Hola Lola
We’d set the alarm for the obscene time of 4am today and weren’t entirely sure whether we’d be conscious enough to heed its call and snap into action. A taxi was booked for 4:20 so there was no time for the snooze button that’s for sure!
Somehow we did manage, semi-conscious, to squeeze ourselves into the cab, bags and all (with only a couple of mad dashes back upstairs for things we’d left behind), & for the first time since we’d been in London, had a cabbie that wanted to engage in a bit of friendly banter. The cabs now have big perspex screens between yourselves and them, with no one allowed to sit in the front, and it makes it all feel a bit impersonal. This cabbie was great though and won the boys over with chat of the EPL & its ins & outs. He dutifully deposited us on the footpath at London City Airport as we prepared to farewell London and wing our way to the Spanish island of Mallorca.
When Toby found out last year that he’d be going to Barcelona as an exchange student, a friend introduced us to a Catalan teacher named Lola, who could give him some language basics before he went. Lola now comes to our house once a week to teach Toby Catalan and she is the most wonderful woman! We love her to bits and have got to know her family over the course of the last couple of years. With a daughter, Paula, the same age as Sam, a son, Joan (pronounced Jhoo-ahn), the same age as Toby and a daughter, Lucia (pronounced Looth-ee-ah) the same age as Maisy, our families are a good fit. Lola, when finding out we were coming to Europe, insisted we come to visit her family in Mallorca.They would be on the island a the same time and we all had to come and stay with her mum! She’s not the kind of person you can easily refuse.
Lola and Joan met us at the airport with hugs and kisses all round. Being such a big family necessitates a big car…truth be known, we probably needed a whole car just for our bags! The hire car they lined up for us certainly fitted the bill and was enormous! We looked like the A Team in our gargantuan shiny black van. Now if London ha been hot, Mallorca was on another level. The temperature gauge on the dashboard read 43 degrees! Lola’s mum was so hospitable and just like the weather, was very warm. The house was a typical Spanish style house with a red tiled roof, shutters on all the windows and a cactus garden. The houses here are mostly in shades of cream, yellow and pink and as you look around there are vibrant bursts of colour to break up the mono tones, from bougainvilleas climbing absolutely everywhere. There are also lots of oleander trees with bright pink flowers dotting the landscape. The dirt is red and dry and most houses have short rock walls out the front of their places; crazy paving going vertical.
Lola and her mum had prepared a feast for our lunch with amazing Spanish hard cheeses, home made spinach and cheese croquettes, jamon straight off the bone – which was perched up on the kitchen bench on its own little stand. It was a bit confronting, to be honest, seeing a big pig’s leg in its entirety just sitting there. It freaked me out a little that it doesn’t go in the fridge but just sits out there under a tea towel in the humidity. Maybe we are all a bit soft. Despite my reservations, I tried it & was pleasantly surprised. It was delicious! There was also another typical Mallorcan delicacy: ‘sobrasada’, a sort of sausage that is soft enough to spread on bread. Lola’s mum had made it and it was tied with brown string and looked amazing. Maisy took a particular liking to it, filling Lola’s mum with joy. The friendly neighbour, Maria, popped down with her homegrown tomatoes, onions and green peppers, so different looking to our own, and we made a delicious salad, ‘trampo’.
Maria invited everyone next door for a swim in her pool – a welcome relief – and then Joan directed us to a locals-only secret swimming spot on the Mediterranean. Our eyes nearly popped out of our heads when we saw the beauty of the place. The colour of the water was incredible, looking like it had been photoshopped it was such a vibrant blue! There was a steep, sandy, rocky climb down to the water on fine white clay-like sand and I was a little unsure Toby would make the climb down with his boot on. In the end, his sheer determination not to miss out got him down there. There were rocks all around the shore and then smaller rocks underwater covered in small floral coral that felt like carpet underfoot. The water was divine and SO clear! It was extremely deep in some spots but you could see clearly all the way to the bottom. It was surreal to be wading into the Mediterranean!
A few others started gathering on the shore as we were swimming out to a big jump rock right in the middle of the water. Toby showed some restraint (well, maybe that was because Ross & I were yelling at him not to even think about it!) but Molly, Sam & Ross followed Joan up and over the rock to plunge about 10m to the cool, blue water below. As I was swimming back, I glanced at the rocky shore to see a youngish bloke with his girlfriend, sitting, TOTALLY starkers on the rock! It was hilarious! He was just casually cruising around there, shaking sand off his towel and shaking a whole lot more in the process! I couldn’t believe my eyes and called out to Joan to see if he was finding it as hilarious as I was. He was more amused at my amusement and said it happens all the time there! What a classic! Carefully, with averted eyes, I retrieved my towel and headed black up the cliff, chuckling all the way!
This afternoon, Lola, our tour guide extraordinaire, took us into the city of Palma. Her nephew Sergi, who we’d met in Sydney, and his gorgeous young girlfriend came with the whole gang. Sergi had some Spanish jazz music playing in the car and it just added to the mood. I felt like I was in a movie! Stopped at the traffic lights, a guy came out in front of all the stopped cars to perform a little circus act with a ball of water. It was awesome! We felt bad because we had no euros yet to give him. Later we saw a guy juggling in front of the red-light. So much talent on the streets!
We explored the castle, cathedral and ancient wall around the old city. The history of it all was mind-blowing! Then we wove our way through the paved streets and laneways, stopping for an icecream and admiring this gorgeous place. Around every corner there was a photo opportunity. We walked and walked and walked. So much so that I fell asleep in the car on the way home! I had hit the wall. While I was snoozing, the others walked up onto Lola’s mum’s roof to watch the sunset, which they said was magnificent. This was followed by another swim in Maria’s pool. I awoke to the mouth-wateringly good smell of pork cooking. Lola’s mum had been cooking all day for us (& it was her birthday!) She is lavishing us with her generosity and hospitality but because I can’t speak Catalan, I feel like I can’t properly thank her. Saying ‘gràcies’ in my ridiculously bad Spanish accent, just doesn’t seem enough. Her pork spare ribs were to die for! We topped off the meal with home made tiramisu and a hearty rendition of ‘happy birthday’ to Lola’s mum, in 3 different languages!
