Mallorca

Last week was time for our final break from school. When we planned our vacation, we chose Mallorca (one of the Balearic Islands), which is just off the east coast of Spain (about 130 miles SSE of Barcelona). We were hoping for some decent weather and we got beautiful days in the 60's with lots of sun. And, even though it was shockingly also in the 60's in San Sebastian, the Mediterranean sun just felt warmer.

We stayed in Palma de Mallorca, the capital, which is just beautiful:

Our hotel was slightly outside the city center, which meant we spent a good amount of time riding the local buses, but it was worth it. Here is the pool at our hotel with the sea just behind it:

Unfortunately, the pool was not heated yet, so we weren't able to swim, but being there with very few tourists was well worth it. Some long-time readers may recall that we took a break from school last February and traveled to Portugal where we found masses of tourists in both Lisbon and Porto despite the fact that it was "off-season". In Mallorca, everything was mellow and other than the fact that several of the restaurants that we wanted to try were closed for vacation, we felt it was a perfect time to be there.

Mallorca has a fascinating history, which includes the Phoenicians who arrived on the island around the 8th Century BCE and, of course, the Romans, who founded the city of Palmeria (modern-day Palma) around 123 BCE. The Moors conquered Mallorca in 902 CE, and the city of Palma (Medina Mayurqa) flourished under the rule of the Emirate of Cordoba for 100 years during which the Moors improved agriculture with irrigation, and developed local industries. Other Moorish kingdoms ruled Mallorca until it was retaken by King James I of Aragon in 1229.

The oldest remaining buildings in Palma are the Arab Baths, which you can still visit:

Between 1300 and 1310, James II built an impressive round fortress, the Castell de Belver, on a hill just outside the center of Palma. We were amazed that such a structure, which is one of the few round castles in Europe, could be built at that time in only 10 years. The views from the castle are outstanding:

Even more impressive, the Royal Palace of La Almudaina was rebuilt around the same time from a previous Moorish Alcazar. This Palace, which was used sequentially by the rulers of Mallorca, Aragon and Spain, is still in use today. It has a truly impressive main hall that retained the arches of the old alcazar:

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And outside in the courtyard of the Palace:

And, of course, there is a giant cathedral, which we chose not to visit for 8 Euros a person since we see more than enough churches and cathedrals for free (there is even one in San Sebastian). But, the building is very impressive from the outside:

We very much enjoyed our time on Mallorca. And our trip coincided with the super full moon, as you can see in two photos. We were able to relax, enjoy the good weather, eat well (of course) and drink very good local wine (a favorite pastime when we travel). On our last day in the city, we ate in a small restaurant run by a chef who previously worked in a one-star Michelin restaurant. Our 3-course lunch was fantastic and only cost 15 Euros a person! Even with wine it only cost about $50 for a meal that easily would have cost 2-3 times that in the US. Spanish lunch is truly one of our favorite parts of living in Spain.

Hasta pronto,

Jeff and Shana