time spent

before our holiday I did briefly wonder how all 6 of us would get along in such close proximity without electronic distractions.

Yet, as it turned out there were few niggles amongst us over the time spent together. We settled into routines of

• trips to the beach or cove

• time spent in the pool practising synchronised swimming routines
• watching olympic coverage with accompanying german commentary
•  discovering the delights of snorkelling
• evening card games
• dusky walks along the beach front

 

We managed to fit in an excursion to marineland, a trip on a glass bottomed boat and a dinner show. 



Much to the chargrin of some of us we did not manage any visits to nightclubs or organised activiites by travel reps.

the cross of the knights templar

We made it to Mass on the 2 Sundays of our stay - the first time completely by luck (or bad luck according to the younger follies).  The catholic church was tucked away to the side of the town square and looked unassuming from the outside. However, inside it was a different matter and we discovered that this church had been built in the 14th century by the Knights Templar.

the cockerel is the symbol of Pollenca

The comical addition of seeing a dog in the congregation one week, a dove flying above the altar the next and the seemingly unholy mosaics on the floor helped the endurance of the young folllies.

 

 

Now it seems strange that we are home and have an altogether different routine.

meercats

whilst in majorca we came across not just 'meercats' but 'supermercats' and this was where we sometimes went to buy necessary provisions.  It has now become the family saying for any grocery shopping we do.

However, we much prefered to wander around the colourful outdoor markets and we could find one nearby for everyday of the week.


The fresh salad, vegetables, fruits and flowers looked gorgeous and were not all exactly the same shape and hue, but actually looked as if they had grown on real plants outside.

Folly 4 is something of an olive fiend so to find multiple stalls groaning with olives was her idea of heaven.

tomato sculpture courtesy of Folly 4

So cheap were these delightful items that it appears no-one buys such produce individually. As I wandered away from the other follies tempted by the scent and colour I made my request at a stall for 'uno' pepper.  The family were much amused to see me return to them with a purchase of one kilo of red peppers!

We ate at the villa for much of the time as there was a built in barbeque and our own recipe for sangria hit the mark, but we did try some Spanish specialities.

 again thanks to little sis for help with photo editing this post.

holidays

after quite some time away from blogging I really need to catch up.

The school holidays started towards the end of July and as ever rather than having more time to write blog posts I find that I have even less.  My excuse for the last 2 weeks is that we were lucky enough to be able to go abroad for a summer holiday this year.  Over the past few years our summer breaks have been in Britain, but this year with the eldest folly completing her GCSE's we thought it time to do something a little special.

Majorca was the answer and we spent 2 weeks in a villa in the north of the island. We were all able to relax as our pace slowed down and life became easy with the tricky decisions consisting of pool or beach, barbeque or restaurant and supermarket or traditional market stalls.

We hired cars whilst on the island. I say cars because people carriers are few and far between so we had 2 small fiat cars instead. Initially I was nervous about driving but the roads were great and my years of driving on the right whilst living in Canada all came flooding back.





The only down side to our holiday was that Folly 4 had quite a bad time with her asthma in the drier climate and would wake during the night.  We eventually admitted we were unable to cope with her symptoms and took her to the doctor where she was given help with a change of medication and time on the nebuliser.

It is good to be back in our own home and we have tried to keep something about that relaxed feel to our days back here. But appointments do keep intruding and I really miss the inevitability of a blue sky every morning!




ps. a big thanks to little sis for her photo editing for this post.

another 25 year celebration

it was back in the season of long dark nights and cold days that we received an invitation to a summer silver wedding celebration. Just a few weekends ago on a dry and warm evening we attended the 25th wedding anniversary party of our friends.  We met these friends some years before we moved away from the city and found similarities in our lives, having lived far away from home bringing up 4 children.

It was lovely to have been invited to celebrate a special wedding anniversary and it was an evening of surprises. We did not realise just how many friends we had in common and met couples we had not seen for some time and now had an opportunity to catch up.

When the young couple married in Manila only the family of the bride were present so this celebration was the reception in England for the groom.  The celebrations were held in a marquee in the garden with speeches of appreciation and love by the children of the couple.

An evening of eating, reminscing and dancing - thank you John and Amy.