I feel like death. After 10 days of running around London on a packed agenda, going to Palma this weekend to celebrate Maria’s birthday was going to be a miracle in itself. The fact that we actually survived the last three days, after all the dancing and drinking and non-sleeping that we did, boggles my mind. It’s Monday afternoon now and I’m about to keel over in my chair. I have never been so exhausted. Ever.
But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and I can’t pass up the opportunity to write about our latest adventure. There were four girls this time and the minute we left the office with our weekend bags, it was apparent that we looked like trouble. It dawned on me how funny we must have looked — four girls, obviously on a weekend getaway, the comfort of the girl-mob mentally to keep our spirits up and shyness suppressed. We were chattery, giggley and ready for anything.
Palma itself isn’t actually that impressive. Lots of yachts, a nice gothic cathedral along the water and great little streets in the city center that reminded me of Barri Gothic in Barcelona. It’s a place for the rich – just as Monaco is for the French, Mallorca is for the British. There were more foreigners than there were local Spanish folk and that kind of touristic feel doesn’t appeal to me very much. However, the food and the nightlife were amazing. We ate all day long and danced all night. We had no plans to see any of the sites and instead wandered the streets, shopped, lounged, took coffee breaks and basically gossiped the entire weekend.
For dancing, we went to Moon and Level in Palma – both along Avinguda Gabriel Roca. There was a Spanish flair to many of the mixes, which made for some great Latin dancing! =) To eat, we had fantastic tapas at RBK – a very local place with wooden tables and floors, amazing kalamari and tortilla de patatas, and great sparkling red wine. Add to that some shots of rum and we were ready to celebrate Miss. Maria! On Sunday we went to Puerto Portal for a loooong brunch —- overlooking the most beautiful yachts. Very posh (which isn’t usually my style) but fantastic food and desserts.
We visited Magaluf on Sunday afternoon and everything that we’ve heard about it is true. It is a total war zone – super ugly, very British and very sleazy. Think Cancun on Spring Break. Just disgusting. Cheap, cement, ugly hotels, lots of drunk British people and dirty beaches. Thank goodness we came off season. I couldn’t imagine being there when all the high school and college kids are around. Yuck.
Anyway, the weekend was a great success. Completely exhausting, but great fun. We lost Maria’s purse (including her wallet, her passport and 200 euros cash) on Friday night but then found it again an hour later. We also met some American army boys from Seattle who are stationed in Germany and visiting the island for the weekend. So random. Oh, and I danced with a Brazilian for half the evening – not a surprise. All in all, another weekend of chaos and fun.
On our plane ride home, Cynthia and I were marveling at how blessed we are to be living the lives that we’re living. We ride airplanes like they’re taxis.
As exhausted as I am, it’s a great day to feel thankful. =)
