Combining Science And Art
I like sundials and this was a magnificent one.
It was a pity there wasn’t any explanation in English.
Walking Towards The Airport Bus
I effectively finished my break, by walking along the front to get the airport bus.
In some ways, I felt rather sad to leave, but then I had to get back to check on the builders.
I shall certainly return, when I need some sun. After all, Majorca is probably the closest place, where sun is fairly guaranteed at some point in a break.
But I’ll choose a better hotel.
Grand Cafe Cappuccino
I had lunch here before I caught the bus to the airport.
The last time, I’d been here was with C on that birthday holiday in 2007.
As with the Caballito de Mar, they knew their gluten free.
The Light In Majorca
I have a friend, who’s an artist. As someone, who takes in knowledge like a sponge, I have learned a lot about light from her. So like a couple of other photographers, I took pictures as I walked down from the cathedral.
But they do show how bright the light was for December!
Around And Inside Palma Cathedral
Tuesday was a sunny day and I walked down through Palma to the cathedral and explored it.
Although C and I went to Majorca about ten times, we probably never visited the cathedral on such a quiet, sunny day.
Exploring Majorca By Rail
I had deliberately wanted to be by the station, so that I could take the odd trip out.
I went to Inca and Manacor, as the beautiful old railway to Soller was closed due to engineering works. It was December and although it was quite sunny, the towns were rather dead. I just had a nice coffee and moved on.
It does seem though, that these trains are not the easiest to use, as what information there is, is rather poor. To get to Manacor, the birthplace of Rafael Nadal incidentally, the train reverses direction at one point and you need to change at another, for which there is no announcement. Stations generally, aren’t signed, so you could get dumped at a place in the middle of nowhere. I nearly did.
The Intermodal station in Palma is a bit of a nightmare. It may be an interchange, but don’t ask at the bus information for details on the trains. They’ll tell you politely, that the trains are another company. And the only ticket machines there, don’t seem to sell tickets to Inca and Mancor. Or at least, it appeared so to me. I’ve had no experience of Spanish trains elsewhere, but compared to Italy, where I’ve used trains a lot, they weren’t the easiest to use.
If these countries want to make trains easy to use for tourists, they should look at their maps and ticketing systems.
The Caballito de Mar Restaurant, Palma Majorca
Five years ago for my sixtieth birthday, C took me to Majorca. We stayed in an excellent hotel outside of Palma and she asked them to recommend a good restaurant that could do gluten-free food. They recommended the Caballito de Mar Restaurant on the avenue along the sea-front, underneath the town. It was excellent, so on my brief trip, I went back.
In fact, I went back again, as the sea bass was so good the first time.
The restaurant made up for the sub-standard hotel.
My Hotel In Palma, Majorca
I stayed in the Palacio Avenida In Palma
Palacio Avenida In Palma
I took this picture from the bus stop, where I got off the bus from the air-port. The closeness of the two, is the best thing about the hotel.
In the three days and two nights, I spent in the hotel, I didn’t manage to have a decent shower, as the taps were rather tired. I did get to sit in warm water, which might have helped my dry skin, but I had to keep my foot on the plug to stop the water running out.
One thing I didn’t like was the tiling on the floor.
A Bathroom With A Skating Rink
It is clean and shiny in the picture, but with wet feet, it was like a skating rink. Now I have had a stroke, but my balance is good. Thank goodness it was, as if I hadn’t I’d have been on the floor several times in my short stay.
It is supposed to be a 4 star hotel, but I’ve had better facilities and service in B & B’s in places like Accrington. It could just be that Spain is in such a state, that everything is being done to cut costs.
I didn’t eat much in the hotel, just sampling one very poor cold breakfast, where I wasn’t even offered coffee or any hot food.
I certainly won’t be staying there again.
I’ve Got The Sun But No Plumbing
I must be the only person, who when they book a 4* hotel always seems to get a problem.
This time it’s the plumbing. The bath and/or the shower is unusable and because it’s Sunday, there is nothing that the staff in the Palacio Avenida can do. They could have offered to move me to another room, but they didn’t make the offer and as the room is otherwise comfortable and convenient, I didn’t think to push it at the time.
We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
But as my bath is at the moment being replaced at home and the showers aren’t top-notch, I thought that a few days away would be a relief not more trouble.
The Anonymous Widower 