Palma de Mallorca – Such a surprise! I didn’t know what to expect but in a nutshell it is a beautiful island with an abundance of personality and charm. (https://spainguides.com/top-destinations/palma-de-mallorca) We absolutely loved our day on the island and could not have been happier with the Royal Caribbean excursion we chose.
The first part of our day began with a sightseeing bus tour through the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca off the coast of Spain. We drove around the city and saw points of interest. Our tour guide pointed out (actually gushed about) that Rafael Nadal, the famous tennis player, is from Mallorca.
Our first stop that morning was to the 14th century built castle and fortress which was a royal residence and safe place named, Bellver Castle (www.spottinghistory.com/view/8394/bellver-castle). It was not open for tours that day but we were able to walk the grounds which provided stunning views. The 700 year old structure was very impressive.
Impressive doesn’t even come close to describing the Cathedral in the heart of the capital. (https://xmallorca.com/mallorca-churches-cathedrals/cathedral-palma-catedral-de-mallorca). It is another 14th century marvel in Palma and is one of the tallest gothic structures in all of Europe. It’s presence is simply magnificent along the waterfront.
We then headed just outside of the city past groves of 1,000 year old olive trees on our way to House of Son Amar. (https://sonamar.com). This venue is a must see/must do if you ever travel to Palma de Mallorca. It is a destination location on a 16th century estate. This venue hosts performances, outdoor concerts, events, features haute cuisine, and gorgeous scenery. I agree with their description of the place – it is spectacular!
Our experience there included a fabulous authentic Spanish meal which contained olives from the ancient olive trees nearby. I am personally not an olive fan, but I found myself not sharing my olives because they were simply delicious! The 3 of us could not stop raving about (or drinking) the sangria – We wished we could have bought bottles of it. The tapas were wonderful as well. We were pleasantly surprised with how tasty everything was.
The flamenco show was a whole other level of spectacular – the performers were incredible and they gave it their all for well over an hour. We walked out of the venue stunned by the quality and beauty of the show, the estate and the aesthetics, and the delicous food. It was a 4 star event and experience for all of us (and not even close to 4 star prices). The 3 of us gave that excursion an 11 out of 10 – well worth it since it certainly exceeded our expectations.
We were back on the ship in the mid to late afternoon which allowed us to rest a bit and enjoy the ship for a while. We raved about our excursion to our other 2 group members who chose to explore Palma on their own. After seeing our photos and hearing about our day, they remarked that they should have joined us on that trip. We wholeheartedly agreed!
Next up, day 3 takes us to Provence, France, exploring darling storybook French villages and a lavender essential oil farm and mill. See you in Provence!
Thoughtful Travels 