Ok so after some fun with typhoons, missed flights and generally the world trying to get in our way...My beautiful Girlfriend Emma Made it to London. After more than 120 days of planes, trains and automobiles... and an ambulance, family friends and foes, and mostly just all that time away from her: we were back together! I know, I know....ahhhh...its sickening. But amazing to have her back. We had the slow motion cuddle and kiss moment at the airport and then did what all couples do when they haven’t seen each other for so long... get a beer! You all have dirty minds.
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Let me tell you another travel tip: There are a heap of good deals to get, it just takes a little looking, and in October there are some great deals. We then went about the whole “What are we going to do with our time...” chat for a day or so and then started looking. I had found some great websites with Holidays in Spain, Turkey and Greece and set about making some plans. Emma had always wanted to go to Spain and I had wanted to see the Greek Islands. SO we settled on a Spanish Island: Mallorca! Not a hard choice actually. Just make sure you check the reviews on travel advisor and other sites when you see these amazing deals. I have heard some horror stories. But let me break it down: 7 Nights accommodation, all food and drinks (including alcohol beer, wine and spirits), flights and transfers for less than $475 each!
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So we proceeded to tour London for a couple of days. Again cheap London websites and groupon really can help you there, the tube is amazing and looks a bit like a maze at first, but honestly I think it works and haven’t had a problem getting around at all. We did the red bus tour seeing Westminster tower (you know it as Big Ben, but that’s actually the name of the Bell on the inside!), churches, the Thames cruise and a bunch of other places. Great fun and well worth the trip. We even saw Buckingham Palace and the furry headed soldiers there. We also went past the stables where crossed-eyed men sat on horses and studiously ignored those around them. We even stumbled across 10 Dowling street and a dozen or more bored English policemen with large guns. They should let them shoot the pigeons so they have something to do.
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This man is seriously cross-eyed!
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Off to Mallorca, or Majorca or... So the cheap tickets didn’t mention that you could only take carry on! So another 50 quid for the return flights and we were off to that Spanish Island. I love Spain. I have been here before and enjoy the laid back lifestyle, the people and of course, the food! It’s a vibrant place and that’s most likely because they sleep for a few hours in the afternoon! We should do this everywhere. A little sleepy in the afternoon? Go and have a rest! We landed and found our bus and then the journey began: 2.5 hours to the hotel! Who knew the island was so big! It’s a shame it was night time as it would have been awesome to see the trip. The hotel was a surprise as it was beautiful, the rooms huge and the food excellent. And the view from our room!
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So the next morning we came out and saw what our meals would be like: Masses of hot and cold breakfast food! We ate way too much on this trip and enjoyed it thoroughly! Lunch and dinner were much of the same. A huge buffet style menu with great choices and really, really good food. Fish and seafood, chicken and beef, pork and lamb, salads and fruits, soups and pastas! So much food. But the big problem was the alcohol... beer, wine, basic spirits...all free. Yup. This is never a good thing as I have an ability to drink sometimes. And we did. We met up with a crazy enough couple one night and sort of drank the place dry. Had an awesome meal out in a local restaurant. The best meal I have had in such a long time: pasta with a creamy prawn and fresh fish sauce. Emmas was an amazing whole fish with mussels in a tomato sauce. Unbelievably good. And Chris and Joy had the same Fish with another amazing sauce. Isn’t it funny when people order the same thing! We actually had a 5 minute conversation (argument) with the girls about the whole “Do you want one?” “No, I’ll just have some of yours!” No. No. No. Get your own. It’s an ownership thing with women! But we did share! It was a great night of new friends and Mohitos. After that we went off to get some more mohito’s and Emma sang some Karaoke. A bit of a hit with the locals actually. Me? No, I’ll fall into an alcohol induced coma before singing in front of people. Found some more people to party with, including Tony (65!) and away we went in to the small hours. Now for the free drinks: til 12am we could only get 3 drinks at a time before they closed. So like teenagers we filled the table! Big mistake. Harmless good fun. We didn’t move all the next day.
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There is heaps to do in Mallorca: spend lazy days drifting in and out of the crystal blue Mediterranean, walk along the beautiful coastline and admire the view, you can be as active or out and out lazy as you like. We took the ferry to Porto Christo, an hour’s ride up the coast to what looks like a typical rich persons playground. Holiday homes and souvenir shops all over. Great, but expensive, food and lots of happy locals to help you out. We travelled along to the pirates caves, deep underground, well lit, alien rooms and amphitheatres, and then the final musical show, with darkened caves, the largest underground lake and some well lit boats playing classical music. Really well done. The kicker was the option to walk to the exit or take the boat. The wonderful row boats came from under an overhang and we waited for about 15 minutes for our ride... of about 20 meters! We all laughed as we were taken along the same walkway as those who walked and were let out after a 3 minutes ride! It was a great trip though. On the way back to the boat we found an awesome little local bar selling 12 inch german sausage and really cheap beer. You cannot go wrong!
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On another day we hired a car and drove half way around the island, exploring and having a look around. We ended up in Palma, the capitol and went into the Cathedral Mallorca: a towering castle-like, fortress disguised as a church. Beautiful multicoloured oculus (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=oculus hehe), splashing dabs of light pastels on the walls of the church. You can see where people would be awestruck in the past at such immense shows of power and wealth. And on the way back we got caught in a mid day fog near the airport. From there we drove around the Western most part of the island, up through winding, climbing, forested cliffs and overlooking the beautiful ocean. It was a pretty good day.
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it tastes like...
Mallorca is a lot of fun, maybe 7 days was a little too much Maybe we just wanted to do something. Who knows but it really was a great time. Just be aware that these cheap trips don’t usually cover checked baggage too! We are now getting ready for the next leg: we are flying to Germany tomorrow to pick up our rental and will drive up through Sweden and Norway. This is a 3 week trip before our European bus tour. We have been all around London and have had a very touristy time. Now for some more serious driving... You’d think I would have had enough!
