Art, Food and Exploring Palma

March 17, 2022

Happy St. Patrick's Day 🍀! Thursday March 17 was cloudy with a high of 15C. We missed some rain in the early morning and had about 20 minutes of rain at about 1:30 p.m. Spain has been having some very strange weather the last few days. Looks like we are going to be under the clouds for our stay. However, there is lots to do and see in Palma. We have really been taken by all the marvellous Art Nouveau buildings and other architecture.

Very close to where we are staying

We headed down to visit the Museo Fundación Juan March, which has a fantastic collection of Spanish art from the 20th century. It is located in a 17th century building that was originally conceived as a home. It was renovated by architect Guillem Reynés i Font and chosen to house part of the Juan March Foundation's collection since 1990. Juan March (1880-1962) was one of the richest men in Spain and set up his foundation in 1955. After our visit, I googled him and found out that he was an important backer of Franco and has a very checkered past. It was his son Bartolome March (1917-1998) that amassed one of the greatest 20th century art collections. Today, the Marches are among the richest families in Spain. The museum was free. The collection is outstanding and beautifully displayed in the gorgeous building.

Entrance to the Museum

Inside the Entrance

José Maria Yturralde, Cuenca, 1942, Flying Structure (Homage to Velázquez), 1977

Julio González, Barcelona 1876- Arcueil (France), 1942, The Small Sickle, 1937-1938

Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Santander, 1939, Wind and Rain II, 1983-1986

Juan Gris, Madrid 1887- Boulonge-sur-Seine (France), 1927, Carafe and Bowl, 1916

Xisco Mensua, Barcelona, 1960, Memoria: Londres, 1940, 2011

Martin Chirino (Las Palmas, 1925- Madrid 2019), The Wind, Laberinta II, 1977

Beautiful window detail

Julio López Hernández, Madrid (1930-2018) Man From the South, 1972

Alain Urrutia, Bilbao, 1981, Aktionismus, 2012

Eusebio Sempere, Alicante, 1923-1985, The Four Seasons, 1980

Manuel Valdés, Valencia, 1942, Rubens as a Pretext, 1988

Ernesto Casero, Valencia, 1977 from Series: From an evolutionary perspective, 2015

Miguel Fructuoso, 1971, Murcia, Gran naranja, 2015

Eduardo Arroyo, Madrid 1937-2018, 2 Passage Dantzig (Soutine) 1993

View from the second floor

Curtain call!

Close up of the installation

We decided to walk to another area of Palma with high-end shops and some more Art Nouveau buildings. We were also in search of Mistral Coffee Shop- listed as one of the best in the world (according to the Financial Times).

First we came across a cultural centre, home to the Fundación la Caixa, which is located in one of the most noteworthy modernist buildings in the city, the former Gran Hotel, built in 1903. It was designed by the Catalan architect Lluís Domènech I Montaner. The hotel was one of the most luxurious hotels of the time, with an elevator, running water and electricity. It closed its doors in 1941. In the 1940s, the building was acquired by the Spanish State and housed the National Social Security Institute. The building was renovated in a way that wiped out most of its Art Nouveau elements. In 1993, the Institute moved to another building and the former Gran Hotel was acquired by the bank La Caixa which restored the buildings to its previous glory and turned it into the cultural centre CaixaForum Palma.

Front of the Caixaforum

Across the road was an amazing bakery- Forn Teatre, also in an Art Nouveau building.

Outside of the bakery

A beautiful Tortada Reial, a historical pastry made with almond cake and meringue
dating back to the 17th century.

Inside of the beautiful historic bakery

We got a delicious flavoured piece of bread with tomatoes and olives and ate outside. We also had an apricot desert empanada.

Delicious!

We then stopped at the Mistral Coffee Shop. The coffee definitely lived up to its hype.

Inside of Mistral

Alano and his flat white

In the nearby Plaça del Mercat, we found the "twin" Art Nouveau buildings that were planned at the same time, in a similar style and were originally intended to be connected by an upper walkway which was never built. The facade is reminiscent of Gaudí's Casa Batllò in Barcelona.

One of the twin buildings

The building on the left (below), Can Casasayas, was completed in 1911 and built by Francesc Roca I Simó, a great admirer of Gaudí. The second building, the former Pensión Menorquina is absolutely identical and symmetrical to Can Casasayas. It was also completed in 1911 by the architect Guillem Reynés.

The "twin" buildings

Lots of colourful buildings on the Passeig des Born

Alano at the end of Passeig des Born

Another interesting building

Parroquia (Parish Church) de San Nicolás

We passed a bust of Frédéric Chopin who lived in the town of Valldemossa, Mallorca between November 1838-February 1839. Chopin and his wife George Sand and her children moved there briefly for his health. There is an International Chopin Festival held in Mallorca every year.

Plaça Frederic Chopin

We wandered back to the street where we had lunch. I had to take another photo from the side of the Caixaforum.

Another photo of the Caixaforum Palma

It was then "Vermut" hour and we stopped at La Rosa Vermuteria, a lovely recommended place. We each had a glass of vermouth and a large piece of an excellent tortilla. Very busy at around 5:30 p.m.