was tangible.  We took the dogs for a nice walk early lunchtime and then made our way to Meraki (next to Bonys) on the square where we had a burger lunch, still feeling a bit over-excited 😝  

Once home after lunch we calmed down a bit.  I mean it's not good for too much excitement in one go at our age 😂 so I focused on my new jigsaw puzzle and managed to get a reasonable amount done although I stand by my opinion that this is the hardest one yet.  Meantime Ian practised his Spanish online and also went to collect some metalwork for the cockpit seats on our boat that he'd had made and then fitted them to the seats - I confess he went into the technicalities of what exactly he'd had made and why but it all went a little over my head if I'm honest but he's happy so.......  

After I'd walked the dogs we headed off for an evening of drinks and tapas, again at Meraki,  and what a lovely evening we had with friends.  It's hard to describe how it feels to once again be able to socialise with people (with care!) and everyone was quite giddy with excitement.  And the general hum of noise - haven't heard that in...well....57 days in fact.  Suffice it to say we had a wonderful time and it makes you realise how much we've taken going out for granted until now.  It would be wonderful if we kept that feeling of childlike excitement going but, well, we shall see.  

So....today has been a heady mix of socialising and food that we haven't cooked - plus a few beers and wine 🍷🍻 and freedom, no panicky clock watching for our 'slot'.  We're not naive, there's a long way to go and the data on Covid-19 may change as a result of our move to Phase 1.  But it's been brilliant all the same and shows that the human spirit will prevail 💪

Stay safe and hasta mañana!