After breakfast we head out to explore some more shopping and also do a little research for tomorrow's main activity - more about that in the next instalment. The morning speeds by quickly so it's soon time for lunch - it's tapas time!!
It's very clear after just one day in the city that it's a much bigger city than we initially thought. Nevertheless, Palma city centre is walkable, however for the bigger picture I would recommend the City Sightseeing bus tour. The red double decker sightseeing bus is a familiar sight all over Britain and Europe of course, and it runs a regular service around the city of Palma, covering the city centre and outskirts.
I'm always partial to a palm tree...
The seafront/port/promenade seems to run for miles! We were initially thinking of staying further along the western seafront, before deciding to base ourselves in the old town. I think we made the right choice, especially for a short break. However for those who prefer a more 'resort' feel without going out of the city to one of the nearby resorts like Palma Nova or S'Arenal, then the area on the western seafront would be a nice compromise.
Our main stop on the bus tour this afternoon was the Poble Espanyol - the Spanish village. If you've ever been to Barcelona, you may have visited this type of attraction, which is a collection of different architectural styles of buildings from all over Spain. It's not as large as the Barcelona version, and it hasn't had too many positive reviews on Trip Advisor, but we liked it, and it was a nice tranquil way to spend an hour away from the Friday afternoon city buzz. Here's some of the different buildings:
After our break at the Poble, it was back on the bus for the second part of our sightseeing journey. Due to time restrictions, we didn't have time to explore Bellver Castle, but here's a picture of it, which I took from the sightseeing bus.
The tour eventually comes to an end back in the city centre, so it's back to the hotel to get ready for a night out. It may be Friday night in Palma, but it's strangely quieter tonight than it was last night. We head to that very narrow street, Carrer Apuntadores, which is packed with restaurants and tapas bars. We had previously spotted a restaurant we fancied and returned there for a very enjoyable meal, in a restaurant buzzing with chat and atmosphere. And, of course, some Mallorcan wine in the interest of research :)) I liked this restaurant, and that was nothing to do with that hot, unshaven waiter of course ;)
Like many other European cities, Palma feels safe on this late summer night. We don't make too late a night of it though: we need to be up early tomorrow....
In the next instalment: we're heading off on an adventure. Choo-choo!
2 comments:
I love the City Sightseeing buses,and I'd especially recommend the ones in Malta.There's 2 lines and they literally cover everything you'd want to see on Malta and Gozo.And you get a free boat trip included :)
Palma looks lovely (and not just because of the tapas,although that helps!) We went to Mallorca in 1998,and it was the worst holiday we've ever had,as it was one of those awful all-inclusive things in a massive hotel.So it's nice to see there's a lot more to the island than that.
Yes we like a bit of the old City Sightseeing buses everywhere we go.
Never done all-inclusive, and I don't think we'd ever go the traditional island holiday route. That flight home was bad enough with the holidaymakers from hell! I'd really recommend Palma though. And thankfully your holidays got better after that 1998 experience! :)
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