Day in Palma

After a very late night on Wednesday, Thursday morning was a very relaxed time. We had an early lunch of wonderfully cooked pork belly with crackling served with gravy, roasted red peppers and roasted potatoes. After lunch we had to take our host son back to the airport, so while in Palma we were given a quick running through tour. We started off at the Palma Cathedral also called La Seu and is of french Gothic style. The story behind the construction of the Cathedral is that in 1229 Jaime I was returning to Mallorca with his troops in order to recapture the island. On the way they ran into a terrible storm, fearing for the lives of himself and his troops Jaime I vowed to build a church in honour of the Virgin Mary if they survived. He never saw the final edifice. Although he laid the foundation stone in 1229, construction continued until 1601, with further alterations continuing until 1904. It is made of golden sandstone is 121m long and 51m high. In the museum there are two large 18th Century Baroque silver candelabras, weighing 250 kg each, by the artist Juan Matons. Over the Capilla Real is the 14th Century Rose Window, which is one of the worlds largest Gothic Church windows, at over 2.55m. It is filled with very impressive stain glass windows all along the cathedral.

After the Cathedral we walked along some of the old back streets of the city to the City Hall in the Plaça de Cort. Just inside the City Hall are "The Gegants i Capgrossos" ("The Giants"), which are figures that come out when there is a celebration in the town and are dressed in typical Mallorquin folk dress. Just across the street from the City Hall in the Plaça de Cort is a wonderful old olive tree. The age of the tree is uncertain but it several hundreds of years old and still producing olives. We then traveled through the pedestrian old street with all the shops to the main square of the city the Placa de Marques de Palmer. Then back down to the sea front and back to the car. We then we a car tour along the harbour and up into the residential part of the city. Then up into the hills to Castell de Bellver which was built in the 14th century and is unique as a Spanish castle because it is round. "Bellver" means lovely view, and there certainly was one from there of the Bay of Palma.

That evening was another quiet one with a light dinner of cold cuts, salad and unsalted brown bread.

Our 9th Anniversary

Wednesday, was our anniversary and we were left to our own devices by our hosts. We left early in the morning by bus to the local train station in Santa Maria and took the train to a little town called Sineu. On Wednesdays they have a market the oldest of the island. There has always been a market here since 1306. Most of the stalls are African selling leather handbags, pashminas, knock off watches and jeans. The more interesting local stalls were selling local fruit, meats, cheese, candied almonds, beautiful peppers strung together, olive wood carved kitchen ware, local honey and figs. We meandered through the lanes of stalls criss-crossing our way up the hill of the town. About half way up the top of the town, we started to see all sorts of birds and animals in cages that were also on sale. They even had puppies on sale all mixed in with the sheep, rams, donkeys and cows. We took a break at this point and had crepes from one of the stalls. We sat on the stairs and enjoyed the view while having a restby. At the top of the hill in the main square of the town, called Sa Placa, is the church of Santa Maria de Sineu dating from 1549. In the square in front of the church is a winged lion statue in honour of St Mark. Unfortunate it's very hard to get a good view from all the stall around it. For 1 euro each we went into the church. The timing was just about right, as it was starting to rain outside. We had a quick look around the quaint little church before heading back down the hill to catch our train back.

In the evening our host had their first choir practice of the season to prepare for Christmas, which was in Palma. Peter decide he would like to go, but I wasn't as keen. So our host son and I were dropped of at the bay of Palma while they went to there practice. We went to a place that had a wonderful view of the Cathedral. We sat outside and had drinks while watching the amazing view. It was so beautiful to see the view as it changed from day to night. All the lights of the Cathedral light up the bay and a gentle breeze blew in off the sea. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip and I'm sorry that Peter missed it. We then made our way into Palma to meet Peter and our hosts in a little Argentinian restaurant that they knew very well. We had an amazing meal together with very personal service, as they knew all the staff there. We started with traditional no salt Mallorca bread served with aoli, chili vinaigrette and tomato dip. Then we were brought a small aperitif of brisket topped with cheese and kobe carpaccio beef for our host son who can't eat cheese. Then for starters Peter and I shared a baked provolone cheese topped with tomatoes and salad. For mains we both had steak served with sweet potato. Peter had the rib eye medium cooked and I had a hanger cut well cooked. It was the cut recommended by the waitress for a well done steak. I was not disappointed! It was beautiful cooked, not a bit of pink in sight, yet still moist and tender. Think it was the best steak I've ever had. For dessert I had the chocolate cake and Peter had a cheesecake with honey and walnuts all washed down with a coffee. Peter and I had our desserts served with a candle in them and wished a Happy Anniversary. With our bellies full and our hearts content we had a short walk through Palma, headed back to the car and back to our host casa. The end of another wonderful day here in Mallorca and the mark of another great year ahead for Peter and I.