FORNALUTX, Spain — I had expected beautiful scenery, good weather, good food and good shopping on a trip to Majorca, an island in the Mediterranean. I had not expected anything quite so perfect as a shop selling "wine & shoes."

But there it was, on a cobblestone street in the city of Palma, a standout among the dozens of "zapaterias" that after an hour or two had all begun to look alike. Even odder, the wine and shoes were Italian.

Photos by LEA DONOSKY/AJC (ENLARGE)

Fornalutx on Majorca once earned the title of 'prettiest village in Spain.'

IF YOU GO Getting there • We flew EasyJet from London's Gatwick airport to Palma for about $160. Check for specials, which can cut that fare to under $100. There are flights to Palma from several European cities, including Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. There is also ferry service between Barcelona and Majorca. Where to stay • Ca'n Reus Hotel is a charming, 300-year-old house converted to a hotel. Nine distinctive rooms ranging from about $130 to $200 (breakfast included). Carrer de l'Auba 26, 07109 Fornalutx, Majorca, Spain. 011-34-971-631-174, http://www.canreushotel.com. Information • Institut Balear del Turisme: http://www.visitbalears.com.

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A father-son venture, Vinos y Zapatos Italianos offers a wine bar at street level and a shoe store down a circular staircase. The windows display a bottle of wine with a shoe, kind of like a menu that recommends a wine with a particular dish.

"You drink the wine; you buy the shoes," says Paolo Mechale, 37, whose father designs and makes the shoes at a factory near Milan, Italy. Mechale, who with a partner runs the shop, says he was drawn to Palma by the climate.

The weather drew me and my friends, too.

We left London on a cold, rainy November morning — two Brits and one American — headed for sunshine and a few days to renew an old friendship sans husbands, children and jobs.

Two hours later, EasyJet, one of the discount carriers that has made airline travel within Europe affordable, deposited us on Majorca, which over the years has been occupied by Romans, Vandals, Christians and Moors, among others.

These days it mostly draws German and British tourists. Many who have visited in recent decades, particularly from the United Kingdom, have chosen to stay, joining an expat community that over the years has included such notables as the English poet and writer Robert Graves.

In fact, we were bound for a small hotel run by two such Brits-come-to-live, Sue Lloyd Roberts and her husband, Nick Guthrie, veteran journalists with the British Broadcasting Corp., who own a home and run a small hotel in this mountain village.

From the Palma airport, the 45-minute drive northwest wound through terraced groves of orange, lemon and olive trees on the way to our destination, C'an Reus in Fornalutx, once voted "the prettiest village in Spain."

It was past high season, which runs from July to October, but still one of the 300 days of sunshine a year on Majorca, which along with Menorca, Ibiza and Fortuna are known as the "Sunshine Islands." During our stay, daytime temperatures rose to the low 70s; nights dropped to the 50s. A smattering of rain fell one day, fairly good for the late autumn-winter period, which is the rainy season.

After a late lunch with local wine, we explored the village of honey-colored stone buildings that would be our home base for the next four days.

"It reminds me of England in the '50s, where people sweep their steps, greet each other as they pass, and everyone joins in the village festivals," said Lloyd Roberts.

The hotel, once the home of the Reus family — which made its fortune exporting citrus in the early 1800s — offers eight rooms, each different. All were filled for the weekend, several by friends of the hoteliers, making it feel like a house party.

In the kitchen, there is an honor bar. Just write down what you take. Complimentary sherry in a decanter is perfect for a late afternoon or early evening drink by the fire in the sala, a salon upstairs off the guest rooms. Or head for the hotel terrace to watch the sun set behind the mountains.

Overflow guests are sometimes rented rooms in the Lloyd Roberts-Guthrie home next door or sent to one of the two other small, elegant hotels in Fornalutx.

My room, with antique furnishings but a modern bathroom, had a balcony looking out over the hotel terrace, small pool and Tramuntana Mountains.

In the morning, you can take your buffet breakfast of freshly baked bread, Spanish ham, eggs, cereal and, of course, just-squeezed orange juice in one of the two small dining rooms or go outside on the terrace or by the pool.

