Weekend Away :: Day 2

Day 2, and the weather is quite different to Day 1. We awake to the sound of rain and the mountains obscured by low cloud, so it's definitely not a loafing-about-by-the-pool kind of a day. Doesn't matter anyhow, cos we had already decided that Sunday would be  a day to get out and about. We head to the north of the island to Pollensa Old Town to visit the Sunday market there. We had been told it was a Good One Worth A Visit, and we were not disappointed.

I love a good market. As you know my home town here in Yorkshire is a Market Town and I am therefore used to market shopping and the hustle and bustle that goes with it. But there is something so exciting about visiting a foreign market and I am captivated by it all. The stalls are hugely abundant, and everything seems more....well just More than at home.

We are essentially shopping for a bit of fresh produce :: Serrano ham, cheese, tomatoes. Pretty easy things to come by in a market such as this. But my goodness we are easily distracted.

I am heading towards a pile of lush looking tomatoes but suddenly these strings of peppers stop me dead in my tracks and I am rooted to the spot by them. So beautiful! So colourful! Like giant edible necklaces!

Ok. Must purchase tomatoes. But oh oh the flowers are so beautiful! I want to dance a jig around them! Want to scoop them up and carry them all home, they are so incredibly vibrant and wantable.

Eventually we do manage to purchase tomatoes :: big, huge, squishy, ripe, deep red plum tomatoes, the sort that are definitely Spanish and not English. We also buy some (quite stinky) delicious Spanish cheese, and watch in awe as a man takes a hummungous long knife and cuts the thinnest long slices of Serrano ham off the joint for us. That's our dinner sorted for later then, I am already looking forward to it.

Quite exhausting to be so over excited by fresh produce you know, it's time for a sit down and some refreshment. We head up to the main square and settle outside one of the many cafes there.

I order a cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and feel quite Continental. It takes an age to arrive, service at this cafe is slow and leisurely. But eventually it arrives and it is deeeeeeelicious. I try and drink it slowly cos I don't want it to end.

We seem to spend a long time trying to pay for the cafe con leche, the arrival of the bill is even slower than the arrival of the drink and my friend is getting hot under the collar about it. She wants to be off. There is lots more market to explore, there are clothes and bags and belts and jewellery and all manner of enticing things.

Eventually we do manage to receive a bill, pay and leave, and we are free to explore more of the town. Up and down and in and out the little warren of paved streets we go, it's very atmospheric and ancient.

We find ourselves at the bottom of a looooong flight of steps, three hundred and sixty five of them to be precise. They lead up to the old 18th century Calvario chapel (I sound very knowledgeable don't I, good ol' Google). Deep breath and we begin to climb....

....some beautiful old houses line these steps, with some of the most amazing cacti I have ever clapped eyes on. Just imagine having a cactus as tall as your house??!!

oooooooooooooooooooooooh and lemons too, just look how laden those branches are! Everything seems so delightful to me, my heart is going skipety-skip. I am also quite breathless by this point actually, three hundred and sixty five steps amounts to rather a lot of climbing and huffing and puffing.

Eventually we reach the top and the views out across the town are superbly picturesque. It was so worth the huff and puff to get up here.

Skipping back down the three hundred and sixty five steps is a lot of fun, we manage it incredibly quickly. Then it's back into the heart of the town for a late lunch of tapas and vino blanco (and that's about the extent of my Spanish, although of course I can say Cafe~Con~Leche too), followed by a drive to the port for early evening drinkies. Then back to the villa we go for our market produce dinner (oh those divine tomatoes), a little snooze, packing of bags, saying goodbyes and then the beginning of the late journey homewards.

Doesn't it all sound wonderful?

And that's cos it was exactly that.

Wonderful.

I was/am so very very glad of the hours I had away from home, it was a huge luxury for me to take off like that. But I really felt I had earnt it, deserved it, needed it. And by the way, it was wonderful for J to stay home and allow me to jaunt off, but let me tell you he has already booked his own flight for early next summer (four nights away in Ibiza on a rowdy stag do). So it's all pretty even-stevens around here you know, his halo doens't need buffing up too much.

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Comments

[Fruitful Fusion]

Thank you for sharing! I loved seeing the pics from your trip. So glad you had a lovely break! It looks beautiful!

[Diane]

Just recently stumbled upon your blog. I'm also a crochet fan ever since my beloved grandmother taught me as a child of 8yrs! Love your photos of your break away.. especially the market..I love markets. Inspiring.

[Sarah west mids uk]

Dear Lucy the photo of the peppers!!! Such a variety. Glad you had such a wonderful time. x

[Marsha]

Dear Lucy,

I am a new reader, courtesy of Janelle Wind, and I write to you from one of the smallest states in the U.S. - Connecticut or New England as we like to refer to it. I want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog entries, especially these last two. You make me feel like I was having a little vacation right along with you. I can't wait to begin your crochet bag pattern, except I will using Tahki cotton classic as I have quite a bit left over from another project. I hope you are still planning to do a post regarding the diagrams for the Japanese crochet patterns.

Can't wait to read more.

