some travel, some fun, all me
Here it is an official holiday for Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza & Formentera. The Day of the Balearic Islands is a public holiday in Mallorca. It is celebrated every year on the 1st of March, in commemoration of the signing of the Statute of Autonomy on 1st March 1983. The festivities are varied and include a variety of traditional markets, childrens activities, and concerts.
The most expensive star studded blockbuster film to have been partly shot on location in Mallorca, Cloud Atlas, will hit the screens here next week.
Have you seen the movie Cloud Atlas? I haven’t yet but I will.
It has already topped the box office in a number of countries, including China, the 100 million dollar movie, the most expensive independent film ever made, opens across Europe next Friday.
Cloud Atlas is a 2012 German epic drama and science fiction film written, produced and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski, of Matrix fame, and Tom Tykwer. Adapted from the 2004 novel by David Mitchell, the film features multiple plot lines set across six different eras and stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, James D’Arcy, Susan Sarandon and Hugh Grant, to name just a few.
The official synopsis for Cloud Atlas describes the film as: An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
The crew along with Tom hanks and Halle Berry spent most of the summer of 2011 on the island shooting in locations such as the Port of Soller, where a huge set was constructed, the beach in Formentor, sa Calobra and various locations in the Tramuntana mountains including the Puig Major.
I remember reading almost daily when the actors were here filming about every movement any of them made. Also, People magazine published several pictures of Halle Berry (affectionately called Hairy Belly here in this household) walking around Palma or on the beach with her boyfriend Olivier Martinez. And she was quoted as Mallorca being one of her new favorite get-away spots! I mean, of course, anyone who has ever visited Mallorca knows what a beautiful paradise we live in.
Sa Calobra (above) is a great beach to go to, with long curvy roads to get there. It is located in the heart of the Tramuntana mountain range (the west coast), and you can reach it via a narrow motorway that winds its way along an impressive route: 14 kilometres of asphalt that descend towards the sea with a host of curves, 12 of them at 80 degrees and one – called Nudo de la Corbata (the tie knot) – at 360º.
I went to Sa Calobra for the first time last year and I quite impressed. Walking 300 metres along the cliffs leads to the outlet of the Torrente de Pareis stream, which makes a tiny, very well-preserved pebble beach. It is an impressive site, surrounded by soaring rock walls facing the sea 30 metres long and more than 200 metres tall.
I can’t wait to see Mallorca showcased in Cloud Atlas! Check out the trailer and go see it! The opening scene in the trailer is Mallorca and most of the outdoor scenes throughout it are the island as well. Looks like a fantastic movie.
Coca is so muy delicioso!
I bought some at the bakery the other day. Doesn’t it look scrumptious?
This coca to be exact is the coca trempó (also known as coca de trampó). It is a pastry made of pepper, onion and tomato. The coca trempó is popular in Mallorca and the Balearics. And it is my favorite. My friend Pilar, her mother makes this every summer and I pretty much don’t leave the table until it is done. Feeling adventurous? Here is how to make it… in Spanish even. You can do it!
The coca is a pastry typically made and consumed in Catalonia, eastern parts of Aragon, most of Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and in French Catalonia. The coca is just one way of preparing a dish traditionally made all around the Mediterranean.
There are many diverse cocas, with four main varieties: sweet, savory, closed and open. All of them use dough as the main ingredient, which is then decorated. This dough can be sweet or savory. If it is sweet, eggs and sugar are added, and if it is savory, yeast and salt. As regards the topping or filling, fish and vegetables are usual at the coast whilst inland they prefer fruit, nuts, cheese and meat. Some cocas can be both sweet and savory (typically mixing meat and fruit).
A popular coca is served during is the “Coca de Sant Joan”, a sweet coca with candied fruits and pine nuts, typical of Catalan summer solstice celebration.
But whatever coca you choose to enjoy, the are all DEEELISH. Just look at the variety to choose from.
It’s a hard choice but one you have to make. I know – try one of each!
Buen Provecho!
Hey, all you need is a little purple tinsel around your outside restaurant display and we are all in the Christmas mood! And enjoy the paella!
