Chipping Camden to Reading UK … Farewell to the Cotswolds & the UK and Welcome to Palma, Mallorca, Spain

May 22nd, 2024

We wake up look out the window and see solid rain > OMG are we lucky, it looks miserable outside and the original plan had us walking to complete the circle tour…however, we felt the connections to Gatwick would be somewhat tight…smart thinking haha! After a decent English breakfast, we finish packing and the taxi we requested last night (the last one on a list provided by the Inn) arrives and we are on our way to Moret-in-Marsh. Our train is 2 minutes late but arrives on time in Reading on time and we detrain in misty rain…

We are early for check-in at the Premier Inn and even though I try to “sweet talk” the receptionist in Polish, it does not help, but at least we could leave our two suitcases aka “the beasties” behind. It is not that much fun to wander around in the rain so we settled for a Wagagama lunch… Asian fusion > not bad, not great.

Back to the Premier Inn as we had a late lunch and the weather sucks we decided to dine in Chez Nous and bought some victuals at the nearby M&S Food Center. Travel days always seem to be tiring and somewhat wasteful but with it being a crappy day we did not feel so bad.

Tomorrow is another travel day and while we had a really great time in the U.K. (everything went like clockwork!), now it is time to look forward to the next part of our trip!

 

May 23rd, 2024

The weather is rather brisk with an overcast sky but at least it is not raining as it is about a 20-minute walk to the train station. After a solid breakfast, we are set for what will be an all-day travel day: to view an expanded map click on the rectangular in the black banner below:

A few more pics of the town as we head to the station:

We are taking a direct train from Reading to Gatwick Airport a journey of about 1.5 hours. Using the phone for all check-ins, and ticket checks is straightforward and our travels with Great Western Rail have been spot on!

We saw this sign at the station and thought we should send it to B.C. Ferries:

Gatwick Airport is a busy place but we have budgeted sufficient time not to feel rushed. This is our first time flying Easy Jet and based on our reading of various reviews we are setting our expectations at a rather low level. Our flight is at 14:00 so we grab some lunch to keep the “hangries” at bay which will be consumed en route.

Our flight leaves late and we arrive at Palma de Mallorca Airport at 18:00 with a +1 hour time change. It is a lovely day and after luggage retrieval (super slow), customs, and immigration (super fast), we take a taxi to the Hotel Costa Azul our home for the next three nights. Although we are a bit tired it is too nice an evening not to venture out, the hotel is across the street from the marina ….

…. and eventually, found a tapas restaurant Buscando El Norte in the Santa Catalina neighbourhood. We scored one of the last tables outside and ordered a bottle of sparkling wine paired with several tapas we happily consumed.

Very pleasant waitress and upbeat buzz around us …what a way to start the Mallorca adventure! Then a slow walk back to the hotel…

…and one of the many water extraction grain grinding windmills particular to Mallorca in the fading light…

Tomorrow we have a full sightseeing schedule and after writing a bit in the blog it is time to call it a night.