Saturday, 15th June - Peguera to Orient
Checkout from the Secrets Hotel Mallorca Villamil wasn't until midday, so yet another leisurely breakfast and plenty of time to finish packing.
Decided to drive via two places that had been recommended by the tourist office in Peguera - Calvia and Es Capdella. However, neither proved to be particularly inspiring and so we pressed on in glorious sunshine.
The trip was supposed to last about an hour, but due to some satnav bungling by yours truly, it took nearer an hour and a half. The hotel we are staying at - the Finca Son Palou - was also quite hard to get to, and once again Google Maps well and truly came up trumps. Very, very narrow, twisty and rough path up to a most extraordinary converted farmhouse that was used to make olive oil as long ago as the fifteenth century. It's in a tiny village called Orient - apparently it contains no shops, a few houses, some restaurants, and that's about all. More pictures later.
It was also difficult to determine where the reception was, but we finally cracked it and, mercifully, we were expected. It's only a small hotel, but it's in the middle of a bloody great estate - all 100 hectares of it - all of which can be explored from here. It's a fabulous looking spot. The receptionist was extremely helpful and spoke excellent English. We were also given a complimentary glass of Cava - a nice touch.
After a few hitches with the booking process, we were asked if we wanted lunch before we went to our room, as lunchtime was about to finish. We decided to give it a go, and were taken to a lovely little terrace, where we were waited on in a very efficient and friendly manner. We settled on a couple of tuna wraps, which turned out to be quite substantial and accompanied by some to-die-for chips and - some tomato ketchup! Definite thumbs-up from both of us. Some VERY noisy and attentive sparrows added a certain je ne sais quoi to the experience.
There were about three couples, one of which was two gay men, and the language was English. One couple in particular, we divined, were from Surrey and seem like a right couple of hooray Henrys. They were also getting more and more pissed.
After a delightful meal, we went back to Reception where the arrangements for dinner were explained. If you wanted the Specials menu, you had to order it before 4.30. If you wanted the tasting menu, you had to order it by 5.30. If you just wanted a la carte, you could order it at the table. We decided to go for the tasting menu at 7.30 p.m. There is also a wine-tasting at 6.45 p.m. We might just attend that.....
Thence to our room. Stunning, with a lovely view.
Lovely and quiet, apart from loads of sparrows chirping. Hopefully no noisy neighbours......
Got unpacked, and settled in the room before going down to the wine tasting and dinner.
The wine tasting was good fun, if a bit amateurish. 3 bottles of white wine were on offer, all of Majorcan origin, and the shooting-match was led by one of the hotel staff, who had to keep referring to a set of notes. However, she was absolutely charming and it enabled some conversation with other guests, pretty much all of them from the UK.
Thence to dinner. Here's the menu:
Small portions of delightfully cooked food, accompanied by a very nice bottle of Viognier. Oh, and preceded by a G&T and finished off with petits fours and a limoncello. Superb.
And we have six nights here! Things are really looking up.
Decided to drive via two places that had been recommended by the tourist office in Peguera - Calvia and Es Capdella. However, neither proved to be particularly inspiring and so we pressed on in glorious sunshine.
The trip was supposed to last about an hour, but due to some satnav bungling by yours truly, it took nearer an hour and a half. The hotel we are staying at - the Finca Son Palou - was also quite hard to get to, and once again Google Maps well and truly came up trumps. Very, very narrow, twisty and rough path up to a most extraordinary converted farmhouse that was used to make olive oil as long ago as the fifteenth century. It's in a tiny village called Orient - apparently it contains no shops, a few houses, some restaurants, and that's about all. More pictures later.
It was also difficult to determine where the reception was, but we finally cracked it and, mercifully, we were expected. It's only a small hotel, but it's in the middle of a bloody great estate - all 100 hectares of it - all of which can be explored from here. It's a fabulous looking spot. The receptionist was extremely helpful and spoke excellent English. We were also given a complimentary glass of Cava - a nice touch.
After a few hitches with the booking process, we were asked if we wanted lunch before we went to our room, as lunchtime was about to finish. We decided to give it a go, and were taken to a lovely little terrace, where we were waited on in a very efficient and friendly manner. We settled on a couple of tuna wraps, which turned out to be quite substantial and accompanied by some to-die-for chips and - some tomato ketchup! Definite thumbs-up from both of us. Some VERY noisy and attentive sparrows added a certain je ne sais quoi to the experience.
There were about three couples, one of which was two gay men, and the language was English. One couple in particular, we divined, were from Surrey and seem like a right couple of hooray Henrys. They were also getting more and more pissed.
After a delightful meal, we went back to Reception where the arrangements for dinner were explained. If you wanted the Specials menu, you had to order it before 4.30. If you wanted the tasting menu, you had to order it by 5.30. If you just wanted a la carte, you could order it at the table. We decided to go for the tasting menu at 7.30 p.m. There is also a wine-tasting at 6.45 p.m. We might just attend that.....
Thence to our room. Stunning, with a lovely view.
Lovely and quiet, apart from loads of sparrows chirping. Hopefully no noisy neighbours......
Got unpacked, and settled in the room before going down to the wine tasting and dinner.
The wine tasting was good fun, if a bit amateurish. 3 bottles of white wine were on offer, all of Majorcan origin, and the shooting-match was led by one of the hotel staff, who had to keep referring to a set of notes. However, she was absolutely charming and it enabled some conversation with other guests, pretty much all of them from the UK.
Thence to dinner. Here's the menu:
Small portions of delightfully cooked food, accompanied by a very nice bottle of Viognier. Oh, and preceded by a G&T and finished off with petits fours and a limoncello. Superb.
And we have six nights here! Things are really looking up.
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