Last Friday was a very warm and sunny day, which we began with a return to our favourite breakfast cafe to properly enjoy the fresh juices and crepes with lemon. I then dropped Andrew and Amy in the centre of Palma to wander around while I had my first trip to the Santa Catalina Market. It was wonderful to catch up with the usual stall holders, receive welcoming hugs and buy all of the fabulous produce. I was able to buy great food that I have not been able to get anywhere else we have been to in Spain. At our usual fruit stall Catalina gave me samples to taste while I shopped - a fig that was deep red inside, with the most magnificent flavour, one of the local juicy plums, plus a piece of the green melon that only grows in the Catalan part of Spain and that we love to eat every day. At our usual deli I was able to get the special Gorgonzola that is mixed with marscapone to make it creamy and not so bitter, plus the best Iberican jamon sliced finely by knife off the leg and the best tasting Serrano jamon. The wine store had the special Forum Chardonnay vinegar that is made in Spain but I have not been able to find it anywhere else. Our chatty lady who sells the manzanilla olives and the anchovies in garlic, parsley and vinegar was not at her stall because she has retired but the young man who has bought her business continues with both her recipes and her friendly demeanour, giving tastes of everything. The legs of lamb were so young that I had to buy two of them to make sure I had enough for a meal. I nearly forgot the almond cake but had to go back for it or Greg would not have forgiven me. The car was loaded with food by the time I picked up Amy and Greg.
I did not have to buy anything from the bakery near the market because we now have a lovely young French woman visiting the marina each morning at about 10.00 (suitable for Spanish breakfast time) with a barrow full of the breads, baguettes, croissants, pastries and quiches made at the bakery.
After lunch I took Andrew and Amy to the one of the nearby beaches, Plage Illettes, which is a small sandy cove with aqua blue water and too many people by that time of the day. However we managed to rent some lounges on the ledges above the beach level and enjoyed the sun and swimming until it was time to return to the boat to get ready for dinner.
We dined at one of the most popular tapas restaurants in the old town area, Taberna Boveda, where we had a table outside. Scrambled eggs with prawns and garlic is definitely one of our favourite dishes but we also loved the white beans with clams and the stuffed aubergines.
On Saturday the forecast was for rain but we headed for Valedemossa anyway, even though it usually rains more in the mountains. We were lucky enough to have mostly sunshine and as usual loved walking around this beautiful town tucked into the mountain range about 20 minutes drive from Palma. Lunch at Cappuccino was up to the usual standard for this group of cafes and we had a great Caesar Salad with chicken. The art galleries always have some interesting work and it really is understandable why so many tourists go to this area. A drive down the coast would have been beautiful but we went back to the boat for some relaxing reading.
Tahini restaurant at Puerto Portals is also owned by the Cappuccino group and it definitely is one of our favourite Japanese restaurants for dinner. We discovered a new cocktail which Amy and I loved - Pisco Sour, Pisco apparently being a Peruvian spirit and the drink is made like a Whiskey Sour but with limes instead of lemons. The presentation and quality of the gyoza, salmon tartare, prawns and vegetables tempura, tepanyaki beef and other items on the menu is so perfect that no wonder they use photographs for their menu rather than descriptions. The night was balmy with no wind so Puerto Portals Marina area was packed with people at the many restaurants and bars. There are countless large motor yachts there and lots of the 'beautiful people' so it is fascinating to watch the world go by; we went to one of the bars after dinner to do just that.
Sunday was a lazy day relaxing on the boat reading and enjoying lots of the market food for our lunch and Greg and I continued this relaxation into the evening while Andrew and Amy went out for dinner.
Fortunately Monday morning was bright and sunny, allowing Amy, Andrew and I to take advantage of another few hours at the beach, this time the one at Puerto Portals, before I took them to the airport for their flight back to London. In the afternoon it rained (!) but it was OK again by dinner time, when Ian, Michele, Greg and I went back to Puerto Portals for an outstanding dinner at Ritzi. Greg and I both had blinis with smoked salmon followed by very thinly sliced grilled veal served with rocket and shaved Parmesan, one of our favourite dishes, and it was perfect. We didn't need to eat any more but couldn't resist the creme brûlée for dessert. There were very few people around compared with the weekend and it will be interesting to see if the summer crowds have gone now or whether it was just the rainy afternoon that kept people away from an area where being outdoors is one of the best parts of the experience.
Most of the restaurants are still surviving strongly at Puerto Portals and the luxury shops are still there, but a very good seafood restaurant, Due, has closed. It is hard for us to see the effects of the financial crisis here because Palma is such a popular tourism destination and many of the locals are much more prosperous because of that. I see the Spanish shopping in the droves at Porto Pi and out eating at their restaurants etc. but we are fully aware of the problems with unemployment, especially for youth and we know that things change here in the winter months. We did find out today that the Spanish government subsidises 50% of the airfare to anywhere in Spain for anyone who is a resident of any of the islands. No wonder the government is broke with policies like that.
Today Greg and I stayed at the boat most of the time as we had a tradesman fixing a pump and the hot water element and also did some cleaning. It was a pleasant change to have a simple meal on board of baby lamb cutlets with vegetables and then caramelised fresh figs with macadamia nut brittle ice cream.