Palma de Mallorca - La Llave bookshop

Well, I start by saying that this is a post more pesonal than the others, and this is because I am going to talk about a place I really love here in Palma. First you must know that I am really keen on the subject of self-enpowerment, this is a path that I started a few years ago and has revealed itself to be one of my best choices in life. For this reason, whenever I move into a new place, I try to find out if there is a bookshop dedicated to this topic... and here I found La Llave (The Key).

You can find it in Calle Estade, it's one of the corner of Plaza Major, in the most central place of Palma, so you should get to it straight away.

What hit me most in this place is the atmosphere you can breathe in there. First of all, there's plenty of light, it's not one of those gloomy bookshops that scares you away... and as you browse through the books (pretty well organized, by the way) you feel at peace and it seems you have all the time in the world.

There is even a small corner where you can sit and flip through the pages of books you like, while making up your mind.

During my first visit there, now I am a regular, I was looking for a specific book. I did not have any title or reference, I only knew what I wanted to be in the book, but had no idea if there was actually something like that around. So I started looking around and, there it was, just the book I was looking for, as soon as I looked at it I was sure it was the right one (well, the title as well was somehow a hint 'Ask and it is given' by Esther and Jerry Hicks).

Then the owner, a lovely young lady with a soft voice and a sweet smile, helped me find another title, (well, fisrt she had to figure out what I meant with my first tentative words in Spanish).

From that day on, I just come back as much as I can, especially because they have a program of side activities which is really interesting.

So, if you are in Palma just be sure not to miss it!

Palma de Mallorca - Visual Tour 2

Let's continue our journey through the city centre, by leaving it's border and proceding to it's heart. From Avenida de Alemaña we take Via Roma and head to the Rambla del Ducs de Palma de Mallorca.

La Rambla is a two way street with this wide and green path in the middle, where you can find benches, some repair from the sun and small stands that sell you drinks, ice creams and some food as well.

But, don't go there on a Sunday afternoon, everything's closed!

This is the fountain at the beginning of the Rambla

Clearly, a bench

offices

a typical palace with enclosed balconies

Modern and stylish rubbish bins (I love them even though I still haven't figured out properly how they work!)

Come back soon for new details!

Palma de Mallorca - Visual Tour 1

This is the first part of a visual tour of Palma de Mallorca, at least some important spots and some I like...

This tour starts from Plaza de España and continues north following Avenida Joan March, eclosing the northern borders of the city centre

Plaza de España

The train and coach station - just in front of Plaza de España

a beautiful palace along Avenida Joan March

a bank in Comte de Sallent (I have a soft spot for buildings that reflect their surroundings)

another lovely building in Avenida de Alemaña

Soon the second part!

Liverpool – general info

Up there in the North-West of England, where the river Mersey meets the sea, there lies the city of Liverpool. Once the major port of UK, bombed many times during the second world war, Liverpool has gone through a countless crisis, and has always been able to rise again, more beautiful than ever.

It counts almost 450,000 inhabitants only in the Metropolitan borough, but the number grows up to 820,000 if we consider the whole urban area, making it the ninth biggest city in the UK.
The official language is obviously English, although Liverpool is famous for its proper accent and dialect, called Scouse, which can make communication a bit difficult at the beginning, especially if you’re used to the Queen’s English. Anyway, a bit of practice and patience will be enough. Furthermore, despite any rumour about English people, Scousers, or officially Liverpudlians, are really friendly and talkative, so you should have no problem at all making new friends and practicing this peculiar language.

You can get here with all sorts of transport. Liverpool is served by its own airport, there’s Manchester airport at an hour distance, ferries to and from Ireland, as well as trains, coaches and motorways that connect the city to Scotland, Wales or almost any other location in England.

Currency here is the British Pound and the economy relies strongly on services (banks, call centres, public offices, etc.) tourism, which has increased significantly in the last few years, as well as entertainment. Mind that Liverpool is a really young city, with almost 40% of the population under 30. This implies that there’s a huge offer of pubs, clubs, restaurant of any kind and at reasonable prices. Also Liverpool hosts two impressive universities and welcomes thousands of students each year.Although the recent economic recovery, a few areas of town are listed among the poorest in UK, making them an undesirable place to live, especially for crime rates and social issues.

Climate is the ‘so called’ temperate, which means that temperature does not fall below zero even in winter. Unfortunately it doesn’t raise either above 20 Celsius on average in summer as well... so mild winter, but cool summer... and rain, as the number of rainy days is above the country average (282 vs. 154) In my experience, though, rain is almost always light and seldom lasts all day, as it’s windy and the weather can change swiftly.

Palma de Mallorca – useful info when looking for a house

These are just a few useful info you should take in account when you are looking for a house in Palma. I mostly refer to renting a room in a shared flat, but some apply to any kind of accommodation you are looking for.

