We recently spent 11 nights in Majorca (two weeks sounds too long and one week sounds way too short so I always find something in between). It was our first holiday as a family of four. I wanted somewhere affordable with good weather (no more rain, thanks, Portugal) and things to keep Ebony entertained. After some prosecco-induced holiday browsing on Christmas Eve, I booked us a self-catering holiday at Blau Punta Reina Resort near Porto Cristo. We always go self-catering, I'd be too worried about the potential lack of vegan options on an all-inclusive holiday. The only time I haven't been self-catering was on our honeymoon when we went to the fanciest place ever and they made us a special vegan menu which they wrote on a scroll and sealed with red wax. We don't really go to places like that anymore. Sob.
We paid a little extra for a sea view (thanks, Christmas Eve prosecco) because I figured we'd be stuck at the apartment in the evening and it made sense to have something nice to look at. I thought we'd probably only be able to see a bit of the sea but that it would be nice anyway. In actual fact, we could see the whole ocean, or it felt that way. Our apartment was sort of on a cliff that jutted out into the ocean. We had a terrace, then there was a little path, then a bit of grass and, then All The Sea. I have never been anywhere more beautiful. It was so lovely to sit out on sun loungers in the evening, the kids tucked up asleep in bed, and watch nighttime appear over the sea.
It was quite a big complex with three pools and a separate kids splash zone complete with pirate themed slides. I'm not really one for lounging by the pool, I'm much happier on the beach or holed away on a balcony, but I spent a couple of afternoons by the splash zone watching Ebony play in the water. There was a kids club on the resort so Ebony spent a couple of sessions there and loved it. They did crafts, played at the splash zone and had a pool party. We've never used a kids club before but it was fun for Ebony to hang out with other kids and it meant Ember could nap in peace.
The resort was located between two beaches, we spent most mornings at Cala Romantica. It was a gorgeous little sandy beach and Ebony spent hours jumping over waves and building sandcastles. Ember ate half the beach. We got there early and stayed for a couple of hours before heading back to the resort to hide from the midday sun. Keeping Ember in the shade proved to be hard work and getting her to wear a sun hat was near impossible. I spent most of the holiday trying to distract her so I could firmly fix a sunhat to her head.
We went self-catering which probably would have been fine if we'd hired a car to drive to a supermarket. The resort isn't near any supermarkets so it was difficult finding food. The nearest shop was a Spar which didn't sell any vegetables. Laurie got directions to 'the supermarket' and trekked there in the heat only to discover it was a slightly bigger Spar with a selection of about five vegetables, but we made do. It wasn't the healthiest holiday and I can't see myself wanting to eat pasta anytime soon. The apartment itself was small, definitely the smallest self-catering apartment I've stayed in. There was no oven which wasn't exactly ideal.
We had a cot in our room but no highchair. Hot weather and baby led weaning do not mix well, it turns out. After a couple of days, Laurie snuck out early and stole one of the highchairs from the hotel bar and we kept that for the remainder of the holiday which made life a lot easier. It's not a holiday if a crawling baby is rubbing pasta sauce into your legs. Without the stolen highchair, I think the holiday would have felt like hard work because that much mess three times a day is absolutely no fun.
Ebony made friends with a little girl from a few doors down and they managed to play quite happily without any idea what the other was saying. Laurie dusted off his GCSE German a couple of times to help out with some translation. Ebony really enjoyed the holiday, she's never happier than when we're all together. Ember really loved the beach and the pool and getting to smear pasta sauce all over the floor. There was free wi-fi at the hotel and it actually worked (this took me by surprise) so my dream of an internet-free holiday didn't quite happen but it was still lovely to get away from home for a while. And, in the end, the internet proved to be quite useful because our baby monitor broke whilst we were out there so for the last few nights we used our phones and the wi-fi to create a makeshift (and very expensive) monitor so we could still sit outside and drink under the stars.
We've not even been home a month but it already feels like it was a million years ago. That's the worst thing about holidays, isn't it? How quickly they become distant memories.
We've not even been home a month but it already feels like it was a million years ago. That's the worst thing about holidays, isn't it? How quickly they become distant memories.