Sunday 11 April 2010

Travel to Mallorca

Our trip out was lengthy, but not too bad, all things considered. With the passports having arrived on Thursday, we were finally clear to get packed and get on our way at Saturday lunchtime, stuffing the cases and the children into the car and driving to Newcastle on a very pleasant spring afternoon. The flight was a little late in leaving but the staff possibly took pity on us and fast-tracked us on to the Easyjet flight ahead of most people so we were able to get six seats together. Finn didn't enjoy the descent to Palma: his ears really hurt.

The walk from the plane to baggage reclaim in Palma is very lengthy but the boys had a great time messing on the long moving pavements. Our enthusiasm waned in the 75 minute car-hire queue however. Record-Go were the cheapest to book and the lengthy queue at their kiosk was considerably more than all the other kiosks put together. Car hire on Mallorca is a bit of a swizz, as most companies charge a full tank of petrol on top of the price you have agreed, even though there is little chance of you using a fulll tank. WIth us needing two cars that was €80 per car on top of the €160 we were paying for each car, not to mention the €36 insurance. It all adds up.

It was almost 11pm local time when we set off to cross the island. I took Finn who fell asleep soon after while Sharon found herself negotiating some out of the way roads while Sean enquired concernedly as to whether she knew the way. We both arrived in C'an Picafort via our separate routes, where Sharon was greeted by the owner's brother-in-law who spoke no English. The house looked better than we'd imagined: a spilt level villa with tiled floors and stairs and heavy wooden doors inside. And lots of room! Despite it being midnight, the boys had a brief burst of energy before we got Angus and Sean bedded downstairs and Rowan and Finn sharing a bed upstairs, which they seemed remarkably keen to do.

We're here. Now we can relax...

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