thankfully it wasn't to early a start on thursday, because i got so caught up with finishing parks and rec that i literally didn't get to bed until almost one a.m. bad, right? but arrrgh, such a good show, and easily one of the funniest i've seen in a while. anyway, thursday morning saw me pack-re-pack and one hundred-check the weather in palma one last time before finally heading out. i met the girls at liverpool street just after ten, and then we were stansted bound. there, a quick bite (literally, meals came out in minutes before we headed to the gate to board, and before we knew it, we were arriving in majorca.
we grabbed a cab after the shortest passport queue we'd ever seen, and were unpacking in our gorgeous apartment by 4pm local time. rebekah had booked us a two bedroom apartment for our stay, it was the top floor in a classic four-storey building, in the walled, old-town part of the island; the view from the lounge directly overlooked the harbour and parc de la mar, while from the bathroom window we had incredible views of at least two of the cities impressive cathedrals... and rooftops perfect for the odd escape on foot, liam neeson styles.
we unwound on the complimentary wine and snacks, and thoroughly read through the compendium to see what was what, and where we would start the next day. before we knew it, we were famished and so hit the local streets to find something to eat... tapas, surely? very hard, though, as... everything seemed to be shut. we found a wee restaurant just opening up for the night (it was 8pm...), and decided it would do. sadly, the tapas there ended up being no better than something akin to a deep fried iceland dim sum combo.
disappointed, we left and stumbled into a local wine bar on our way home, a bar that we would become rather accustomed in the nights to come... there, the tapas was fresh, the cheese was delish, and the wine was most definitely flowing. it helped that they were playing 80s music videos on the only tv in the bar, and that there were over 60 wines to try. turns out, we only needed the one.
the next morning we rose lazily, discouraged by the grey skies and wet air, but eventually made our way outside and into the roman baths which were literally right next door to where were staying. i am still confused about which part of them were actually baths, as... it seemed like more of a crypt with a palmery outside, but... just goes to show what i know about baths, i suppose...
from there, we headed to the cathedral for some token sight seeing and souvenir shopping, before tiring of wandering the colourful streets of the old town, and sourcing sustenance in an... italian restaurant. oh look, i don't know. when in rome? anyway, there, we rounded out the tapas trilogy with even more meat and cheeses, but this time with an added bonus of paella to boot. delicious. yum. oh yes, divine.
after a quick local-custom-imposed siesta, we headed back out into the early afternoon, headed to the shopping district to see if we could source some warmer clothes, or at least a scarf. as it turned out, no matter how many times ones checks the weather before they pack, one can never really be prepared for coastal winds and sporadic rain... especially when they've packed nothing more than a singular fluffy jumper and a leather jacket. cold, was an understatement.
sadly, there was not a lot in the way of winter wear in tropical palma. oh well! with the sun setting, we headed back to the apartment to wait the rains out until it was dry enough to head back to our favourite wine bar, for a do-over of the night before. except... worse. more wine, more cheese, and enough jackson hits to keep us entertained until we were being issued corks for our bottles and plastic cups for our glasses... another top notch night in palma? i think so.
ps. while i was busy boozing in spain, and to celebrate international happiness day on friday, i contributed to tombola's feel good playlist with my guilty-not-guilty pleasure "crazy in love" by queen bey and jay-z with a host of other bloggers... which of them is your jam?
after a quick local-custom-imposed siesta, we headed back out into the early afternoon, headed to the shopping district to see if we could source some warmer clothes, or at least a scarf. as it turned out, no matter how many times ones checks the weather before they pack, one can never really be prepared for coastal winds and sporadic rain... especially when they've packed nothing more than a singular fluffy jumper and a leather jacket. cold, was an understatement.sadly, there was not a lot in the way of winter wear in tropical palma. oh well! with the sun setting, we headed back to the apartment to wait the rains out until it was dry enough to head back to our favourite wine bar, for a do-over of the night before. except... worse. more wine, more cheese, and enough jackson hits to keep us entertained until we were being issued corks for our bottles and plastic cups for our glasses... another top notch night in palma? i think so.
ps. while i was busy boozing in spain, and to celebrate international happiness day on friday, i contributed to tombola's feel good playlist with my guilty-not-guilty pleasure "crazy in love" by queen bey and jay-z with a host of other bloggers... which of them is your jam?
