Cuatro

Now that it is just the four of us, we decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner and got a recommendation for authentic Spanish food from the concierge. It was authentic alright, authentically closed. We had taken a cab back to the other side of the city that we had visited earlier and then we're sure where to go for dinner. So we decided to venture further, and eventually found a tapas bar and had a nice dinner, just the four of us. We also decided to walk the couple of miles back, earning an extra set of blisters on our already weathered feet. The walk back was nice and we just strolled and talked.

When we got back to our hotel room we looked out the window and saw the Mallorca moon rising just beside the Palma cathedral.

Vacationers on Mallorca

Hot and sad

We checked out of the house and headed to Palma, a major town on the beach. It was very hot. We walked through the old town where it was sweltering. We would cross the road for shade, and air conditioning was the main criteria for lunch.

The eight of us came back to the hotel where the four of us are staying, and enjoyed the open windows, lovely view, and blaring A/C. After a couple of hours we all headed to the airport to return cars, then say our goodbyes. This time we mean it for Felix and are sad to depart ways after a year of having him be a part of our small family. It was good closure for us to meet his parents and his brother, and to know that he's returning to his family. We do hope to stay in close touch and look forward to having an extended family in Germany.

Mallorca sunset

Adiós casita

We just checked out of the house. The hosts were great, although they didn't share a word of English between them. But they did have a cute little dog that jumps on command...and a great house with a pool! It was a perfect place for us in the center of the island, no neighbors, and accessible to anywhere we wanted to go. Sad to see this leg of the vacation ending...and even sadder to say goodbye to our German family.

Last swim

...unless we swim again...

Arenál...check

We found out where all the drunk people on the island go when we made a quick trip to Arenál. It's a party town, so we tried to ignore the smell of puke and overlook the bachelor parties, complete with a man in a full length bear costume on the hot beach. So we snapped a quick picture, headed for dinner at home, and forever checked Arenál off of our to-do list.

Bodega

My favorite new vocab word for this trip is Bodega (winery). We stopped at one, tasted a few, and brought some home. And, what makes a bordega even better? Kittens of course.

Olympians

Our own Olympics...since we have yet to see an event, even though we were in London on the first day they started

Midpoint

This is an amazing vacation. We had no expectations other than to spend time with Felix's family and enjoy a Mediterranean island. Every day we get up and discuss what we want to do, then we either head out or stay back. We swim, we eat and we talk. Somehow the language is working out just fine. The pool seems to be the great equalizer.

Cindy and I were talking this morning about losing sense of time and perspective. Even though our time in London was short, it felt like a complete mini-vacation. Mallorca has been amazing. And on Sunday we leave for mainland Spain for another week!

The kids have been great so far. We've had a couple of incidences, but considering the time zone change, the lack of a routine and so much sun, they've been great travelers. We are happy because this makes our stay much nicer.

Today we headed for Alcúdia, the northernmost point of the island, via a very curvy, narrow road with sharp drop-offs. There were a couple of times that we sucked in our stomachs as we passed an oncoming car. We stayed away from the water because Mason is still recovering from his rash. I had a hard time feeling sorry for him today, though, because he left his shoes at the house and we had to buy him another pair.

Mellow day

We had a late start to the day and our plans to go to Palma were thwarted with a nasty sun/salt water rash on Mason's legs, preempted by hours of swimming. So we made our own tapas and sangria and, at about 9pm we headed for the nearby Santa Eugenia for dinner. One again, the adults outlasted the kids for bedtime.

Pool Time (by Cindy)

Laughing, Splashing
Water balloons and sun
Dunking
Throwing
Breaking balloons what fun
More filled
More sealed
Laughing
Splashing
Water balloons and sun

Travel (by Cindy)

New places, New people
Flights
Sights
New friends, New family
Sun
Fun
New experiences, New adventures
Miles
Smiles
New times, Good times
Love
Love