Gastos: it’s the Spanish equivalent of bills. As usual, try to find out if they are included, if so, take your time to ask exactly what facilities they refer to (usually only water and electricity) otherwise you may find some surprises at the end of the month.

Fianza: the beloved deposit for the room, normally a month or even less

Contract: beware that most landlords won’t propose you a contract for the room but a simple verbal agreement. Well, it’s up to you, although I am not a fan of it. The good news is that you find many places that don’t require a minimum stay, but just a month notice (very useful if you’re planning to evaluate the life here and then decide what to do).

Internet: this should not be a problem, as the web is pretty much everywhere in Palma and there are lots of providers offering the service, including some with optical fibre. Nevertheless the speed offer is a bit lower than what you can usually find, on average between 3-6 MB/s. Telefónica offers a 10 MB/s service, but you need a technician to verify if the signal is powerful enough for your home; otherwise they can provide you with the average 3MB/s.

Washing machine/dryer: go for the washing machine straight away, as self-service laundries are pretty rare and the alternative is going to the classic and pretty expensive ones, or hand-washing!The dryer can be a plus as well, if there’s no terrace or balcony where to hang your clothes (something I would avoid in summer anyway, as the sun will probably cook them!)

Noise: it might seem a good idea to find a place in a side street, but don’t forget that Spanish people tend to be a bit noisy, especially at night, so you may find yourself overwhelmed by noises you would have not expected (personal experience, neighbour with tv in the terrace... never goes to sleep before 2.30 am, and bar that looked really quite at the corner of the street... well, it’s not that quiet!)

Parking: lots of people in Majorca have a car, so finding a place where to park it can be tricky. Check if in your street there’s enough space or if you can use nearby streets. Don’t underestimate this aspect as you may end up going around for half an hour in the vain hope to find a spot for your car.

Good luck, then!

Palma de Mallorca - where to live

Palma is quite a big city and it is arranged in a peculiar way, due to the presence of the sea. This means that you need to plan carefully where you want to live, as even few hundred meters away can make a big difference.

The above is a general map of Palma (click to enlarge), where I have highlighted some important info.

OLD TOWN: is the historical city centre of Palma and it has turned into its commercial heart. Here you can find all the shops (from international chains like Zara, Freshfields etc, to small independent ones), banks, offices as well as a few stylish and exclusive hotels. In this area you also find the typical offers for tourists: ice cream shops, cafés, a few restaurants and lots of fast food chains. There is nothing really peculiar about this area, unless you leave the crowded streets (during shopping time, otherwise deserted) and adventure in the smallest and narrower ones. There you can discover old buildings nicely preserved, little hidden squares as well as unexpected churches and parks.
Living in this area can be pretty convenient, especially because everything you may need is at hand and you can reach most of the important places in Palma simply walking, but, please, consider some issues:

Lifestyle: although being the commercial centre of the town, this area is terribly dull when shops are closed (between 2pm and 4pm and after 8 pm and, I was shocked by this, on Sunday). This means that finding an open bar or restaurant can require a real miracle.
Flats: most of the flats are old and not in perfect shape. The more you get near the sea, the better the situation, and the higher the prices, although it might be worth spending a little more and having a bit of a view. Also, the area closest to the see is the best kept also outside, so walking there is a real pleasure, as it’s full of green spots, nice views as well as being clean and safe.
Cars: Remember that in the centre of the old town streets are really narrow and lots of them are reserved for pedestrians, so access with a car or parking can be a problem.

All the area included between the Old Town and the Circumvalación de Palma, is actually where most of Palma’s inhabitants. Although this is not the city centre, these areas are full of life and businesses: you’ll find plenty of shops, restaurants, offices and services, even more than in the old city. This is, by my opinion, the best place to live in Palma, if you have a car or if you don’t mind using public transport.
Rent is cheaper here and you can find lots of new flats, you have plenty of shops around your house and can just go out with your flipflops and so some grocery shopping next door. The advantage is also that most of the shops offer fresh food and the prices are consistently lower than in the city centre.

PLAZA DE ESPAŇA: as I described in a previous post (Palma de Mallorca – how to get there), this is the place where you can find all the connection inside and outside the city. Along the road you have all the bus stops for all destinations; while underground (under the park) you find the train and coach station. From here you can reach all the different town on Mallorca

BEACHES: If you have chosen Palma for the sea and the beaches, well, here comes a bit of a disappointment: there are actually only two beaches which can be considered belonging to Palma, and those are the two highlighted on the map.
The closest one is just at the end of the seaside walk, it’s a free beach so you can lay down wherever you want, but don’t expect to find any refreshment or any kind of service: bring along your towel as well as something to eat or drink, as you won’t find a bar or a shop for miles.
The good news is that you can simply walk there as it’s not that far from the city centre, or you can take the bus. It’s not very crowded even at weekends and there is even a lifeguard during the day to watch over your security. Furthermore, the sea in front of the beach is enclosed by a system of boas, so windsurfs and similar are forbidden. This allows you to swim freely without fearing some sort of unexpected and unpleasant encounter.
The other beach is Cala Major, but you definitely need to get on a bus to get there, or simply have your own mean of transport. The beach is not really big and is surrounded by resorts, so it becomes a bit crowded during July and August. The advantage is that here you can find plenty of services and bars, so, if you prefer to be served, this is your ideal place.
The sea here is nice, calm and the water is clean.

