Would I Go Back To Las Palmas?
It’s over a week now, since I returned from Las Palmas and I ask myself the inevitable question.
Yes! I certainly would, at this time of year, as the sun has done me good.
Although, I probably wouldn’t go back for a year or so, as there are lots of other islands out there in the Atlantic with sun.
Nightmare At Gatwick
I few out to Las Palmas from Southend and the experience coming back through Gatwick couldn’t have been more different.
I arrived in the North Terminal and this terminal is now very poor compared to modern standards.
- The walk to Passport Control is long and tortuous compared to many other similar-sized European airports.
- Passport Control was solid and was only half open.
- The baggage took an age to arrive, but luckily my bag was off first.
- I had to get the shuttle to the main terminal for the train, but it wasn’t a well-signposted route.
- I of course just missed the shuttle.
The North Terminal is basically a 1970s design and it shows.
The terminal is a disgrace and doesn’t fit with any notion of Britain being open for business.
Did the Government plump for Heathrow, as they have all had very bad experiences of Gatwick.
To be fair to the Airport, their plans for the future look good.
Gatwick In The Future
But will we actually see it?
Leaving Las Palmas
I took these pictures, as I rode to the airport at Las Palmas.
I was in a free shuttle from the hotel.
Wikipedia has a section in their entry for Las Palmas, which is entitled Train Under Construction.
This is said.
Tren de Gran Canaria (TG) is a rail project initially proposed as an alternative way to get from Las Palmas to Maspalomas[44] but was later raised to Agaete extension.
Another project is the Tramway Palmas (Gran Canaria), which would cover the same journey as the bus line 1, with an average frequency of 5 minutes and a journey time of 35 minutes.
As the pictures indicate a train will be more interesting.
Las Palmas Wakes Up
I rose early and took these pictures along the the promenade by Las Canteras Beach.
I always get up early and it was good to walk along the promenade.
Note the three restaurants where I had a good gluten–free meal.
- Kitchen Lovers
- Balalaika
- Restaurante Molinet
I also had a good tuna salad at Max Bread, so if you’re coeliac or gluten-free, you shouldn’t starve, unless you’re exceedimgly fussy.
Other points to note.
- The Hotel Reina Isabel looked to be a good place to stay because of its location.
- The beach was very clean.
- The promenade was a good place to walk, with no pavement problems.
- There were plenty of places serving good coffee and ices.
I would certainly return, but try the Hotel Reina Isabel next time.
Gluten-Free Eating In Las Palmas
Spain is not a difficult place to be gluten-free.
The Hotel
In the hotel, I only are breakfast, which usually consisted of fruit juice, eggs, ham, cheese and coffee.
There was no gluten-free bread, as you can get in most three or four stars hotels these days.
But that I can do without.
Snacks
I did take about ten EatNakd bars and M&S Honeycomb Crisps, but Ialso found some Spanish bars, that were labelled Gluten-Free in large letters.
They would have done at a pinch.
I also had a couple of good salads.
Balalaika
I ate in this restaurant on Monday night.
The restaurant had the best allergy-friendly menu, I’ve ever found. Not from a point of the food, but from the way the information was presented.
For gluten-free food, I just avoided any item with a large red dot, with a gluten sign in the middle.
Kitchen Lovers
I ate here on the Tuesday night.
Kitchen Lovers
I’d been pointed to the restaurant by Lonely Planet’s guide to the Canary Islands (p 74)
It’s all, they say it is.
I didn’t book, but then November wasn’t busy in Las Palmas.
It was one of the best restaurants, I’ve eaten at in Spain. You have to remember that C and myself tried quite a few.
I paid 33 euros for two courses and a glass of wine.
I could spend that in say Carluccios in Leeds!
Restaurante Molinet
I ate here on Wednesday night after seeing the gluten-free sign on the facia.
It is a restaurant to watch, as it had mixed reviews, so it could go either way.
But at least it serves gluten-free San Miguel lager.
I wish them lots of success.
Tailpiece
If you have to be gluten-free like me, you won’t starve in Las Palmas.
A Tour Of Gran Canaria
I don’t usually take tours, but I took this one around the island of Gran Canaria.
Note.
- It was a good tour, even if a bit cold.
- But then we were 2,000 metres up.
- We all visited a restaurant on the way down. I think, I was mildly glutened.
Next time, I go, I’ll go with someone who can drive and a quality road map, as there are lots of worhwhile places to visit.
A Walk Around Las Palmas
I took a long walk in the sun to up my vitamin D levels.
Las Palmas is a typical Spanish city, like say Bilbao, Barcelona or Valencia, with the added feature of one of the best beaches in Europe.
Swimming Pool Panorama
I took these pictures from the rooftop swimming pool of the hotel.
At least I got some time sitting in the sun.
Leaving From Southend Airport
It’s a long time, that I did some of my flying training at Southend Airport.
I flew from the airport to Las Palmas, as it was only flight I could get on the Sunday, that had seats.
Southend Airport, must be one of the few with a lawn outside the terminal where passengers can waste time before going through the gate or people can wait for a passenger.
I couldn’t use the station, which is only about a hundred metres from the gate, as being Sunday, it was a bus on part of the way to London because of Crossrail work.
So I used Southend Central station and got a lift with a couple of Dutchmen.
Exploring The Historic Centre Of Las Palmas
I took a 30 bus from the port to the bus station at San Telmo and walked to the cathedral and back.
There is a lot to see as the pictures show.
