Mallorca - Part 1

We see why this is the Bali destination for the Europeans.  It is warm, friendly (unlike the hostility towards tourists in Barcelona), and relaxing.  Tapas bars at every corner and quality shopping.
This is Jacob in Arta contemplating how much money I am spending whilst he's having a beer today:

We seem to have fitted a lot in over the past couple of days, and yet feel strangely relaxed so decided to write this blog entry before the places we visited get blurred together.  To set the scene, it's 11pm and we are sitting outside at a bar literally next to our apartment (as if we were at the Bombay) having a stein of San Miguel after a massive feed of paella for dinner.

When we first arrived, we spent the afternoon exploring Palma (the capital of Mallorca).  The old town is both typically European and also has a Caribbean feel to it.  The architecture and the vibe of the place reminded us of Cuba (in a better state of repair and much better food :)).

This morning was a big day for G.  We drove up across to the East side of the island with the first stop in Manacor to bathe in the Rafa experience.  (For those, who are unaware, Manacor is the birth town of the great Raging Bull.)

The newly opened Rafa Academy and Museum certainly didn't disappoint.  As far as museums go, it held our attention much longer than the average.    The first section was an interactive zone with lots of virtual reality activities.  You could test your tennis skills against the digital version of the champion himself, as well as test your knowledge of the game and other sports in a digital trivia program.  The real treat though, was downstairs in the sports memorabilia museum.  

All 17 Grand Slam trophies

A wall full of other ATP titles

Check out the early Rafa Olympic lanyard

His first ever racket

His first ever tournament win - in Poland of all places!

There were numerous items donated to the Academy by other stars from across the sporting world:

LeBron James, Messi and Ronaldo jerseys

Ryder Cup history

Alonso's F1 Renault 

And of course, personal favourite attire worn by FedExpress and Rafa in the greatest tennis battle of all time (Wimbledon 2008 final)

Maybe more than any other  museum collection, this one was special because we remember the events related to most of the artefacts displayed.  

And here is the icing on the cake:

Since G was unable to go for a run along the beach with the great man, she got a consolation prize - a photo with his hologram :)

After a healthy lunch at the Rafa Academy, we hit the road (apparently there is other stuff in Mallorca apart from Rafa).

First stop: Arta.  Cute little town:

We would have loved to spend more time there.

Second stop: Cap de Pera Lighthouse:

Great views and not many tourists.

Third stop: Colonia de Sant Pere.  A bit forgettable, so no photos, but we did have a nice drink at a bar by the waterfront as the sun went down.