CLUBS-HOTEL-GAY VILLAGE: This is the amusement park of Palma, along these two roads, Gabriel Roca and Joan Mirò, you have a display of bars, restaurants, pubs and clubs (including the famous Pashà Club) and hotels one after the other, so the only difficulty is choosing where to go.
While Avenida de Gabriel Roca is a bit posher and tourist oriented, the scene on Avenida Joan Mirò is defined by the massive presence of locals. Still here you can find every kind of club and exotic cousine, but at more reasonable prices. This borough is known with the name of Gomila and hosts the ‘so called’ gay village, which consist in a bunch of bars and a couple of clubs, and is mainly crowded with local guys and girls.

SEASIDE RESORTS: this is a sort of small seasonal village which life revolves exclusively around tourists and the sea. So I would not live there, unless you want to stay in Palma only in the summer days, as in winter is almost deserted. It’s a small instalment, with just basic services, so, if you need anything, you still need to get your car or jump on a bus and go to Palma anyway.

Palma de Mallorca - how to get there

Palma de Mallorca is on an island, so there are only two ways to get there.

The fastest way is to get a flight and land at Palma airport, which is situated 8 km outside the city. The airport is served by several airlines (national and low cost) and, especialy in summer, by tour operators that organize charter flights from different locations.
Palma is connected directly to many European countries. There are no direct connections outside the EU, with the exception of Russia.

In order to reach the city center from the airport, you can take the bus n.1 (bus stop directly in front of the arrival exits). The bus runs from 6:00 am to 2:00 am everyday, with a frequency of a bus every 10-15 minutes. The ticket costs 2 euro and can be bought directly on the bus from the driver (which usually speaks a bit of English or German)
This is a city line bus, so it does plenty of stops in town. The most important is Plaza de Espanya (just after the El Corte Ingles dept store), where you can find all the connections with other buses, coaches and trains (the coach and train station is underground). There is also an Information office where you can get a map of the town and a partial list of the bus lines operating in town.

If you don't know the exact stop for you, feel free to ask the driver. He'll shout at you when it's time for you to get off. Anyway all buses are equiped with a led screen that advises you about the next stop. The name of the next stop will also be repeated by a recorded voice (in Catalan and Castellano)

The second way to get to Palma is by ferry. The port is situated in the south-west part of town and there are regular connections to Barcelona, Valencia, Dénia, Ibiza and Menorca.
The port can be reached with many of the city line buses (including n.1 airport-Palma)

for further info:

Airport official website

Emt - buses in Palma

Ferries

Palma de Mallorca - General info

Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca. It is also the capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands (part of Spain, the other islands are Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera and the smallest, Cabrera).

Palma is situated on the south coast of the island on the Bay of Palma and, in its urban area, hosts a population of almost 520,000 inhabitants. Almost 400,000 are those who live in the official boundaries of the city.

The official language of the Island (and of all the Balearic Island community) is Catalan. Spanish (Castellano) is also regurarly spoken and official communications and forms can usually be found in both versions (this is not a rule, I found on my door a notice about works in progress in my street, and it was completely and solely written in Catalan).
The third most spoken language is German, due to the high number of tourists and Germans who have elected this Island as their place to live.
In shops, bars and restaurants, English is also frequently spoken although a basic knowledge of Spanish, or at least an effort to speak it, is pretty much appreciated everywhere (and can change the attitude of the locals towards you).

Palma is connected to the rest of Europe through a port, where you can find ferries for Spain (Barcelona, Valencia ect) and for the other Balearic Islands, and an airport situated at almost 8 km from the city.

The currency in the Balearic Islands is the Euro and mind that the economy of Palma does not rely exclusively on tourists, therefore the southern part of town is the one dedicated to hotels and entertainment, while the northern part is reserved to locals and their businesses. This also means that an accurate choice is needed before deciding where to live.

These are few info about the climate in Palma (month - av. high °C - av. low °C )

Jan - 14 - 3
Feb - 15 - 4
Mar - 16 - 5
Apr - 18 - 7
May - 22 - 10
Jun - 26 - 15
Jul - 30 - 17
Aug - 30 - 18
Sep - 27 - 16
Oct - 22 - 12
Nov - 18 - 7
Dec - 15 - 5