so, for easter weekend we got the friday and the monday off, so took the time to head out to the spanish island of mallorca in the mediterranean sea for awhile. flight was on saturday night, so this trip was preceded by going out to zurich on thursday night, went out far too early, didn't want to line up for the club originally intended, ended up in some random bar, ate way too much mac donalds and then had to wait for the train for some time before going home. also, one thing that has been terrible about this year for me is eating terrible macdonald's/other fast food. not a really significant amount, but between a combination of the routine being thrown off by the travel and the peer pressure it's been kinda terrible. looking forward to getting back to the brown rice and whole wheat pasta, spinach and salad, fruit and lean meat when i get home, where it's not an exorbitant price and there's the gym and everything else to keep me in line. anyhow, after thursday night, friday was a good relaxing day. took the camera out to finally get some more photos of the town i live in, looking good as spring rolls around. warm day, lots of people out and about and around the churches on good friday. had some ice cream, walked by the river, then packed up some stuff for the weekend.
flight was at 6:00 am on saturday morning from basel, so the only option to make the time was to catch the train the night before and sleep in the airport. from a suggestion by other interns who had slept at this airport before, i brought a sleeping pad and pillow along, which made the night actually quite comfortable. not bad at all. a quick hour and a half flight had us land in palma early enough to sit down at this little cafe for some breakfast. tasty spanish cafe con leches, and really good serrano ham bocadillos - basically baguette like sandwiches - with some olives were eaten. at this point, we hopped on an old ass train that went north across the island to the town of soller. the north coast of the island is dominated by the tramuntana mountains, which we had an amazing view of on the slow and steady hour train ride. beautiful blue sky day, with olive groves, orange and lemon trees on the side of the track made for a pretty cool trip. never seen lemon or orange trees before, and here there were about a million i'm pretty sure. arrived in soller, a small village of like 10 000 people in a mountain valley. on a side note here, there are a lot of german tourists that go to mallorca for some strange reason, and indeed, there were german people everywhere, just couldn't escape the german basically. at the airport, at least half the flights were from like hamburg or frankfurt or dusseldorf, pretty funny actually. so weaving our way through the german tourists we found our nice little hostel in a side street, owned by this 70 something year old lady. haha, kinda felt like someone's spanish grandma's house, but cool nonetheless. so dropped off some stuff, headed towards the town square where there's this pretty cool looking cathedral and a couple other buildings with some gaudi influence in them. there was a little saturday market going on, so lots of olives, ham, and white clothes were on sale. pretty crowded at this point in time, and so we made our way towards the bike rental shop. this very nice lady from new zealand set us up with some road bikes and put on on the way towards this small town called fornalutx. a short (but uphill) ride later through many many orange, lemon and olive groves, stopped at a hill overlooking the soller valley and the town, very nice indeed. and then a straight downhill to the port of soller, ripping down the winding highway at breakneck speeds. got to this port, a small cove of sorts, with a short stretch of beach, pretty windy though, and starting to get overcast. a bunch of kids skateboarding on the boardwalk, apparently it's still cool. saw some really ugly looking ducks/geese type things, and then biked/walked around the port/beach area. pretty cool, again, lots of german tourists, a few people braving the winds and hanging out on the beach, lots of boats, and lots of restaurants and stuff on the boardwalk. stopped for some ice cream, read a book, and then biked back the 4 k's to the town of soller. had a nap, then went in search of some dinner. kinda hungry at this point, so basically just found a place in the main square, had some wine, assorted tapas platter and some paella, solid meal for the day.
woke up, had a very nice breakfast of some hard boiled eggs, fresh bread, tea and some what i can only assume to be orange marmalade made from the nearby orange trees. looked outside, and it's just pouring rain. decide to delay the planned bike ride until it clears up, so read for awhile while looking out the window. also i have started reading this fantasy fiction series called 'a song of ice and fire' by george martin, apparently one of the best series out there, and now i have finished two massive volumes. anyways, the sky clears up for a little bit, so we head out and get two meat pies from the bakery across the street to put in a backpack and start on the bike ride. the plan is to ride about 200 m elevation 10 k or so up to this other mountain village called deia, but about 2 or 3 k in, nature shows up and a torrential storm begins. in the process of riding up a bunch of switchbacks we take some shelter under some small trees, and eat a meat pie which is quite tasty. thinking that i was going to a tropical climate, i had obviously only brought a cotton sweater, and now i am cold and wet. call off the bike ride, ride back to the port of soller to return the bikes, and get even more wet on the way - good times though, definitely something to remember - even got some money back from the bike rental place cause the lady felt bad for us. hung out in a cafe for a bit, then took the tram back to soller. of course, at this point the rain has all but stopped, and the sun comes out for a beautiful sunny blue sky day. after taking some time to warm up and dry off again, headed out on a very beautiful walk around the area. now that's it's sunny again, the valleys full of orange and lemon orchards are amazing, flowers, chickens, sheep and donkeys are roaming around, pretty little farmhouses, forest, mountains - amazing. in our flip flops we end up hiking through some trail, a little rocky but really cool. in the end, an awesome little walk around, kinda makes up for the getting rained on earlier in the day. getting dark, so went to this fairly classy restaurant on a side street off the main square, and definitely the best choice ever. got some tasty olives and aioli, and then this massive pan of paella arrives, definitely legit this time, lots of crab and mussels and shrimp and other seafood on it, soooo good. also some pretty good wine to go with it too. yup, without a doubt the best paella i've had, totally worth it. kinda cool on the walk back, kinda unintentionally got into the cathedral where there was some easter stuff going on (obviously) and the priest was definitely playing a nice little song on guitar. haha pretty neat actually.
