My blog is about my experiences living in Palma, on the island of Mallorca, Spain. It primarily focuses on my discoveries exploring the island
as well as Home Exchanges around Europe. I like architecture, landscapes, beautiful beaches, riding my motorcycle, and taking notice of cultural differences over what I experienced growing up in the USA. I show a lot of photos along with comments, but not the nitty gritty bloody boring detail either! Nor do I write about what I had for lunch today!!
This is all about my transition from an American lifestyle and culture to my newest adventure, life in Spain, in the city of Palma on the island of Mallorca in the middle of the Mediterranean sea!!
I moved from the USA to Cuenca, Ecuador, South America and lived there for 7 years before moving here to Spain in early 2018.
I'll be recapping some of my day-to-day experiences (and mishaps) to highlight what it's like to live here....across the pond...as well as Home Exchange trips to exciting places all over Europe!
My most recent entries have NOT been about Mallorca, even though my blog is called 'Magical Mallorca'! So, I decided to compile a bunch of photos that represent some of the Mallorca experience. Sounds easy, right? But, I've taken over 4,000 photos (stored in 189 folders to organize them) in just the 3 1/2 years I've lived here!!!
After parsing through all that, I selected 70 to showcase in the video below....a snapshot of Mallorca....the flora, architecture, landscape, art, food, and festivals that make it so 'magical'.
Presented as a slide show, each photo is displayed for 5 seconds and the entire video takes only 6 minutes, unless you pause here and there.
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
Lucky you....no video this time!! Just photos of the wonderful architecture in Edinburgh.
Enjoy!!
The W Hotel (with curly top) scheduled to open Winter 2022
Edinburgh Castle on the hill in the background
Love the Travelodge across the street!
Parliament complex
'The Balmoral' 5-Star Hotel
Scott Monument
1844
Almost 200 feet tall
Stairs Everywhere!!
Yeah, I'd be grumpy, too!!!
'The Milkman' is a very popular coffee shop
Cockburn Street
Tolbooth (the building) constructed in 1591
'Tolbooth Tavern' established 1820
Clock (1884)
From my seat at Starbucks along the Royal Mile
Until Next Time!!!
Dano
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
I hopped on the HoHo again because my voucher was good for 24 hours and I still had plenty of time to do another loop. This time I used my GoPro camera instead of my cell. My cell phone camera allows me to zoom in/out but the GoPro doesn't. Videos taken on my cell tend to be a bit jerky, but the GoPro turns out amazingly smooth.
I walked the Royal Mile and over to the Scott Monument. It doesn't look like it's possible to climb those skinny columns but I did....33 years ago. It was closed due to Covid this time.
Then I walked down to the Edinburgh Dungeon via Cockburn street, an S-shaped street free of cars but lined with lots of restaurants, coffee shops, outdoor dining, and quaint shops.
I did the dungeon tour. MEH!!! Coulda done without it. It was too schticky. No photos allowed.
Stopped in at Starbucks, bought a coffee, and nabbed an outdoor spot to sit and watch the world walk past me. I didn't know beforehand, but this week was a school holiday so there were lots of young adults and loads of families with baby buggies, all being tourists like me.
Sunday, October 24, 2021
I watched a 10K run pass my apartment at 9am and 50 degrees.
Things I took notice of while here:
Unlike where I live, there were next to no motorcycles. Maybe that's because of the rain, ice/snow in the winter.
I think I saw all of TWO electric scooters (the kind you stand on like a skateboard)
I never saw any special bike lanes, nor did I see many bicycles
Somehow, Edinburgh has successfully prevented/controlled the scars of graffiti. Wonder how? So many other cities could benefit!! The graffiti I did spot was primarily scribbles of initials.
I went to a grocery store. There were 3 all in a row in the same block. On the other side of the street was coffee shop after coffee shop after....
Ham is king here. Not so much with chicken.
When I was on the HoHo tour, I spotted a large, modern, office building with the name in large letters 'Scottish Widows'. Huh? Is it a home where widows live? I Googled it later....
Scottish Widows was set up in 1815 to take care of women and children who lost their fathers, brothers and husbands in the Napoleonic Wars, taking its name after the people it was founded to look after. Now more than 200 years on, we look after almost 6 million customers across the UK. Today our commitment is still the same - to help people plan for their financial futures.
Monday, October 25, 2021
A nice, sunny day, I walked from my apartment down the Royal Mile to the Holyrood Palace. I had booked an appointment and barely made it in time because I made a few wrong turns along the way.
I spent an hour and a half self-touring the palace, abbey, and gardens.
There was no way I was going to walk back to the apartment given the state of my knee. I walked a few blocks to the #35 bus stop and waited.....annnnnnnnd waited. Never saw it come or go. Then I noticed #35 busses were using a different route and didn't include the stop where I was standing....for some unknown reason and Google Maps didn't know either. I climbed a hill and over to another #35 stop and finally made a connection.
