Mallorca provided the perfect end to our Grand Tour. Throughout our trip Matilde has asked "where do we fly to next?" And we would reply what our next port of call was and then went through the list of remaining places. When we listed Mallorca she would ask "and what about Spain?" Having been reassured that Mallorca was part of Spain her next comment was "oh this holiday is too short!!"
Indeed in no time at all our holiday in Mallorca is over. It was a wonderful week filled with some lovely meals and relaxing on the beach. On our last day we discovered the perfect beach - hours of fun jumping the waves with beautiful sand underneath and clear blue waters. Grandpa Ross had promised the girls lots of fish - but they wanted to catch it themselves. Gregorio was aghast when they appeared with a fishing net each (a whopping 2 euros). However, he soon realised that a small investment provided many hours of fun. I am pleased to report (as Isabella will no doubt tell all) that they did catch a couple of fish (you might have needed a magnifying glass to see them) and several hermit crabs. Not to mention all the jelly fish. Talking of which, Matilde was stung once in Greece and Isabella twice - how she was stung on her face, we are not quite sure but maybe she'll learn that you don't need to inspect absolutely everything up so close.
We leave the warm (well very hot) mediterranean skies for a final day in London where we are told they are building up to a classic British bank holiday week-end - grey skies and cool weather! We will fly back to Washington tomorrow, Friday night. We are not sure how big the pile of post will be or the state of the jungle in the back garden, but we won't have long to find out. Saturday morning we are off for a 60th anniversary week-end with my office and on Monday school begins and so back to reality.
We have had a truly memorable summer. The highlight has been the quality time we have spent together filled with new experiences and discoveries. Some of the obvious ones we have already mentioned but there were the entertaining ones too. The revelation that some public loos are little more than a hole in the ground led to new skills and lively debate about whether it was better behind a tree in the forest or the public loo surprise. What I love about children is the excitement and enthusiasm with which a new discovery is shared. I can't remember who saw the topless lady first on the beach but the scream "LOOK, a lady with naked boobies!" was heard by many.
We will have taken 7 flights, we have stayed in ten different homes/hotels, visited four countries. I dread to think how many miles we have covered or how many trees we should be planting to offset all the carbon footprint. But these statistics don't matter, we have enjoyed seeing our family and friends in Europe. We have enjoyed the slower pace of life, the sights, sounds and foods of the places we have visited. However, as we have reported, we have also missed some of our creature comforts - namely reliable air conditioning and services when you want them. We are so used to shopping (for food particularly) when you want it. And then there was the speed (or lack of) internet connection; not to mention the internet helpline who's advice over the phone was "if you go on-line you can add money to your internet account" They seemed to have failed to grasp that we were calling for help as we couldn't get on-line. These are really minor inconveniences but they have brought home to me that when (if....) we ever move back to Europe it will take some readjusting. Meanwhile we are on our way home and the villa in central Italy remains a dream....
I had hoped the girls would be writing more in the blogs but we were too busy finding snails, catching fish, eating gelato and so much more. They religiously kept their diaries for the first six weeks though they increasingly became a list of visits punctuated by a list of what we ate. We are certain though they have many happy memories that they will recall for years to come.
In terms of Isabella's health. She is looking great, her hair is thick and curly and bleached blond by the sun and sea. The next MRI will be in October and we will write more then.
Lots of love to you all,
Emma, Gregorio, Isabella and Matilde. xxx
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