Mallorca favourites: Sa Foradada

Elliot would probably disagree with this, seeing as I grumble about it every time he suggests it, but Sa Foradada IS actually one of my favourite places in Mallorca.

About a 5-minute drive from Deià (in the north of the island), getting to Sa Foradada means a 45-minute hike down a winding gravel road. It's easy and I usually do it in flip flops, but the 35-degree heat definitely makes it a bit more challenging.

Here are some photos from the top of the mountain, pre-hike. You can see the winding road on the side of the tip of the island that is basically the last 10 minutes of the walk. (That's my sister and her boyfriend on a recent European sojourn from their travels through Africa.)

The start of the walk involves climbing over an iron gate (the only cars allowed on the road are those belonging to the restaurant owners at the bottom). This sign makes sure you're heading the right way:

There are plenty of olive trees during the first 10 minutes of the hike. 

Ever eaten a raw olive picked off a tree? I don't recommend it.

There are also loads of sheep during the first 15 minutes. They roam the dry land eating grass and they run away from you if you approach them. The big collars around their neck have big cowbells around them.

And then, once you get to the bottom, we usually go eat at the family-owned restaurant first. This man, who is in his 70s, has owned the restaurant for over 40 years, and still spends his summer days cooking paella for appreciative tourists.

My favourite paella in the world.

See? We have brought quite a few people here—at least four different groups of visitors, that I can think of—but Sa Foradada remains a favourite. 

After lunch, there's a little rocky cove where you can sunbathe (though to be honest, it's not the most comfortable as there's no sand...). Usually, though, I end up splashing around in the tide, trying to avoid being smashed over the rocks. 

Last time we went, we climbed up the side of the small mountain, but I got a bit scared once we got to the very tip of the cliff and had to hang on to the peak-marker. My palms were very sweaty (and they're getting sweaty now just thinking about it again)!

It doesn't look so scary here (I just look flipping ridiculous), but Elliot is taking the picture about 2 feet away from the edge of a 100m-high cliff. I won't be doing this part again!

Canada Olympic House... and more Britishisms

Today, a Canadian woman asked if I was Canadian... because she said I had a bit of an English accent. The horror! Seriously, I'm heading back to Vancouver in late August for a week, so if I have ANY SYMPTOMS of Madonna English, y'all had better tell me.

Anyway, this Canadian woman was at Canada Olympic House, which is at Trafalgar Square (also where the annual Canada Day celebrations are held). The house is, unfortunately, closed to friends and family, but I got a little tour of it and, I must say, this actually gives it more of a comfortable feel.

The Canadian sponsors are there - Petro Canada, Molson Canadian, and, of course, P&G, which is not Canadian but is a big Olympics sponsor and owns Crest, Pantene, Pampers, and Secret, among a few other beauty brands. P&G's Olympics campaign slogan is "Thank you, Mom", which is officially the biggest tearjerker campaign of the Games. If you haven't watched it, YouTube it.  

Anyway, they've set up a lounge where friends and family can, in true living room style, watch CTV-streamed Olympics content... which is such a relief. The BBC is wonderful, but their Olympics coverage has (obviously) been SO British-centric - yesterday, I was shouting at the TV in frustration as they named the gold, silver, and bronze winners in some sport, OMITTED ANY MENTION of the Canadian team in 4th, and then focused in on the Brits in 5th. Bah.

Canadians watching Canadians compete at the P&G "Home away from home" lounge at Canada Olympic House. There is Molson Canadian beer and poutine (although they make it with mozzarella... sacrilege! Apparently you can't find cheese curds in London).

There is also a Hudson Bay Company pop-up shop! Love.

Anyway, a few more random Britishisms to start your weekend:

• When buying coffee, if you want a "drip coffee" (as we would say in North America), you have to ask for "filter coffee" here (although many cafés don't actually have this). Basically, they're referring to a French filter coffee - i.e. coffee made using a Bodum.
• When ordering an Americano or a cup of tea, you have to specify whether you want it black or white. Essentially, white means it comes with milk in it - hot milk. Cafés here don't have Thermos' / carafes full of a cream, half-and-half, skim, or soy milk by the sugar and other condiments.
• The middle finger: it is used here, but it's much more common to use a two-fingered salute, with your palm toward you and a type of swipe-upward motion. Basically, imagine yourself saying "up yours" with two fingers in a backward-peace-sign, and you get the idea. (Apparently, this tradition derives from the Hundred Years War in the 14th century: English archers that had been captured by France had two fingers cut off their right hand - the fingers that drew the bow - so by flashing those two fingers, you were effectively showing a gesture of defiance.) 

That's it for now.

Happy weekend!

My Olympics so far!

I LOVE the Olympics. I get teary eyed whenever I see someone win, love hearing the stories of how far the athletes have come, love everything about them.

Here, then, are a few highlights of my Olympics so far - they've only been on for two official days, but we had the amazing chance to watch the Opening Ceremony dress rehearsal on Wednesday (two days before the real deal), so my Olympics experience has been going on a tiny bit longer. :)

Hello from Olympic Park!!! 

