I’ve had worse views on my way back to a hotel….
Tag: Palma
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Palma – Bagel
There are a lot of closed restaurants in Palma on a Monday afternoon in the off-season, but I noticed that Bagel had started to open on Mondays in the run-up to Christmas (I’ll try to avoid using that bloody word too often)…..
I like this traditional look, very nice, with the restaurant being spotlessly clean.
The selection of cakes in the counter.
I dithered about with what to order, which is a little unusual for me, but I was trying to debate whether I was actually hungry enough for the avocado bagel, which sounded quite filling from the menu description (that sounds a bit millennial and something Nathan might say). I know avocado is bad for me because it’s green, but anyway, the member of staff said that they didn’t have any avocados and so that option wasn’t available. That was quite handy, it made my decision for me.
And, rolling back a moment, I’m going to say that the service here was brilliant, verging on exceptional. I really don’t like places where staff make sole diners unwelcome, and I’ve been noticing far too many negative reviews about restaurants in Palma doing exactly that. I can’t recall a city where this has been such a noticeable problem, but it’s not a habit that I like.
The sole diner thing hasn’t been a problem for me yet, although I have noticed one culprit, which is La Mémé at Avinguda del Comte de Sallent, which refuses to accept on-line reservations for individual diners and charges them a higher amount than for those in group sizes of two or more. That’s up to them, but it’s not a good look and they’re the only ones doing that I’ve seen in Palma (although I’ve no doubt that there are others).
I’ve given up caring long ago about dining alone, but I know it’s a big issue for many people and making them unwelcome isn’t great. There were numerous pub and restaurant chains in the UK that did this with their ridiculous buy one get one free offers (which are equally useless to groups of three and to single parents with children), but these are being removed at some pace, really (or in my world anyway) it’s just Greene King and Marstons who persist with the practice.
Anyway, I mention this because the welcome that the staff member here gave me was engaging, conversational and really warm. And, he did the same to a sole female diner who arrived later on, even though by doing this he had given away his last table. The staff member also made a German group warmly welcome, again, even though the seven of them were taking up nearly half the seats in the small restaurant and just ordering drinks. Friendliness always shines through and it didn’t take me long to love this place.
The beer option was cheap and cheerful, it’s not a style of beer I know much about, but it tasted fine.
The basic bagel with oil, tomatoes and rocket. The component parts of this were excellent, the tomatoes had a real depth of flavour, the oil tasted better than some wines I’ve had and the bagel was warm, toasted and added texture. For the price of just over £4, I thought this was excellent, with the beer being just over £2.
Unlike my own self-centred pub of the year award, I don’t have one for restaurants. But, because of this place, I think that I will. Absolutely brilliant and I’m irritated at my self-imposed rule not to go to the same restaurant or cafe in the same visit, as I want to go back.
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Palma – Spanish ATMs
I don’t know if the UK has these ATMs anywhere, although I haven’t seen them, but they are very exciting. I used one just to see my balance, as a random excuse to use one, and they’re not unexciting with their dual screen displays and lots of buttons to press. I haven’t worked out why they need an entire keyboard, but I’m sure there’s a reason which is very important. I really need to get out more…..
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Palma – Ca Na Cati
I hadn’t intended to go in this cafe, but the pastries looked just too tempting so I accidentally walked in. To be fair, I do that quite a lot with this sort of place.
I’m missing Greggs at the moment, so this was a pleasant sight to behold. On that point, whilst sitting in the cafe I noticed that Greggs have announced a large jump in profits, which is a wonderful piece of news.
This was keenly priced, something just under £3 for the eclair and coffee, and the coffee was entirely acceptable with a suitable mildly bitter flavour. The eclair was generously filled with cream and that element was delicious, although it wasn’t as fresh as it could have been so the pastry was quite firm, but the tastes were there, so I willingly forgave them.
The toilet situation was confusing, they seem to have put in some anti-visitor system which needs a card to turn the lights on. Fortunately, the emergency lighting was just enough for me to see (although my phone has a torch which can be used in extremis), but it didn’t entirely add a great deal to the proceedings and to the ambience of my visit. And I only realised about the card system on my way out. I can’t be doing with all this technology.
