Hola! I finished my homework early tonight (yes, it’s possible!), so I figured I may as well do a quick blog post to catch up on the last week or so. I am still here in Mallorca, Spain, finishing my very last course of grad school! I came through School Law unscathed (I actually ended up loving it even though I was pretty scared of it!), and now I am finishing up with School Finance. Today we got to play in Excel, which was actually more fun than expected.
But anyway, you don’t want to hear about all that. Instead, I’ll share a bit about my days here in Cala Mayor and Palma, a lovely perk of this TCNJ program.
Last week was a special treat because my good friend Kristen joined me and Amanda here! Kristen and I worked together at Biotech, and even though we have lived in separate states (and countries!) for years, we still do our best to get together and travel when we can (looking forward to Bryce and Xion next summer!).
My time with Kristen and Amanda was mostly filled with bread, cheese, ice cream, and walking. We went into Palma a few nights in a row, which was great. We found a very cool artisan market that is set up near the cathedral Thursdays through Sundays during the summer. We also ventured over to Plaça de Esapanya, which is a cool area of the city with lots of restaurants and pretty buildings. Basically we would choose a bus stop, get off the bus, and walk around in Old City watching people, finding tapas, and just generally enjoying the evenings. Oh, and on Friday we went to the Joan Miró Museum, which is walking distance from my school. He had two studios on the property, which he worked in until he died. If you haven’t seen his work, you should check it out! There’s nothing too specific to say, so I’ll just add some pics here and call this section done! Some of them are a little small in the mosaic, but feel free to click and enlarge should the urge strike!
When Kristen and I were in Palma on Sunday night (Pod had to leave that morning, sadly!), we meandered up to the marina and found a pretty cool bike trail. She did some research and found out that it went along the coast for about 17km, so we decided that for Monday, we would rent bikes and go for a long bike ride! It was super fun; we got to see lots of other beaches, some touristy and one that you can only get to via walking or bicycle. I know I get to look at the Mediterranean from my balcony every day, but seriously, the sight of this water just never gets less amazing. From every new view, it just gets prettier!
We completed the trail and actually ended up going a little bit farther than the map had for us, so in the end, we rode about 34km. I’m not gonna lie, the ride back was rough! Luckily we had stopped for smoothies and lunch before we turned around, so I had energy to make it home. But really, by the time we got back to Palma I was having serious doubts about whether or not I would be able to make it all the way to Cala Mayor. Luckily, we made it, but I will admit that my dogs were barking after that!
To soothe our sore legs, we decided to go for a swim in the sea. Rather than going in from the beach side, we jumped off from the rocks outside our condo (this is legal, don’t worry). I was nervous to jump off the side, but once I did it once, it ended up being quite fun! We had the GoPro with us, so we experimented with that and got some ridiculous yet fun shots, some of which I shall share now!
Kristen left on Tuesday, and I have been kinda lazy since then, so there’s nothing exciting to report. My first School Finance paper was due today, so I spent some time doing that, and I have been living the full Spanish life by taking daily siestas after school. Hey, when in Rome, right??
That’s about all I’ve got for this post, so I’ll leave you with a few night-time views from the other side of my apartment!
The Lamp Life 
so fun!! i’m so glad you guys got to see each other and have fun! i’m not sure i could bike 34km either!! 🙂
Love your life, Michelle! Thanks for sharing.