Time to head home. A rainy departure day, I was up at 4:30am to be ready for my scheduled taxi at 5:30am to take me to the airport for my 7:40am flight. Luckily, EDI airport is pretty efficient and I didn't have to walk too far to reach my gate. Once there, I wondered 'where is everyone?' We ended up with only 20 passengers aboard the 737 heading non-stop to Palma. I was informed it was the last day of the holiday, most people had already made their way home, and this was the last day the airline was going to fly between Palma and Edinburgh for the season.
Approaching Mallorca
Formentor Peninsula
Port of Pollensa
Upper left is the City of Pollensa
City of Pollensa under columnar cloud
Next up, in the last installment...
Edinburgh's Architecture
Dano
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
First thing I needed to do was get cash in British Pounds. I went to a Bank and tried one of the ATM machines outside. Two of them didn't work. So, I went inside to find out why. He suggested I try one of the indoor ATM's. It worked. Don't know why the others didn't. Go figure.
I headed for the Giles
Cathedral on the Royal Mile. It was built
in the 14th century, extending into the 16th
century. The stylish organ was installed in 1992.
I Walked
back to Grassmarket square to catch the Hop On/Hop Off (HoHo) bus. The plaza is well known for the public executions which took place there in the 1600’s and
1700’s. Well over 100 were executed by hanging because of their
religious faith, being a witch, sheep-stealing, smuggling, and whatnot.
The HoHo
bus tour cost about 15 pounds. I rode the whole loop to the end stop, then sat there for 20 minutes wondering when the bus would start up again. I had booked an appointment to see the Edinburgh Castle and knew the HoHo went there...but I missed the stop. It wasn't apparant to me I was supposed to get off earlier and walk 3-4 blocks to the Castle site. I was late by an hour, but they graciously let me enter since it wasn't crowded. Entry cost 12 pounds.
Here's the video (15 minutes, including still photos) of the Edinburgh Castle:
Since the Castle is built atop a hill, I had to take several sets of stairs and narrow passages to get back down to Grassmarket. On the way down, I stopped off at 'OINK', a tiny restaurant serving roasted pig sandwiches (mine with apple filling).
Along the way, I noticed numerous stores selling Scotch....all KINDS of scotch....too many for my brain to handle!!! And, tons of stores specializing in lambswool and cashmere clothing.
Restaurants were closing...by 5pm on a Friday night!!! HUH? Apparently, to stay open later, they must have a 'late license'.
Everywhere you look in old Edinburgh the rooflines are full of chimneys. Back in 'the day' heating in these buildings came from coal burning fireplaces in several rooms of the home. Thus the multitude of chimneys and the reason why the exterior facades of so many Edinburgh buildings were/are blackened.
So, that's it for now. Stay tuned.......
Next up in Part III
The Palace of Holyrood
Dano
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
It was time for another Home Exchange adventure...this time to Edinburgh, Scotland!!
At the Palma airport, the flight reader boards directed me to Concourse A. I could SWEAR I've been on 'A' before, but it was very foreign to me. It led me to Immigration to check passports. I've NEVER had that done at this airport before and I've flown out of PMI many times. I finally figured out it was because of Brexit. Now that the UK is no longer a part of the EU, you can no longer freely travel there without joining the snaking line to passport control. I noticed everyone in the concourse was speaking English and it appeared all the flights departing from that concourse were headed to a destination in the UK.
After an uneventful 3-hour flight, we landed in Edinburgh and disembarked via the aircrafts built-in stairs onto the tarmac. No long concourses...I was out of the terminal in quick time. Just outside waited the Airlink bus and the light rail tram. I chose the bus.
First thing that threw me off was driving on the left side of the road. Weird sensation! The whole 'left' thing is much more than just the side of the road you drive. Vehicles are outfitted with the drivers seated on the right. You get on the left side of the bus. Normally, you determine which side of the street you need to stand for your bus based on the direction you want to go. But, in this 'left' world, it will be on the opposite side than you think. I kept swerving on sidewalks because I naturally wanted to walk on the right but constantly found myself having to correct my course and walk on the left side.
When I got off the Airlink bus to switch to my next bus, I had to wait in a somewhat chilly, brisk breeze. I thought 'no shorts here', but just as I was thinking those words, two guys came along in shorts and carrying surfboards! Huh? There's surf in Edinburgh? A few minutes later, skateboarders whizzed by wearing shorts. Darn, I didn't pack mine. I usually LIVE in shorts.
While riding the bus, I noticed what is typical in the older parts of most cities in Europe. That being, the buildings were old, with lots of character, apartments on the upper level but at the street level were endless Mom/Pop-sized shops, cafes, and bars.