Anyway, it was all clean and the staff member was friendly and helpful.
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Palma – Parròquia de Santa Eulàlia (Terraces)
I bought a pass from Spiritual Mallorca at the weekend, primarily to get me into Palma Cathedral and the Royal Monastery, although it came with other benefits as well. That included access to the terraces at the Church of Santa Eulàlia, and a trip onto the roof of old buildings is always exciting.
This is the turret thing where visitors enter the terraces from. It’s not a problem for those suffering from a fear of heights (like me – although I’m very brave and rarely mention it), but the top bit is just a little bit tight.
Visitors get to walk above the side aisle of the church, underneath the flying buttresses.
Up close to the church’s main rose window at the front of the building.
One of the old wooden winches which were once used to lift and lower the church’s lamps.
A view across the rooftops of the beautiful Royal Monastery.
I had wondered what the strange looking towers were on some buildings, but they are apparently towers built by merchants so they could watch their ships entering and leaving the harbour without having to leave their home.
The window at the end of the church, above the chancel and apse.
Some scratchings into the stonework, I’m unsure of how old they are.
Normally, there’s a €5 charge to go on the terraces, although it was included with my tickets. It was slightly bizarre that when I went up a friendly lady gave me the information on where to go and she pointed out how to get into the tower, telling me “there’s a no entry sign, just ignore it”, which I feared might go wrong. However, when I came back down, not only had the lady gone, but so had all the desk and accoutrements around it. It was like something out of Goodnight Sweetheart.
Anyway, it’s a beautiful church and a trip up to the roof is recommended for anyone who has a spare thirty minutes or so.
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Palma – Mala the Cafe
This rather under-stated cafe looked welcoming (and I’d quickly checked the reviews, I’m not that impetuous) and looked like a suitable little stop.
A rather pleasant view onto one of the squares in Palma. The service was very welcoming and helpful, with nothing seeming like too much trouble. I’m not entirely sure, but it seems that this might be a relatively new opening, since there seem to be no reviews that aren’t recent.
And, the carrot cake and cappuccino. This is one of the best presented cakes that I’ve seen for a while, which did add to the whole occasion. The carrot cake was tender and moist, with the caramel sauce adding a bit more richness. The coffee also didn’t let down the presentation and this was better than average, with a rich taste. The bill came to just over £5.50, which seems reasonable given the location of the cafe and the quality of the experience. Very lovely.
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Palma – Palma Cathedral
There’s no missing the beauty of Palma Cathedral when walking along the harbour and the line of the former city walls, it dominates the landscape like some ship moored on the land. And, it’s a beautiful building.
There’s an admission charge of €8 to get in, although I had already purchased a ticket which gives entry into numerous religious buildings in the city. The staff member at the front desk was aware of this ticket and a rope was pulled away by a security guard to let me in, a brief feeling of being a VIP…. Although, on the matter of the entrance fee, it does seem quite expensive by all accounts, but it was a busy cathedral and so it clearly hadn’t put many off entering.
The frontage of the cathedral, which had been constructed on top of what was formerly a Mosque, which was partly pulled down when the Moors were defeated, with the rest falling down around a century later. Work started on the cathedral in 1229 on the instruction of King James I of Aragon, but work didn’t finish until 1601. We all have civil engineer friends like that, let’s be honest.
A photo looking along the nave, with the cathedral having a feel of some considerable space, not least because this is the highest nave in Spain (although Wikipedia disagrees with the cathedral’s booklet, saying that the Sagrada Família is higher, but I won’t quibble either way), at 44 metres in height. It’s also the eighth highest nave in the world, so it was worth the wait for them to build it.
The altar.
This is something quite different, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, designed to encourage visitors to think about the miracle of how bread and fish could feed thousands. It’s in a chapel dedicated to the Last Supper and it was attracting some interest, although it has been here for around fifteen years.
The cloister area, which is moderately beautiful, although nothing akin to the grand Gothic style of the Royal Monastery.
