Honeymoon - Spain, Palma de Mallorca

Forgive me, but I am going to be over the top about this port of call. It was our last stop on the cruise before heading back to our home port, Barcelona, and I didn't think any port could top the ones we had already seen. But, Mallorca was the climax, pinnical, high point, and favorite child of the honeymoon for me. Before we ever parked the boat in port, I enjoyed the cliffs and scenery of the island from our balcony.

Mallorca (Majorca) is the largest Balearic island of Spain and Palma is its capital. It is the prettiest island in the world (ok, I don't know that it is and Hawaii is quite beautiful). It has white sand beaches, clean waters, lush green subtropical plants, picturesque mountains covered with trees, and a wonderful climate. Here is the view of the island from the boat as we were arriving in port.


Now, we didn't have much time on this island since we arrived at 1:45 pm and as a result, we didn't plan anything aside from going to the Palma Cathedral in town. The walk toward the cathedral was lovely since you walk along the old city walls which are overgrown with vegetation on one side, and the harbor on the other. There were also many beautiful windmills along the way.




Once we arrived at the cathedral, the grounds were covered with entertainers. Cody was approached by a gypsy who was trying to give him some branch, telling him it was good luck and would make him look so nice for the cathedral. He was being polite and entertaining her, but the second he said he had no cash on him, she ripped the branch out of his T-shirt (where she had placed it in the collar) and quickly went to the next gentleman. It was so funny how flirty she was and how quickly she dumped him.

Anyway, we were enjoying our scenery when all of a sudden we found ourselves in a rain storm. We found a nice window doorway and huddled with about 30 other people and made some friends from South Carolina. We then transferred to a store for some shopping in the rain cause you might as well double task, right? Here are some pictures of the cathedral before the rain.


Here are some after the rain cleared. Mallorca had the most varied weather, but it made for a very interesting day. We paid and went inside the cathedral, which was enormous inside. It was completed in 1601 in the French Gothic style. It has some very interesting decor on some side chapels, gaudi actually helped renovate the main alter, and the main two flower stained-glassed windows are new.


Here are the inside photos.


Next we started exploring without going inside any building specifically. Our time in Palma flew by way too quickly. Actually I teared walking back to the boat that night, partly because the camera battery died, partly because of my hormones, and partly because I had fallen in love with this island and didn't know when I'd be back.

We went shopping and I bought a vase. Cody bought some fried dough which was quite popular with the locals. People started flooding the streets and the city became alive as the sun set. My favorite street was Jaume II and I loved the Plaza Major. Palma has a Las Rambla like Barcelona, but it was much less lively at night (more residential).



At this point, I had no more battery in the camera. Trust me though, the cathedral was all lit up and looked amazing at night. The following are pictures of Mallorca I found, which make me want to go back. The cruise line raved about the caves and beaches of this island.