My lovely German friend Imke was here for a few days to visit me. It was so nice to see her! She wanted tranquilo so we did pretty much that. Except her last night we went out for a good dinner in Palma. I always like to try out new restaurants when friends are here. And that night we went to La Boveda, proclaimed as the best tapas restaurant on the island.
I’ve read that it fills up fast so I made a reservation. And when we arrived at 8:00 (when it opened) there was a line at the door. We were seated immediately and given a menu. So many options! If you don’t know what tapas are, let me explain. Tapas are small portions of Spanish cuisine – meats, cheese, seafood, etc. They can be hot or cold dishes. You order enough for the group. Many tapas restaurants give an option of a large portion or smaller portion depending on the size of your group.
We ordered the small meat plate (chorizo, jamon serrano, sobrasada) which came with four slices of Mahon cheese, sauteed shrimp, bread with aioli (the famous mayonnaise with garlic), lamb chops which also had french fries and pimientos de padron, and dates with bacon. Plus a half bottle of Rioja and …. PERFECT. So many other options on the menu, we really wanted to order one of everything – maybe with a group of about twenty that is possible. Next time.
What we did order was a little too much for two people but we tried our best to finish it. We even had fresh pineapple for dessert because there is no such thing as leaving without dessert.
Go to La Boveda! A fantastic tapas restaurant in the old town of Palma, my favorite area. If you like tapas, you will not be disappointed.
La Boveda. C/ Botería, 3 · Palma · 971 71 48 63
Awww yeah. Guns N Roses tonight!! Axl is in Palma!
Sa Placa restaurant is a lovely place to enjoy tapas. It is located in the small town of S’ Alqueria Blanca in the southeast corner of Mallorca.
Tapas are a wide variety of appetizers. In Spain they have become very popular and ordered in larger quantities that they become a meal. A fantastic meal at that. It always seems to happen to me that the other people I go to dinner with order the better food. But not with tapas! You share tapas (at least you are supposed to) with everyone at the table because they are ordered as a small or a large plate. Obviously the larger the group, the larger the plate and the amount of tapas ordered. Three of us went the other day and we ordered six small plates of tapas and it was the perfect amount.
Sa Placa is a great restaurant to take visitors to, or if you are a tourist on the island then you need to go. The town is small and adorable and the restaurant is right next to the church. They have expanded it so you can sit outside and watch the cars go by – one of my favorite things to do.
My favorite tapas: goat cheese with figs, sobrasada pastry, meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce, shrimp with garlic, black pudding (blood sausage), croquettes, dates with bacon (my total fav), pimientos de padron, patatas bravas and the calamari. Excellent. The other day we had the lamb and the pork which I was not very fond of, they tasted old, no taste actually. I would say stick with the easy favorites and order a nice bottle of Spanish wine to wash it down with.
Sa Placa, Plaza San José 14. Telephone – 971 16 40 22
Do you love Italian food? I DO! Felix and I just went to restaurant RIBELLO in the iconic area of la Longa of Palma. I have been wanting to go here for months and am now kicking myself for not going sooner. It. Was. Fantastic.
The menu wasn’t too extensive but I would believe that every single item would be excellent. Our starters were a spinach dip and prosciutto wrapped around a thick lobster cream. And for the main course I had a spicy tomato based sauce with penne that came with a hunk of buratta (a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream) on top. And my lovely boyfriend had the lemon pasta with scampi. I think I have to stop writing now because I am so hungry and can only think about the amazing pasta dishes. (Growl) (That was my stomach)
Also on the menu was pizza, beef tenderloin, and a hamburger that I saw come out of the kitchen several times. There is mostly pasta on the menu, it IS an Italian restaurant but there was a decent variety. Plus the prices are super! I was surprised at how reasonably priced the food was for such a popular place.
Ribello is only open for dinner Monday – Saturday. They don’t have a website so here is the info.
Now call for a reservation and GO.
Ribello, C/ Apuntadores 11, 971 729 130
GOING NINETY MILES 