This Was

In the Spielberg film, "Empire Of The Sun", Jamie, having been separated from his parents following the Japanese invasion, returns to his home. Already it has taken on an appearance of abandonment, there are leaves in the pool, the garden seems untended. I thought of this yesterday. I knew that it was for sale, but I was taken aback when I drove down the familiar narrow lane with the bracken and grass to the sides and parked. There was a broken tree, the top half lying horizontal on top of bushes, the terrace was empty, the swimming-pool I didn't actually look at but I imagined it as in the film. The doors to the converted farmhouse were shuttered. It looked forgotten. The lack of attention had made it lose the attractiveness I could recall.

I came out of the lane and drove around the back. There was a time when, albeit in cliché terms, I had described this place as an oasis. And it was. A quiet location away from the main road, mountains around, it always looked a picture in a photograph especially with the brilliance of blue. It could still be, but that oasis feel has gone. Whereas before there was nothing as such just sort of finca land, now there is an industrial estate. This converted Mallorcan farmhouse, surrounded by main road, the blaring red of the Eroski Syp supermarket and the industrial area.

Some people had it in for them. There were some rather nasty things posted about the place. I don't know the ins and outs, and I'm not really interested and was not interested. Whatever the basis of all that, it was a gorgeous restaurant, those multi-coloured candles, waxing the sides of bottles, the white-linen-covered chairs, the terraces with their plant pots.

This place was Balaixa.


QUIZ
Yesterday - Cher. Today's title - first album (from the late '60s) by which band?

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)

Are You Handy?

Are we handy? Not ‘alf. There’s what we do behind the scenes. It is hidden from view. We get all sorts of enquiries to our main websites, and we deal with them personally. Sometimes, we go and find out, and there will be an example of this coming up in a day or two. While we are delighted to point people in the direction of advertisers, that isn’t the first thought. We hope that we help. Below is a correspondence that may well also prove very useful to visitors coming to Pollensa or Puerto Pollensa. The correspondence was via www.thepollensaguide.com

ENQUIRY: What a great website. We are off to Pollensa. Please can you recommend some restaurants that offer good value for money. We have three children so eating out can be expensive. Love the idea of menu of the day and good food at a reasonable price. It would help to have the names of 5 restaurants save us wasting time looking. thanks.

REPLY 1: Thanks for contacting us and for the compliments.

You say you are going to Pollensa, but not sure if you mean by this Puerto Pollensa. The two are some distance apart. But no matter. For menu of the day, this tends more often to be offered by less touristy restaurants.

In Puerto Pollensa, I know of El Posito in Calle Llebeig, Bon Profit and La Vall in Calle Vicenç Buades. None of these are actually represented on this site, but I can vouch for each of them. If you like pizzas, I would recommend Little (Italy) which is on the pinewalk. Their pizzas are not expensive but really good. You might also want to try some well-priced tapas at Neptuno, which is on the corner of Ctra. Formentor and Calle Migjorn.

In Pollensa town, there is Celler El Moli on the outskirts of the town not far from the Roman bridge along Calle Mar. This does a very popular menu of the day and is inexpensive. In the centre of Pollensa just close to the main square is Eu Centro, another that does a well-priced menu. Near to the monument to Costa i Llobera are two places - Can Miguel and Monument - which offer menus though I don't know a lot about these.

One thing to be aware of. Menu of the day is usually lunchtimes only (lunchtimes extend to around 3:30 here). Sometimes there are special evening menus as well, but often the restaurants revert to the normal menu.

REPLY 2: That is really great.  We are based in Pollensa old town but will be going to Puerto Pollensa too. Thanks very much.

REPLY 3: Pleasure. Have a great time. Will you be in Pollensa first week of August?
That's when the Patrona fiesta takes place. Very lively! (Edit note - Patrona finishes 2 August.)

REPLY 4: We are there from 31 July to 5 August. I noticed in Pollensa there is a classical festival on Saturday 4 August starting in the square in Pollensa town centre. Not sure about any others. Oh one other question. We are staying in a town house in Pollensa with no pool! Not bad because we are near the beach but do you know any hotels that allow you to use their pool if for example you had lunch there?  Just a thought.

REPLY 5: Of the hotels in Pollensa only two have pools - the mega expensive Son Brull, and Posada de Lluc (only a small pool). Another option might be the lovely Balaixa restaurant, which is on the main road going towards Puerto Pollensa (behind the Eroski supermarket). They have a decent pool and do a 3-course lunch Monday to Saturday for 15 euros (wine included). If you go there, say hello to Mandy or Arnie and mention we put you onto them!!

By the way, Balaixa also have a bistro near to one of the beaches in Cala San Vicente. As an alternative to Puerto Pollensa, you might want to nip into CSV (which is between Pollensa and the port). Pretty place, especially the lower part where the bistro is.

There are different events going on in Pollensa. The Patrona is one, there is also the Festival of Pollensa which has a couple of concerts each week till the end of August.

REPLY 6: Yes knew about Balaixa. Thought we would do that on the Saturday. Maybe I will book now via email. I also see they have a bistro in Cala S Vincent. We have been before and the kids love jumping off the rocks so when we go there we shall eat there definitely. Can't imagine eating a three course meal though and then wanting to go for a swim!!!!

Thanks for everything and will say hello to them for you.



You wouldn’t expect there not to be some other angle for today’s title. It is this. Today the sea was as flat as your hat in Playa de Muro. Blissful. Idyllic. The varying shades of turquoise could be viewed without the usual turbulence of waves. The wind was down, you could hear the laughter, shouts and screams from the children in the sea. You could also hear ... someone talking on a mobile. In the sea. Walking in the sea. On a mobile. Why the title? In Germany, the mobile is called the “handy”. Does this justify a quiz question? Yep, you betcha. The title comes from a sketch from a record by the alter egos of two very famous British comedians. Who were they?
Last time. It was of course Norman Cook aka Fat Boy Slim. (He was originally Quentin and changed his name to Norman for some reason.) Malcolm Bradbury was the author.

(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)