Mallorca
Saturday, September 4, 2004
We took a short 10 am flight to Palma de Mallorca on
Iberia.
We picked up our rental car at the airport and drove about 15 minutes to our hotel
Catalonia Majórica
in the center of Palma overlooking the Marina. This is a great hotel. We had a really nice room with
views in the front and back. The balcony in the back faced the central mountains and the patio in the front
overlooked the entire Palma bay. This patio was technically for all to use, but since you had
to go through the hallway that lead to only our room to enter the patio, we were practically
the only people to use it.
After settling into our hotel we walked down the hill across to a shopping mall and got a quick
bite to eat as well as picked up some bottled water and snacks for Maya. We then headed to the
swimming pool. Maya and mommy had so much fun in the water.
After relaxing further we drove into the center of town for dinner. We had dinner at
La Bovida. This is a highly recommended
Tapas restaurant and is considered the best for Tapas in Mallorca. The atmosphere was
very busy with waiters shouting out there food orders but the food was excellent. In typical Tapas
fashion you could just keep ordering until you were filled. The selection of wine was mainly
Spanish.
After dinner we strolled the nearby streets which face the bay and soaked in the cool sea breeze
and then called it a day. We headed back to the hotel for a good night sleep.
Sunday, September 5, 2004
Sunday morning we decided to drive to the northwest city of Soller. We took the
coastal highway C-710 which took us via the city of Andratx.
From Andratx we took a detour to the coast to Port D'Andratx.
This is a charming slow-paced coastal city. We stopped at a crapery
called Tizio where we had the most amazing crepes
I have had in a long while. The Chocolate crepe and the Smoked Salmon crepe were great. This
restaurant offers a great view of the bay.
After brunch, we walked around the town and soaked in it's beauty. We then got back on the highway
and headed north. We stopped at a vantage point at Mirador De Ses Animes on the way.
The view from
Torre Verger (watch tower) was incredible. From here one could pretty much see
a good section both south and north of the western coastline. There are plenty of scenic lookouts
along this stretch of the highway, each one offering an incredible view of the cliffs and the
ocean below.
We finally reached Soller. We parked our car in the city center and walked towards a little square
Placa Constitucio in the middle of town that was surrounded by cafes and this magnificent
Church of Sant Bartomeu. This church was designed by one of Gaudi's pupil Joan Rubid
and displays both gothic and abstract facades much like Gaudi's architecture. We hung out at
Placa Constitucio, got some lunch and then took the Tram Car that runs from Soller to
Port de Soller. This train ride is about 10 minutes long and winds through the town
finally arriving at the coast and then proceeding along the coast to the center of the city.
The coastline is lined with a narrow strip beach and hotels. The hilltops don several hotels and
villas overlooking the water. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. Once again Maya
loved the water - both Mommy and Daddy walked her up down the beach. After a few hours at the beach
we took the tram back to Soller and headed back to Palma. This time however we took a more direct
route, the highway that runs right through the mountains into Palma. Most of this highway is a
tunnel. The travel time is about 30% of the coastal route.
We went back to the hotel, freshened up, rested and then had dinner at another tapas bar called
Xim's in downtown Palma's restaurant row, right next door to La Bovida. After a
relaxing dinner, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.
Monday, September 6, 2004
We picked up a couple of baguettes and all kinds of cheeses and headed to the marina area across
from the Palma Cathedral and had a little picnic.
We then toured the Palma Cathedral.
This majestic structure stands tall above the Bay of Palma.
The construction of the cathedral was started by King Jaime I in 1230 and did not get completed
until 1601. This gothic style cathedral is about 400 feet long and 160 feet wide, the tallest tower
(bell tower) is about 150 feet tall and to this day, unfinished. The main façade of the cathedral
was destroyed in the 1851 earthquake and later reconstructed completely.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat we headed up the mountain from Palma to
Castell de Bellver.
This is a gothic castle that overlooks the entire city of Palma. There are magnificent views of
the ocean and the mountains from up here. There is a spectacular circular courtyard in the middle
of the castle. Royal chambers surround this circular courtyard. The staircases from the chambers
lead to the top of the castle where the watchtowers are located. This castle was built in 1309 and
was the summer residence of the kings of Mallorca. The fortified castle with its double moat also
served as a prison at various periods.
We then went back to the hotel and relaxed. Dinner was at
Rossini Restaurant, a fine Italian restaurant owned and
operated by a restaurateur from Puglia, Italy. This was without a doubt the best restaurant we
went to in Mallorca. The wine selection was great and offered several Italian wines (most
restaurants in Mallorca served mainly Spanish wines). The bonus here for Michele and I was that
Maya fell asleep through the entire dinner. This gave us a break and the opportunity to enjoy a
great meal without any interruptions.
Tuesday, September 7, 2004
Tuesday morning we drove up the center of the island to the Pollença area in the north of the
island. On the way we stopped at the town of Inca for breakfast.
We ate at a pastry shop called
Ca'n Delante. We picked up some good home made pastries
and headed to the town square and enjoyed them soaking the view of the town.
We then proceeded north to the town of Port de Alcudia.
We spent a few minutes walking around the port area and then headed to
Port de Pollença. We spent the entire afternoon at the beach. Maya had loads of fun
here and met another little girl, Shawna, from Liverpool, England.
They played together and Michele and I were able to relax quite a bit.
We then headed to Cap de Formentor, the cape and peninsula on Mallorca's northeast tip.
The 20 km drive from Port de Pollenca to Mallorca's most northerly point has scenery as dramatic
as anyone could wish for. Cliffs over a 1000 feet tall jut out of the sea. The drive leading up
to the cape and eventually up to the lighthouse is pretty scary, with narrow roads and sharp turns.
The views of the cliffs and the ocean are the best we have seen in all of Mallorca.
The view from the lighthouse is spectacular as well. Again, Maya was asleep through most of this
as she was very tired from playing at the beach.
We then drove down to Pollença where we had dinner at
Bahia Restaurant. This is a quaint restaurant right on
the beach. We had the best Paella here. With the gentle sounds of the waves breaking on the beach,
dining at the dimly lit table on the beach was relaxing and enjoyable. After dinner we headed back
to Palma. We wanted to get enough rest before we had to catch a plane to Madrid the next morning.
