Day 8 – Mallorca: Bicycles, Pearls, OJ and More Olive Oil – Oh My! There’s plenty to enjoy in Mallorca (Majorca) besides pearls: grand architecture and splendid religious sites in Palma, including Palau de l’Almudaina, a once-royal Moorish palace and the huge Gothic Palma Cathedral—an monumental wonder. Plenty of cafes serve orange creations and pastries galore, like this freshly squeezed juice and ensaïmada, a pastry spiral sprinkled with powdered sugar. Wish I had my bicycle to attempt these mighty hills and to work off these treats! Looks like there are some fierce competitive road racers here. It’s easy to traverse the island. I head through its flat plains, surrounded by a tough mountain range to the northwest and a hilly ridge to the southeast to Sóller, a cozy gray-stone town that claims both a maritime and mountainous topography and a museum that boasts works by Picasso and Joan Miró. I’m headed to Ca’n Det, a finca (estate) dedicated to both growing oranges and olives and extracting olive oil since 1561. Traditional methods are still used that incorporate the original millstones, wicker mats and hydraulic press. To top my enchantment, there’s an abundance of tapas, including freshly baked bread, pizza-type flatbread, local sausages and cheeses, tomatoes, olives, family-made wine, homemade marmalade and almond cake. Now where is that bicycle? Oh, and those Majorica pearls are the frosting on the cake! Stay with me to Barcelona then LaRioja, south of the Cantabrian Mountains along the Ebro River.