After the first two jam-packed days in Barcelona, we headed off to the island of Mallorca. We were ready for some R & R on all of the beautiful beaches that Mallorca had to offer. We were planning to squeeze in Camp Nou, the home of the FC Barcelona futbol stadium before we headed to the airport, but our taxi driver informed us of the airport strikes that were about to commence at the Barcelona airport… and that the last time this happened people were in line for up to four hours.. so (to Jonnie’s disappointment) we skipped Camp Nou and headed straight to the airport.
We were presently surprised when we learned that the airport strikes had not started yet… but quite disappointed that we were stuck in the airport for four hours. Luckily our Chase Sapphire card gave us access to the First Class Lounge so at least we had access to complimentary food, drinks and a comfy place to wait.
Our flight to Mallorca was a pretty short ride. The woman sitting next to us helped lighten our mood a bit, as it was her first time on an airplane and she was quite nervous. Though there was a little language barrier, I think we helped calm her down a little bit. One thing we loved about Spain was how friendly everyone was. It was very refreshing to see how interactive people were at dinner (no one was on their cell phone). This also helped us meet a lot of people while we were out, which was great!
When we arrived in Mallorca we had a little passport scare – we initially planned on renting a car. However, after loading all of our luggage into the car, we realized it was a manual car… which neither Jonnie or I knew how to drive, so we unloaded – what we thought was all of our stuff and grabbed a taxi to our Air BNB.
Upon arriving at our Air BNB, which was amazing by the way (more on that post later) – we were greeted by our host Vivi who was amazing. About 10 minutes into our tour of the Air BNB, Jonnie realized he didn’t have his passport. Vivi stayed calm and called the Taxi company and the airport. When she couldn’t get in touch with anyone she offered to drive us back to the airport. Luckily our Air BNB was a quick 10 minute drive from the airport.. upon returning to the airport Jonnie ran straight to our original rental car, and found his passport sitting in the center console. It was such a relief!
Vivi was amazing throughout the whole process and really went above and beyond for us. On our way back, Vivi dropped us off at the grocery store near our place, so we stocked up on some meat, cheese, and wine and headed back to our Air BNB to watch the Mallorcan sunset from our rooftop. It was the perfect end, to a bit of a stressful day.
After this turn of events, Jonnie and I realized we needed to slow down a little bit. We were originally planning to stay in Mallorca for one full day and then head to Seville. However, we decided that we would rather slow down and actually take some time to relax, so we cancelled the rest of trip to Seville, added an extra few days to explore Mallorca and Barcelona. And were we glad we did…
The beaches in Mallorca were incredible. The first day, we went to a beach within walking distance from our hotel, Platja Ciutat Jardi. It was just what we needed to relax. The following day we jumped on a City bus and ventured out to Illetes Beach (per Vivi’s recommendation). It was an amazing site to see. As we hopped off the bus and started walking towards the beach we quickly realized why this was Vivi’s favorite beach. The beach was tucked back in a cove, with crystal clear water, and beautiful rocks and bright flowers surrounding the area. We had found our paradise on earth. We posted up at the Puero Beach Club and enjoyed soaking up the sun and swimming in the crystal clear water. It was just what we needed!
Amusememiss 