got up the next day, hopped on the old ass train back to palma, but not before getting some more delicious meat pies from the bakery. a stop in the park by the train station in palma, and then a nice walk through the tiny streets to our hostal as it was called. got on a bus, then half an hour later we're at the beach 'ses illetes', it's basically a bunch of smaller coves, with just some white sand beaches and crystal clear water, that's all. on the bus ride there, we pass by many all-inclusive type hotels and resorts, and on the beach there are obviously the germans but lots of spanish and british people as well. water's a little too cold to be comfortable swimming in, but the sand and sun is nice, hang out for quite some time, don't really actually know if i got any darker but still good anyways. finally do jump in the sea for a bit, and then start walking back towards the city center to dry off. pass by another bakery for some more baked goods, and then take a bus the rest of the way back home - by now the sun had gone away and it looked as if the rain was gonna start again...so getting rid of all the sand everywhere, and then going out for dinner, at this place about 10 meters down the street. another amazing restaurant, sitting right next to the open kitchen we see all the fresh fish and tasty food going by. a fried spinach thing and an egg/potato/tuna salad and another really tasty bottle of wine precede a massive seafood platter, just so much fresh fish and squid and mussels and clams and shrimp, just grilled with some salt and pepper and lemon juice - i'm in heaven. another amazing meal complete with some real good chocolate dessert still only like 20 euros, even in a tourist town like palma - 20 euros would definitely buy you nothing remotely close to as good in switzerland. go for a night walk on the boardwalk by the sea, waves on one side and the massive cathedral on the other side, warm spring night - and then back to sleep, a day on the beach really takes a lot outta you, haha.
this next day is for walking around the massive pedestrian zone that is the old town of palma, like actually maybe a hundred blocks of narrow cobblestone streets - somehow this is the place where i really feel like walking in a really old city. pass by a museum with the obvious spanish artist names like picasso and miro, but also some really cool sculptures outside by calatrava - really cool. spend actually quite a long time just wandering the streets, looking in at some courtyards, at least a few smaller cathedrals, a street that was strictly for florists, lots of food and bread, people playing spanish guitar and such. hang out in the main square and watch a pretty random capoeira show, pass by some apparently famous arab baths, and then went inside this fairly big cathedral. some of the nicest stained glass windows i have seen, gothic spires are still as cool as ever, and some sweet architecture allowed for the thinnest and highest stone pillars i have seen. gaudi did some work on this as well which was pretty cool. weather outside got a little nicer, so yup, went for a long walk on the beach. hung out, watched this one guy just running laps on this section of beach, then went for some supper. this tapas restaurant, with some smaller cold plates of olives/salads etc. up for grabs and then other sandwich fried things as well. some octopus too, but that was really just some middling octopus i thought. overall still pretty good though. lots of walking today, so call it a day.
wake up, eat breakfast, get a couple more coffees, and then head to the airport. fly back to basel, eat some sandwiches, and then have most of the day left without work to just chill out. really, not being at work is about 50000 times better than being at work. two day workweek coming up, then off to paris!
