Mallorca

Nov 21st - Nov 25th 2014

Friday 21st November 2014 

Home to Gatwick

I was on a half-day so headed home around 14.00. Nikki had a couple of a patients so she arrived back at around 15.00

Did our packing and got the car sorted and left around 15.30. Weather was pretty rubbish so we were fully prepared for a long wait on the M25 with rush hour traffic etc. Good journey up to around Heathrow and then we hit the traffic. Whole

journey down took around two and a half hours,

Checked in at the Crowne Plaza. I’d rung and asked for room 458 which is the only room in the hotel with a balcony. But when we got here the balcony door was locked and they declined to open it. So we moved rooms to 651 - our old favourite!

Went down to the Club Lounge at around 19.00 and had some nibbles before Stuart called and we arranged to meet at the Toby Carvery. The new 5,000 point list is out and amazingly the Intercontinental Port Ghalib is on there so me and Nikki started re-thinking our January plans.

Stuffed after a huge TC so called it a night and we were in bed by 21.45

Saturday 22nd November 2014

Gatwick to Mallorca

Gentle start to the morning. Woke up around 06.30 and pottered around. Went on a coffee hunt for a bit to see what I could find. Club Lounge wasn’t open so they made me a coffee in the main restaurant.

By the time I got back upstairs Nikki was up and in the mood for some breakfast. After a quick shower we went down. Breakfast is now in the Club Lounge at the weekend. Very nice too. Big bowl of strawberries, coffee, juice, toast, eggs, granola and yoghurt and we were sorted.

Did some leisurely packing and left the hotel around 10.00.

Rang Meteor to say we were on the way and as we pulled up the chap was there ready to take the car. Check in with Easy Jet was a doddle as well and there were no queues at security. So we made it from pulling up outside the North Terminal all the way to Cafe Rouge air-side in about 20 mins.

Stuart joined us and we watched the planes for a while before heading down over the big bridge to gate 107. Very helpful staff there and not too much of a wait and we boarded. Surprised to see Whispering Bob Harris on the flight. Checked his Twitter before take off and discovered he was heading to Mallorca to write his autobiography.

After take-off thoughts turned to lunch. Me and Nikki had a rather nice egg, sun dried tomato and rocket sub with some crisps and coffee. Listened to some music and dozed. Very cloudy on the way down and started to get bumpy as we approached southern Spain. Very misty over the Med and once we arrived over Mallorca. North route into Palma and a very gentle landing.

Ambu-lift took a while so we chatted to the Captain. Very nice chap. Offered to go and get the wheelchair at one point. Ambu-lift man came and got us off and took us through to baggage claim where we found Stuart chatting with Bob Harris!

Hertz was super-quick and we departed in a nice Peugeot.

Got to the hotel in 15 mins and then the fun started. As the hotel was booked out for a Skoda launch event, they’d rung me a few weeks ago and asked if we’d mind moving into a villa. After a bit of thought I agreed. So we rocked up at the hotel and had to wait while they did all the passport & credit card swipes before they then said we’d need to go down to the Marriott Villas check-in - where they did it ALL AGAIN! Grrrrr.

We are in 335 which is just outside the complex. If you didn’t have a car it would be a good half an hour walk up to the hotel for breakfast. Lovely villa though. Lot of space and places to sit plus a full kitchen, BBQ and outside seating area - and a Marriott bed. Well 3 of them actually!

Oh well. We’re here now. Unpacked and ready for an evening of dinner with Jan & Richard plus some shopping in Carrefour as I’ve forgotten my swimming trunks.

We shall be speaking to the hotel tomorrow about our displeasure.

Headed out at around 19.00 - picked Matthew and Stuart up at the hotel and aimed for Carrefour. Initially it looked like it had closed down but it was just being re-built! Got some slightly tight swimming shorts, water and a nibbles. Decided not to go for a leg of deer which everyone else seems to be buying!

Met Jan and Richard in the usual car park and walked over the Piccolo restaurant for the 5th year in a row. Very nice food and great company. Lingered for about 3 hours over dinner catching up on the previous 12 months. Realised Bob Harris had replied to my Tweet after we’d spotted him on the plane!

By about 11.30 we were flagging so headed back to the car park - where I’d lost our ticket. Very helpful chap agreed I could pay the same as Richard. Back at the hotel, we dropped Stuart and Matt off and headed back to our villa. Nikki had a quick coffee before we hit the Marriott bed. Awesome is an overused word but not in this case. Marriott beds induce a sense of awe. Loving it!

Sunday 23rd November 2014

Mallorca

Quiet start. Woke up around 07.30 and made some coffee and sat on the terrace. Not hugely sunny but I was sat there in my shorts right at the end of November.

Met up with Matthew and Stuart for breakfast. Quite busy in the breakfast room but we managed to get some very nice food and lingered with some coffees for well over an hour.

Back down to the villa to get changed for the pool and we were there and ready by 10.30. I’d bought a replacement for the swimming trunks I’d forgotten to bring and let’s just say they were snug. There were to be no sudden movements and any sort of lunge was completely out.

