Mallorca: Palma and Soller

I spent the weekend of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Palma on the island of Mallorca. It's a beautiful island and a great city.

Notice the layers: old rooftops of the Center, masts at the marina, newer high-rises, parkland, castle, mountains.

The bike path. I didn't realize it was just for bikes until I nearly got run over.

Katie and I on the first day.

Another view of the Cathedral.

Self Portrait

Cap'n Dame.

There were fishermen on the beach at all times of day. They had really long poles. Compensating?

Makin' out.

The Palma beach at sunset.

Me and the Cathedral: we make a cute couple.

Palma at night in December is a wonderland of lights.

A museum.

The Christmas stalls at night.

An open air play that was pretty elaborate. This girl had major problems getting her men to show up to her wedding....

Near Plaza Espana.

A curious side pool next to the Cathedral. Everything was closed down for the holiday (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception as well as Constitution Day) and so we weren't able to go into the museums and learn about the buildings more. Next time!

The flying buttresses of the Cathedral. I wish I remembered more from Art History about the different parts of a cathedral, but flying buttresses are a term one is unlikely to forget.

Katie and I pose in front of the Mediterranean. Funny, you can't really see it in the glare of the cloudy day. The diamond patterned thing in the background is a shade for when it's sunny. Below they have chairs set up for performances. These shades are put up in the streets of Madrid through the summer and provide quite a bit of relief from the sun.

Gaudi-esque architecture. Mmmmm... Gaudi....

Tough guy in Plaza Mayor.

Guess what, Eric? Smurf turds really are blue! I took this picture at the Christmas Fair in Plaza Mayor. This stall was long, maybe 15 feet, and full of hundreds of figures "poppin' a squat." There were signs asking you not to take a picture but I was brave and bold. Unfortunately the guy caught me before I could get a picture of Bush and Obama having a moment together.


Soller

The lines you see on the sides of the mountain are the terraces for fruit trees. Picking the fruit must be quite a chore as the terraces are only wide enough to fit one tree and the walls are usually a few feet high.

This is Soller from above.

This is the cute wooden train and a guy I tricked into being in my picture.

The streets of Soller

The coolest window display ever. And yes, that is a bede.