The 2nd bus dropped me off almost directly in front of the apartment building where I'd be staying for the next 7 days.
Like many of the old buildings in Europe, there was no elevator. The apartment was a 55 step climb via a tight, circular stairwell. I imagined what it would be like to move in and out of these kinds of premises. I bet once they purchased furniture, that furniture was there to STAY!
My hosts left me a bevvy of 'welcome' gifts including wine, shortbread cookies, cheese, Scottish ham, and whiskey. I was doomed to gain weight as I have NO willpower. Zip.
I stayed in, logged onto the interwebs, and booked my next day activity which almost always includes a tour on the HoHo bus (Hop On Hop Off) to get a feel for the layout of the city and note places I wanted to go back to. The cost? 15 pounds...approximately $20. The UK continued to use the Pound Sterling as their currency even when they were part of the EU.
Hello Scotland!!
A large percentage of the city transit busses are double-decker
The stairwell leading to my Edinburgh apartment.
Interior of my Home Exchange apartment
View from the living room windows
I stayed in a neighborhood called
GrassMarket with the GM square right outside my door. Lonnnnng time ago, they used to sell cows,
pigs, and sheep here. BUT, it also has a sordid history in that most executions by hanging were done here. Well over a hundred of them up until the late
1700’s. There’s a marker showing the
place where they were conducted. A few
of the cafes that line the square take advantage of the history. One place is called ‘The Last Drop’. It either meant it was where the person being
executed had his last drink, or the act of the hanging and dropping from the
gallows was his/her ‘last drop’.
Also on the square is the
oldest pub in Edinburgh, the White Hart Inn.
'X' marks the spot where hangings took place
Notice the light fixtures
inside the café!!
Friday, October 22, 2021
I went for a walk and headed up to the 'Royal Mile', a popular shopping street that stretches from the Edinburgh Castle down to the Holyrood Palace.
Greyfriars Bobby Bar....there's a story behind it
Every Saturday, there's an outdoor market on Grassmarket square. Notice the Edinburgh Castle in the background.
Interesting combinations!!
I'm a peanut butter freak. I couldn't help myself.
Typical items you find on menus here
In case you’re wondering what
Haggis, Neeps, & Tatties is….here’s a 'splanation from the world wide interwebs:
Haggis is a tradtional Scottish dish containing sheep's offal
(heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt,
mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for
approximately three hours (although nowadays haggis tends to be simmered in a
casing rather than the stomach). It is often considered to be the national dish
of Scotland, and is memorialised in Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis.
Originally a modest dish ensuring no part of the sheep goes to
waste, haggis can now be found on the menu in most pubs and many restaurants
where one can encounter it in anything from Filo pastry, to Drambuie sauce, to
the haggis, neeps and tatties roulade on sale at the Scottish Parliament’s
Holyrood cafe. Furthermore, some supermarkets have been known to sell products
which are not sheep based. This is very wrong! A vegetarian version is now also
available and while still ‘wrong’, is quite tasty! Haggis is traditionally
served with mashed neeps (turnips) and mashed tatties (potatoes).
The first place on my list to check out was the medieval church St Giles Cathedral. Though it was founded in the 12th century, the current building stems from the 14th century and enlarged over time. In 1970 it was designated as a World Heritage site.
Here's a 5 minute video of arriving in Edinburgh, then touring the St Giles Cathedral.
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
I didn't leave my Barcelona apartment until 1pm. I took a bus to Montjuic, a 'mountain' (more like a small hill) in Barcelona where the '92 Olympics were held. The bus took a zig-zaggy route which gave me an opportunity to see various neighborhoods of the city.
Once at Montjuic, I hopped the funicular to take me half way up the hill. Then, I switched to the teleferico (aka 'gondola'). It took me to the top of the hill, and made a 90 degree turn along the way...I've never been on one that turns!
The fortress at the top is also known as Montjuic Castle. Originally, its primary role was to defend Barcelona from attacks coming in from the sea. It was reconstructed in the late 1700's after the previous version was destroyed and was equipped with 120 cannons.
Montjuic was involved in several wars and used as a prison and torture center repeatedly for three centuries. In fact, a man named Lluís Companys, who was president of Catalonia (the region where Barcelona lies) in 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War, was executed by firing squad at Montjuic in 1940, an order issued by the President of Spain, Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled over Spain from 1939 to 1975.
In April 2007, the government transferred the castle to Barcelona City Council and subsequently became a municipal facility.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Another comfortable day, around 78 degrees.
I had heard about Mercat Sant Antoni as being quite the market to visit. So, that's what I decided to do. I love public markets....so full of energy, colorful fruit and vegetable stands, butchers, seafood, and a vast array of other fascinating stalls. MSA had gone through a massive renovation.
