Magical Mallorca

Y'all. I am so ecstatic to finally get to share our day in Mallorca. It was far and away the best day on the cruise (if this is your first time reading the blog - you may want to start at the beginning of our Eurotrip with Amsterdamin' for more context) and this island is definitely on our "can't wait to go back" list. There's so many hikes and outdoor activities for those who enjoy adventuring while on vacation.

Mallorca is an island off the coast of Spain, it's full of beautiful beaches, caves and some incredible tiny streets. It's actually been on our ever expanding list for a few years now and for good reason - it was incredibly beautiful. As the ship pulled into port and we were able to get cell signal, we began looking at the sights. At first we were bummed because the city center was at least an hour walk and the castle was about 45 minutes. Since we only had hours, we wanted to make the best use of our time.

Pulling into port

Luckily, when we made it off the ship and there was a bike rental right there! Mallorca has great bike paths around the island so this was a great way for us to see as much as possible and even get off the beaten path a bit. I must admit riding next to the Mediterranean, having the wind in my hair and smelling the salty air was one of the best feelings I've had in my life. After we got well past the city center, we stop at a beach and locked up the bikes. We found a larger rock next to the ocean and sat for bit to enjoy the sea breeze. I was determined to say I'd been in the Mediterranean. Since it was too cold to go swimming, I decided the best way to accomplish this was to put my hand in the waves. However, I was not paying enough attention because the waves came up much faster than I realized and splashed my legs almost entirely. I wasn't about to let some wet jeans stop me. It was a very sunny day and between that and the bike ride I was able to dry fairly quickly.  We kept on for a good way down the bike path until we found - you guessed it- a cozy cafe and settled in for a  Mediterranean cerveza to go with our beach views.

Made Hubs pull over for a few shots

A tad windy as you can see

On the bike path doing our thing!

The water was a perfect color

Beautiful day

Perfection

These beers were legit!

Once our legs were rested and our beers were gone, we hopped back on the bikes towards the city center. This time the wind was against us, it was much harder to get back than it had been going away from the city. But finally, we were able to see Palma's large cathedral. I wish we had gone in but our stay in this port short and we wanted to explore. We parked the bikes and decided to continue on foot for a bit,  walking along the tiny streets towards La Rambla - Palma's outdoor shopping and restaurant district. It was great to walk around and soak in the culture. One thing you may not know - Mallorca is known for it's handmade pearls from the Mother of Pearl in an oyster shell. We actually wanted to go into the museum but as I mentioned before, time was short.

Palma Cathedral

Outside the Cathedral

A bit closer now

I love the ornate detail

Street vibes.. 

Another beautiful church

I loved this tree

Soon enough, it was early evening and we weren't ready to head back to the ship quite yet. Just about that time, we stumbled into an adorable plaza with a few restaurants. Sweet deal. Being in Spain, we decided tapas was the way to go! Gaudi's meatballs caught our attention so we settled in and gave it a try! We ordered a Spanish red wine, meatballs, potatoes, chicken and sausage. Hands down, best meal of the trip. Even the butter they served with the bread tasted different. Needless to say, we highly recommend this one!

I thought this building was cool

Mallorca is a colorful place!

Views as we dined

Yum! 

After we finished eating, we began to walk towards the Cathedral where we parked the bikes. We took a different route back and passed a jewlery store with some beautiful pearl necklaces. I don't usually buy much jewelry but since Mallorca's pearls are famous, I decided I wanted one as a reminder of our amazing day. The lady behind the counter was so nice and because I attempted to speak to her in Spanish, she threw in an extra pearl pendant with the purchase of my necklace. Soon enough we were on our way again and back at the original plaza we parked the bikes. Since we had an hour and a half left before the bikes were due back, (you may be able to guess here) we stopped at another cafe for one more glass of wine and just a bit more time to soak in the culture.

Another cool building

Different views of the cathedral

Not the best picture but it was the view from our second bottle

Loved this park

Statues, my favorite

Another angle of the cathedral

Finally, we knew we could not delay the inevitable any longer. We settled the bill, unlocked the bikes and made our way back to the ship. When we got there, it was obvious we were the last ones to turn in the bikes but hey, I don't regret it! Even though this was a short day, it was perfect. I'll pick it up next week with our fourth stop - Valencia. Ta ta for now!

On our way back!

After turning in the bikes 

Beautiful sunset

Night views