September 22, 2004
Oasis found in Mallorca
It's September, and I am already wearing my leather jacket in London. Two weeks ago, a few of us decided to go to Mallorca for some warmth from the sun. Tickets on Air Berlin (from London Stansted Airport) was about $250 USD. That was a reasonable price compared to the other airlines offering $300+. We stayed at the Puro Hotel. Please do check out their website www.purohotel.com so you can understand what kind of heaven I was in. It obviously was expensive, but you get what you pay for.
I used to think that it didn't matter where I stayed on my vacation as long as it was decent, but staying at the Puro Hotel really changed my thought. The decor was amazing. I enjoyed everything about the hotel. From the 6 foot silver candle holders, to the incense burned lightly, to the white linened staff, to the feather lamp shades, to the wooden carvings on the double-sliding door, to the spa-like bathrooms, to the white decor with indian accent pillows... It was an oasis.
We arrived in Mallorca early Friday afternoon and met Markus and Susanne there. While most restaurants were closed for siesta, we found a place open for tapas. After filling our stomachs with tortilla (egg omelete), crochets, and olives, we headed for Zara. Turns out that when you shop at Zara in London, you're almost paying double. The price tags have the same numbers, they just switched the Euro sign to the British pound sign. I didn't go crazy in the store, but bought a tan-plaid blazer and cute pink t-shirt. It was my first time shopping with Susanne, and she figured out really fast how picky and difficult I was to shop for.
At night, after tapas, Markus and Susanne took us to the most amazing bar... Abaco. They had stumbled across it on their last trip. If you are ever in Mallorca, you must go there. This is no ordinary bar. After waiting in an disorganized line, we walked through this little door cut out from a huge 12 foot arched wooden door. Now, imagine yourself in a rich upperclass home in 18th century Spain. The first floor was decorated with ivory busts, old tapestries, a big display of fresh fruits on the floor, cupids, and giant floral arrangements all over the room. There was an outdoor patio with a typical fountain and little birds in big bird cages. Upstairs were a few rooms, all decorated in the same fashion, including a kitchen area filled with fresh vegetables on the table. As the words "giant" and "big" fill this paragraph, let me also describe the drinks. The menu lists about 10 drinks with just the names, most of which you won't recognize. The most popular one was the Abaco Especiale. Imagine the biggest margarita glass with some fruity mix and sugar coated rim, a cherry in the glass and a pineapple hooked on the rim, but no umbrellas.
The next day, we took a taxi from the hotel to Illeta beach, in a neighboring town. It was a small beach or cove. We ate at the restaurant there and then got massages. I've dreamed of getting a massage at the beach. Now, it's a reality. After the 1+ hour massage, we hung out at the beach. The water was cold at first, but after slowly nudging in, being in the water was nice.
In case you were wondering, yes, the girls here do go topless on the beach. Not everyone, but a good number do. Some even go into the water topless. Susanne was telling me that a lot of people prefer swimming naked in the lake because: 1. They don't like the chlorine in the pools; 2. They don't like the feeling of a wet swimsuit.
At night, we went to the best seafood restaurant. We had reservations for 10 o'clock, but didn't get seated until 10:30. The freshness of the fish was amazing. The chocolate dessert was so smooth. We ended up going there the next evening.
The next day, we went to another beach, which was about a 15 minute taxi ride. This beach was much bigger and catered more to the tourists. No massages available at this beach, though, we did rent some lounge chairs and umbrellas. We got in the water and swam around. With our goggles on, we could see little white and silver fish swimming around.
Our flight back to London wasn't until 7 in the evening. Our friends left earlier in the morning. So, we did some site seeing. We stayed in the Old Town, which is where the cool shops, bars, and restaurants are. The famous cathedral, updated by Gaudi, and the Arabic Baths are close by. The only downside is that the beaches are not in walking distance. Everyday, we had some siesta/rest time in the late afternoon. It was nice to have a relaxing hotel room to go back to.
I would definitely come back here. I think the hotel has spoiled me into staying at these design hotels.
Pictures!
