April 13, 14, 15 – Days 12, 13, 14 - Mallorca, Spain; Palma, Island of Mallorca, Spain

April 13, 14, 15 – Days 12, 13, 14 -  Mallorca, Spain; Palma, Island of Mallorca, Spain

When I was 13 and in the eighth grade, I read a paragraph in my geography book about the Island of Mallorca off the coast of Spain.  I decided then and there that I would go there someday.  This past weekend, my dream came true.  My only regret is that I didn’t leave enough time to really explore this beautiful place.  We had found an all-inclusive hotel and when we arrived on Saturday afternoon after traveling from Barcelona, we decided that we would take advantage of the hotel and spent all day Sunday eating, drinking, and sitting in the sun.  The resort was beautiful.  We had our own balcony.  The food was great and very plentiful.  Unfortunately, taking the day off meant that we had to choose between the beach and  the city of Palma on Monday.  Since there was still a chill in the air, we opted for Palma.  If I had to do it all again, I would have added a day so that we could go to the beach.  But we have resolved to pace ourselves.  After all, we are an old couple.  We seem to alternate which one of us is the most tired at the end of the day.

Palma is a lovely city – another place that I could call home.  We visited the Palma Cathedral because our favorite architect, Antoni Gaudi’, had redesigned and rebuilt the main altar – beautiful.  We also splurged and took a ride in a horse-driven carriage through the streets of Mallorca.  They wanted to charge 60 Euro for a half-hour for the two of us.  We walked away.  They came after us to say they would do it for 40 Euro.  We walked away.  We paid 30 Euro for a lovely tour of the city.  Sometimes I forget that people on the streets will bargain. 

Picture 1: Hotel Belvedere; Picture 2: Kathie on our balcony - Hotel Belvedere; Picture 3: The Island of Mallorca; Picture 4:  Palma Cathedral;  Picture 5: High Altar, Palma Cathedral; Picture 6: Bill in Palma