Mallorca.....the dream

Mallorca is an exotic island I have heard about my entire life.  As a kid who loved to read I learned early that there were these amazing places in the world and I would dream about visiting them someday, Mallorca was one of them.  I was a teenager and Mallorca was one of those fantastic places that Jackie O took Caroline and John-John to after President Kennedy was assassinated.  I’ve never forgotten about it and today I am here living the dream.

We started our day at a cute little café close to our hotel where we had a nice view of the absolutely beautiful yachts in the harbor (I wondered where Jackie’s might have been parked when she was here).  This café was owned and run by a family with the grandfather, father and son all working together with lots of laughing and kidding between them and the locals who darted in and out for a coffee or cigarettes out of the machine.  Bob and I enjoyed a truly Mediterranean breakfast: salami, ham, cheese, boiled egg, roll, orange juice, olives and ‘café con leche’ as we watched the yachts leaving the harbor for places unknown to us but I have no doubt very exciting.  

Our hotel is on the water a couple of miles out of the town center of Palma so the charming (IE: hot) young man at the front desk advised us the best way to get into town was the local bus which we could get right behind the hotel.  Right behind the hotel by the way turned out to be about eight blocks but we did find it and it proved to be effective but extremely crowded in both directions with tourists and locals alike.  We arrived in town early a little before the heat and the crowd and headed immediately down the ‘Passeig des Born’ a large walking only boulevard lined with shops and cafes and covered by trees so always cool, even in the hottest part of the day. 

At the end of Passeig des Born we found the prize of Mallorca, the Cathedral.  It was begun in the 13^th century with high arches, elegant columns, three naves and interesting tombs. Surrounding the church are lots of carriages for hire painted happy colors of pinks and reds with stripes and flowers.  It really does make you want to ride in one and remember I live in New Orleans where I find it impossible to drive through the French Quarter without getting behind a carriage so I am usually not eager to ride in one of these.  Right next to the cathedral is ‘Almudaina Palace’.  This palace is of Islamic origin and was the residence of the Royal House of Mallorca in the Middle Ages.  Seeing these two extremely beautiful buildings so different standing right next to each other made we wonder, ‘why can’t we all just get along’?  We also passed by a monument for what was once an Arab Bath, most interesting because it is the only Arab monument that exists on the island today.

After seeing the major historical things in the old town of Palma we went in search of the two, again very different, shopping districts.   We had heard that there was an upscale shopping area (I guess Jackie had to shop somewhere when she was here) and then maybe the more interesting tiny shops in the heart of the old town that you need a lot of faith to ever find as you bob and weave down one little footpath after another.  The upscale stores came into view and were interesting to be sure but we weren’t buying here.  You see Bob was in search of a new ‘Espana’ baseball cap and we knew for certain that we were going to find that dandy item only in the tiny trinkets and trash stores to be found in the rabbit warren.  While looking for Bob’s hat I managed to find these most interesting light weight canvas slip on shoes made here in Spain and just couldn’t pass up the lime green ones.  We were also successful with Bob's hat, which he is delighted with since it is in Spain’s colors, red and yellow, says Espana and even has the Spanish coat of arms.  Now hats just don’t get much better than this one! 

Bob was ready for a beer so we moved from shopping to looking for a plaza with an outdoor café where we might rest a bit and enjoy a beer and some water.  Suddenly we heard music being played and at about the exact same moment we both realized the song being played was, ‘When the Saints Come Marching In’.  We followed the music and found our spot!