Hola! It was a wonderful weekend on the Spanish island of Mallorca. We were blessed with some beautiful sunshine and warm temperatures (I got to wear shorts in March! It was very exciting), and it was a relaxing weekend after the stress that was midterms week.
We flew to Mallorca VERY early on Friday morning (our flight was at 6:25 so we had to leave for the airport around 4am) and did not get any sleep that night, so the first thing we did upon arriving was check in and take a three-hour nap at the hostel. It was still before noon when we woke up, refreshed and ready to go. We headed into town for a delicious lunch at a tropical-themed restaurant. After that, we headed down to the harbor and walked along the water towards the historic center of the city (about a 20 minute walk from our hostel...perfect!).
We lounged by the water for about an hour, then decided to go to Festival Park, an outlet mall. I wanted to go to see the AMC Theater that was supposed to be there, since that is the theater chain I work for at home. However, I was sad to see that another movie chain had taken over the theater, so it was no longer decorated with the AMC logo. I took a picture in front of it, anyways!
On the way to the outlets, we had taken a taxi with a driver named Rosa, who was really awesome. She gave us her personal cell number so we could call her to come pick us up when we were done, because taxis rarely go into Festival Park and the buses are apparently unreliable. We hit the outlets for a couple hours, then called Rosa and headed back to our hostel for another nap before dinner.
For dinner, we walked down the street by the water until we came across an Italian restaurant with good prices, which turned out to be delicious. We ended up going back there the second night, actually, because it was so good! After a long dinner, we decided we were too exhausted to hit the Mallorca party scene, so we went back to the hostel and went to bed. I slept so well, the combination of the sun, walking, and not sleeping the night before really did me in!
The next morning, we got up and, after a delicious breakfast of croissants and coffee (well, Coke for me), we trekked up to Castell de Bellver ("Castle of the Beautiful View"). The name doesn't lie, it was absolutely breathtaking! It was also over 70 degrees and sunny, which helped.
After spending some time soaking in the view and the sun, we walked back down to the water and took a cruise around the harbor. We made friends with the onboard crew and drank some delicious sangria while soaking in the sun. After our cruise, we walked had lunch at a restaurant right on the water. In many ways, Mallorca reminded me of Florida, especially with all of the yachts and restaurants on the sea!
When we were done with yet another delicious meal, we walked around the city center for a couple hours and had some yummy gelato, then walked back to our hostel. We took a nice nap (naps are the best when you're on vacation) and then got ready for dinner. We looked around a while for an open restaurant that wasn't expensive, but it turns out that a lot of restaurants and other places are closed during the off season, so there wasn't much to choose from. We ended up at the same Italian restaurant from the night before, which was equally as delicious for a second time. We got two bottles of wine, so the waiter gave us free drink coupons for the club next door. We decided to head over there after another long meal. The club, however, was also dead. There are really not that many people around Mallorca during March, apparently! We did see a lot of high school-aged kids frequenting the hot dog place on the other side of the club, which we found really odd. After hanging out and having our free drinks, we decided to just head back and get some rest.
Sunday morning, we went to breakfast and then went looking for the beach. We ended up getting on a bus going in the wrong direction, so we got lost for a little while but finally found our way to the beach. We lounged in the sand and dipped our toes in the FREEZING COLD Mediterranean. It was a little overcast, but still nice enough to eat lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the beach. After lunch, we took a taxi to the airport to fly home.
Mallorca was one of my favorite trips so far, because it was just so nice and relaxing! We didn't spend the whole weekend trying to cram in various sights and must-sees, and instead just took it easy and enjoyed ourselves. It was a much needed vacation after midterm exams!
I can't believe I have only eight weeks left until my program ends, it's going by so fast! I'm looking forward to my mom coming to visit a week from tomorrow and our trip to Valencia. After that, it's only a couple weeks until spring break, when I'll be going to Morocco, Prague, and Vienna! I'm also looking forward to traveling with my friend Jennie from home at the end of the program, we're going to be spending a week in Greece!
I hope everyone is well! I would like to send a proud-sister shout out to my littlest brother, Jeff, who I heard was excellent in his musical production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" this weekend!
Keep reading and I'll keep writing. Hasta luego!
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