Visitors exit the cathedral after they’ve visited the cloisters, although they have to go through the shop first. Then there were two visitors, with one rather assertive female being told she couldn’t take her ridiculously big baggage into the building with her. She was haggling with the security staff and they kindly agree to let her go in for twenty minutes whilst they looked after her bag, then suggested her husband (or who I assume was her husband) could then go in for twenty minutes whilst she looked after the bag. On a technical point, I couldn’t see the point of that, as if they weren’t going in together they didn’t need the security staff to look after the bag at all. But, then the lady decided that she couldn’t possibly go in on her own anyway and she said she’d instead be finding a cafe. There will probably be a 1/5 TripAdvisor review this time next week.
Actually, on the subject of TripAdvisor, this is my favourite review on the cathedral: (it’s all one review, I’ve broken it up)
“Any church or cathedral, when visited upon paying a fee, loses its luster and holiness as a place for worship of the Most High God and Jesus Christ, and should therefore by all means be boycotted by tourists as a matter of principle, whether you are a believer or not.”
It is the highest rated attraction in Mallorca and would likely be swamped by visitors during the summer months if it was free, I can’t imagine that does much for its holiness either.
“Having visited Palma de Mallorca, Spain, twice since 2011, the more recent occasion being this past April of 2019 as one of our ports of call on MSC Seaview, I have made a point of not paying a fee to visit this particular “cathedral”, nor have I done so with respect to any such places of worship located elsewhere for charging fees such as the Duomo in Milan.”
The MSC Seaview holds over 5,000 passengers, which is half the reason that cities such as Palma have such problems with visitor numbers….
“Regardless of these comments, I wish to note for the purpose of this review that the “Cathedral of Mallorca”, when seen from outside, does not remind you of its history as a former mosque.”
The mosque was pulled down, it’s not entirely surprising the exterior doesn’t look like a mosque. It does though look quite like a cathedral.
“How should I rate this “cathedral” or former mosque, without having seen its interior?”
Not at all? Just how useful can a review be of a location that someone hasn’t visited?
“Well, it should not be that hard.”
Oh good.
“Having visited the Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Rome thirty years ago in January of 1989, Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London in January of 2000, the National Cathedral in Mexico City in June of 2016, and Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna, Italy, this past April of 2019, among numerous magnificent churches and cathedrals around the world over the past 30 years, I will not hesitate to dismiss Catedral de Mallorca as something not worthy of my time or respect. Period.”
I’ve been to all of these locations (and St. Paul’s charges) and Palma Cathedral has little in common with any of them. Period.
“Shouldn’t you do the same?”
No.
Anyway, in my usual tradition, more posts to come as I seem to have taken far too many photos again.
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Palma – And the Rain Comes Down
It has been a day of mostly non-stop rain today in Palma, so my planned walking expedition didn’t really get very far as it got almost torrential at times. I might still get to see more of the coastline this week in Mallorca, perhaps more of the above, which still looks just a little tropical even in the morning’s rain.
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Palma – Royal Monastery of Sant Francesc (Capilla de San Buenaventura)
The Chapel of St. Bonaventure is located within the Royal Monastery. The chapel was restored in 1742 and it was re-dedicated at this stage, having previously been the Chapel of St Esteban (St. Stephen). St. Bonaventure is intriguing, as he was an Italian who later studied in France and became Minister General of the Franciscans, before being chosen as the Archbishop of York. He was never consecrated in this role, but he remains listed as one of the Minster’s Archbishops.
Figures at the base of the chapel.
The chapel’s information board.
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Palma – Royal Monastery of Sant Francesc (Capilla de San Berardo)
Following on from my main post about the Royal Monastery, this is the chapel of San Berardo within the church.
There’s a lot of blood and gore in the annals of religious history. This is a depiction of St. Berardo, who was canonised by Pope Sixtus VI in 1481 after dying in Morocco when trying to preach the Christian gospel. The story goes that the local Sultan told Berardo, and four other people with him who were Peter, Otto, Acursio and Adyuto, that if they converted to the Muslim faith that they would be given women and money. The five said no, so the Sultan had a blade put through the mens’ heads.
The plan of the chapel.
