Valldemossa

I love to visit Valldemossa when I am in Mallorca. Actually the island of Mallorca is full of beautiful places to see and explore. There are a ton of hiking trails scattered throughout the island, many of them winding through private pasture lands. You are free to pass, just make sure the gate is latched as you do. Climbing the hills, listening to the tinkle of the sheep bells, breathing the wonderful earthy sage smells, admiring the gnarled and beautifully twisted ancient olive trees on terraces cut into the mountain slope, gazing at the view across to the turquoise Mediterranean ....wow it brings back a lot of wonderful memories of time spent there. We are lucky, as my sister and her family live on Mallorca. We visit often, and although I have just returned from a two week visit, as I write about Mallorca I become wistful of returning.
The romantic village of Valldemossa is perched on of one of those terraced mountain slopes, Tramuntana. Its claim to fame for the hordes of visiting tourists is due to Chopin and his lover having spent time living in an old monastery. Chopins lover, who used the nom de plume Georg Sand, was actually Baroness Dupin. She wrote the novel A Winter in Majorca, which was made into film and is not particulary complimentary to the town nor its' residents. But please don't let that discourage you from visiting. A Chopin concert in the monastery and a walk though the beautiful gardens are certainly worth the trip. But to miss strolling through the sloped, narrow, winding, peaceful streets would be to miss the heart and soul of Valldemossa, and I fear what most of the busloads of tourists do.
It is hard to discern one street from another as you wind you way up and down through the town and away from the tourists shops. The narrow cobblestoned Calles bring you up close to the houses built of stone, cheek by jowl, each with a small ceramic plate on the door giving praise to the local patron saint. Then there are the plants. As yards are non existent, each and every house has its own personal plant nursery attached on the front wall and the competition seems to be fierce.
There are many notables who make their homes on Mallorca, and Michael Douglas is one. He has a home in Deia and a restaurant in Valldemossa. When my sister Jeanne was there a few years ago, she strolled the streets calling out his name. We like to tease her that there is a photo of her in the local Correos as a person of interest!
So when you go to Mallorca and visit Valldemossa certainly visit the monastery but be sure to take a stroll through the town. There is plenty of time to visit the shops. Oh, and don't forget to stop at one of the many coffee shops to have a local favourite coca de patata. Yum!