“This is my version of a perfect 24 hours on a Spanish Island. This post was written as an entry for 24 hours on The Balearics contest sponsored by OnTheBeach.co.uk. The prize is £500 in Amazon Vouchers and the contest runs until August 31, 2012. Please visit BeersandBeans.com to learn more about the contest and how you can also enter.”
I have not traveled to Spain or any of its outlying islands...this doesn't mean that I don't want to someday! It was so much fun researching everything that I just have to write about it as if I had been there. This should read like an excerpt from my imaginary travel journal (we all need one to keep our dreams in). I will be changing names of family members, though. It makes my husband uncomfortable to have his name on floating around the internet.
"We were finally able to fit in a trip, my husband, three kids and I. I was so excited! We traveled to Palma de Majorca. At first, John and I thought we'd be able to use Spanish, our second language. Turned out, we didn't need it! It's a tourist country with plenty of diversity in language, though I've read about Germans joking that it should be part of their country with how many visit each year.
"Our plane arrived at 11 am in Palma de Majorca. Feeling adventurous, we used the public transportation to get from the airport to our hotel, "Cala Major." What a beautiful place! If we had a week, it wouldn't be enough time! Unfortunately, we only have until 11 am the next day. We wouldn't be spending much time here, though. Not immediately, at least. We had a tour to make!
"After dropping off our luggage, we found a map of the city with the concierge and used the buses to make our way to the Caves of Genova. They were absolutely incredible! We descended with the rest of our group into the pit, only to enter an entirely new world. The stalactites and stalagmites were amazing! The kids couldn't believe that all of this was just under our feet...of course, Henry is a little nervous now and thinks that everywhere has caves like this under us.
"When the tour ended, we ate lunch at the Jardin (we had made reservations before leaving the U.S.). It was quite the restaurant! They had a great variety of traditional, local foods. We each made sure to order something different so that we could sample the different tastes of the island. The kids really wanted to say that they've been in the Mediterranen, so after we finished eating we went back to the hotel and played on the beach. It helped that I wanted to soak up some sun and freshen up before we headed to dinner: Pirates Adventure show.
"And what a show! Their acrobatics were incredible and the story was fun to watch! The kids really enjoyed watching it and I'm glad I took them. I was thinking about using the hotel baby-sitting services and having a date-night with John. This was incredible for all of us, though! We headed to bed happily exhausted that night, ready to get up early the next morning.
"The next morning, we got up early and headed to Cathedral "Le Seu" here in Palma. I had heard that you should see the morning sun coming in through the stained glass. What an incredible structure! We were able to walk around, but touring hours didn't start until later. Ooops! Oh well, now that we had a taste, we would see if we could come back for a longer stay. This has been an incredible adventure. We had breakfast on the street Passeig de Born, like several people recommended...and of course ended up spending more money than we should in the shops there! That's why they call it a vacation!
We went to Marineland after checking our bags at the airport. It was similar to Sea World, but more exciting because it wasn't closer to home, but in a foreign country! The smaller size of the park allowed us to see more in a short period of time before we headed back to the airport. We were exhausted, but when you only have 24 hours, you squeeze in what you can!"
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