Friday it rained over most of Mallorca…and it definitely rained in Binissalem and Marraxti. I was scheduled to hit at 10am…eventually I got to hit at 3pm. I checked out early from my Airbnb and dropped by the tennis courts, then decided to go to Valldemossa for a few hours to visit the palace and monastery and museum there. I have been to Valldemossa a few times, but only when the palace was closed.

It was pouring in Valdemossa when I arrived. I found parking which required a ticket, but since all the ticket machines were out of order, parking was free. Valldemossa is the highest town in Mallorca.

It was short walk to the palace gardens and then to the Cartuja de Valledemossa which was a former palace of King Sancho of Mallorca. The palace dates back to the 1300s or earlier, but in 1399 was deeded to Carthusian Monks.

The monks were expelled in 1835 and the individual cells were made available to rent. Frédéric Chopin and George Sands spent a winter there in 1838-1839 where Chopin finished several works of music and Sands later wrote “A Winter in Mallorca”.

I walked through the old palace (the difference between the monk’s cells and the palace rooms was stark, simple vs opulent), then into the Church and Cell #4 where Sands and Chopin spent a winter. The gardens behind the Museum and Cell #4 are small but have a fantastic view of the countryside out to the Mediterranean Sea.

After wandering though the palace and museum, I headed back to Global Tennis for training and then drove to Font de sa Cala, about 75 minutes away. The drive was pretty, through the interior countryside of Mallorca for the most part. I eventually found my airbnb (only after knocking on the wrong door and startling and elderly lady who did not speak English)!

And that’s a wrap on Friday.