Mallorca: Best Family Pictures

How can one not relax being in a place like the Peninsula de Formentor, on top of the Island of Mallorca and feeling on top of the world!

Bob reflects on life at the lighthouse at the Cap de Formentor.

Bob and I loved our rainy day excursion up the cliffs of the West Coast to the Mirador de ses Animes.




Our son loved exploring this Castell de Bellver and the days of Knights.

These next two photos were taken on the beach near our hotel in Playa de Palma.

This family photo was taken at the round Castle de Bellvur, overlooking the city of Palma.


At Capacorb Vell, a civilization from 3000 years ago evokes images of Fred Flintstone. I wished Bob had a turkey leg to eat for this photo.
Here we are at the most beautiful place on the island and our son is reading a book and eating an apple!

Because of tight spots to park, little cars abound in Europe. One could carry this in a backpack!


We kept very busy travelling around the island of Mallorca during our week's stay. Yet the beauty of the island and time of reflection warmed our hearts.

Yes, we would love to come back here again someday.

Mallorca: Best scenic photos

Mallorca is an island east of Spain. We covered most of the island during our stay and put 800 km on our rental car. The photo above is on the top of Mallorca, the Peninsula of Formentor.

The Castell de Bellver is one of the few round castles in the world. It is on the bottom of the island overlooking the city of Palma.
The harbor in Palma, the largest city on the island, has a great view from the old wall.

This grand gothic Cathedral in Palma sits right next to the Harbor.

The Cathedral lights up at night next to the Palace Almudaina, still used as a palace for the King and Queen of Spain today when they stay at Mallorca.

The lookout called Mirador de ses Animes built around 1500 to look for pirates.


From it you can see up and down the entire West Coast



Sunrise at the sleepy fishing village of Cala Figurera on the Southeast coast.
Sunrise an hour later at the East Coast fishing village of Peurto Petro

A fisherman on the beach near S'Arenal
Double click to view up close the panorama of the bay where we stayed.

Mallorca: Round Castle

The Castle of Bellver is one of the few round castles in the world and the only one in Spain. It was built around the 1300s. It has served as a throne and also been used many times as a prison, even 100 years ago.
Today it is an impressive museum about the city of Palma and Mallorcan history.

The castle is round in every way. The towers, the various levels, the arches...

Double click on the photo to the left and look at the pattern of swirls in the brick. Then click the back button to get back to the website.

There are outer walkways and an inner court. We were alone most of our time here. A group of Spainish tourists arrives as we are leaving.

The guys explore the castle while I take photos. There are so many things to explore.

On the lower level they are doing repairs and it does not make a pretty picture. Yet we could enjoy statues like this one.

We discover a whole new world inside the walls. What a museum!

Tucked behind latticed walls is an alter.

There are many rooms full of museum pieces from

the city's history.

Most are in excellent condition.

The afternoon light coming through the castle windows made the pieces look stunning.

We say goodbye to another beautiful castle. How we wish we could have heard your stories.

http://www.balearnet.com/mallorca/t10castdebellver.htm

Mallorca: Playa de Palma Beach

Many come to Mallorca and stay at a hotel near the Playa de Palma beach. The 8 km beach of white sand is still considered one of the best in Europe.

The boardwalk goes for miles and miles, from Palma to S'Arenal.

It's a great beach!
But there are folks who never see much more of the island than the beach and Palma. We're glad we rented a car and saw so much more.

Mallorca: Top place to see - Gothic style

The top place to visit in Palma is the Cathedral Sa Seu and the Royal Palace d'Almudaina. Building began around the 1200s by King Jaume I and was added to over the years. The Cathedral has had a lot of Gothic additions.

An ancient original wall around the original city protected it from attacks by pirates and invaders for centuries.

We attended a meaningful Sunday Mass in this place of great beauty and spiritual symbolism. Monks chanted before the service began. Afterwards I took photos which I was never able to retrieve at home.

There is a lot of Moorish influence in the outer and inner design of these buildings.

The tour brings you into an inner court, which leads up to the private residence of the King and Queen of Spain.

From the Palace you can look over the city of Palma and have a great view of the sea.

The King and Queen still stay here while in Mallorca. This hallway leads up to their living areas.

This is the desk used by the Queen.

We had the place to ourselves except for the guards, since it was low tourist season. I stepped on the carpet to get a better photo of the tapistry in this great hall. I was quickly reprimanded. Whoops.

This wonderful, private chapel houses gorgeous velvet robes for clergy, as well as some royal artifacts.

http://www.balearnet.com/mallorca/t10laseu.htm On the Cathedral

http://www.mallorcawebsite.com/htmls/laseu.htm A second link on the Cathedral