Live music in Ses Voltes, Palma

On Friday night we made the effort to try something new, instead of fading away in front of the TV. Marina asked us along to a concert in Ses Voltes, a covered area just below the cathedral in Palma that often has free live music.

The act in question was Nacho Mastretta, backed up by a group of other talented musicians. I’d never heard of him, but he’s a Spanish musician, composer and music producer from Santander (born in Barcelona). And he’s won loads of awards.

The music was great (instrumental, jazz influenced, quite animated stuff — I’m not a fan of jazz per se, but this was quite different) and the setting was one of those where you take in the surroundings and think, ‘yeah, living in Spain is great’.

Lots of people, a small bar, some business-minded individuals selling beer from portable coolers, lovely summer breeze and the smell of the air you get in Mediterranean cities by the sea in July.

And before the concert started, we stuffed ourselves with a few pinchos (tapas-style food from the Basque country) at the chilled-out Lizarran restaurant near the Paseo de Born in Palma.

Useful links

• Ses Voltes, Palma de Mallorca
• Lizarran (Calle Brondo, 6 bajos, Palma de Mallorca)
• Macrofono — concert and event listings in Mallorca

How time flies!

Wow, I can’t believe my last post was in November; that’s over half a year ago! So, time to ponerme las pilas and get writing again. I guess a summary of where I’ve been since then might be a good idea…

November: We went away to Turkey for just over two weeks, exploring the south west of the country. It was brilliant and we’ll definitely go back. Lovely food, friendly people, great scenery and very wide roads (for overtaking into oncoming traffic, naturally). Then we had Chris’s brother’s wedding in deepest, darkest Bavaria. Literally, from sun to snow!

December: Christmas, even more snow and travel chaos. I caught a cold before we left for the UK, our flight got diverted from London Stansted to Newcastle, and I lost my voice while staying with our friends. Then I was really ill over Christmas (managed to eat Christmas dinner, of course) and recovered in time to come home. Never. Again.

January, February, March and April: I really have no excuse for these months. Plenty of work, starting a translation course, getting back into running, some climbing, taking up German lessons and looking for a house to buy.

May: Back to London for our friends’ wedding at London Zoo and then my sister’s birthday, followed by a day in Wales at the lovely Elan Valley. But that was just a weekend, so I’m not sure what happened for the rest of the month!

June: My sister and her bloke came to stay, as well as Chris’s brother and his family at the same time. Cue my usual driving tour around Calvià – Es Capdella – Andratx – Estellencs – Banyalbufar – Valldemossa – Esporles – Calvià.

So there you have it in a nutshell. Report card reads: ‘Must try harder’.

Taste of India 2, Palmanova

We’ve been lucky enough to find a really good Indian restaurant not too far from where we live. It’s called Taste of India 2 (no idea where the other one is) and it’s in Palmanova, which sits next to Magaluf and is a popular area with British tourists. In fact, that’s probably why it’s there.

The restaurant itself is nothing special in appearance, with the team doing what they can to brighten up the drab interior with brightly coloured saris. There’s also a terrace for sitting outside in good weather, with a view of the sea at the end of the road.

The food itself tastes delicious, with a good range of dishes at reasonable prices (with curries such as korma and madras at around 8€). The sauces have clearly definable ingredients, making me think it’s all prepared fresh on-site, and aren’t oily at all.

It’s possible to order food to take away as well (the staff speak both English and Spanish), with a discount for residents.

Taste of India 2, Avda de la Playa 4 (bajos), Palmanova, 07181 Calvià, Mallorca, tel: 971 680 494