We catch a cab before dawn and get to the airport for our flight to Barcelona and Mallorca.  Of course, we go to the wrong terminal and have to walk to another, but catch our plane  to Barcelona.  Short layover in Barcelona before we catch another flight to Mallorca.  This is a small island off the coast of Spain.  Diane speaks Spanish so I won’t have to confuse myself trying to speak what little high school/college Spanish I remember.  We arrive and begin looking for Diane’s friend, Father Joe.  He is a retired Franciscan priest who lives in a convent for retired priests and we will be staying with them.  Have no idea what is in store for us.  We meet him and he is a charming and witty man.  He is Mallorcan and spent many years in a parish in Waco, Texas where he became best friends with Diane’s cousin…thus her connection to him.   She had been to visit him a few years ago.  We arrived at the gated grounds to their compound.  About half of the acreage is forest-like.  The rest has a large school, a big building that used to have a windmill attached to pump water for the whole compound, a museum of their history  there (since 1914), a swimming pool, the three story convent and the church. And a couple of more three story buildings that are not used right now.  After getting settled in our rooms, we have lunch with Father Joe and the other priests and then we go back to the airport to rent a car to use when Father Joe can’t haul us around.  He is the Father Superior of this convent and also has a parish church with its responsibilities.  For dinner, we take him to his favorite restaurant…now MY favorite, too.  First, we have a small raw fish that is ‘cooked’ in vinegar and olive oil…like cevice is ‘cooked’ in lime juice.  They are called Boquerones. Mouthwatering good!  Then an order of little green peppers called Pimientos de Padron.  If I can’t duplicate these in Dallas, I may have to move back to Mallorca!  They are grilled or lightly fried in olive oil and then heavily salted with course salt.  They are not hot. I did get a hot one once and it was very mild.  Then we got toasted bread and aioli mayonnaise.  Mayonnaise was invented in Mallorca.  This aioli is mayonnaise with lots of garlic in it and is the best you have ever tasted.  Hellman’s  could corner the market with this stuff.  Then we had grilled shrimp – BIG ones and a squid in its own ink.  What a fabulous meal.  One of my top 10 best all time meals!  The dessert was a tray of bite sized sweets like truffles and tiny cakes infused with liquor.  With all of this, we had Ribeiro white wine.  It is traditionally served in a white ceramic pitcher and poured into small white ceramic flared cups.  Served icy cold and very light.  Back to the convent to bed with our windows open to catch the ocean breezes from a few blocks away.  So far, Mallorca rates an A+.