MAGICAL MALLORCA!!: Seen Along my Walk in Palma

I've been doing so much running around on my scooter lately that I haven't done much saundering through my own neighborhood. I finally decided to go walk the narrow lanes I typically zip down spotting things and thinking 'oh, I should go back there sometime and check it out!'.

This blog entry pretty much tells its own story via the photos. In old town, where I live, the architecture is stunning. I LOVE (creative) ARCHITECTURE!!!

I get so p'd off when I see builders constructing bland boxy buildings with nary a creative thought. They all whine that it costs too much to add some character. BS. There are so many little things that can be added for very little cost. My oldest gripe is apartment building or house windows with no frames. The frameless windows make the building look like it has souless eyes. What does it take to slap a few boards around the windows and paint them!!!!

My other pet peeve is what I used to observe when I lived in San Diego. Builders would fill in gullies to make more land, then build a hundred houses that all look alike (cookie-cutter), covered in red tile roofs, and their colors varied between white, beige, and tan. A SEA of homes with no personal identities. If you visited your neighbor, you knew exactly where the bathroom was.

When builders construct these types of places, they're leaving their mark behind for at least the next 50 years. We all have to look at that SHT for the rest of our lives! And, it plays a huge role in defining the character of a city. Why do you think San Francisco is so popular versus blase Sacramento? Cuenca would be nothing if it didn't have it's colonial architecture.

Anyway, enough of my soapboxing. You get the drift.

Come along with me on my walk. Don't worry, we're not going very far, maybe a kilometer (one way) or smidge more, we're just going to casually saunder, take a few breaks to people watch, and take a different route back to the apt. We won't be gone more than 3 hours.

First off, it was in the low 80's, clear blue sky, very little humidity. Everyone was out in their shorts and flip-flops. Soooooo many goodlooking legs!!! But, I digress.

OK, so I took ONE photo!!!

This building is across the street from where I live.

I walked out of my apartment and turned right at the corner. Within one block I saw these....two buildings next to each other. Without the simple features that were added (tiles, railings, and shutters) they would look utterly ugly.

Continuing straight ahead, in the next block starts a pedestrian-only street, Sant Miquel, with a lot of great shops and little cafes. There's always someone entertaining for tips. Today, a human butterfly!!

A little further down, this guy was holding himself in midair and not moving. Funny to watch people's reactions...wondering how does he DO that?

Sant Miquel ends and spills out into Plaza Major (my-yor). This guy was singing, entertaining the people in the outdoor cafes:

Now we're gonna see some real works of art!!!

This building was recently renovated. I hadn't seen it before because it was covered in netting and scaffolds. Granted, I don't expect every building to be this ornate, but I shore do like 'em!!!

Though it looks like it, this building was NOT designed by Gaudi but it is very similar to his work. Notice the black wrought iron work on the bump-outs.

Here's a close-up of the detail. A dragon 'hissing'

Two doors down. Love the rock work and texture.

This type of window is very common here. I don't know the proper name, I just call them bump-outs.

Take a boxy building, wrap the windows and doorways, add wrought-iron railings (nothing super fancy), a few cornices, and nice paint and you've got yourself one classy joint!

I came upon a cool art gallery. I went in and enjoyed all the creative pieces...and the AC.

One of works was an image of the Beattles famous Liverpool crosswalk scene. Standing back, it's very clear what it is.

Step a little closer, you can see the images are made up of.....

Images of PEOPLE!

Back out on the street I continued to walk and look UP to see these gems instead of just the commercial stores at the sidewalk level.

By this time, I had only been gone from my apartment for about 20 minutes. All THAT in 20 minutes!!!

Even though I was staying on the main avenue (all one lane of it), along the way were countless narrow side jaunts to woo you to a cafe or niche shop.

I decided to stop in at the one and only Starbucks I know of here in Palma and get an iced coffee. A horse-drawn carriaged clopped by.

Then I crossed the street to go sit in a small plaza in the shade of a verrrrrrrrrry old olive tree.

One side of the trunk.....

The other side....

While I was sitting there, a tour group came up and the guide pointed out (in Spanish) 'the face'. I never noticed it. But, take a look....see the eyes, nose, mouth, chin?

I finished my iced coffee and oggling the people passing by, got up, and continued the walk.

Across the street from that plaza is the library. NOT your ordinary library!!!

Check out the DETAIL of the underside of the roof (above the clock and flags in previous photo). Carved wood male and female figurines 'supporting' the roof.

Notice the size of the figurines in relation to the security guards off to the right.

Not all architecture is about buildings. It can be street lamps as well (with modern solar panels!!).

Next to the library is a government building. Nothing staunchy about this building! Looks like a castle! I was only able to walk around a small public area inside as the rest was secured, authorized personnel only.

Check out the gargoyles up top. I LOVE GARGOYLES!!

The front doors are about 12 feet tall.

I opened the stained glass doors and proceeded up the stairs to the level just below this window. Access was restricted past that point.

Then I turned around and took this panorama shot of the upper level.

Back out on the street.

In a few minutes I arrived at the Cathedral and the waterfront park just beyond it.

At this point, it was time to turn around and head back to my apartment but via a slightly different route.

Next to where all the horse and buggies wait for fares....

...was yet another entertainer.

I continued on, past the big fountain, and up Born street which is the fancy-schmancy shopping district. The street is shrouded by huge trees providing a canopy of cool air for several blocks. But, did I take a picture of that? Noooooo!!!

Then I took a narrow side lane that wound it's way up via more narrow pedestrian alley's and past more shops.

Past a tapas bar. YUM!!!! So artistic you want to take a photo before you eat them!

You might be wondering why I took a photo of this building? It's attractive but not earth-shattering. I took the photo to make a point of what a little makeup can do for a lady (building). In this case, those window frames are not real....they're PAINTED ON!!! A process I see used a lot around Mallorca.