(I need a "fringe" trim...)

The pastoral scene, before the Opening Ceremony rehearsal began... 

Volunteer performers walking the "clouds" around the stadium.

One of my favourite parts of the Opening Ceremony - the smokestacks raising from the ground to represent the Industrial Revolution. Amazing.

Spotted a few of the 10,000 performers post-rehearsal, still in costume. 

This dress reminded me of these two from Marc Jacob's spring/summer 2012 collection. No? 

Source: Style.com

I also received a press membership to Omega House (St. Barnabas' House in Soho) for the duration of the Games, which is pretty amazing. Here are some photos of the front room, the "Omega Ladymatic", which I got a sneak peek of pre-opening. Omega is the official timekeeper of the Olympics, and Omega House officially opened on Saturday night, attended by brand ambassadors such as Nicole Kidman.

Omega has been good to me... during the Vancouver 2012 Olympics, I got to interview Cindy Crawford (another brand ambassador) for FASHION Magazine.

Me with Cindy. 

My head looks about twice the size of hers.

Back to London 2012, here's a shot of the blimp that can be seen flying high above Olympic Park. I imagine it has a lot of cameras in it, capturing those aerial shots of the park we keep seeing on the BBC (CTV in Canada).

On Saturday, we headed back to Olympic Park for women's handball. I didn't do any research into this game before we went, but after watching two matches (Croatia vs. Brazil and Denmark vs. Sweden; winners in bold), I would describe it as a cross between hockey, soccer, and basketball.

Brazil in yellow; Croatia in red.

Seven people play for each team at once (including 1 goalie, who mans a net that's about half the size of a soccer goal). Like basketball, the ball can be dribbled across the court, although players can also run with the ball (I believe up to three steps). 

When they stop running, they then have three seconds to pass or shoot the ball into the net. A few other rules: the offensive team can't enter the dark blue defensive zone (which I think is 6 meters from the net), although if they land in it after 'shooting' the ball, that's OK.

Like hockey, there are powerplays when someone fouls or gets a 2-minute penalty, which happen when someone holds another player unfairly; like soccer, there are yellow and red cards that are granted for certain types of fouls.

Maybe most interestingly, the ball is a bit sticky as a result of the weird resin-y substance that the players rub on their hands. They also put a glob of it on one of their heels, and during the game, you can often spot them rubbing their hands on it to make them tacky again. I imagine this makes dribbling a bit hard... 

There are two 30-minute periods (with a 15-minute half-time), and as far as I know, there are only a small handful of countries that have teams (competing at the Olympics, anyway) - although apparently, it's a pretty big sport in Scandinavia. 

I don't think there is a Canadian team... so if anyone wants to start one, I vow to join! What better way to get to the 2016 (or maybe 2020) Olympics?!!! (Sure, I will be O-L-D by then, but at least then we can say we went to the Olympics!)

Some keen Denmark fans.

A keen Netherlands fan in the crowd... wearing a shirt for another weird-sounding sport. Underwater hockey?!!! Seriously? Anyone know anything about this?!!!

On to a brief walk around of the rest of the Park...

Love this pattern on the floor. Reminds me of the Hay rug I apparently love blogging about.

Anyone who knows me knows how much of a recycling Nazi I am - so this recycling organization system throughout the Park really speaks to my anal side. I doubt everyone is taking it seriously, but at least the effort is there. Thanks, Coca-Cola.

The Orbit, which, if you have a ticket to another event at Olympic Park, you can buy a £15 ticket for. It's essentially an elevator surrounded by DNA-looking spirals, leading up to two viewing platforms.

View of the athletes' practice track. We saw quite a few people practising sprints and hurdles. 

I wonder who they were....

A view of the cauldron on the inside of the Olympic Stadium, which is causing a bit of controversy for its central position (apparently, it is usually moved to one side of the stadium). It will be moved elsewhere in the next few days, I'm sure - before all the athletics (track and field) events begin. 

A view of the City. The Shard (that triangular tower on the left) is the recently completed, Renzo Piano-designed, Shangri-La hotel-containing, tallest building in the UK. 

The slightly phallic-looking building on the right is "the Gherkin".

And there's O2 arena, where loads of concerts are held. I saw Jay-Z and Kanye West perform there a few months ago. It was slightly controversial when it was built, as its intended exhibition, the Millennium Experience (which was open for all of 2000), had major financial problems—and then failed to attract the number of visitors it was supposed to.

Thanks for reading my London 2012 recap! More photos to come - I'm heading to the beach volleyball semi-finals next week!

