Travel Diary: Palma, Mallorca 🇪🇸
5 days of eating, drinking and wedding celebrations in the Spanish sunshine 🥰
Hello, hi there, happy Tuesday! How are you?! Feels like an age since I’ve been around these parts. I’m so happy to be back after an exceedingly busy few weeks.
We got back from sunny Mallorca last week and I haven’t stopped thinking about how beautiful our trip was since then (while happily wrapped up in a blanket with a hot water bottle, of course - I couldn’t be happier to have returned to a distinctly autumnal chill in the air). We were there for our friends’ wedding, but decided to add on a few days either side, and I’m so glad we did! If you’re nosy like me, or just need some recommendations for an upcoming trip, keep reading for the full rundown 👇
WEDNESDAY
Our travel day started with us both up at 7am getting last minute work stuff done, then packing our suitcases, booking a last minute taxi to the station and praying that we hadn’t forgotten anything vital (i.e. our wedding outfits - getting them couriered to Mallorca would have been SPENNY) - all of which was completely futile, as the flight ended up being delayed due to bad weather earlier that day.
With several hours to kill, we decided on a whim to pay on the door to get into one of the airport lounges. Sounds bougie AF, but by the time you’ve bought food and drinks in the airport, you’re easily spending the £40 per person that we paid for unlimited food and drinks and a quiet, cosy place to sit. Would highly recommend if you’ve got a long-haul flight coming up, or if you end up delayed like us!
THURSDAY
Let’s play a guessing game: who headed out bright and early for a run with a friend on Thursday morning, and who embraced the main character energy by sleeping in, dancing around the hotel room, dressing in their cutest outfit and going to breakfast with nothing but a book to keep them company? I’ll give you a clue: only one of us has watched The Lizzie Maguire Movie, and it wasn’t James.
After a delicious brekkie (coffee, fresh fruit, chocolate napolitana, serrano ham, I was in heaven) we headed out into the old town to see some sights. I managed to wander the cobbled streets and gaze open-mouthed at La Seu, otherwise known as The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, before the heat got to be too much and I had to head back to our hotel.
Speaking of our hotel…what a find. If you’re planning a stay in Palma, I can highly, highly recommend booking a room at Nou Baleares. It’s only a few minutes’ walk from the shops, bars and historical buildings in the centre of the city, and around a half an hour stroll from the harbour too. The building itself is listed and houses 45 incredibly chic rooms and a rooftop terrace with a bar, sun loungers and a small plunge pool to dip in and out of on a hot day.
I barely got any photos of the hotel, so I’m including some from their website:
I mean honestly, how beautiful?! I would go back in a heartbeat.
We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool and soaking up the afternoon sun, before getting ready for our first dinner in the city. On Anna Newton’s recommendation, I booked El Camino, a tapas place down an unassuming little side street where you get to watch all the kitchen action unfolding from the bar that covers the entire length of the restaurant. Be warned: I booked our sitting months ago and there were only a handful of spaces left, so if you want to go, get in there early!
It does get very hot because you’re so close to the grill, which I did find a little challenging (I am prone to overheating) but we still had a great time and the food was absolutely delicious. Classic croquettes, the creamiest, most indulgent chorizo omelette I have ever had, fresh tomatoes on gorgeous crusty bread - spectacular. Two scoops of the darkest, richest chocolate ice cream and one crème brulée later and we were on our way to the pre-wedding day drinks at a bar on the harbour.
The rest of the evening flew by, and before we knew it, it was midnight and definitely way past our bedtime. We said our goodbyes and hopped in an Uber back to the hotel.
FRIDAY
The wedding day was upon us! We found a cute little restaurant for breakfast (ALL the napolitanas and coffee for me, por favor), wandered down to a bookshop that sells books in the English language (I was almost finished with the book I brought with me - it’s called Gold Rush by Olivia Petter. A difficult read, but absolutely brilliant), and then walked back to the hotel via Lidl to spend the afternoon sunbathing before we needed to start getting ready.
