apologies!!!!!

Been a bit remiss in keeping the blog updated, so spending some time over the next few weeks updating our travels!  enjoy!!!

Busy doing nothing...........

So, not much to report! We're making the most of this lazy holiday by doing not very much!

We've had a walk into muro the day before yesterday, an hour + stroll each way, in over 35degrees in mid-day sun..........just to visit a deluxe shopping centre, newly built on our last vist three years ago, but which has since closed down........however we did see a hugh deck chair on the way, so not a completely wasted journey.......

Yes, weve been back to Rancho chicos! Another lovely evening, and, we're off there again tonight!

Last night after dinner, Kevin wanted to walk to Puerto d'Alcudia.  A short stroll says he......1.15hrs later, in new heels, along the sandy promenade, I could have killed him!!  But it was lovely.  Alcudia has lots of canals and inlets rinning from the sea into little reservoirs and lakes.  So we took the scenic route, along one of the canals, then we walked along the sea front promenade where lots of people stroll every evening.  

It was a beautiful evening, and it was lovely to watch children and families enjoying the last of the evening sun right up to 9pm on the beach.  

Peurto d'Alcudia is a bustling marina of luxury yachts, surrounded by shops, cafes, restaurants and bars.  Most of it was closing by the time we got there though.....wonder if Kev planned it? Lol!  But we found a little sea front cafe where we revived ourselves with alcohol and the best dish of ice cream we'd had in ages! We shared, so it wasnt too naughty!!

We're by thepool today, its supposed to be 37degrees, so Im going to be under the parasol for much of the day, sipping mohitos.

My view for the day! Its 10am, Suns just coming over the hotel, and its gonna be a hot one!

Its a tough job, but someones got to do it!

Why Alcudia?......

This is our 8th time to Majorca, the 7th to Alcudia.  Why do we like it? Its one of those places that is opposite to all our other holidays destinations.  Its a very busy, family orientated resort.  Great if youre a family with children on a budget.  Beautiful beaches, bustling harbour and main strip filled with restaurants and bars offering meal deals and happy hour prices all day.  

Shopping, well in the main, its tourist souvenirs, theres some boutique shopping in old alcudia and down futher in muro - a new shopping complex, but for the rest, not anything you really need or want. 

So, not really the sort of resort that would suit an older childless couple?

However, Palma is just 1.5hrs from Gatwick, and my favourite restaurant in the world, just one hour away from Palma.  Rancho Chico's (the name doesnt nearly do the restaurant justice) is set on the edge of the hotel area of Alcudia.  You have to know its there, to find it.  Its popular with locals, ex pats, and tourists who have tracked it down via Trip Adviser - it has a very high rating.

Entrance to the restaurant is through an arch of green hedge, which opens out to a tiny courtyard, with a seating capacity of approx 10 tables.  Booking is advised as its very popular and gets filled quickly.  The little courtyard is surrounded by hedges and planting of roses and verbena, whilst overhead hang grapes and olives from the terrace pergolas.  Gently background music, sometimes jazz adds to the ambiance, but doesnt intrude.  Its the perfect setting to while away a couple of hours, talk, and relax.

The restaurants owner Jose, is welcoming, and greets us like long time friends.  When Im here, like EPM, I feel instantly at home, that I can relax and know Jose will take care of us.

The food.  The food is excellent quality and fresh.  Kevin experiments with some of the more adventurous dishes, like Lamb Frito - a sort of this stew made from lambs intestines (!) - I like the lamb chops.  Perfectly grilled on the outdoor swinging bbq, served for me with a simple salad or tomatoes and onion.  And being English, Jose knows I like my lamb with mint! Lol!  

Its the small touches, a basket of fresh warm crusty bread, served with the most garlicky aioli and the best olives Ive ever eaten to start.  Fresh cut iberico ham, shaved wafer thin mounded over perfectly ripe melon, delicious home made deserts, including the wonderful cheese pudding and the perfectly zingly refreshing lemon ice with vodka! Yum.

And the wines! Oh the wines.  Jose has picked wines for us over the years that we've loved.  Local Mallorcan reds, rich and deep.  Wines to be sipped and savoured.  Wines, that I remember from one three year vist to the next.  

We finish our meal with brandy, baileys and coffee, then leave sated till the next time.

So thats why we love alcudia.  Not the beaches, not the shopping, not the hotel, thats just a means to get to Rancho Chicos.  We love it because of this restaurant, and every couple of years, we feel the need to go see Jose.  😉

Sunday Stroll!!