A Monday whinge

Blame it on the weather, but I'm feeling peevish and cranky. Here is my current list of things that annoy me:

- weird British pronunciations. Not so much when it comes to names that are not pronounced the way they are spelled (i.e. the town of Reading is inexplicably pronounced "Redding", while Chiswick is "Chissick", but I'm fine with these), but these words:

• urinal: pronounced here as "ur-eye-nal". Urine is still "ur-in", so why suddenly the long I?
• router (as in an Internet router): pronounced here as "rooter". Ugh, although this one is slightly more forgivable.
• and many others I will add to in the coming days

- people who whinge but don't do anything about what they're whinging about (though I guess I could be blamed of this as well, since I often don't inform these people that I am tired of hearing about their problems)

- THE RAIN

I do, however, like these photographs of London in the rain. They are so gloomy, it is almost hilarious! Source: these are all from the Urban 75 blog, which features photos from "Brixton, London, Wales, New York and more".

Joy!

A rainy maple leaf

Fucking car. I swear drivers do this on purpose. Apologies if I have ever done this to you.

This poor, poor woman! Last thing she needs.

Happy Monday!

Weekend update: fashion, music, food, FUN!

Weekend recap! On Friday, I met a friend for lunch near Vauxhall and spotted these lovely, colourful tiles at the tube station...

And earlier that week, I headed to Starworks' media preview of the resort collections, which are often my favourite as they are also so colourful. I sense a theme... 

A bit of Nicholas Kirkwood. A bit less wacky (though they wouldn't be Kirkwood if they weren't a wee bit crazy), a bit more wearable. I love those bright pink metallic slippers.

Love the swirl, wave detail on the top row pairs (especially the nude flats with his signature rounded heel), and the mix of bright blue and vermilion on the bottom row.

A few of these pairs (i.e. the ones with the laces) look a bit more 'traditional' Nicholas Kirkwood.

These shoes feature Swarovski crystals, and I bet a few bride-to-bes will be putting these on their wish lists. As someone who owns a few pairs, I can honestly say that Nicholas Kirkwood shoes (even when they are five inches high) are actually, really comfortable. Definitely not as narrow as Louboutins, which I love. (I'm sure my podiatrist back in Vancouver - yes, I have one... TMI? - will appreciate their width, too.)

Starworks also represent Tucker by Gaby Basora, a brand I first fell in love with after buying a blouse at The Block in Vancouver's Gastown. Gaby designs all of her own prints - how great is this lipsticked-angry-woman print for Resort 2013?

Another series by Tucker - love this chunky yellow knit. What a great way to brighten up a drab fall day. I need one of these!

And on to Roksanda Ilincic, who is probably one of the most beautiful fashion designers and best embodiments of her own brand. I love her signature lantern sleeves and wool crepe - it's a combination that gives her pieces so much amazing volume, but keeps them light and comfortable at the same time. Definitely on my wish list.

And yes... she is launching a children's line! SO ADORABLE. This little rack of little clothes was enough to make even the coldest heart feel broody (which is what they say here in the UK to describe someone whose biological clock is a-ticking away).

And on to Jonathan Saunders. How '70s does this coat feel?!

Let's breeze through the rest - some new, lighter fabrications (seersucker!) but still-sporty silhouettes from Lisa Marie Fernandez swimwear...

Wild, bright, and always-amazing digi-prints from Peter Pilotto...

Another amazing piece by Peter Pilotto. This dress is made from layered mesh (with an inner lining), so it feels light and sporty, while its print is nothing if not elegant.

And then it was the BBC Radio 1 weekend! We got 4 guest list passes (thank you to the BBC, Mallorca Rocks and my flatmate's boss!!!) - wicked fun. The tickets were actually free for everyone who bothered to apply (it was a bit of an arduous process - people had to submit passport-sized photos and provide proof of address as certain boroughs were allocated more tickets than others), with a £10 donation to charity at the door.

I saw Ed Sheeran recently in Mallorca and Ibiza, but this ginger(bread) man has some serious talent. He is one of the only big acts I've ever seen that has NO ONE supporting him on stage - no drummer, backup singer, nothing. 

Elliot spotted him wearing "Ibiza Rocks" underpants. Quick note - no one really says "boxers" or even "briefs" here; everyone says "pants". And what if you're trying to buy what we call pants in North America? You ask for "trousers".

Anyway, we got very very drunk, but not so drunk that we couldn't take a picture of this massive #jagerbomb #fail. 

We also saw Will.I.Am, Nicki Minaj, Example, Kasabian, and a couple of other random acts, but the highlight for me was seeing Jay-Z - even though I saw him a month ago at the O2 arena. This time, he brought along Rihanna, M.I.A. (uh, amazing!), AND Kanye West.

You've probably seen loads of other coverage of Hackney Weekend (Florence and the Machine, Azealia Banks, Rihanna, Lana del Rey and David Guetta all played on Sunday) - so I'll skip over the rest, but seriously, it was amazing.

The next day, we went for brunch at Dishoom, a Bombay-style café near Covent Garden.

This was my "Full Bombay" breakfast, which was a delicious take on a full English breakfast, with Akuri (spicy scrambled eggs that are apparently an Irani café staple) on toast instead of poached or fried eggs. I'm craving this again now.

And that's my weekend update!