It's amazing what you can pack into a day: our sightseeing tour on the Number 11 bus had introduced us to some of London's most important sights. During our walking tour we explored Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Trafalgar Square and Whitehall, arriving just in time for Big Ben ringing in the noon hour. Then we took a sightseeing tour on the Thames River and got to know the city from a completely different perspective. With only three...more
After five great days in my temporary home in the Western Bay of Palma it was now time to relocate and have a closer look at the eastern side of island. I needed to check out today and move into my next apartment in Port d'Alcudia. I packed my suitcase and left the Terranova Aparthotel complex which had been a great location to explore the western and northern side of the island.Taking the coastal highway eastwards from Palmanova...more
With my love for the Spanish language and my fascination for Mediterranean landscapes, the island of Mallorca has been one of my dream destinations for a long time. A couple of months ago or so I had finally decided that 2009 was going to be year for my visit to Mallorca. Spring is the perfect time to visit southern Europe – the weather is usually great, and the hordes of Northern European tourists have not arrived yet.So I had booked a very affordable flight from Graz to Palma de Mallorca with Flyniki, an Austrian-based low cost airline that flies to a variety of popular tourist destinations across Europe. It is owned by none other than famous former Formula One race car driver Niki Lauda. Around mid-morning my brother dropped me off at the quaint Thalerhof Flughafen south of Graz, Austria's second largest city. There I met my friend Gary who was going to come along on this trip.After a brief coffee on the outdoor terrace we were ready to board our flight and barely an hour and a half later we landed in the capital of Mallorca, Palma de Mallorca. Shortly after picking up our luggage and our small rental car we were off to our first destination: Finca Son Point in...more
On my last full day in Mallorca my plan was to explore the eastern part of the island. I had spent the vast majority of my time in the north of Mallorca, where the dramatic Serra de Tramuntana mountain range had held an almost magical spell on me. Today my destinations were on the eastern part of the island.Around 10 am I left Port...more
After a tasty home-made breakfast on the balcony of my studio apartment in Port d'Alcudia I was ready to head out for a full day of explorations. Somehow, the northern mountainous part of Mallorca has an almost magical spell on me. I had already spent the major part of my entire first week on this island in the northern Tramuntana...more
We had thoroughly enjoyed our drive through the Tramuntana mountain region yesterday and our discoveries in the town of Sóller. After a restful night of sleep I got up at 8 am and walked to the main house of our rural hotel, Finca Ca's Sant, to use their Internet connection. Then it was time for an outdoor breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, surrounded by palm trees. Fresh croissants, yoghurt, home-made orange marmalade and an egg were waiting for me. My breakfast also included a traditional Mallorcan specialty: pamboli (literally translated: bread and oil), which are slices of fresh Mallorcan bread that are rubbed with olive oil and sometimes covered by a slice of cured ham or diced tomatoes. Sitting under the palm trees, admiring the historic mansion against the backdrop of the peaks of Mallorca's highest mountains – it doesn't get much better than that. Even though we had already checked out, we asked owner Rafael Forteza whether we would be able to leave our car in the parking lot. Not a problem at all. So we left our car parked and walked the 10 minutes into the centre of Sóller which was extremely busy this Saturday morning: it was market day. Dozens of...more
Our second day in Mallorca greeted us with bright sunshine. After a restful night at Finca Son Pont, we got ready to have breakfast in this historic rural hotel. Tables were set up in the shady inner courtyard and we were going to have...more
Our second full day in Mallorca started with an early morning stroll along the Pine Walk promenade in Port de Pollença, a beautiful seafront town on the northeast side of the island. The expansive Bay of Pollença was shimmering in...more
My stomach problems of yesterday had disappeared and I felt as good as new on this gorgeous late May morning. An early highlight of the day was the breakfast on our large balcony in the Torrenova Aparthotel complex. Although the hotel...more
Our location in Palma Nova on the western bay of Palma was very convenient with one exception: several of the hotel guests came home between 3 and 6 am in various states of inebriation and were hollering loudly to each other. Their...more
WILL THERE BE A PERMANENT SOLUTION TO THE EXACERBATING GLOBAL WARMINGCopenhagen summit on climate change December 2009, as everyone knows was a historic failure. 193 nations from around the world met, debated and deliberated upon...more
You may have heard that learning French is very difficult; it does not have to be. Everyone actually has the ability to learn other languages. To accomplish this, you only have to find the way of learning that is right for you. Like...more