Majorcca...10 days in a sunny island part 1

The last 6 weeks in the bakery and cafe have been filled with staff taking their long deserved holiday breaks... We had staff going to The Canary Islands, Electric Picnic, Barcelona.  Kasia and myself took our holidays in Majorcca, not together, she and her new husband went to the island a few weeks before me and said that she loved it!  Whew...I was a bit worried when I got a few curious looks when I let them know where my holiday destination was....having said that, I was very happy when a few of my friends exclaimed,"Ohhh, I love Majorcca!'

Majorcca was chosen for the direct flights from Cork on Ryanair, cheap and cheerful.  600 euro got us return flights and a 10 day car hire.  I say 600, but originally it was 525, when we went to collect our car we added the extra car insurance for 99 euro...well worth it!  I promptly scraped the side of the car while driving through the beautiful narrow streets of Deiá.

Right before we left Kinsale, I grabbed the Majorcca guide book from Lonely Planet.  Again another purchase that was well worth it.  We used the guide for every place that we had stayed on the island, they were pretty much all as described in the book!  All but one...not bad for 9 nights.

We arrived into Palma at 5 in the evening, had a quick drink on the waterfornt to celebrate the begining of our 10 days in the sun, the set off to find a place to sleep.  Palma is a beautiful city, and I would love to head back to spend more time there.  This trip was purely sun and sea! A more thorough investigation of the city will have to wait... One night here and then we were off to find a seaside paradise.  I must say we got very lucky...after ringing 4 hotels(that were in out budget, under 100) we struck gold!  I rang a 'hostal' in the book, it had said that they were undergoing renovations, but I took a chance anyhow, we needed a bed for the night!  We were in luck, because I had asked for a private room, if any of you have had the experience of sharing a 16 man dorm, you will appreciate this question.. She said it was private, and I was like, great we'll take it 75 euro for the night a bargin in Palma.  When we found the place, we were in shock! it was a 4 star boutique hotel, and since it was advertised as a 'hostal' we got the 'hostal' price...Total score!

Once settled into our trendy digs, we made a quick plan for the next 9 days: Deiá, then the North of the Island, and slowly make our way around.

Deiá is an amazing town is not to be missed.  We stayed for 3 nights at the beautiful Villa Verde Hostal, 77 euro a night, including breakfast.  They have a lovely terrace in which to sit and look at the beautiful view while you are sipping some of their vino blanco at 7 euro a bottle, they also offer a cheese board, olives as well as a meat platter.  Our hostess was very friendly, but if you stay here I will warn you that her english is limited.  The feeling of this 'hostal' is very old world antique, the rooms are spotlessly clean.  And as we found out with our travels, the Majorccan beds are a bit 'firm'.

From Deiá, we made day trips to Valdemossa, Andraxt, and a few other seaside towns.  The drive from  Deiá along the coast Andraxt, is breathtaking...winding roads along the tree lined cliffs.

In Valldemossa we had some lovely tapas in a beautiful garden out the back of the cafe, Aromas. The beer came with ice forming on the top of the bottle...perfect for a hot afternoon.

Down the hill from Deiá, there is a lovely seafood restaurant that perches right on the cliff!  Ca' Patró March.  Right when we walked up the rickety boardwalk into the restaurant, I saw two men peeling spuds by hand, making tubs full of chips...I knew we were going to enjoy this place...We had sizzling hot gambas, a portion of golden chips and a chilled bottle of the local rosé. We arrived a little late in the day, I would say we missed the busiest time, and I think that this place is only open for lunch, as you lose the sun in the evening, but the menu of simply cooked fresh fish looked divine.  A little note, for those of you who have not been to Majorcca, bread and olives comes with every meal, and you get charged.  So if you want to save yourself a 3.00 euro say no to the bread and olives, sometimes you still get charged, even if you didn't have them.

On two of the nights we ate at a lovely tapas bar, El Barrigón Xellini, just at the end of the village on the left side.  The photos of the tapas are a little dark, we sat outside in a grapevine covered pergola, it was really beautiful.  The inside of the cafe was hopping...super organized with very little staff in relationship to the volume, but remember you are on Mallorcan time..so sit back, relax and enjoy the vino :)

The pictures you see are of a beautiful potato dish, I think it was Majorccan potatoes, there was also a perfectly cooked calamari, and goats cheese...we had 3 or four more, all equally as delicious .

As I write this, the skies are grey and the Irish autumn is in full swing.  Its hard to imagine that only 2days ago I was sipping vino blanco by the seaside in clear blue sunny skies.
will post more on this trip in the next day or two....