S.W.A.K.
Marsha from CuteStuffInside.blogspot.com

[Alicia]

Oh I just knew you would go to the market on Sunday! It is one of my favourite places in the whole world! It's also a brilliant place to take your little people if you ever get the opportunity - my three love it so much. Glad you had a lovely break

[Steph]

Oh Lucy you really do deserve it! What a fab treat. I did something similar when little A was about 1ish. Woody looked after both our boys while I skipped off to deepest Monmouthshire with my lovely sister for a weekend of pootling down the Wye looking at castles. It was very blissful and I know just how giddy you must feel having a little escape.

I bet everyone was so thrilled to have you home too. Happy memories. Good for you.
Stephx

[Katrina]

I do very much enjoy your travel posts! I'm glad you had a great time, it's so needed to recharge and be a good mommy and wife.

[Anna-Karin, Sweden]

What a wonderful weekend!!! And yes, you really deserved that :)
Love from Anna xxx

[Tilly]

Love the shot of the street, makes you wonder what might be happening just around the corner.

[Rachana]

hi Lucy ,
wooow you seems to have lot good time , i am glad for you .
your picturous marration has transmitted me to the places you visited , as i was going thru there by myself , quite refreshing . i look forward to hear and see more of your girlie shopping, as you mentioned markets with bags and belt and those kind of things.
luv
Rachana

[Extragrunty]

Love the peppers and love farmers markets! Going to the farmers market is one of the very first things I do when moving to a new city. In Baltimore, Maryland ours is held under a highway ramp. Glad you enjoyed your trip so much.

[jane]

the best the best the best!!! and now home to hookey and natters (or whatever you call it) and the j/lp, and the canal and the abbey, rooftops and english beauty you so lovingly display:) jkj

[Laura]

I don't travel much and have never even been out of the US so your pictures take me to unknown places and with your descriptions I feel as though I'm struggling up those 'mucho' steps with you!

It is indeed, so nice to go traveling but it's oh so nice to come home, recharged and able to see all the familiar things with 'new eyes' and that's what happens when you have a chance to get away. I can remember the feelings you describe well since I raised 5 kids (4 boys, 1 girl) and never had 2 minutes to rub together but it goes so quickly and before you know it, they're all grown up and chomping at the bit to move out on their own to be 'independent'.

Ahh well, my comment is turning into a mini novel, so I will sign off and wish you all the best that life has to offer......I will continue to travel with you via your blog. Incidentally, the flower you mentioned is a Hibiscus and they are indeed one of the most beautiful and colorful of all flowers! :)

[Julia]

Ah Lucy, what photos! And a much needed break from the sound of it too! Im so pleased you had a good time, I adore that little part of the world and isn't everything so much more sumptuous and colorful when you're away? Thanks for sharing, it was a pleasure to read!

Sending love
Julia x x x

[Charlotte]

So glad you had a wonderful break - in other news I saw this vv rouleaux caravan and thought of you :)

http://www.narratives.co.uk/search.asp?request=search&thumbs=60&previous_search=&search_type=simple&page=1&log=1&search_text=10014&Search=Search&rm=on&rf=on&category=0&contributor=0&imagetype=26&imagetype=27&imagetype=28&imagetype=29&order=relevancy

[Silka]

Hola Lucy, the beautiful red flower is a Papo as we called it in my country Panama, also known as Hibiscus flowers. I am very glad you had a chance to enjoy a wonderful holiday and thank you for the pics!

[Denise]

Those cactus in the back with the red fruits are prickly pear. We have taller cacti here in Tucson call saguaro and they only grow here in the Sonora Desert.

That market looks quite exciting. I would love to go to a market like that.

Glad you were able to have a great trip.

[Ximena]

Beautiful pictures!
Kiss
Ximena

[Liz]

It certainly sounds like you had a lovely break! Oh to be away from Yorkshire cold and damp weather!!!

[julie]

'muchas gracias' for sharing your weekend away pics, what a fab time, i visited puerto pollensa oh so many years ago, brought back some lovely memories for me as i read your about your delightful 'pick-me-up' weekend

[andrea]

sigh... jealous, yet happy for you to get a much needed break!

[Nilla]

Wow, you make me want to get away too! Good to hear you had such a wonderful time with your friend.

[Pattygloria]

What a great getaway you had, Amiga Lucy! You went to a nice place and enjoyed some peaceful time in that countryside rustic style Finca or Villa,with breathtaking views of the blue sea water surrounded by those beautiful mountains.The pace of living is for sure more relaxing, including a nice Siesta in the middle of the day. :o)
By the way, your Spanish Skills are improving very fast.
Hasta pronto,
Gloria xxx

[Patsy]

Lovely colors in that market and that view! Whew!!Beautiful.
Hubby gets 4 days so that will get you 2 days more to catch up on another weekend get away.
LOL! I say get to London and you could do some lovely shopping damage there and pics galore.
I am glad you had a great rest.
XOXO

[Penny L]

Lovely,lovely Lucy,I feel like I,'ve had a little jolly away swell. Thank you. Penny L xxx