Went in the pool for a swim and a meeting. Spent ages in the whirlpool discussing plans for next year. Stuart headed off to get changed around 12.30 and I met him with the car around 13.20 to drop him down to the airport.

When I got back I grabbed some lunch from the shop near the swimming pool and we came back to the villa for our lunchtime feast. Watched Sky News with some lovely crusty bread, cheese and tomato plus a few biscuits - very good.

I decided it was probably nap time by this time so had an hour on the Marriott bed in air-conditioned luxury while Nikki read her book in the sun on the terrace.

We’d arranged to meet Matthew at 19.00 to head out for some tea. Headed towards Palmanova to a known establishment that sells egg and chips - and they didn’t disappoint. I ended up with a Spanish omelette, Nikki had egg and chips and Matthew had a mixed grill. We also had excellent strawberry milkshakes and followed it off with banana splits for me and Matthew and a chocolate pudding for Nikki.

Decided we’d take a drive around Magaluf for a look and got horribly lost up in the hills. Eventually found the motorway and came back through Palma to see the sights.

After a quick blast of I’m A Celebrity we were in bed by 22.30 local time - both whacked out

Monday 24th November 2014

Mallorca

Nikki woke up with a headache and was sat in the lounge from about 06.00. I surfaced just before 08.00.

Love the gentle starts to Monday morning you get on holiday. Had coffee and watched the sun come up before picking up Matthew ready for breakfast.

Went to the villa reception to negotiate a late check out for Matthew - they informed us that the villa check-out was 10.00. We informed them that our booking was with the hotel and their check-out was 12.00. Eventually got it sorted with a 13.00 check-out for Matthew and for us tomorrow.

Breakfast was deserted this morning. All the Skoda people were at their classes so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Nice long breakfast with lots of lattes and pastries.

Re-grouped at the pool where it was even warmer than Sunday. Me and Nikki went for a long swim followed by a jacuzzi and then just sat on our sunbeds until 12.30. I went back down to the villas with Matthew and had a shower then picked him up and dropped him down to the airport.

Got Nikki from the pool where she’d fallen asleep on the sun-bed and came back to the villa for our lunch.

We were then waiting for the IHG Point Breaks list to go live to nab two lots of 7 nights at the Intercontinental Port Ghalib. We worked in shifts and managed to lock them down just after 16.00. Bargain.

Spoke to Mum & Dad and brought them up to date with the Egypt plan and then spoke to Ann who brought us up to date with the improvement in her mobility. So good news all around.

I emailed the hotel in Egypt to sort out accessible rooms and we just drank coffee for a couple of hours.

Decided to head out for some tea around 19.00ish with a quick explore of Platja de Palma on the way. Most of it was closed up for the winter so we had no luck finding any food down there. Rejoined the Palma road and went into the city. Spotted an Indian restaurant near the theatre and pulled in there in a disabled bay. It was called A Taste of India - very good food indeed. Really good staff and very reasonably priced.

Back up to Son Antem for a bit of I’m A Celebrity and hit the sack around 23.00ish.

Tuesday 25th November 2014

Mallorca to Home

Very nice lie in. Woke up around 07.45. Starting to get light outside so we started the day with a coffee and a sit on the terrace. Up to the hotel for breakfast around 09.00. Absolutely deserted. The Skoda people were already being herded into their various tent classrooms for the day’s activities.

After breakfast I double checked we had a 13.00 check-out and we changed and headed for the pool.

Not as sunny to start so we decided to sit inside - and both went straight in the pool. Had a bounce around in the outside bit and had a play in the vortex before retiring to the jacuzzi. Had an hour or so on the sun beds and then wandered back down to the villa around 11.30. The key card would stop working at Midday so we decided to beat that.

Did some packing and had some lunch at about 12.30 and then headed off to the airport around 13.00.

Quick drive down and I dropped Nikki and the cases at the check-in before heading back round to drop the car off with Hertz. EasyJet check-in was straightforward and then we had a very taciturn chap push the wheelchair around to the D terminal. Usually we get A or C at Palma so D is a new one for us.

We were told to go to Gate 94 and sat there for a while before realising people were walking past and then twigged the gate had changed to Gate 99.

After a bit of queueing at Gate 99 they let the Speedy Boarders go first followed by the Special Assistance. Farcically we then had to push past the Speedy Boarders as they queued in a corridor for their bus! Chap took us out to the aircraft - all of about 20 metres in the Ambulift and we got loaded. Took quite a while for us to get going. There were two girls arguing with the dispatcher on the tarmac before they were allowed on.

We had a chap in front of us who was a total airplane anorak - bit like me, but 1000 times worse. He commented very loudly on every single turn the plane made as we taxied out. And then he found out his seat mate was a Virgin Atlantic pilot. Poor bugger! Long flight for him.

Quite a boring flight - watched a few EastEnders and then napped for a bit. Very foggy coming in to Gatwick. Getting off and going through the border was a doddle. It took 50 mins from landing at 17.15 to being in the car.

We stopped off for some petrol, milk and a latte and made pretty good time home. Came back via the A41 to avoid the M40 and were in the front door at 19.50.

Planning is already underway for next November and it looks like our move to the Marriott villas will become a permanent thing!