Terenia Taras
HAIR, pink rosé and Burrata cheese: they were the three things I was most looking forward to after nine weeks of lockdown.
Hair because, like most people, I haven’t seen the inside of a salon in four months and after years of colouring it I’ve become newly accounted with its natural root colour, a very non-descript mousy brown! The other thing I couldn’t wait to do was actually sit in a restaurant and eat! Wow, what a luxury that feels like now! So, after doing our two weeks quarantine(and let’s pray this is the last of lockdown) I have been able to indulge in all of the above.
Being new to Mallorca still meant a lot of bureaucracy, which I’ll come to at some point, but for now, back to the fun things like hairdressers and restaurants. I managed to find an English-speaking salon – Vacker, based in FAN shopping mall and Rialto Living in Palma. After a consultation with the lovely Helena I booked in and she did an amazing job of transforming my parched, straw-like hair into a voluptuous shiny bronde mane.
Hair – tick.
The next thing I’d been longing for was a lovely cold glass of pink Prosecco and a Burrata cheese in Cappuccino. Normally I’m all for supporting independents but I love this chain of restaurant and bars. It’s not fine dining, although the price could possibly contest that, and it’s certainly not the cheapest place for a plate of nachos. But let me tell you, their Burrata (mozzarella shell, creamy buffalo milk cheese middle) is divine. I know it’s Italian and probably contains my weekly intake of calories but it’s worth it!
Whilst on the subject of eating out, I’m so impressed with how Spain has adjusted to life after lockdown. Unlike the UK government which is still flailing about trying to find decent masks for key workers whilst simultaneously confusing the whole nation with the conflicting advice that ‘if people can go to work they should, but stay home and protect the NHS’. Meanwhile Britain’s death rate is still creeping up.
But here in wonderful Mallorca, they have automatic hand sanitizer dispensers as you enter public premises, QR codes instead of having to handle germ-ridden menus of old, and we all know to wear masks whenever we’re in public places. God forbid you do forget; some well- meaning member of the public will ‘mask shame’ you in front of everyone. This did actually happen to me when I was in a clothes shop changing room and stuck my head around the curtain to ask the sales assistant for another size, only to be told by some winey-ass woman that everyone is having to wear masks, so why not me? Before I even had a chance to answer, the sales assistant jumped in and said “in the changing room it is not necessary to keep masks on.” So that told you lady!
Another new thing I’ve done since getting back is discovering Santa Catalina. I love the market there and had a wonderful Spanish cheese tasting experience whilst purchasing my much coveted Burrata and several Spanish and Mallorcan delights.
Next up, we decided to hire a car and spend several days exploring the island which we hadn’t had time to do before lockdown. So, with my new hair we set off in our cute little Fiat 500 with George Michael’s song Freedom blasting out for all to hear.
Need more suggestions? Check these out:
My Top Ten Post Quarantine Playlist
• Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
• Freedom Now – Tracy Chapman
• I Want To Break Free – Queen
• Break Free - Ariana Grande
• Born Free - Matt Munro
• I'm Free - The Rolling Stones
• Set Me Free - The Kinks
• Freedom - Beyoncé
• Free Me - Foo Fighters
• Free as a Bird – The BeatlesTweet me any others @tereniataras