woke up, had a very nice breakfast of some hard boiled eggs, fresh bread, tea and some what i can only assume to be orange marmalade made from the nearby orange trees. looked outside, and it's just pouring rain. decide to delay the planned bike ride until it clears up, so read for awhile while looking out the window. also i have started reading this fantasy fiction series called 'a song of ice and fire' by george martin, apparently one of the best series out there, and now i have finished two massive volumes. anyways, the sky clears up for a little bit, so we head out and get two meat pies from the bakery across the street to put in a backpack and start on the bike ride. the plan is to ride about 200 m elevation 10 k or so up to this other mountain village called deia, but about 2 or 3 k in, nature shows up and a torrential storm begins. in the process of riding up a bunch of switchbacks we take some shelter under some small trees, and eat a meat pie which is quite tasty. thinking that i was going to a tropical climate, i had obviously only brought a cotton sweater, and now i am cold and wet. call off the bike ride, ride back to the port of soller to return the bikes, and get even more wet on the way - good times though, definitely something to remember - even got some money back from the bike rental place cause the lady felt bad for us. hung out in a cafe for a bit, then took the tram back to soller. of course, at this point the rain has all but stopped, and the sun comes out for a beautiful sunny blue sky day. after taking some time to warm up and dry off again, headed out on a very beautiful walk around the area. now that's it's sunny again, the valleys full of orange and lemon orchards are amazing, flowers, chickens, sheep and donkeys are roaming around, pretty little farmhouses, forest, mountains - amazing. in our flip flops we end up hiking through some trail, a little rocky but really cool. in the end, an awesome little walk around, kinda makes up for the getting rained on earlier in the day. getting dark, so went to this fairly classy restaurant on a side street off the main square, and definitely the best choice ever. got some tasty olives and aioli, and then this massive pan of paella arrives, definitely legit this time, lots of crab and mussels and shrimp and other seafood on it, soooo good. also some pretty good wine to go with it too. yup, without a doubt the best paella i've had, totally worth it. kinda cool on the walk back, kinda unintentionally got into the cathedral where there was some easter stuff going on (obviously) and the priest was definitely playing a nice little song on guitar. haha pretty neat actually.
got up the next day, hopped on the old ass train back to palma, but not before getting some more delicious meat pies from the bakery. a stop in the park by the train station in palma, and then a nice walk through the tiny streets to our hostal as it was called. got on a bus, then half an hour later we're at the beach 'ses illetes', it's basically a bunch of smaller coves, with just some white sand beaches and crystal clear water, that's all. on the bus ride there, we pass by many all-inclusive type hotels and resorts, and on the beach there are obviously the germans but lots of spanish and british people as well. water's a little too cold to be comfortable swimming in, but the sand and sun is nice, hang out for quite some time, don't really actually know if i got any darker but still good anyways. finally do jump in the sea for a bit, and then start walking back towards the city center to dry off. pass by another bakery for some more baked goods, and then take a bus the rest of the way back home - by now the sun had gone away and it looked as if the rain was gonna start again...so getting rid of all the sand everywhere, and then going out for dinner, at this place about 10 meters down the street. another amazing restaurant, sitting right next to the open kitchen we see all the fresh fish and tasty food going by. a fried spinach thing and an egg/potato/tuna salad and another really tasty bottle of wine precede a massive seafood platter, just so much fresh fish and squid and mussels and clams and shrimp, just grilled with some salt and pepper and lemon juice - i'm in heaven. another amazing meal complete with some real good chocolate dessert still only like 20 euros, even in a tourist town like palma - 20 euros would definitely buy you nothing remotely close to as good in switzerland. go for a night walk on the boardwalk by the sea, waves on one side and the massive cathedral on the other side, warm spring night - and then back to sleep, a day on the beach really takes a lot outta you, haha.
this next day is for walking around the massive pedestrian zone that is the old town of palma, like actually maybe a hundred blocks of narrow cobblestone streets - somehow this is the place where i really feel like walking in a really old city. pass by a museum with the obvious spanish artist names like picasso and miro, but also some really cool sculptures outside by calatrava - really cool. spend actually quite a long time just wandering the streets, looking in at some courtyards, at least a few smaller cathedrals, a street that was strictly for florists, lots of food and bread, people playing spanish guitar and such. hang out in the main square and watch a pretty random capoeira show, pass by some apparently famous arab baths, and then went inside this fairly big cathedral. some of the nicest stained glass windows i have seen, gothic spires are still as cool as ever, and some sweet architecture allowed for the thinnest and highest stone pillars i have seen. gaudi did some work on this as well which was pretty cool. weather outside got a little nicer, so yup, went for a long walk on the beach. hung out, watched this one guy just running laps on this section of beach, then went for some supper. this tapas restaurant, with some smaller cold plates of olives/salads etc. up for grabs and then other sandwich fried things as well. some octopus too, but that was really just some middling octopus i thought. overall still pretty good though. lots of walking today, so call it a day.
wake up, eat breakfast, get a couple more coffees, and then head to the airport. fly back to basel, eat some sandwiches, and then have most of the day left without work to just chill out. really, not being at work is about 50000 times better than being at work. two day workweek coming up, then off to paris!
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