Palma de Mallorca: A Magnificent Place

Cathedral at Palma de Mallorca

Detail of the Cathedral

Palma de Mallorca was everything I expected and more. The day was hot in the sun and cool in the shade. We took a taxi from the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam to the Cathedral before it opened and waited. The first few hours were sheer bliss. As the day wore on, it got hotter and way more crowded, so we actually returned to the ship early. That is the blessing of doing your own thing and not going on an organized tour. It was the last stop of our cruise, and I think we were all pretty tired.

Nieuw Amsterdam docked at Palma de Mallorca

The day was short but wonderful. My favorite place at Palma de Mallorca was the Basilica of Saint Francis from the 13th century. La Seu is also very impressive, the Cathedral, but I found the Basilica more spiritual. I will report on both Churches in other posts.

More information on Palma de Mallorca can be found here on wikipedia. Here is is a photo below of people returning to the ship.

Bye bye Palma de Mallorca

Some Great Architectural Features of the Palma Cathedral

inside the Palma de Mallorca Cathedral

I was having a very bad camera day on the day we went to Palma de Mallorca. For most of our Transatlantic cruise, I was so bummed that I had forgotten my camera. So I had to take most of the photos with my old Blackberry phone. Getting the right lighting was difficult. I think one day before we arrive in Barcelona, I found my camera tucked under my computer bag in my suitcase. Talk about a frustrating experience.

The ironic thing is though that the pictures I took turned out unique. I wouldn't call them good, but they are definitely different. I tried taking my usual architectural photos, but with the low light inside the Cathedral, it did odd things to the photos. Most turned out terrible. These are a few that came out interesting or okay.

Hoping I don't lose my camera next time I travel.

Note the way the light plays off the stain glass

Basilica de San Francesc at Palma de Mallorca

Basilica de San Francesc

Bell Tower of the Basilica

My favorite place at Palma de Mallorca was the Basilica de San Francesc. It is a 13th century Church. The feeling of spirituality inside was incredible. I loved that it was old and crumbly. I loved that the Father of the Catalan language is buried there, Ramon Llul. He was stoned to death trying to convert Muslims to Cristianity at Tunisia in 1316.

The Basilica has a fascinating history. Some info and good photos of the Franciscan monastery can be found here.

Unfortunately my interior pictures did not turn out that good. But the ones of the exterior I really think are wonderful. What do you think?

Exterior Basilica de San Francesc

Palma de Mallorca: Here We Come

Palma de Mallorca Cathedral at night

I am so looking forward to finally visiting Palma de Mallorca. I have been contemplating going there for almost two years. As I mentioned before, I planned to see this wonderful island on my repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Dover in 2011, but now I will get to go there on a western Transatlantic this April. 

Cathedral interior Palma de Mallorca

One of the highlights of this cruise is visiting the La Seu Cathedral. It looks absolutely amazing both inside and out. More information on this wonderful Cathedral can be found here. Thank you, wikipedia! It is built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. I believe gargoyles would be very happy here. It is a wonderful example of many types of architecture, mostly Gothic, and Cathedrals are so spiritual. I love to sit and contemplate a spell.

Celebrity Silhouette Transatlantic

This video has to be one of the most beautiful I have ever watched from YouTube. It is a sail away from Venice on the Celebrity Silhouette. I was convinced that the transatlantic cruise Moises and I should do is the Spanish Serenade on the Equinox, another Solstice class ship from Celebrity. But the more I investigate, I am drawn to the Italian Classic Transatlantic on the Silhouette. What a beautiful ship and what a fabulous itinerary. I am drawn to the itinerary for November 1st, 2014.

Silhouette Quasar night club courtesy of FloridaAgenda.com

It leaves from Rome and I would love to spend a few days in Tarquinia first. Tarquinia is the spot where there are 6,000 Etruscan graves at the Necropolis. More information on this wonderful UNESCO World Heritage site can be found here.

Tarquinia mural courtesy of UNESCO World Heritage site

The cruise travels to Livorno, where you can go to either Florence or Pisa ... also Toulon, France in Provence, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife in the Canary Islands before crossing to Fort Lauderdale. It is an awesome itinerary on a beautiful almost new ship. What's not to love.

Cathedral Palma de Mallorca

More information can be found on the Silhouette (Solstice class ship) on Celebrity Cruise Lines website.

First Transatlantic Planned

Palma de Mallorca

Last year when I opted to change my cruise mid-planning and go on Norwegian Jade instead of the repositioning cruise on Holland America Ryndam, I truly regretted it later. I worried that the Ryndam was too old, which I still wonder about as I have not been on her. But knowing how wonderful the service is on Holland America, and knowing the layouts of their ships and how much personal space each person has - I truly believe my concerns were not valid. Nevertheless, I chose to try NCL one more time and it will be my last. There are those who love Norwegian Cruise Line. I am just not one of them. It is too casual and I don't like the layout of the ships, with their very narrow corridors. They just don't thrill me architecturally either, especially the Jade, which is a ship that was made to sail Hawaii. There are still many Hawaiian themed features that are just weird for Europe.

Pink tower at Palma de Mallorca

But one of my biggest regrets was I did not make it to Palma de Mallorca. So Moises and I began to plan in earnest our fifteen year anniversary cruise a bit early. We will be going in October of 2014, instead of July 2015. In my mind, better nine months early than three months late. Moises has been wanting to do a western Transatlantic for a while. I found this itinerary on the Celebrity Equinox. It is just perfect, 14 days with stops in Spain and the Canary Islands before the transatlantic portion. It also goes to Palma de Mallorca.

Harbor Port Andratx at Mallorca

Cannot wait to plan this trip!