Madrid and Mallorca, Spain

There are so many beautiful cities in Spain, it was hard to pick which to go to! I have already been to Barcelona twice, so my roommate and I decided to go to Madrid. When booking our flights, we figured we would try to find somewhere else to go too since we planned on coming back on a Monday. We found cheap flights to Mallorca and without looking much into it, we booked them. I am so glad we did! On Friday afternoon we arrived in Madrid. We checked into the hotel then got a cab and headed to Plaza Mayor. We walked around and wandered into some shops then headed to El Mercado de San Miguel. This was the cutest market! There were so many different tapas, drinks, fruits and desserts to buy. We passed a stand to buy Flamenco tickets & decided to splurge and get them for that night. After we bought the tickets, we headed to our dinner reservation where we ate paella and drank sangria! When my dad makes sangria it’s a little strong (RIP Christmas Eve) so I was skeptical of ordering it, but Spanish sangria is so sweet and fruity, I loved it! After dinner we had two hours to spare before the show so we went shopping. Pinterest told me we had to try the churros and chocolate at la Chocolatería San Ginés, so we grabbed some on the way to the Flamenco. The Flamenco started at 10 and lasted about an hour. It was so cool! I went to one in Barcelona and loved it so I’m glad I got to see another one. On Saturday morning Holly and I left for the city to get some brunch, walk through el Parque de El Retiro and see the Palace of Madrid before going to the airport. Strolling through the park was the perfect start to our day. The sun was shining through the trees and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The palace was super beautiful too! My art class has made me such a nerd- I was walking through commenting on the frescos and baroque style of every room. I wish we could have taken photos! We finished up at the palace at around 1:15 then hopped in a cab for the airport. After about an hour flight, we were in Mallorca! If you ever have a chance to go to this little island in Spain, do it. There are so many little beaches to go to and they aren’t that far from each other. When we got there we walked along the beach and ate dinner. We went to a restaurant in Hotel Cort, another Pinterest recommendation, and ate fresh salmon. So. Good. On Sunday we started our day by visiting the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma. This church was was so beautiful. It sat on a little hill overlooking the beach and was surrounded by palm trees and waterfalls. Unfortunately we couldn’t go inside since mass was going on, so we walked around then took a cab to Cala Mayor, one of the little beaches in Palma. We spent 3 hours soaking up the sun and going in the clear water before walking up the hill to get lunch. I finally got my mojito! It was a great afternoon of relaxing. After lunch we went back into the main city area and walked along the port. We spent our early evening strolling around, going into some shops, and eating a light dinner before heading back to the hotel to pack. It was nice to be able to understand some of the things people said this weekend and I got to practice my Spanish! I’m definitely a little rusty, I probably should have studied abroad here… oops. I didn’t want to leave Monday morning (especially since we had to leave the hotel by 4:30 am), but it’s better knowing we only have to wait 3 days until our next adventure! This semester is flying by. It’s hard to believe I only have 39 more days until I am home!