Day 4

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We started our day the usual way, we have a hard time getting out of bed due to the time change, but knowing the only way to get coffee is to go to breakfast usually gets me moving. We have a buffet breakfast every morning in the dining room at the Hotel. It is a great spread, tons of fresh fruit, pastries, cereal, yogurt also the classic European meats and cheeses that I have no interest in for breakfast. The highlight is the fresh squeezed orange juice.
We started by driving down to Manacor where the pearl factory is located, it is sad to admit that yesterday on our bikes we were only a couple of miles from the pearl factory but there is no way we could have carried them back on our bikes, and there was an olive wood store which had the obligatory back scratchers but also had some truly lovely things and if I could I would have brought more of the olive wood home. I really like the contrast in the wood. Then we headed back to Palma to pick up the road to Valdemossa. We joke that all roads in Mallorca lead to Palma. Being the largest city in Palma it is on literally every sign. Valdemossa is the first stop when you start climbing into the Mountains. Valdemossa is also where Chopin spent several months. He apparently did not love Valdemossa. I thought the approach was beautiful and the city itself is lovely, there were lots of people with white hair so I called it West Palm Beach, Mallorca. It reminded Ed of Epcot, it was too perfect. We had lunch, and you guessed it we had pa amb oli. We sat down with the intention of trying something new, the waitress said we have pa amb oli and we said terrific, give us two. It was fine, nothing wonderful. A very nice British couple that we chatted with for several hours at our hotel last night had given us the name of a good seafood place in Deia, but we were running to late to get there in time. After lunch we found some pastries, which were very beautiful, Ed liked his a lot, I think he compared it to a devil dog. I was getting a pretty bad headache so we got in the car and headed to Deia. I wasn't sure if it was the altitude or the roads. Either way we progressed through a series of about 37 switchbacks working our way up the coast. There were lots of cyclists and let me just say, congratulations to anyone who climbed those mountains on a bike. I am very very impressed as is Ed. After seeing it I am positive it would not be for me. Ed even said he thought it was daunting. We will be riding tomorrow and Saturday we both missed being on our bikes. Not on the mountains mind you.

I give Ed credit, I was a bit of a downer today. I didn't mean to be, but the roads, the sun and my head were a bad combination. Anyway we worked our way to Lluc where there is a Monastery where the priests made up a story about a shepherd boy finding a statue of Mary and Jesus sent from heaven. Apparently many people still make a pilgrimage to Lluc to see the statue. We headed for the coast which is Pollenca, Fromentor and Cap Fromentor. The views were amazing. Once again I don't think I captured it as well as I should have. If in my picutures you see a very blue lake, which I thought was stunning, it is actually man made in the the mountains which the locals think is awful. They would really love Mansfield Hollow Damn. We went ahead and drove up Cap Fromentor, mainly to determine if we want to cycle there tomorrow. It would be quite a climb so I am not sure if it is for me. At the top a young man on his bicycle was trying to take a picture of himself, even with a headache I hopped out of the car and he was thrilled to get a picture of himself at the top with his bicycle.

We had planned on dining on the coast for dinner, but Ed took pity on me and we headed back to the hotel to rest. Strange how riding in a car was harder than cycling. Assuming everyone (me) is feeling well tomorrow we have a big day of cycling planned.

A few other notes. The hotel has a Bistro which we love for dinner and also a formal dining room. Since the hotel is far from full they open the formal dining room and you can choose from either menu. We had been eating from the Bistro menu and enjoying ourselves. One night we asked for the dining room menu. The maître d' gave us a doubtful look. After we opened it we realize that foie gras was the only thing we knew and neither of us even eat foie gras. With our tails between our legs we requested the tried and true Bistro menu.

I am struggling to upload photos, so if you have any interest in seeing them I will try later.

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