Mallorca: design inspirations (3)

the windmills of my mind...

seen inside a hip coffee shop in Mallorca, this artwork is actually a cool collage of ordinary found stuff!

i can never leave mallorca without a taste of paella mixta :)

Mallorca: design inspirations (2)

Mallorca: design inspirations (1)

i spy with my little eye...

chemicool

i interrupt my mindless Mallorca blabbering with breaking news!  i just received a package from my superdupertrooper of a sister filled with psychedelic NEON goodness! as you know, anything neon is the "IT" color for summer and the beauty of this bright color trend is the color itself! flourescent colors are happy and optimistic colors (imho) and just the right dose adds oommpphh to an outfit :)

a striking neon purple and pink feather necklace from Forever21 :)  i will be wearing this either with neutrals or with a paler version within its tonal family. not too much neon though because it can be a bit overwhelming :) definitely NOT gonna be wearing this with black because it would look like i am still stuck in the '60's.

hot pink hoops again from Forever21.  accessories are the easiest way for me to try neon colors. adding something bright to an earthy ensemble adds immediate edge for me without looking like am trying too hard.

and the last one is a flourescent orange choker for those date nights ;)  i saw this from an independent seller in Singapore and found them striking (my sister bought them for me)

"She is D, desirable, She is I, irresistible, She is S, super sexy, She is C, such a cutie,  She is O, oh, oh, oh... that's my lil sis ;)

what i did NOT buy in Mallorca from shops with unique names

what the filthy rich use to wipe their bums and noses with ;)

 was a bit startled to see this in the tourist shops ;)

these are adorable owls but i wouldn't know where to put them ;)

 nope, its not too late yet ladies ;)

 nice things; nice prices ;)

 luxury for.... ME!!!

 this is the shop where we bought the nice popsickle puzzle :)

a hidden gem!  i bought pretty much all of my culinary treasures in this shop that's filled to the rafters with all things Mallorquin :)

 "guess who's back" ⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓

what i bought in Mallorca

the lightest and most delicate thing in Mallorca is not its talcum-powder soft buttery sand... nor is it their purest salt flats... not even its fragrant orange, lemon, almond and olive groves that dot the landscape... 

the lightest and most delicate thing in Mallorca is its most sought after confectionery, the "ensaimada" or the Mallorcan spiral pastry or soft bun. 

you will find ensaimadas in almost every bar and restaurant in Mallorca with a slew of different fillings.  there's the traditional "cabell d'angel" or pumpkin jam, cream, almond, chocolate, or fruit.  as a final touch, they are sprinkled with powdered icing sugar on top.

we love this pastry so much we bought 3 big octagonal boxes (2 with cream fillings and 2 with milk and white chocolate) for friends and family and they were a hit! 

to digress for a bit, the "ensaimadas" in Mallorca reminded me a lot of the "ensaymadas" we have back home in the Philippines.  perhaps because we have been a Spanish colony for more than 300 years, the Mallorcan ensaimada has evolved over the centuries and is now a "brioche" made with butter instead of lard and sprinkled with edam cheese instead of icing sugar.

another great gastronomic discovery for me while in Mallorca is the Flor de Sal (Flower of Salt), a naturally harvested gourmet sea salt from the beaches of Mallorca.  it is one of the highest quality sea salts in the world and is extremely beneficial as it contains 80 minerals and trace elements (between 16 and 20 times more magnesium and double the potassium and calcium content but lesser sodium chloride content) than ordinary salt.

its used by most Spanish chefs because a little pinch goes a long way! (magnesium is a natural flavor enhancer)  i bought the pack of five (@50g each) with natural, Mediterranean, hibiscus, black olives and the Sri Lanka variation with oriental spices like cilantro, poppy seeds, cinnamon, carnation, etc.

i also bought the orange blossom honey in raw form (meaning its not processed).  i like it a lot because its not that sweet and always creamy without the crystallization that usually happens with honey i buy from the grocery store.

saffron is called "azafran" in Spanish and is a spice that came from Asia Minor and brought to Spain in the 8th or 9th century.  today, three-quarters of the world's production of saffron is grown in Spain especially in the La Mancha region (yup, Don Quixote alright).  it is of high quality that Spanish saffron is even better than the ones produced in Iran!

everything so far is food-related :)  but my last purchase is sort of caught in the great divide.  yes, it is a popsicle stick but no, you can't eat it.  it is a puzzle made up of 8 pieces :)

the mister and i found this amazing shop (honestly, we got lost!) full of puzzles that is simply called "Puzzles" and got stuck there for over an hour trying to solve this mind-boggler!  in the end, we just bought it and vowed to solve it once we get to the hotel (it was a hot day, after all) :)

Mallorca: choo-choo-wah-wah!

first up, Mallorca is hot!  the temp went up to 36°C on the first day we were there. this didn't stop a lot of people though from enjoying the beautiful white sand beaches surrounding the biggest of the Balearic islands.  

this also didn't stop us from exploring other wonderful stuff that it has to offer apart from its beautiful white sand beaches.

like trains.

a tram that goes around the Playa de Palma

the mister and i grew up near the sea where the beach is only 5 minutes away.  although we can't imagine ourselves living far from the ocean, we are now at a point where we are content just by admiring its beauty with our feet planted firmly on solid ground.


we instead decided to go inland.  we decided to take the vintage train that traversed the marvellous Serra de Tramuntana route from the capital Palma to the sleepy town of Soller since 1912.  

trainspotted!

on the way, these are some of the things we saw... (for a more detailed view, check out this video made by David Watts)

the beautiful Tramuntana mountains served as a backdrop for  little quaint Mallorquin villages 

little houses with lemon groves and orange orchards

it was a wonderful ride and when we got to Soller, we got on a smaller train (actually, the first electrical tram in Mallorca) passing through the center of the town towards the port of Soller .  it was short and sweet but definitely something unforgettable!

here's a little video i took as we passed through the heart of the town:

the reward!

quiet and not as crowded as the beaches in the capital

oh i wanna, wanna, wanna move here!  even for just a small orange orchard :)