Winding roads and rugged mountains in Majorca

I'm currently in the not-so-shabby position of trying to rush through blog posts since there is a lot going on to try and blog about! This weekend, I'm back to Tours for the first time this year (where has the time gone?) to catch up with friends and visit the Vitiloire wine festival, the highlight of any self-respecting Loire-wine-loving girl's calendar.

First though, I'm fresh from five nights in Majorca celebrating uni friend Amber's 30th birthday. When she invited me along, I hesitated a little bit. In my mind, Majorca was a "Brits abroad" destination, full of sunburned, drunken chavs (yes, Mum, chav is a naughty word), massive nightclubs and very little culture. But I thought, "it's not the sort of place I'd usually choose to go to, so this is my opportunity to see it", and decided to hop aboard the Majorca train.

I imagine a lot of it is where you go to - a night out in Magaluf was talked about several times, but eventually dropped for lack of enthusiasm/everyone wilting under the prospect of a big night out on the tiles - and also the time of year you go. But I must admit that Majorca didn't really live up to my negative perceptions. I did very little research and hadn't even seen any photos (I think I initially thought Majorca was in the Atlantic, that's how little I knew), so I was really surprised by the rugged, mountainous interior, the sheer coastal cliffs and the diversity of sights and activities on offer. We really didn't do too much, and actually I would have been happy with some more time lying on a beach, but it really wasn't the drunken lads on tour vibe I was expecting.

We stayed - seven of us - in a large stone apartment in the heart of Palma. This was a bit of a challenge to my sensibilities as well. I'm not really a fan of being around people 24/7, especially since Amber was the only one I knew. Everyone was perfectly nice, bar the occasional minor annoyances you get with any group, but it was a bit much for me by the end. With that many people, it's just a hassle trying to get going anywhere. Trying to decide what to do, where to eat, and then just getting everyone up, showered and out the door (particularly when there's hangovers involved) is a real mission. In that sense, it's amazing that we did anything at all, although I'm still kind of annoyed that on our beach day we missed all the good weather because some of the group wanted to visit the cathedral first despite the forecast predicting it would cloud over in the afternoon. Hmmph.

I arrived on Thursday evening after a stressful trip to the airport (the train was replaced by a bus service which was oversubscribed, but luckily I left plenty of time to get to the airport in Germany) for an evening of tapas and wine, very pleasant. Friday was probably the best day of the trip (always good if you can start high and then taper off). We hopped in our two hire cars and drove from Palma to Port Soller, where we stopped for an amazing lunch on a roof terrace overlooking the harbour, then on to Pollença through some very windy mountain roads with spectacular views. Stopped in Pollença, a charming little village, for a drink and then before it got dark drove all the way out to Cape Formentor at the northern tip of the island, whence you could just see Menorca on the horizon. I got a bit carsick on the twisty roads, but it was definitely worth it for the views.

This is the view from the terrace where we had lunch in Port Soller. Amazing (reminds me of Monaco)

And the delicious grilled calamari I had for lunch

On the beach at Port Soller

Stopping en route to Cape Formentor for a selfie

On the way to Cape Formentor

Unfiltered photo of a very white town as the sun sets on the way back from Cape Formentor

At Cape Formentor

Virtually the same as the last photo, but I couldn't decide which I preferred

Apparently hanging on for dear life at a viewpoint on the way to Port Soller

Panorama at Cape Formentor

On the way to Cape Formentor