I’d arranged the flight times to coincide, to make pickups and drop-offs easier, as it’s about an hour-and-a-half round trip to the airport. With Christien and Brad returning on the flight that Mum was arriving on, we set off to the airport. As luck would have it, the flight was about 30 minutes early, meaning that Christien was able to surprise his grandma at the arrivals gate and point her towards the pick-up area, where her son and chauffeur were waiting for her.
Mum’s 84 but has quickly become a seasoned traveller, taking it all in her stride—it really is fantastic. Unfortunately, the first few days were somewhat wet and windy for Mum, so we didn’t do too much, but she had her head buried in a book, so I’m not sure she noticed.
Pollensa sits about 10 km from the port where we are, and although we’d driven past it many times, today was our first visit. It’s a beautiful old town with wonderful streets that meet in a central square, with 365 steps leading up to a tiny church called the Calvario Chapel and a lovely viewpoint. We decided on a tapas lunch in the square, with the highlight being roasted artichokes, which were delicious.
Not too far from the apartment is Formentor, a spectacular bluff located on the northernmost point of the island and a World Heritage Site. We only took Mum up to the high point, where you are rewarded with some incredible views. It’s just the start of a series of winding roads leading to the lighthouse, but we are planning on cycling to the cap.
I picked up my cousin Sandrine from the airport early Saturday evening. We haven’t seen each other for a few years, and it was really good to see her and catch up. Mum and Sansan have always been close, so it was really nice to see them together again.
With both Mum and Sansan not having seen the sun for a while, we all took to the terrace after a walk along the promenade, staying there until mid-afternoon. Later, we took a trip to Alcudia for cocktails and to watch the sunset, before having dinner at a lively restaurant and more “Hugo Spritzes,” which I am told are very good.
The following day, Sansan was keen to join us in the water, which we’ve been trying to do most days. It’s a little too cold for Mum, so rather reluctantly, she had to watch again. Together with sunshine on the terrace during the morning, this was our daily routine, which for us is always special.
We decided to visit Sóller, which is considered one of the most beautiful towns in Mallorca. It’s about an hour from Pollensa and is a really interesting town to explore, with a tram that runs down to the port and also into Palma. It’s kept in beautiful condition, and every year it is taken out of service to ensure it stays that way. The port, as we’ve found with most towns in Mallorca, is the newer and busier part and offers fresh fish for dinner. We all sat down in a friendly little restaurant and spent a great evening together.
With the weather on Mum and Sansan’s penultimate day being windy, with the threat of rain, we decided to head south to Palma to see the cathedral and spend some time in the interesting old town of the capital. Inside the cathedral, there’s a wonderful mix of Gothic architecture, stained glass, and splashes of Gaudí—it was well worth the visit.
The weather was great, so we took a stroll around the palace gardens and then through the back streets of the old town. We had planned to spend time in the palace, but the girls were hungry, so we found a busy little tapas restaurant and enjoyed a good lunch before some boutique shopping for Sansan, which apparently she doesn’t do too often.
Dream Chasers 