During our stay, one stiff-upper-lip Brit ventured a wake-up dip in the pool, insisting (unconvincingly) the water temperature was "refreshing." If it's beach time you want, best to go in high season, between June and September, when the temperature is 70-75. Beaches are sandy on the east coast and mostly pebbly on the west coast, but the west coast also offers small, uncrowded coves.

If walking rather than water is your thing, this area is heaven. Lloyd Roberts provided a detailed guide for nine walks, ranging from one to six hours.

One of my favorites was one of the shorter ones, on a path past grazing goats and citrus groves. The path afforded peeks at the backs of homes hidden from the main roads before depositing us in the nearby hamlet of Biniaraix, which could give Fornalutx a serious challenge for that prettiest-village title.

Join the locals at the cafe for coffee, beer and fresh orange juice before returning to Fornalutx. Ca'n Antuna, one of Fornalutx's three cafes, is the only one open for Sunday lunch, which means you'll need a reservation, since most of the village residents will eat here on Sunday.

Come early if you want paella. Or choose another local specialty, roast suckling pig. If you like sole, it's a bargain here, about $18, compared with about $40 in London. Again, try the local wines — there are several vineyards on the island, although they are not widely known. They are good, particularly those from one of the larger island wineries, Jose Luis Ferrer, and reasonably priced.

On another day, while the hardy British hotel guests headed off on the six-hour mountain climb, I opted for something a bit less strenuous, a 30-minute walk (mostly downhill) to Soller. From the main square of the town of 10,000, catch a 1920s, open-air tram (about $2.50 each way) for a 20-minute ride to the Port de Soller.

As the tram emerged from the "suburbs," the port spread in an arc around a pretty harbor, protected by cliffs on each side. The port offers a couple of small sandy beaches, a lighthouse to explore, glass-bottom boat tours and a number of restaurants and bars.

One of the nicest is Sa Llotja des Peix, where you can be sure the fish is fresh. The restaurant is right at the spot where the fishing boats arrive with their catches. Visitors walk past the blue nets laid out on the ground to dry and up the steps to the restaurant for lunch, with a wonderful view of the water.

After all this exercise and good eating, there was really only one thing left to do — go shopping. So we headed for Palma, whose city center of twisting medieval streets is filled with chic shops, bars and restaurants.

A walk through the city market revealed still-life-painting-worthy arrangements of produce, heaps of fresh fish on ice and tantalizing displays of sweets and fresh-baked breads.

At the nearby Placa Mayor are stalls with local crafts and jewelry. The square is outlined with cafes and tapas bars, all with outdoor seating. We found this a good place to get fortified before shopping and to replenish ourselves afterward with small plates of olives, calamari and delicately flavored, white-meat sardines.

Narrow, car-less, shop-filled streets emanate from the square. Pick any one and you will find stores specializing in Majorca pearls, shoes, candy, chocolate and clothing.

The plummeting dollar has made it all but impossible to find a bargain in Europe, but you can still find good value in leather goods. And Majorca is a growing shoe-manufacturing center.

So whether you're looking for leather coats or shoes, you'll find a vast range of choices and prices.

For high style (and equally high prices), Loew's, the venerable Spanish luxury leather-goods store, has an outpost here. Less costly, but every bit as chic, Jaime Mascara is emerging as a Spanish contender for the upscale shoe shopper.

There are a couple of spots worth visiting in Palma, but if you've shopped till you've dropped and the sun has set, a night drive along the seafront is a lovely compromise. The gothic Cathedral de Palma and the Palau de l'Almudaina, or Palace of Power, which started as a Moorish palace before being converted into a royal residence, are beautifully lit at night.

Leaving this island was hard, particularly for those headed back to homes in London, where the sun sets in winter about 3:30 p.m.

So to maximize ray-time for its sun-seeking tourists, the Palma Airport's roof recently was transformed into a sleek solarium. After clearing security, you can take over a teak lounger until it's time for your flight.