September 22, 2016

We started today with a two mile walk on Deck 14 as the sun rose blanketing the horizon clouds with a rosy light.  We watched as the ship approached and entered the harbor and could see the centuries old Gothic cathedral and, up on a hill, the ancient fortification, the oddly shaped, circular Bellver Castle.  We went to the dining room for breakfast and were seated with Alan and Jan from North Carolina and a couple from Boca Raton, Florida.

Just before 9, we went in the Equinox Theater to get our stickers for the Celebrity Cruise group, taking the Palma City Sights bus tour.

The city of Palma is located off the southern Spanish coast in the Balearic island archipelago on the largest island, Mallorca (or Majorica).  The excursion took a bus of 42 people around the streets of Palma de Mallorca.  Along the waterfront are many moorings, over 22,000 for the island and they are always full!  Palm trees line the streets.  They have been a staple since Roman times.  The Romans saw palms as symbols of victory.  There is a La Rambla shopping pedestrian only street in Palma de Mallorca.  The ATMs of banks, in sunny Palma, are on exterior walls, not within a bank lobby as in Canada.

For the first stop was Plaza de Toros, Palma’s bullring, now used for concerts and sporting events due to the ban on bull fighting.  It was constructed with sandstone and was completed in 1929 by 300 workers, taking only 212 days to build the 14,000 seat open air building.  Across the street was a premier pearl jewelry store, Crisali by Antonio, where the group browsed and shopped the array of pearl creations.

Back on the bus and through the streets passing a couple of Antoni Gaudi designed buildings, the group was dropped off at the waterfront, close to the 750 year old Gothic Roman Catholic Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, known locally as La Seu.  The south side of the cathedral is visible from the harbour.  The story of its inception is that Jaime I encountered a severe storm while sailing to Mallorca to fight the Moors and prayed that if his fleet landed safely he would build a magnificent church in honour of the Virgin Mary.  The Moors were defeated and the foundation stone for the sandstone church was laid January 1, 1230, on the site of the city’s main mosque. Money to complete the construction ran out and it was not finished until 1601.  The west fascade was badly damaged in the 1851 earthquake, but the building survived in large part to the support of the flying buttresses of its exterior design. The walls were redesigned and interior elements also restored or redesigned by architects during the next 50 years, including Catalonia’s Antoni Gaudi from 1904 until 1914.  Gaudi argued with a contractor and quit the project.

     Across from the cathedral is Palau de L’Alumndaina (or Almudaina Palace), built in the late 13th century, which formerly was a Moorish Muslim fortress. The structure was modified, by Pere Salvà, after the defeat of the Moors and made into a palace for the independent kingdom of Majorca, before the island became part of Aragon. It is now the Spanish king’s summer residence and hosts official summer ceremonies.  Decorating some of the rooms are 16th and 17th Flemish tapestries, as well as 17th and 18th century Spanish tapestries and banners celebrating the 1571 battle of Lepanto when Spanish and Venetian fleets defeated the Turkish fleet.  We followed our guide Tom, through the city to see the Parliament and other buildings in the older section of Palma, visiting some shops for souvenirs, cool drinks or ice cream.  In a square where we waited, there was a large olive tree which had some of its roots growing around the tree’s trunk. The temperature at noon was 26 C.  Walking back to the bus, we passed Monument Joan Miró, a small sculpture by the 20th century Spanish surrealist artist who lived in Palma de Mallorca.

The final stop was the Pere Salvà designed Gothic Bellver Castle. This 14th century circular designed castle has large courtyards, and offers breathtaking views of the city below. It was our final stop before returning to the ship. The pedometer showed 4.4 miles walked so far.

When we dropped off the backpack, we stopped at the Café al Bacio for a frappé hoping that the crowds of people returning from tours would dwindle by the time we arrived at the Oceanview Café. However, it was packed with people so we went to the small AquaSpa Café, just before it closed at 2, for a salad plus a Lemon couscous and raisin dessert.

Then we returned to the stateroom to work on the blog and take a short nap.  We checked the ice creams later in the afternoon and chose Chai Tea and Banana Rum for sampling.  Then, we went out to the pool deck, 12, to watch as the ship left the harbor for Cartagena, just over 200 km away.  The shops on board opened after the ship left the pier.  There were not too many customers since a lot of people were enjoyed the sunshine and 28 C temperatures on Decks 12 and 14.  We decided to have a coffee at the Café al Bacio and watched a table of four ladies playing bridge.

The jazz band was playing, in the Grand Foyer, nice Easy Listening music.  Tonight at dinner, Frank and Pat joined us.  The appetizers chosen tonight were: Caprese, Butternut Squash soup and asparagus salad followed by both of us choosing the Phyllo pastry wrapped lamb with mashed potatoes and sweet potato entrée.  We both chose Tiramisu as the dessert.

After dinner we danced in the Grand Foyer to the music of the house band, Front Row, with about 10 other couples. The entertainment at 9 in the theater was Tracy Shield who sings in the style of Celine Dion. We had seen her show a few years ago on another Celebrity cruise.  After the show, we met Ursula and Reiner in the Café al Bacio. 

Today we logged 7.1 miles.