Location: Mallorca, Spain
Date & Time: 8th – 11th February 2018
Airline: Ryanair
Accommodation: Hotel HM Balanguera, Palma de Mallorca
Reason: Take a short break from the rat race.
Soooooo for the record, we just want to say that we are not always running late, and yes from our posts it does appear to be at critical times like races, trains or planes 😂😁😂. We wish we could say that this time was different but all in the hope to cut our 25min walk to the gate shorter (Nifesi’s idea), we ended up at the opposite side of the airport and had to be escorted by an airport official through unauthorised areas just so we could get to our now closed gate. Anyway we made it (as they called ahead) and boarded the flight only for the flight to be delayed by 20 mins (not due to our lateness). 😏😒😩 Typical.
We were both really excited to go to Mallorca, as neither of us had been before. Our plan was to have a quick break at the beginning of the year to refresh and remind ourselves to live life to the fullest!! Not gonna lie, by the time we arrived at the airport, we were already tired and felt like we should have had at least 2 days of rest before this flight. However, tiredness was not going to stop our fun! Keep reading as we T.E.L.L you all about our experience.
Day 1 – No time to waste!
We arrived at roughly 5pm and by 6pm we had already settled into our hotel – HM Balanguera. With no time to waste, we set out to explore the streets of Mallorca. At this point, all our galavanting and airport shenanigans meant that we had already walked over 10,000 steps…whoop whoop.
After exploring the local area and getting our bearings, we realised that restaurant options were very limited. Most if not all the good places were closed, not even a local pizza shop was open and the restaurants we did see were not scheduled to open until around 9pm. We lingered around town for a bit to while away time, then made our way to the hotel to relax before dinner (well for us – lunch and dinner combined).
We chose to have dinner at the Blue Jazz Club Saratoga (click link to find out about our unforgettable experience), as it was highly recommended by our hotel staff and reviews online suggested that it would be a worthwhile experience. Blue Jazz Club is a well known rooftop restaurant and apparently quite popular with the jazz crowd.
After dinner, we continued to stroll around town travelling the streets of Mallorca. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at Opencor (a local 24hr supermarket) to pick up some Spanish beverages. Indecision got the best of us as we took an insane amount of time choosing which drinks to buy. We finally decided on some wine and beer only to take it to the counter and then be informed that it’s not possible to purchase alcohol after 12pm. We spent over 20 mins searching for something reasonably priced that hopefully we would both like. To find a simple alcopop or something we recognised was a struggle. People… the truth is, we’re not big drinkers, in fact we rarely ever drink. Something sweet will gain our interest, which tends to be cocktails and even then, it’s a struggle to finish a glass. Anyway back to the hotel we went, no drinks to test, tummies a little queasy and quite tired. Tomorrow is another day!
Day 2 – Pamper day
❀ Breakfast at HM Balanguera
The breakfast was pretty basic, the selection included the usual continental options: sliced bread (along with a variety of spreads) • croissants • muffins • bland scrambled eggs • boiled eggs • baked beans • tasty cocktail sausages • a selection of hams and cheese • fruit • yoghurt with fruit compote • cereal (3 to be exact) • muesli • nuts • raisins • juice • tea and coffee.
It wasn’t the most enticing selection but near enough something for everyone. However, if you’re a vegan you are limited to mostly fruit, nuts, bread and beans.
❀ Siesta
The late night coupled with the early rise for breakfast caught up with us and in true Spanish style, we decided to head back to our room to relax until late afternoon. All the walking and wandering the night before had satisfied our inner ‘Dora the Explorer’, so we were more than happy to hibernate and take some time out. Also the weather was grey and raining – the perfect excuse to laze in bed and channel surf.
❀ Spa Evening
We decided that a pampering session would be a good addition to the current vibe of our day. Continued relaxation… After some research and a recommendation from the hotel receptionist, we chose HSPA – GPRO Valparaiso Palace. It was fantastic value for money, we definitely made GREAT use of every second we spent there! ⇢Check out our review for the low down!⇠
❀ Tiki Tako and a Late Dinner
SHOT SHOT SHOT SHOT SHOT! – We ended the night with a few cheeky shots at Tiki Tako a local bar/restaurant. If you’ve never tried chocolate or strawberry flavoured tequila, this is the place to go. We also grabbed a veggie burrito and sincronizadas which we would highly recommend. Our dinner purchasing didn’t end there, we stopped at Pizza Industria and ordered a 4 cheese pizza as well as a meat calzone. The 4 cheese pizza was really tasty but unfortunately cold by the time we got back to the hotel. The calzone was just a bit too carb heavy – way too much dough and not enough filling.
❀ Key points to note:
- Siesta – from 2pm to 5pm. Small local business tend to close but larger stores will be open.
- No alcohol can be bought in the supermarket after 12pm.
- When it rains or has rained, the pavements are EXTRA slippery.
- There are a lot of dogs and not enough owners cleaning up after them!! This was extremely irritating as you had to keep watching your steps otherwise you could have a situation as we very nearly did (check our youtube video).
❀ Check out our detailed reviews of al the food spots and sites we visited:
Overall experience rating: 
We have told, now it’s time for YOU to tell… Please let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below.
Until our next post continue to Taste, Experience, Laugh and Live life to the absolute fullest.
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