Gui wanted to celebrate his birthday with a beach getaway and we settled on Palma de Mallorca after scoping out the summer fares on Easy Jet’s website. What a getaway it was! We spent two blissful days sailing on the Mediterranean, sunning ourselves on the beach and ordering patatas bravas every chance we could get.

I don’t have many photos from the trip because we spent the majority of our time swimming and eating, but I do have several recommendations for anyone headed to Palma. First, I would highly recommend the Oasis catamaran if you would like to spend a relaxing afternoon sailing and swimming in Mallorca’s turquoise waters. The boat was sparkling clean, the food was yummy — especially the gazpacho — and the staff was friendly and attentive. We did the half-day tour from 3:30-9:00pm and had a fabulous time.

I would also recommend a visit to Palma’s massive cathedral, which we were excited to find has some Gaudi elements (!) The sight of the building towering over the coastline is quite impressive and, once inside, it’s lovely to see the stained glass windows reflecting their colorful hues around the chapel.

After sunset, grab a table at Bar Cuba and order one (or several!) of its delicious mojitos while you listen to the live DJ. Our hotel recommended this spot and we passed an awesome Saturday night inside after our sailing adventure.

Finally, for cheap and ridiculously tasty tapas, go to Bar España. I made a reservation there for Gui’s birthday based on TripAdvisor reviews and it did not disappoint. Be sure to order the croquetas and patatas bravas — they were drool-worthy! — and definitely make a reservation. There was a line out the door when Gui and I arrived at 9:30pm on Friday (apparently the secret’s out) but we were escorted to our table in just a few minutes to the great displeasure of those waiting in the queue. Lo siento, amigos.