I left myself an hour and a half to shower and do my hair and makeup before we had to leave, and yet it still wasn’t quite enough time. I ended up rushing around the hotel room like an absolute lunatic, wondering how on earth this ends up happening every time I need to leave house at a specific time. Just chaotic Gemini things 🥰
Suited and booted, we hopped in a taxi to the meeting place in the centre of Palma, where coaches were arriving to whisk us away from the hustle and bustle of the city and into the gorgeous Spanish countryside. It was so lovely to see everyone dressed up and ready to celebrate our friends in such a beautiful setting.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from the venue, but it was beyond anything I could have ever conjured in my mind. I won’t share too much here as it’s not my day to share, but let’s just say it was genuinely one of the most spectacular weddings I have ever been a part of. The post-ceremony canapés and perfectly chilled champagne alone were enough to make me swoon, never mind the incredible sunset that we were treated to just before we sat down for dinner.
We ate, we drank, we laughed, we danced and best of all, we got to spend quality time with our friends and celebrate true luuuuurve. Dreamy.
SATURDAY
The morning after the night before, we slept in for as long as we could and then shlepped down to breakfast at the very last minute to revive ourselves with coffee, pastries and eggs. I planned to spend the rest of the day languishing in a shady spot on the roof terrace, and James wanted to go out into Palma to grab some bits for the boat party later that afternoon, which I was opting out of (I’m a travel sickness girly and spending several hours on a catamaran was never going to be a good idea for me).
We had a lovely lunch together on the terrace and then James headed off to the harbour.
After catching up on some work bits on my phone and going for one last dip in the pool, I decided to be brave and walk into Palma by myself for a solo date night. I don’t know about you, but I often don’t feel confident enough in myself to explore unfamiliar cities on my own, especially when they’re not in the UK and I don’t speak the language - I can’t work Google Maps to save my life and usually end up panicking and going back to the hotel where I feel safe.
ANYWAY, I wanted to exchange a pair of sunglasses that James had bought me as a surprise earlier that day (I tried on two pairs on our first evening in Palma but convinced myself that I absolutely did not need them, so James being the angel that he is decided to go back and get them without me knowing) so I grabbed my water bottle, put on a cute outfit to make me feel uber confident and made my way into the old town.
Sunglasses successfully exchanged, I stopped at a little tapas bar for a glass of white wine and some croquettes and then headed back to the hotel to meet James for a late dinner.
SUNDAY
We woke up to grey skies and drizzle on Sunday morning and therefore declared it as the perfect day to explore some more of the city without risking me keeling over from the heat. Palma Bread had been on our list of places to try out, and boy, did they deliver on the pastries. They were practically the size of my head! My almond croissant actually came with a knife and fork, it was so big.
Bellies full, we spent the rest of the morning walking the city, taking in everything that we hadn’t seen already. Palma is such a walkable city and we saw pretty much all of it over the few days that we were there! Just as the heavens opened, we found a local bar down a tiny side street where we could sit outside under the pergola and watch the rain, accompanied by the most delicious wine and tapas, of course. The chill days are my absolute favourite; no plans, no agenda, just putting one foot in front of the other with nothing to think about other than where you’re going to stop next. Total heaven.
The sun made his comeback in the afternoon and the hotel pool was beckoning us by this point, so we walked back and nabbed two sun loungers to catch the last of the rays before our flight home the next morning.
For our last dinner, we decided to grab some takeaway pizzas and eat them on the steps looking over the water and the cathedral. This was honestly our best idea of the entire trip - it couldn’t have been more idyllic sitting there together as the sun was setting, listening to a busker singing traditional Spanish songs as we stuffed our faces with pizza. 10/10 would recommend.
We ended the night with ice cream and a glass of wine up on the roof terrace. Utter perfection.
Oh wow, if you got to the end, well bloody done. That was a longie. A longie but a goodie, I hope! Thanks so much for reading, and I promise I’ll be back in your inboxes more regularly now that the summer of travel is over and I am in full autumn hibernation mode.
Until next time!
Lauren x
Looks like it was a lovely trip! Thanks for sharing it with us!!
I love Palma, thank you for bringing a little bit back to share!