Palma de Mallorca City, Royal Palace of Almudaina, Mallorca Spain

 

The island of Mallorca is part of the Balearic Island Chain in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain.  We were supposed to travel to Israel on November 24th but we were forced to change our plan due to the atrocities of Hamas against Israel which started the war.  I pray that peace can be found for Israel and that area of the world and that Palestinians can find a peace-loving government.

The Balearic Islands has been on my bucket list for some time and we find ourselves here instead of Israel.  We are staying close to Palma which is the largest city on the island. 

Palma was built on top of a Roman city called Palmaria which was founded in 120 BCE.  Palmaria now resides 1-2 meters beneath the surface of the current city of Palma which is mind-boggling to me.  Occasionally the Roman ruins get dug up with renovations etc.

Palma has lovely grand streets like this one. Notice the facade of this house on the left-hand side of the photo.

We had rented our first electric car ever and we were not that fond of it for numerous reasons so we returned it and exchanged it for a Volkswagon.  Mallorca is quite progressive and offers free charging at over 300 charging stations on the island.  But the lemon we rented was gutless and if you tried to go the speed limit the battery drained too quickly.  Now that we have a car that can make it up to the mountain towns without draining its battery we are set to explore.

Yesterday after we exchanged a lemon for a pomegranet we were in Palma already so we decided to walk around the old town.  It is a beautiful location with its narrow, cobbled streets that are maze-like.  Our intent was to walk to the Palace and the Cathedral but the Cathedral was closed on Sundays.  

The Cathedral is quite an imposing structure and I had to widen my lens to get it into the picture frame.

The Palace walls.

The Palace is home to King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia when they visit the island.  For 7 euros you can tour around the first and second floors of the Royal Palace of Almudaina.  The current castle of Roman origin is a modification of Muslim alcazar which dates back to the 1200s. 

The views of the Sea are pretty outside the Cathedral and Palace.

When you tour the castle you can see the numerous modifications that have been made to it and I personally would not say well done.  It is a bit haphazard.  It is still a lovely castle to walk through.

I thought that the 3 fireplaces were a bit excessive since it never gets that cold in Mallorca.  The last 3 photos are of the Medieval first floor or ground floor.

The tour takes you through the medieval ground floor to the terrace for sea views, then to the outdoor courtyard where you can go in and see the Chapel and also walk up the lovely polished marble steps to the second floor.

The outdoor courtyard.

This is the largest and most likely the heaviest carved marble crest that I have seen.

Santa Anna's Chapel is lovely to see and has very pretty stained glass windows.

Doorway into Santa Anna Chapel.

The second floor of the Palace is less medieval looking reflecting the 17-1800s.

There are paintings on plaster that date back hundreds of years and are still quite bright.

The tapestries are gorgeous.

This room was grand and still holds official functions today.

The palace is right next door to the Cathedral whose history spans 8 centuries.  The building began on top of a Moorish mosque in 1229 and took almost 400 years to complete.

The old town of Palma is a great walkable town with many streets that are not open to cars.  There are numerous ancient churches to peek into and great shopping.  Everyone seems to come out after 4:00 pm.

The architecture is a combination of Moorish and Christian.  The streets are lovely to walk about.

A beautifully carved marble window frame close to the Cathedral.

Almost every street in Palma's old town had something to see.

This is my absolute favourite picture of Palma.  There is such character and in this photo, it is actually accentuated by the graffiti.  But the shallow cobbled steps on the street nail it for me.

Graffiti is a major problem on the Spanish mainland and on this island.  It is a shame because it does make the place look seedy.  I am not sure why Spain does not have a graffiti task force to deal with this because it is off-putting to tourists.  Spain must have more pressing matters.

The tunnel streets are my favorite which is a Moorish influence.

There are numerous courtyards to sit and relax and enjoy the scenery.  Outdoor restaurants like the one on the right-hand side of the photo are everywhere. 

This is the Biblioteca or library which is beautiful.

This was one long passageway to the Castle.

Another old knarled Olive Tree Trunk.  I can't get enough of these.  They have so much character.  I wonder if this one still produces.  An Olive Tree can produce up to the ripe old age of 500+ years.  

Rumour has it that this old Olive Tree is over 800 years old and it resides in the Arab Quarter of Old Town Palma.

The streets were very busy with Christmas shoppers.  If I had unlimited weight in my suitcase I am sure that I would have partook in the shopping.

Moorish influence is quite evident in the architecture.

This was another stunner of a church.

This was a cutey-beauty of a church.  It was a large box shape with a beautiful facade on the front.

The Christmas stars hanging in front of the church are the lights for Palma festivities.  We have to come back at night because this is going to be a well-lit town.

You had me on a street with stairs.  We need these in Canada.

I love the streets with the stairs.  This adds so much character to a street.

This tree-lined street was so pretty.

Look at the beauty of this ancient cobbled road on any random street in Palma.