Revisiting Old Palma: A Memorable Trip to Mallorca

Mallorca and the City Break that Never Was

Photo by Heiko Behrendt from Pixabay.

It was my first planned trip in 18 months following a series of health mishaps and a city break in Mallorca seemed just the ticket. My travelling companion, like me, hadn’t visited Mallorca for over 40 years and we’d planned to spend most of our days delving into the old town of which we had fond memories and re-visiting favourite spots.

Unfortunately, on our first day out to find the Tourist Office, Cathy ruptured her Achilles Heel and that was the end of our walking the lanes and alleyways of old Mallorca!

Luckily, our chosen hotel, The Saratoga, on the edge of the Old Town knew of an osteopath whose treatment was brilliant and although we were still house-bound as it were, the pain was controlled. The hotel itself was perfect, the roof terrace bar with its comfortable sofas and chairs and its view of the Cathedral over the intervening rooftops was a good place to spend the after-dinner hours (and most of the daytime hours as well). We were limited as to where we could eat but the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant was amazing, so all was well.

I managed to go out alone a few times but felt guilty leaving Cathy alone so my jaunts out were just to stroll arond the nearby streets and to El Corte Ingles for a few hours of retail therapy.

A nearby canal which seemed odd in the middle of Palma but was interesting.

The Old Town was no longer the Bohemian place I remembered, but an area full of artisan coffee shops, art studios and craft outlets. Still, it was engaging and elegantly laid out, the coffee was good and the street art attractive.

We booked a car and driver one day for an outing that include Valldemossa, which was one of the places we’d earmarked for a visit, and I’ll write about this in a follow-up blog, and another day we did the same to Soller – again a happy outing to a spot we both remembered well from years gone by.

A Street in Old Palma

And that was Mallorca – my first holiday in ages. And what was to be my return blog here is more of a damp squib.

But I’m back, and since then I’ve also managed to get to Crete which was relaxing and re-charged the batteries although I was sad not to be able to do the walking I once did in that lovely island.

So, hello again. Looking forward to posting more often, though not as often as before as I still have ongoing eye problems which prohibits computer use.

I’ve also got to get to grips with WP again as I can’t remember how to re-size photos and set them out properly. Hey Ho! Another fine mess I’ve got myself into!

Comments

9 responses to “Revisiting Old Palma: A Memorable Trip to Mallorca”

  1. Marie Avatar

    Ah – your poor pal – I hope she is making a good recovery. Thankfully you’d chosen a nice place to stay so you could at least enjoy the restaurant and facilities.

    I’ve taken a few breaks from WP and have to relearn every time I’m back! Stick with it!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. maristravels Avatar

      I will, but my writing muscle seems to have atrophied as I just can’t stick with the writing these days. Mind you I don’t have that many hours inthe day when I can use my eyes to write (I need to read as well)! But I’ve been to Crete since then and want to do a couple o pieces about that, and ho9pefully we’re off to Cadiz in October, a long planned 7 days in that area. No hotel booked yet but researching.

      Incidentally, should you ever find yourself in Palma again, the Saratoga does a mean jug of Sangria these days!

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  2. Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter Avatar

    Welcome back Mairi! I’m so sorry to hear about your friend’s injury but you seem to have made the best of your holiday by working round it. I also dislike some of the WordPress changes by as you say, hey ho! What can we do but get on with it as best we can.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. maristravels Avatar

      Hope I can stay the course this time, I shall do my best. I’ve got to try and read up on the changes in WP but everything takes a long time when one’s using magnification to help read script and then one’s eyes get tired and a breal is essential. Getting on with it however, but making time to read newspapers, books, and keep in touch with family members, leaves less time for Blogging..

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      1. Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter Avatar

        Oh, I know! never enough time for everything.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Lookoom Avatar

    I’ve never been to Mallorca, so I’m pleased to see a few glimpses of it.

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    1. maristravels Avatar

      It’s one of those places that has something for everyone, from super=rich residents to 3-day tourists, from luxury shopping to kiss-me-quick hats, and all wsith glorious scenery. I still want to go back there again.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. maristravels Avatar

    Thanks for the welcome back, Jo. It feels strange to be here again, and a lot of hard work, but I hope i can continue. Is it just me or hav e things changed? I can’t seem to load the pictures as once I did, Gallery doesn’t work (the differing sizes don’t appear on the grid, and it all looks very amateurish. I’ll persevere, but I may need to invest in a ‘talking’ machine to help me.

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  5. restlessjo Avatar

    It’s a joy to have you here, lovely lady. I read your Valldemossa post first then backtracked. It’s about the same space of time since we were in Majorca- our first holiday abroad together! It’s obviously a timeless destination, because our son honeymooned in Palma 3 years ago (he’s currently in San Sebastian and heading home via Bilbao tomorrow- a love affair with Spain and tapas as well as his wife).

    Keep up the good work xx

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