During our previous visit to Mallorca on the Costa Magica in November of 2005, we took the Caves of Drach & the Mallorca Pearl Factory shore excursion to the northeastern side of the island. Since it was a short port visit, we missed seeing the Palma.
For this visit, we focused on Palma, first walking about 3 miles from the port to the cathedral that dominates the city and waterfront. The flat terrain follows the large harbor, with marinas packed with yachts. For those who didn’t want to walk, a shuttle was offered for $6 US each way, charged to your shipboard account.
The Cathedral de Mallorca cost €4 to visit. The interior features artwork by Antonio Gaudi. Next we wondered through the narrow streets of the Old Quarter near the cathedral. They were packed with shops and cafes, as well as many tourists.
We located the El Corte Inglés store by following the trail of shopping bags, and the signs to McDonald’s (which mentioned it was near Corte Inglés). Next, we walked the nearby residential streets, in search of a good lunch spot. We noticed a restaurant with beautiful hardwood doors and a menu of the day in Spanish. We went it and although our Spanish is limited, we noticed what the other guests were eating, and it looked good. The menu of the day included wine, water or beer, a garbanzo bean and tuna salad, followed by a meatball stew, then choice of dessert such as ice cream, tiramisu, or fresh watermelon or Catalan cream for dessert and coffee con leche. All for €7.5. We entered the restaurant at 1:45 and there were just a few tables of people; at 2 pm it was packed with the lunch crowd. The people-watching was great: business workers, families, girlfriends gossiping “;; how wonderful to have a slow-paced 1.5 – 2 lunch during the work week.
Back to Corte Inglés, we stocked up on Torres wine and sparkling water, and then took bus #1 to the port. (cost €1.20).
Back on the ship, we decided to skip our scheduled dinner and opt for the Lido dinner. While late seating dinner is at 8:15, the Lido is only open from 6 – 7:30 pm. We went up at 7:10 pm and where surprised at how many people were there. While most of the food is the same as the dining room, we found the service a somewhat confusing mix between self-serve and waiter service. If this is a true alternative, why not leave some type of food service available at least until 8:15?
The evening show, “From Broadway to Queens” was one that we enjoyed on the segment between New York and Ft. Lauderdale. Rather than we repeating, we visited with our shipboard friends Richard and Brigitte in the Explorers’ Lounge. Richard & Brigitte were thrilled with the Valldemosa & Chopin tour they took to the village of Valldemosa and the 14th Century Monastery where novelist George Sand and composer Frederic Chopin spend the winter of 1838.
Tonight is our last formal night and we’ve been invited to the captain’s table… will post how it goes!!