R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 48

Transatlantic 2022 — Returning to a Barcelona Favorite; Restaurante Anduriña

Restaurante Anduriña, Barcelona, Spain

Today concludes my series on our transatlantic cruise, but this trip is far from over. As you may have surmised, since several of the destinations covered over the past several weeks were hit more than once, the next segment of this two-and-a-half-month journey was an eight-day Mediterranean cruise that hit seldom-visited ports in Spain and France. So, while the transatlantic aboard Vision of the Seas ended in Barcelona, our next Vision of the Seas adven...

Transatlantic 2022 — Mallorca; Valldemossa Charms

Valldemossa

Valldemossa, located on the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of the Mediterranean Sea is just a photographer’s dream. I put this charming mountain village right up there with the likes of Santorini, Greece; Istanbul, Türkiye; Madrid, Spain; and others. You really owe yourself Valldemossa, so put it on your bucket list. There’s even an impressive palace, the Valldemossa Charterhouse, a former monastery dating back to the 15th century:

Valldemossa Charterhouse...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Palma de Mallorca and Valldemossa Favorites 2

Palma Street Scene

Here is today’s Fun Photo Friday favorites from Palma and Valldemossa on the Spanish isle of Mallorca.

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Transatlantic 2022 — Palma de Mallorca; Heading to Valldemossa

Royal Palace (left) Palma Cathedral (right)

It’s approaching noon on 12 May and we’re heading back to the tour bus. To get to the bus we once again pass the Royal Palace and the gardens (see below). Our next destination awaits, and it’s a bit of a drive. We’re about to head north for an hour-long journey.

Royal Palace of Almudaina

Our next stop is the enchanting mountain village of Valldemossa. Actually, the word enchanting doesn’t really do this place justice. You’ll find photo-worthy s...

Transatlantic 2022 — Palma de Mallorca; Catedral de Mallorca and Street Scenes

Passeig Dalt Murada (Walk Atop the Wall) viewed from Palma Cathedral

Today’s article continues our trek from the Royal Palace of La Almudaina to the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, also known a La Seu. But before we get there, I’ll be showing you the street scenes we passed along the way. We took a rather circuitous route so as to view some incredible finds. For instance, the building below is Ajuntament de Palma (City Hall of Palma) at Plaça de Cort (Court Square) about five minutes’ wal...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Palma de Mallorca and Valldemossa Favorites 1

The sights of Palma de Mallorca would not be our sole purpose on this tour. We would also make our way to a charming village of Valldemossa. As such, this and next week’s Fun Photo Friday will feature images from both destinations:

Transatlantic 2022 — Palma de Mallorca; Royal Palace of La Almudaina

The next stop on our tour was the Royal Palace of La Almudiana. Originally a Roman structure, then a Moorish alcázar, La Almudiana was modified and rebuilt in 1309 by the same architect (Pere Salvà) who built Monday’s blog subject, Castell de Bellver.

West side of Royal Palace of La Almudiana

There’s more to La Almudiana than just the royal palace. Also on the grounds, running along the west side of the palace, are the S’Hort del Rei garden and fountain:

S’Hort del Rei public garden ...

Transatlantic 2022 — Palma de Mallorca; Arrival and Bellver Castle

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Ursula and I visited Palma de Mallorca, Spain, twice in May. Our first arrival was on 12 May during our transatlantic cruise. The second was during our eight-day Mediterranean cruise just five days later. On that first visit we took a tour, and on the second we hoofed it off Vision of the Seas for a brief walk out of the port area and back. We’ll get to the 12 May tour in a moment, but first I’m going to show you some images taken on 17 May from aboard Vision:

Puer...

Fun Photo Friday — Transatlantic 2022; Valencia and Sagunto favorites 4

Today’s Fun Photo Friday concludes our visit to Valencia and Sagunto, Spain. Next week we move on to another destination that we visited twice this trip — once on the transatlantic voyage, and again five days later on a Mediterranean cruise. Until then, here are some more Valencia and Sagunto favorites:

Transatlantic 2022 — Valencia, Sagunto’s Roman Theatre

Roman Theatre, Sagunto, Spain

The uphill trek we were warned about wasn’t nearly as bad as our guide intimated. After traveling through the old town, with a stop along the way at the Archeological History Museum, we made it barely winded. We now were approaching the Sagunto Roman Theatre, an 8,000-seat amphitheater used today. And if the theater doesn’t look all that old to you, that’s because it was given a controversial restoration/facelift in 1994.

Sagunto Roman Theatre — New sits atop ...