Friday March 18 was another cloudy day with a high of 16C. It was a bit windy in the late afternoon and we had about 20 minutes of rain.
We are still getting over jet lag, so had a late start to the day. Our first stop was the wonderful Mercat de l'Olivar, which is now one of my favourite markets of our many trips. Everything is of the highest quality. There are 100 stalls in the market.
 |
| Alano in the fish section of the market |
 |
Our fish person- she filets our sea bream for us
|
 |
| Another fish stand |
The vegetables are amazing. There has to be at least 15 vegetable vendors. Very hard to choose.
 |
| More vegetables |
 |
| The selection of foods for appetizers/tapas is tremendous. We got some octopus salad, olives and boquerones (anchovies in vinegar). |
 |
| More veg |
We stopped for a coffee at the original location of Mistral Coffee Shop. It was smaller and older than the new location we were at on Thursday. The coffee roaster is located on-site.
 |
| Alano getting serious about coffee |
Outside of Mistral
We took the food back to the apartment and then headed out mid afternoon to visit the Palacio Real de la Almudaina (Royal Palace of La Almudaina). We were very surprised that we were almost the only tourists visiting on a Friday afternoon.
 |
| Entrance to the Palace |
 |
| Great ceiling and light going to the first large room |
La Almudaina Palace was the seat of the independent kingdom of Mallorca during the reigns of James I, Sancho I and James II, until it became part of the kingdom of Aragon under Pedro IV. Originally it was a Muslim fortress known as Almudaina, which means "citadel" or "fortress". The Muslims occupied Mallorca and the Balearics from 902 until the conquest by King James I of Aragon between 1229-1231. While most of the original Muslim fortress was destroyed, some Arab motifs remained, including a ceiling made of black and white wood and the Arab Baths. The current castle was a modification of the Muslim alcazar and was rebuilt between 1281-1343. The Place is currently used by the King of Spain for official summer ceremonies.
The first room we went into was the Hall of Fireplaces- which was one of three rooms making up the Great Hall. The Hall of Fireplaces had a great fireplace with a triple hearth. Nearly all the rooms had beautiful, well preserved tapestries.
 |
| Tapestry in Hall of the Fireplaces |
 |
| The Triple Hearth |
The Hall of Kings got its name from the series of nine portraits of the kings and queens of Mallorca painted in the 20th century by José Sancho de la Jordana.
 |
| One of the Kings |
 |
| Another tapestry |
One of the first rooms we were in had an entrance to a large terrace with wonderful views of the Sea.
 |
| View of the Mediterranean Sea |
 |
| On the terrace with a very large palm tree |
The Guards' Room was the next room we visited.
 |
| In the Guards' Room |
The Squires' Room also had access to the terrace.
 |
| In the Squires' Room |
The Arab Baths were situated between the King's Palace and the Queen's Palace and shared by both. As they were private baths, they are small in size and limited to three rooms- a cold room, a lukewarm room and a hot room.
 |
| One of the rooms of the Arab baths |
 |
| View from one part of the palace |
We then entered a passage area to the official offices of the current Spanish monarchs.
 |
| Anteroom and passageway |
 |
| Another beautiful tapestry |
The Anteroom to Her Majesty the Queen's Study, a lovely room with beautiful furniture.
 |
| Anteroom |
Her Majesty the Queen's Study was restored in 1973. It was noted that there are remains of a mural from the16th century depicting figures in warlike poses on horseback.
 |
| The King's Study |
The Main Hall is used for official receptions. Its ceiling was restored in 1985.
 |
| Great place for a reception |
We then went outside and across the courtyard to St. Anne's Chapel, an excellent example of Levantine Gothic architecture.
 |
| In the courtyard |
 |
| Inside of the chapel- Catalan Romanesque features |
 |
| Stained glass window in Chapel |
 |
| Another palace view |
It was an unexpected treat to have the Palace almost virtually to ourselves. We saw only a few other tourists. The signage was excellent and the tapestries, furniture and stonework was done beautifully. Well worth the visit.
We stopped at Mallorcària Wine Store to pick up a bottle of Mallorcan wine. This store was very highly recommended and did not disappoint.
 |
| Outside of Mallorcària |
 |
| "Can't Stop Drinking About You" - sign at entrance to wine store |
Most of the wine is stored in two levels below the main floor. There was a separate room for white wines on the first lower level and rosé and red wine sections on the second lower level. We had a couple of Mallorcan wines recommended to us, and ended up picking a red that would go nicely with salmon, which we are having for dinner. There are around 100 wineries on Mallorca.
 |
| The rosé room |
 |
| The red wine room |
We then headed back to the apartment to rest before having dinner.
 |
| Es Murull-- very nice wine |
Alano made a salmon dinner with potatoes and green beans and a salad.
 |
| Chef Alano with salmon dinner |
Buen apetito!!
Comments
Post a Comment