City Life on MALLORCA: The Cathedral and shops in Palma
After two days in small towns in the mountains we wanted to head into Palma for some hustle bustle, culture and shopping. Although we were told by our Mallorcan insider that once you’ve seen the inside of one cathedral you’ve seen them all, we beg to differ. Not only is the exterior of the Cathedral in Palma magnificent and stops you in your tracks especially against the back drops of thousands of boat masts harbored in the sea adjacent to it, but the inside is also awe inspiring. The vibrant colors of the enormous rose windows, height of the ceiling, unique slenderness of the columns and famous Spanish architect/artist Gaudi’s more modern take on the altar and ceramic covered side chapel make this Cathedral truly special.
After soaking up a little history and religion we refueled at Cappuccino—the premiere chain on Mallorca that in no way feels like a chain. It was actually quite glamorous with a premiere location on the Place de Reina.
After café con leches we hit the shops. Bridget sent us to the chicest boutiques in town—Kling and Corner-- unfortunately with the dollar being what it is (weak compared to the euro!) we were well out of our price range. SO, we pressed to our old refuge from our college summer in Madrid—El Corte Ingles, the Spanish version of Bloomingdales. Here we fond the quintessential European casual outerwear for a steal!! We also browsed Loewe the most upscale Spanish leather brand for wallets and bags. Another all around favorite store that we stumbled upon that carries house wares, clothing and has a cafe is Rialto Living.
Ready for lunch we wandered down the tiny streets of the old city and stumbled into one of several cute restaurants serving tapas, wine and seafood. Although casual and inexpensive, the food was some of the best we had.
We raced back to the hotel for the “Winter Warmer” spa special—as it was too good pass up—an hour and a half treatment which includes a body scrub followed by an hour massage for 80 euros (less than $120 USD). The hotel spa, although intimate and really just two luxurious treatment rooms was perfect and the relaxation was complimented by being able to walk upstairs to our room in our robes!
Til tomorrow.... xo
