Mallorca

That night was the awards ceremony for Colonial. (David is in the purple shirt). We got to meet quite a few people on the trip, it was fun to get to know them outside of "business". We had dinner with a large group of people, including the CEO of the company, at a french restaurant on the ship. The food was beautiful, and small :) There was a soup we were served, and we were told the soup's ingredients cost hundreds of dollars!The next day we were in port on the island of Mallorca. We took an old train from the port city of Palma through the mountains to a small town called Soller on the other side of the island. It used to be the only transportation to this area of the island, and it is the same train that is still being used. You can check out the link:http://www.sollernet.com/trendesoller/en1.htmlThe trip was an hour one way, and it was gorgeous; we went through olive and citrus groves and quaint old villages. The windows on the train were open allowing the the scents of all the groves to waft in.
I did not realize this before....olives grow very spread out in extremely rocky soil.The villages all had terraces that go up the hills for more area to grow crops.We passed adorable little old houses that were built right next to the tracksAnd some that were more like mansions....
When we got to Soller, they were having a festival....so there were people everywhere and all kinds of oranges and olives to try. At that moment I really wished I liked olives...at least a little. They were so beautiful.
We went into a tobacco store to buy post cards and stamps...and look what you could buy along with your cigars! (All over Europe, the tobacco store is where you go to buy stamps.)We wandered through the village...it was very old and picturesque. The bus that we were going to take back to Palma was located on the other side of village.We came across a very old and elegant hotel with this old Bentley parked out front. Hmmm, I wonder if you stay there, do you get to ride in it??So after a leisurely walk, we came to the bus stop. I went inside the cafe next to it, to double check the time I have printed for when the next bus should come. They tell me it should be about 3 hours?? What ?? I look down at my schedule, and I have a heart-sinking/freak-out moment. I had forgotten that we were there on Sunday... and Sunday had a different bus schedule! I had not stopped to think of what day of the week it was going to be when we were in Mallorca! If we waited the 3 hours, we would probably miss the ship.....

I looked back at my train schedule, there was a train leaving in 10 minutes....if we ran all the way back to the station, we still probably wouldn't make it, but it was worth a try....if that didn't work, I guess we would be paying a small fortune for a taxi...because the next train didn't leave for a very long time!!

So we start running back through all the winding cobblestone streets, trying to look at the map (while running) to find the shortest route back to the train station. David is in flip-flops and I am apologizing the whole way. (I am sure we looked like some really ridiculous tourists!!) I was so frustrated with myself for not thinking about what day it would be...argggh!!...

We arrived at the station breathless, one minute before the train was scheduled to leave....God, please let it be late, I prayed! (ok, if you buy a round trip it costs just a little more than a one way, but I didn't because we were going to take the bus back through a different route) So I showed the guy my one way tickets, asked if he would give us a break...of course not! Full price for the way back.

He gave us our tickets and told us to run, as the train was already blowing its whistle. We jumped on board and the train literally started pulling out 30 seconds later. We were both sweating profusely and I was having a personal fit over having to pay full price both ways. But at that point David reminded me I should just be glad we made the train, and to quit having "spending" issues....very true!



Back in Palma we enjoyed lots of window shopping...

Lots of yummy looking meringue!Palma also has wonderful little narrow streets and old buildings

Check out these worn out steps - love it!

The main cathedral was visible from the water...it was really gorgeous, but I had never even heard of it. It very much reminded me of Notre Dame.Our collection of sand for another Nicole moment....yes, Mallorca definitely had the best sand of any place we visited!This was such a beautiful view from our balcony, pulling out of port with the sail boat in the wake. That night back on the ship was formal night. We had a fabulous dinner for two at the Asian restaurant. Since it is hard to find an event to re-wear a formal gown, I was excited to be able to wear the black dress I had purchased for my cousin's wedding in New York, once again! Of course, me being me, I must take a few photos of the food and the dishes!
That evening after dinner we went out on the deck and there was a full moon lighting up the water and a wonderful warm breeze, such a gorgeous romantic evening. I tried to capture the moonlight on the water with my camera, but nothing turned out :(