Bright, clear, beautiful, hot Sunday here in Majorca!!  Our first day, so we set off to Alcudia old town for some shopping and a little tapas lunch.  We love this old walled town, beautiful cobbled streets with winding alleyways which show glimpses of shuttered windows, geranium pots and local life.  

Overhead, hundreds of paper garlands flutter, providing a moving canopy, shielding us from the worst of the sun.  Its quaint and pretty, but Sundays it throngs with both tourists shopping for souvenirs and locals who shop for locally produced produced foods.

The food market is wonderful, bright, colourful piles of fragrant fruit and vegetables.  The smells, of the smells.  Mouth-watering fresh fruit smells.  The peaches, so large that you'd need two hands to hold them! Heaps of cherries, and tiny tomatoes on the vine perfect for roasting.  Stalls selling cured meats and dried sausage, local cheeses and olives.  Perfect tapas ingredients.  Its hard not to feel jealous of all the sun ripened fruit that the locals buy that put our  anaesthetised packaged tasteless fruit to shame.  

This lady was making doughnuts by hand, literally 'pulling batter into her hand, making the hole with her thumb and dropping into hot oil!

However, I was a woman on a mission, I needed to buy some fans for friends back in the uk, so off to a few of my favourite boutiques, looking for some hand painted ones. Heres the ones Ive purchased so far.

 Ive got a number of fans, a collection started when I was about 8 and given my first fan by my grandmother, who travelled to spain, back in the 60's.  I rarely go anywhere without one, so its normal for Kevin to buy me a couple when we visit Spain.  This time it was a funky hand painted fun fan 

and a beautiful hand painted designer fan which Id looked at longingly, but would never have paid the asking price.  Kevin, just picked it up, and said to assistant 'we're having this one please!' Gobsmacked, and chuffed to bits. Im hoping it will go with my wedding outfit for Fiona and Marcus's wedding next month 😉

After shopping, it was lunchtime, so we headed to a little tapas restaurant we know.  My tapas platter included the best lemon Aioli ever! Meats, cheeses, freshly baked bread and olives, plus cerveza! Delicious sunday lunch! 

😉

Sunny hot Majorca!!

After an abysmally wet summer in the UK its lovely if a little shocking to arrive to dry sunny weather in Majorca - pure bliss!!

Here's our predicted weather for the next week!!  Tomorrow looks a bit iffy, but it brightens for Saturday!! Lol!

We arrived Saturday, via Gatwick which has undergone a major overhaul of their security system - very comforting in view of all the troubles that are taking place across the world.  I had a full body x-ray, I think my bracelets set the security off! - would have loved to see the image! - and no need for the usual 'pat down' by the security guard because my underwire bra usually set off the beepers - shame as I look forward to the pat down as a start to my holiday........

We hit duty free next - I had a long list of things I needed, Kev had just one thing in mind, his whisky - took him over twenty minutes to choose a bottle!

The flight was very quick, just 90 minutes to Palma, Majorca, then an hour ride to the hotel in Alcudia.

Now, about the hotel, the Platja d'or.  This is a super cheap hotel, we've stayed here 6 times, and we use it as a base to get out and about.  Its all inclusive, adults only and a very british octogenarian clientele!  We're probably amongst the youngest residents!!  There's not a lot of anything going on here, its not glamorous like the Excellence hotels, however, its super clean, has all the amenities for a relaxing break, the foods good quality and very fresh, and its very near our favourite restaurant, Rancho Chicos so it has everything we need!  Since our last stay, the bedrooms have been refurbished as well - so very happy!!

We unpacked, napped and met up with some of the lovely hotel staff over dinner and a bottle of wine.

😉

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh............

so following on from my previous post today, Ive just received another quote from BBT (requested yesterday).  The quote came in at £500+ cheaper than Nic at Beaches 4 Less.  However, there was small print 'additional comments'...

'Upgrade to premiun seat £309per person.  If you would like to get this confirmed today, my manager has authorised a extra £30 in total off the booking as a goodwill gesture for coming back to us'

So I phoned them.  Does the quote include the premiun seat? 'No, thats extra.  Thought Id put it seperately so you could make a decision' !!!

So again, they havent quoted for exactly what Ive asked for, but put it seperately as an extra, meaning I have to phone and double check.  😖😖😖😖😖😖😖😖😖😖😖

Is it me?  Am I not speaking plainly enough? I really dont understand why they do this.........why cant I get a straight forward quote based on my specification?

