Wednesday March 23 was yet another cloudy day with short periods of rain. Only 14C. No sun.
We headed out to visit the inside of the Cathedral of Mallorca, about a 35 minute walk from the apartment.
As we headed into the old city, we stopped to take some pictures of inner patios through wrought iron bars. Historic Palma is home to more than 70 houses which have interesting characteristic patios. There are examples dating back to the 14th century. For hundreds of years, these patios were considered semi-public spaces. Neighbours often met in the patios and solicalized. While some of the private patios are now hidden from view, City Hall has paid for some residents to install wrought iron bars, so that the patios can be seen from the street.
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| One of the patios that can be seen through iron bars |
We stopped to admire the Can Corbella, a gem of Palma's early Modernist architecture, designed in the 1890s by Nicolás Lliteras. It has five floors and a tower and was built for the rich and famous Corbella family. It has New Moorish elements and is a beauty. We were very happy to find that it houses another location of the wonderful Fornet de la Soca bakery which we went to near the Caixa Forum. This location opened in 2010. The baker/owner makes up to five different types of bread using varieties of Mallorcan flour rediscovered from the past. There is also a wonderful array of both sweet and savoy pastries.
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| Outside of the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma (commonly called La Seu) |
We entered through the side of the Cathedral where there were a few rooms of Church relics and paintings.
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| Grupo de la anunciación |
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| Beautiful carvings |
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| Ceiling of the Gothic chapter house |
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| Candelabro Barroco 1703-1718, Joan Matons |
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| San Pedro apóstol 1749 |
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| Baroque chapter house |
We entered the main Cathedral. The Cathedral space is filled with many tombs. Up until the 18th century, it was traditional for wealthy people to be buried inside churches so that they could be closer to God and be remembered.
There have been a number of restorations, but the most remarkable changes were those of Antoni Gaudí, who restructured the internal layout. He designed nine stained glass windows and restored large windows which had been walled over, thus providing further light. He designed the baldachin (a canopy) over the high altar, an enormous heptagonal crown topped by the sculpture of a crucified Jesus Christ with the Virgin and Saint John at his feet. Unfortunately, the final metal structure was never made because the project suddenly ended after Gaudí argued with the contractor.
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| One of the rose windows |
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| The Gaudí designed piece - amazing when the lights periodically go on as shown in this photo |
Over 100 years later, the Cathedral added an amazing polychrome ceramic mural by Mallorcan artist Miquel Barceló, (b. Felantix, Mallorca, 1957) inspired by the miracle of the loaves and fishes. It changed the interior of the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament and was inaugurated in 2007. An incredible piece, well worth seeing.
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| The ceramic mural |
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| A detail of the mural |
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| Some of the fish detail on one side |
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| A tomb in the floor in front of the Barceló mural |
We then wandered around the Cathedral, looking at the side chapels. The Chapel of Our Lady of the Crown (1389-1402) was very elaborate. The moment when Mary fell asleep and was taken up to heaven is depicted.
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| Chapel of Our Lady of the Crown |
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| Beautiful angels in the Chapel |
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| Chapel of Saint Bernard, c. 1397 |
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| Beautiful rose window |
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| Corpus Christi Chapel, c, 1360 |
The Cathedral was quite overwhelming. The different architectural styles over the centuries added to the drama. Definitely the crown jewel of Mallorca.
We headed back to the Mercat l'Olivar to pick up some food for our last two dinners in Palma.
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| Another Palma patio |
Luckily, we got to the Market just as the fish stalls were closing at around 2:00 p.m. The Mercat l'Olivar was established in 1951 and is the oldest food market in Palma. While there are some tourists, it is very much a market where the locals do their shopping.
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| Our favourite deli in the market |
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| The corner of the deli with all the appetizers |
We stopped at the Bar des Peix, where we had a bite to eat our first full day in Palma. The restaurants in the market are open for at least an hour after the stalls are packed up.
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| Alano's beer and my wine- waiting for our food |
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| Lots to choose |
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We had a mixto frito (prawns, cod, squid and a white fish).
Perfect, although the photo could be more flattering |
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| Behind the bar |
We then started our walk back to the apartment and stopped for a coffee at La Molienda, close to our place.
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| Coffee grinder |
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| Alano and our coffees and a piece of vegan carrot cake |
On the way out, we were talking to the baristas and told them that they should definitely get some T-shirts made with La Molienda's wonderful logo. They have been thinking about it and one of the baristas offered to stamp Alano's hand with the logo, which she did just for fun! It will only last a few hours, as he will wash it off.
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| The logo |
We walked back to the apartment for a rest. There was a light drizzle and it was quite cool out. We'll be following the Blue Jays game in Dunedin as it starts just after 6:00 p.m. Spanish time. Spain will switch to daylight savings time on March 27, two weeks after we switched in Ontario. So for now, we're only five hours ahead of Toronto time.
We had some boquerones on the Mallorcan bread with olives as an appetizer. Chef Alano made salmon with artichokes and a gem salad. We were hungry, so no photos of the meal.
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| Appetizers- boquerones and olives |
Another full day in Palma!
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