Port d’Andtratx and Alaro-- a fishing port & a hike to a castle after an authentic lunch of lamb and homemade wine....
We drove to the fishing port of Port d’Andrtax which was not nearly as harrowing as our other drives as you just take the motorway. We were met with raging surf coming up onto the sidewalk and street, tons of boats, and a picturesque lighthouse just off the coast. 
The town is more modern than we expected after the quaint historic mountain towns and would definitely be more fun to wander about in and sit outside on the seaside patios of the restaurants that line the sea. We ducked into our favorite Mallorcan chain Cappucino that has an outpost here on the water and looks very typically European Riviera with the little café tables, woven rattan chairs and awnings. With a pep in our step we walked around the town discovering several amazing interior design/home stores – we wish we’d had a shipping crate to bring back home our favorite coastal chic look. We bought some of the traditional Mallorcan fabrics – that are vibrant and sunwashed all at once (each original Mallorcan family has their own pattern) to make pillows out of at Fine Interiors. We must tell you this is not the place to come for fashion--- too many rhinestones in all the wrong places….
We hit the road and made our way to Alaro, a charming town we wish we had had time to explore, but were starving and anxious to get to our lunch destination, El Verger. We were lucky that Bridget told us about this spot located at a midpoint on a craggy yet lush mountain leading to an old castle, as it is not in any of the guidebooks, NY Times, etc. Desperate to pee and with low blood sugar we held onto our seats and moods as we wound up the narrow “road” full of hairpin turns for about 20 minutes. Finally we reached the restaurant. El Verger is simple, rustic, no frills traditional Mallorcan restaurant that is cozy with two big fireplaces, large community style wood tables and chairs and a friendly family running the place. The place was buzzing with hikers—both local and visitors alike. Feel free to wear your hiking clothes to lunch…. They’re known for their lamb which is prepared traditionally with family recipes passed down from generations-- the little granny literally is out preparing things on one of the open fires. (We have tons of pictures on our other camera and a missing cord at the moment, so check back in a few days when we post our Ultimate Mallorcan Guide-- the Great Hits!).
We polished off the jug of wine (it would be rude to not!) and feeling a bit tipsy, charged up the mountain to the Castillo set on the top of the peak. Huffing and puffing we commented what a vantage point the castle had up there and how it was probably quite easy to defend.... Passing a man with his donkey on the way up, helped transport us back to another time. We reached the castle at sunset which was fantastic and then scary because we had to hike down the somewhat treacherous path with rapidly diminishing light. But we made it!!
After getting back to the Gran Hotel Son Net, we cleaned up for a tour of a few of the more magnificent rooms at the hotel and a look at the incredible art collection with Alexander, the cute and charming Sales Manager. The Royal Suites are insane with soaring ceilings, fireplaces, balconies, stunning and individual interior design and bathrooms as big as a living room. David Stein, the hotel owner, has a museum worthy collection of modern art and some of it as located around the hotel. Our favorites were a gigantic, colorful screen by Hockney and Warhol's Jane Fonda. Such a cool contrast to have such modern works of art in a perfectly restored 17th century home!
At the end of the tour we climbed up on barstools at the cool hotel bar to have an "aperitif" with Alexander and Luis, the convivial, jolly bartender who has been at the hotel since it opened in the 90s. Luis has great stories of some of the incredible celebs that have stayed at the hotel and mixes a mean drink! He eyeballed us and decided his namesake "Luis Slings"—fresh orange juice, SoCo, simple syrup (pic and recipe to follow in Greatest Hits) whipped up to a froth in martini glasses, were just the drink for us. And they were. Not too sweet and dangerously delicious....
Again with a bit of a buzz (sounds like we drank our way through the day!! Very European...) we headed down the hill to our favorite little spot in the village, The Rose. The Dutch couple who run the restaurant (Martin is the Chef and Rosawita is the head waiter and wine afficiando) are lovely and our swan song dish of shrimp, garlic, olive oil over fresh pasta was delicious and the strawberry ice cream was the creamiest most heavenly finale.
Feeling sad about having to leave the next day we wanted to prolong the good times and had a glass of one of our newly discovered Spanish wines (Macia Matle) while we packed....
Can't wait to return to this beautiful, friendly, diverse island!