Majorca, Spain

Booking a short weekend trip to an island in the Mediterranean promised us some respite to the cold English winter. Unfortunately for us, the promised 'warmth' was too short in duration with less than two hours worth of sunglasses time and t-shirt worthy sunshine. Initially the weather forecast had promised clear sunny skies; however we were denied seeing any blue sky by a thick layer of cloud cover that threatened rain and brought some familiar chilly gusts of wind. So we traded in our sunglasses for a puffy goose down jacket, gloves, cap and scarf - dressed just as if we had never left the UK.

Easyjet to Majorca

We flew into Majorca after a short plane ride of about 2 hours. We landed in Palma, the capital city at just passed lunchtime and noticed that the expected buzz of a Saturday afternoon did not eventuate and it seemed the entire place had commenced its siesta period.

A bus ride into town dropped us right next to the hotel (Saratoga) within the Old Town. The hotel staff were quite helpful with explaining directions, providing a map and we learnt a new phrase 'being stabbed in the back' which translates to 'being ripped off at a restaurant by overpriced food'. Luckily for us, the nearby waterfront esplanade was host to a small farmer's market selling regional cheeses, meats and wine. We chose not to buy any of the produce as the large amount of mould on some of the cheese was questionable and the uncovered pastries were being enjoyed by an expedition of flies. 

Street Tapas
Instead we directed our attention towards four nearby tapas stands promoting Spanish tourist regions of Murcia and Andalucia. Each one sold a piece of tapas for 1 Euro and we ended up having a tasty afternoon snack session.

In love with Spanish jamon

Lots of chorizo

Tapas street food

A type of cold soup

Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma (La Seu)
Next stop was the nearby Palma Cathedral that faces the Mediterranean Sea and is next door to the former Royal Palace of the Kings of Spain. The Cathedral is one of the best known tourist sites in Palma with many tripods with SLR cameras set up to capture the Parc de la Mar (Park of the Sea) against the exotic sandstone walls and setting sun. It was like a scene from the Arabian nights. And whilst the Cathedral currently exists in a European Gothic style, it was built on the site of an Arab Mosque, as were many other churches in Majorca.

Cathedral and former royal palace next door

Water park next to the Cathedral

Cathedral entrance

Castle tower

Olie posing at the guard house

Historical Majorca

Walking north from the Cathedral, we explored the city centre that was divided into a heavy commercial area filled with boutiques and tourist shops; and Renaissance period buildings that contrasted the new and old of the city. 

Majorca has a very interesting history - settled by Phoenicians, ruled by Romans, included as part of the Byzantine Empire, invaded by Vikings, conquered by Arabs for several hundreds of years, until being taken back by the Spanish Crown. In modern times, it is a haven for European tourists, mostly enjoying the summer sunshine and escaping the night-club life of Ibiza, the island next door. The architecture of the Old Town felt very Italian with houses fronted by large arches, but there were also Arabic influences through the use of palm trees, narrow lane-ways and open water features.

Palm trees like Rodeo Drive

Not sure how effective these cannons would be during an invasion

Majorca, lots of lights and fountains

A pretty window sill

Food in Majorca
We ate dinner at a small Spanish restaurant near our hotel where we enjoyed more tapas - Iberian ham and sausage platter, croquettes, bread with olives and an aioli dip. Main course was a "blind man's paella" - the traditional dish without any bones or shells that as per the name suggests would be troublesome to someone without any sight.

Christmas Decorations
After dinner, we headed back for the hotel where we tuned into one of the biggest football matches of the year in Spain - Barcelona v Real Madrid. The local media sounded very excited in the 2 hour preview to the game, pity it was all in Spanish and we had no idea what was going on. In addition, Majorca at this time of the year didn't offer any atmosphere around this key football match so it was a rather quiet night for us except for some walking around to look at the Christmas decorations.

Plaza Bon - Christmas decorations

Fairy lights taken to the next level

Travelling to Soller
The next day we ventured back to the central square with the goal of catching the famous steam train to Soller that followed the hills and valleys to the northern side of the island. Unfortunately for us, the train was under maintenance, so we settled for breakfast - churros with chocolate; and looked at the bus option for transport to Soller.

Hot chocolate and churros

In the end we were lucky to take the bus route as it was very scenic and passed through the medieval city of Valldemossa - a town that looked unchanged from the 15th century. During the bus ride we were able to take some great photos of the coastline and experience some crazy bus driving along the hairpin turns. It is always a worry when you see rusted cars positioned vertically down the cliff-side.

Always good to be next to the emergency exit when the driving is erratic

Another medieval town 

Beautiful coastline

In Soller
We fell in love with Soller as soon as we arrived. It is only a small town with a little port full of fishing boats, a couple of old buildings and a range of tapas bars along the esplanade. Whilst it was a bit sleepy during the winter season, there were plenty of bars and nightspots that we assumed would come alive during the busy summer months.

Coffee Bon Bon - with condensed milk

Look a W-class tram, feels like Melbourne

Let's go rent a boat and sail away

Port Soller

Food in Soller
We indulged ourselves in the local sangria made with champagne and Majorcan oranges, ate grilled sardines, octopus, garlic prawns with more Iberian ham and olives. The sunshine came out in short bursts and it was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon, watching the boats rock back and forth by the waves and watching the many cats sneak up to our table and beg for food. Feeling quite full, we left Soller mid-afternoon and took the non-scenic but direct route back to Palma.

Indulging in Spanish food and Sangria, Soller

Dinner at the Airport
As the restaurants in Palma were not all open due to it being the tourist off-season, Olie was quiet frustrated with the lack of eating places available that sold traditional Spanish food - paella in particular. We found steak places, and other fast food outlets and it wasn't until we arrived back at the airport that we found variety in dinner options. However, the paella on offer did not look very appetizing (sitting all day on a bain marie had sucked the life out of it) and we opted for a hotdog and pint of San Miguel.

Mei, who had caught a bit of a cold decided to drink a small bottle of beer instead of ordering a glass of draft. Not bothering to read the label, she made her decision on price alone and seemed happy with the selection. It was very smooth and easy to drink, finishing the bottle before checking the alcohol content. When she looked, she was 'shocked' to find it read 0.0% - her first non-alcoholic beer.

The point of realisation - 0% beer

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