When Maura's parents visited, they spent lots of their time going to local festivals around the island. Mainly, the one right here in Inca called Dijous Bo. The streets of our town were filled with vendors of all kind. Food, clothes, toys, kitchen stuff, etc. Pork is it's own food group here in Spain so there were plenty of vendors selling every type of sausage you can imagine including their favorite sausage spread on crusty, dry bread. We loaded up on Christmas presents while trying some samples of cheese, hot chocolate, olives, and candy. There was no driving anywhere that day but the festival kept us pretty occupied. Mom and dad tried some empanadas and roasted chesnuts which are also popular. The next day Levi left for his away game so Maura and her parents went to Palma. They visited the famous Palma Cathedral and they took a leisurely bike ride around the bay. They also discovered a new ice cream place that is all gluten free. Maura was quite happy and has gone back a few times since :) Saturday was spent mostly in the car as Maura took them on a windy, mountain road to one of her and Levi's favorite spots on the island (Port de Sa Colabra/Torrent de Pareis). On the way home, they stopped at the Olive Festival in a neighboring town. Levi returned later that day to join everyone for dinner. All of us spent Sunday at some of the famous Mallorcan caves (Cuevas del Drac). They were incredible and we even had a boat ride on the large underground lake! No pictures allowed in the caves...sorry. On the way home we stopped at the honey festival and were greeted by several swarms of bees. We did get some delicious marmelade and oranges and Mom bought some honey to take home. Monday was a little rainy but we all went to watch Levi's practice and get the house ready for our second round of guests.
Jake and Kelly arrived just a few hours after Maura's parents took off for a few days in Barcelona. Maura and Kelly spent a bunch of time shopping/cooking for Thanksgiving. Jake got a chance to workout in the team's lifting facility and watch a couple practices. They also decided that, despite the slightly cold weather, they didn't want to come all the way to Mallorca and not jump in the Mediterranean. So we took them to our favorite beach (Cala Mesquida) and Levi and Jake braved the cold and jumped in! Kelly and Maura decided it was a bit too cold for a whole body plunge but they did dip their feet in :) We also took them to see some of the best views on the island up north at Cap de Formentor and the Formentor Lighthouse. We spent a rainy day in Palma to finish up some Christmas shopping and try out a new restaurant. Maura's parents flew back in Friday afternoon just in time for a big Thanksgiving feast. After our food coma subsided, we all headed over to the stadium to watch Levi and his team win! They all enjoyed the fun atmosphere of drums, fog horns, and whistles but were glad when it was over ;) Maura's parents left the next morning to spend a few days in Madrid before heading home.
Needless to say we had a wonderful time hosting our family members and showing them around this amazing place we live in. It's a lot quieter now but we're really looking forward to having Levi's sister Candace here for Christmas. Back to our routine and loving it here together. We took tons of photos while people were here and have posted them on Maura's Facebook. If you're not a Facebook user, here is the link:
- Thankful for Family: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100505244582703.2788091.10235013&type=1&l=bc47617610
We hope everyone is doing well and we'd love to hear from you anytime.
The Knutsons
