Palma de Mallorca and Castell de Bellver

This was our second time in Mallorca in two years but our first time in Palma itself. To be honest we hadn't actually planned to be back in Mallorca. It was a substitute port for the cruise we were on due to US worries about Tunis. It was a nice substitute stop. Though we didn't have a huge amount of time and the cost of the transport to get from the port into the city was a bit much from our cruise line, as soon as we could we ditched them and went exploring on our own it was a good day trip.

I'll not type too much about the place as we didn't really do that much, time was against us, but on the morning we arrived this was the view from the ship looking out over the port of Palma.

We got off the coach and picked up a City Sightseeing tour bus ticket near the Cathedral of Santa Maria.

As I said in my post about the cruise itself, the downside to such a trip is the rushed nature of the port visits. You can't see a place properly let alone take it easy enough to get a true feel of it but we did our best with what we had.

We took a walk around some of the streets and saw the city hall and some of the narrow pedestrian areas that scatter the underlying terrain. Back on the main streets it was quite a busy little city and fairly well built up.

Once on the hop on hop off tour bus, which was very full on the day (probably due to all the Cruise ships in port), we eventually found ourselves able to get upstairs before making it to the one place I'd picked out as wanting to go to. That place was Bellver Castle (Castell de Bellver) a 14th century castle but one of only a few circular castles in Europe.

The scenary in the area was much less built up, in face a much more relaxed spot.

Bellver Castle is rather impressive, it's not huge but it's location certainly adds to it's impact.

Inside there are many rooms with the history of the castle through the centuries including it's use as a prison between the 18th to 20th centuries. It's splendid circular interior is quite a sight.

The rooms on both floors on the interior of the building house the museum exhibits and artifacts from the castles history. It's well laid out and very informative.

The upper level, the roof really, is where the awesome views of Palma can be found.

The castle itself is quite impressive too.

After another part of the City Sightseeing bus tour that took us to within 1 mile (1.6km) of the boat but sadly not close enough to walk it given Norngirls injury, we headed back into the city center. It was quite pretty for the most part.

There was just one street that was stereotypical clubber tourist centric but thankfully it's only one street, the city was very Catalonian in character with influences seemingly from throughout the Mediterranean.

A funny sight was towards the end of the hop on hop off bus tour where people had just dumped their earphones en-mass over time. It reminded me of the movie Triangle.

Our next stop was just to get a beer in a bar along the Passeig des Born which had its Christmas decorations up.

We found a nice spot for a beer and relaxed for an hour or so watching the world go by before heading to buy the customary fridge magnet.

After which we headed back to the boat and enjoyed a drink as we sailed off from port whilst the captains of the boats blew their horns at one another.

I liked Palma, it'd be nice to see more of it and the Castle was well worth visiting, I'd very much recommend it and it wasn't very expensive, just a few Euro entrance fee. If we ever make another trip to Mallorca, maybe back for a relaxing stay, I'd certainly be adding a trip to Palma into our itinerary. Our next port of call was Malta.

The rest of our Mallorca trip.

Following the beginning of the week where we realised our inability to relax which was then followed by some fun days out where we realised we could relax, the rest of our week in Mallorca was at a leisurely pace.

Here is a photo heavy guide to the rest of our trip.

As well as the tranquil views from our balcony...

We spent the days after our day trip relaxing at the beach:

And by the pool:

We also visited Alcudia old town again:

And this time we went for a walk on the walls.

The walls gave a good vantage point to scope out the rest of the area.

We were looking for a supermarket at the time but what we did find was this water tower looking thing which was kinda cool.

We did venture out and made it to the quieter end of the port of Alcuida again looking for souvenirs.

A couple of days before they were building up for the Ironman but the most exertion we expelled was to sip some hot drinks like this lovely Rooiboss.

We also spent a fair bit of time on evenings at the bar. Our laptop power cable had given up on us so we couldn't continue to watch How I Met Your Mother so we made the most of the hotels entertainment as well as inventing our own such as the Elephant trunk pump 'high five' secret handshake.

We also headed out and took in a bit of the local nature in Alcanada.

On the last day we found a new addiction; the hotels' Spa. The jets and jacuzzi bits of the pool were great and after going once we got the feel for it and spent most of the afternoon there too until we'd gone all wrinkly.

Then that night we sat down with people from several places in Europe to watch Eurovision. Blue were pants but then so were a lot of the acts. In the end I think we went away happiest with the result because the UK didn't come last :)

Overall, Mallorca was a great place to visit, I could see how it could be a horror story in places we were not staying but where we went and what we found to do was better than most islands I've visited in the Med. In the end it did turn out to be relaxing and a good place to unwind and it's certainly on a list of places I wouldn't mind returning to at some point in the future.

Our day trip to Lluc and Sóller.

During our holiday to Mallorca in May of this year we went on a day trip. It was a visit to the Monastery at Lluc, a trip through the northern mountainous region of Mallorca towards the Port of Sóller, into Sóller itself and then back to our hotel.

It was the best excursion/day trip I can remember being on and I'm not exaggerating. As you know I don't affiliate link or make a penny from this blog but if ever I was to recommend a tour some place, this is one I would recommend for the experience it gave. It was a no frills excursions tour which turned out to be perfect for us as it seems to be on Trip Advisor for many more people too. As you know I don't like advertising businesses and I when I do so it's generally only because they've impressed us far beyond what we expected. This was a great tour, it was on time and did what it said on the tin but more importantly it had a really informative and great guide and had no hard sells or 'visits' to carpet factories and other retail opportunities. As I said, our guide was great and excellent at his job, his name was Joan (pronounced John when said in English rather than Mallorquin) and he gave a great local feel and insight to the tour, helping us along but also being understanding when we wandered off on our own little adventures during the trip - giving us advice too.

Although I can't go into it minute for minute as it was months ago and I'm pressed for time, here are some highlights of the tour:

Before we got to Lluc it was a trip along the ma-10 through the heart of Pollensa where the view was the image at the start of the post.

First stop was the Monastery at Lluc:

There we went into the Monastery but Norngirl and I decided to go for a walk along a long path and up the hill for the views.

And found the big metal cross at the top.

Then found the awesome views of the surrounding valley and hills.

Afterwards it was into the Monastery to listen to the choir and look at the ornate interior.

Afterwards we found a place to get some water (and in Norngirls case - a small beer). When we came out of the shop we found a local cat who had also got hold of a snack.

Leaving the cycle of life to its own, we headed back onto a fun ride through the Mallorquin hills and the journey took in some cool karst (limestone) scenery. We didn't stop but some dude had done and this was taken from the coach:

Next up was a stop at a vantage point over looking Soller and the Port of Sóller.

After a brief walk we were by the marina and had a look at the boats:

Before having a picnic by a metal tree sculpture/water feature.

We then had a ride on a tram to the main part of Sóller.

Where we were taken on a short walking tour around the town.

And had a drink in front of the Church of St. Bartholomew.

Before heading back to the bus.

The journey home was really nice, we were almost given a what's what of Mallorquin agriculture and life in Mallorca before being dropped off back in front of our hotel. It really was a great day and we really enjoyed it, if you read this Joan, thanks for the great tour :)