And I know Im not the only one, Ive already been contacted by someone on FB asking who Im booking with because (I quote)

'Who did you book with? Been getting bamboozled with different date/duration/companies . . 😖 xx'

Why is it so difficult for companies to give a like for like quote? Frustrated!!!

At least Im booked now 😉

The trials & tribulations of booking a holiday.........

So, the fantastic Facebook group 'We love Excellence Playa Mujeres' has seriously be doing my head in! It's a great group of people, all posting about their holidays at EPM; when they're going, what they do when they are there, daily 'live froms' etc etc etc and all with photos.  

Im on the group (watch out for my 'Tuesday Traveller' question of the week! 😉) - seeing everyones photos and enjoying their experiences along with them just hasnt been enough, Ive been really, really wanting to go back..........

So, with this in mind, as soon as I realised that the Thomson Dreamliner flights were open, I started to contact travel agents requesting quotes.  Seriously, its been one of the worst experiences in years for booking a holiday this time.  

I think we're very experienced travellers, averaging three - five holidays per year.  I like to do my research, and when I come to book a holiday, Im very exacting in what we want.  Im always looking for the best deal pricewise, and if I can get a sweetner thrown in for free, then that's the icing on the cake.

I started out about four weeks ago contacting Blue Bay Travel, Thomas Cook, First Choice and Beaches 4 Less - a company which come highly recommended by several of the group on Facebook.  We'd travelled before with both BBT and TC and we have a great agent at Thomas Cook who always trys to give us the best price, but he's limited when booking anything with Thomson.

I was very specific with what I wanted: dates, flights - Thomson Dreamliner, Premium Club, the hotel, etc etc etc

Initially, the quotes that came back were as much as £1k apart - the dearest being First Choice who run the airline! 

Im going to say that, my first choice at the start of this process would have been Blue Bay Travel.  We had booked with them previously, and had good service from them.  However on this occassion, the agent was really, really rude, and really inefficient - she didnt email me the quotes, and on my second call, a couple of days later, came up with a lot cheaper price, but when I drilled down it wasn't flying premier club or with Thomson on the dreamliner.  She told me she couldnt get all the booking specifics that I wanted, but had got me a cheaper package!  so I told her Id go elsewhere.

A few days later, I was contacted by email by a supervisor from BBT.  They had listened to the recorded conversation and wanted to talk.  He called me that weekend, apologised and said basically that Blue Bay wanted to do something special by way of an apology.  I then get quoted again and his 'something special' ended up £1,000 more, but they threw in a 'free' swim up for one week.  I then telephoned him and said in the space of a week it had gone up by £1k, bearing in mind this is for summer 2017.  He said it was because there was a discount the previous week that had now finished.  He advised me to try again in three weeks time or wait until August when the Virgin flights would be released.

I waited the three weeks and asked for a quote again last week - the price is down from the previous quote, but still £400 more than the original and if I wanted the 'free' upgrade to swim up for both weeks it was an additional £210 - I asked how much if I didn't have the free upgrade and they said it was the same price.  However, once again I checked over my quote and it didn't include everything I had asked for. 

Every time BBT quoted they give me a different combo, either different flights or no extra luggage or as in the second instance no premium seating.  It seems that the agent tries to give you the best price they think you'll accept before you realise they haven't included everything.  Im a seasoned traveller and knew enough to ask each time, but I would have been really cross if I waited a year to find that I hadn't got premier club seating as requested.

So, yesterday.  I started a third round, and included Thomson Worldwide, Kenwood and Jarvis & Hayes, plus Nick from Beaches 4 Less.  All of them quoted high - one £1200 higher than everyone else, except Nick.  

I spoke to Nick late yesterday afternoon.  He told me he would come back to me this morning, which he did.  He's undercut all the other quotes, and more importantly, got all my requests right first time.  He has wonderful customer service, went through lots of important information, including vaccinations, zika virus, if we had any dietary needs, visas etc etc etc.  We've now booked with him, firstly his price was the best, but more importantly his customer service was fantastic.  I really felt that he'd taken time with us.

So thats it, my moans over.  Couple of lessons learnt, book the best price on the day you are ready to book.  Double check the details of your booking and make sure the agents got it right before parting with any money.  Shop around and dont be afraid to say no, its too dear!  And lastly, Find a great travel agent who you can build up a rapport with, someone you can trust to give you a good price and great service.  After all, purchasing a holiday, should be an enjoyable experience.  😉