I was very disappointed at the result. MSA was more like MEHHH!!! 95% of the vendor stalls were kiosks selling clothes, textiles, handbags, etc. There was no bustle. It was downright boring. Oh well...at least the outside is an architecturally interesting cross-shaped building.
Off to the Aquarium.
Ok, the aquarium is located in a cool spot on the waterfront, so it's gets a bonus point for that. This was the 3rd aquarium I've visited in recent times. One in Coppenhagen, this one, and the one in Palma which is, by bar, the best of all three. I'll give Barcelona a 6.9 out of 10.
Here's video clips I took while at the fortress as well as the aquarium.
I was up at 3am for a 4am taxi to the airport and then a 6:30am flight to Amsterdam, the first leg of my trip to Seattle. I arrived to find over 100 people waiting in line to check in! 😱 I joined the line and waited about 30 minutes until I got close enough to read a sign that pointed to SkyPriority...which was where I needed to go since I was flying Business Class. There were 3 people in line ahead of me. 😣
For the Barcelona to Amsterdam segment, I was on an Airbus A320 which didn't have a differently designed section for Biz Class over Economy....they simply didn't sell the middle seat.
With a bad knee, walking long stretches (like down long airport concourses) can be painful. Thank goodness for the moving sidewalks! BUT, in AMS, the moving walkways were only working in the OTHER direction!! 😩
One of the perks of flying Biz Class is free access to the SkyClub...a separate 'exclusive' setting with free food, bevs, cushy seating, etc. I had a few hours to kill, so I headed there. Here's the rundown of their offerings:
Gumdrops and Wasabi peas from (separate) cereal dispensers
Coffee and sodas
Stingy plates of a few slices of cheese and celery
Hummus
THAT WAS IT!!!! Yes, another emoji!!! 😖
From AMS to Seattle, I flew Delta in an Airbus 330 - 900 with almost 300 seats. In Biz Class there were 30 'closed suites' configured with seats that go down to a full flat bed, 20" monitors, a headset, a kit containing socks, eye mask, and toothbrush/paste, and a sliding door for privacy. Even better, the layout of the seats was 1 - 2 - 1, meaning one seat at the window, aisle, then 2 seats, aisle, then one seat at the window on the other side. I had a single seat which meant no one was next to me. YEA!!!
This is the way to fly, especially when the flight is 9+ hours!! The service was excellent and the food was amazing. Any negative? For some dumb reason, I had to PAY for WiFi....$22.
As I mentioned at the start of this Barcelona blog, I goofed by publishing my Seattle experience blog BEFORE the Barcelona experience...when in fact I went to BCN first, THEN Seattle.
So, if you want to read (if you haven't done so already) what transpired after I got off the above plane in Seattle, here's the link.
I'm planning a Home Exchange trip to Edinburgh, Scotland in October!!
Dano
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
I love me some Gaudi!! Some may think it 'gawdy' but I find his architecture fascinating and, certainly, out of the box...WAY OUT.
Still in Barcelona on a Home Exchange, preceding my trip to Seattle, I made today all about Gaudi.
On a hillside in Barcelona is Parc Guell which is one part park and the other part an outdoor display of Gaudi's work. The intent, back in the early 1900's, was to create a small community of 60 homes, all designed by Gaudi, embedded inside a park-like environment, away from the polution from the factories and noise of the city below. However, only 2 homes were constructed (though there's actually 4 structures) as there was no public interest in the concept. Gaudi lived in one house, and Guell (the land owner) lived in the other.
There was a nice cool breeze the day I went. But, it didn't help while standing in a long line to get in. Unfortunately, the signage at PG is very poor and many people were caught confused (like me) as to what to do. I bought a ticket online. I assumed the line I was standing in was to redeem the ticket and be allowed in. Nope. Like others, after about 20 minutes I started to question things. I discovered those with tickets could simply walk over to a man standing in the middle of an open passageway where he would scan their ticket with his cell phone and VOILA...you're in. There was NOTHING to tell you this. GRRRRR
I spent about 2 hours wandering the 42 acre park and admiring the amazing, colorful tile work and rock structures that resembled what might be the Flinstones back yard.
A few pics to give you a taste of what's in the video.
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Since I was flying out to Seattle the next day, I had to get a Covid Antigen test to show at the airport. I found a clinic near my apartment and walked to it. Within a few minutes, I was taken in, swabbed, and paid the $45 fee (only $30 in Mallorca!). A short time later I received the results (Neg) in my email.
Next, I headed for Casa Batllo' on Paseo Gracia, one of the most popular streets in Barcelona. I had my (pricey at $35) ticket and appointment slot, which is a prerequisite to control the number of people inside the house at one time. The Casa is another of Gaudi's work, hired by Batllo' to redesign the 6-story home with no-holds-barred. You can read and see all about it in the video below.
But, here's a few teasers:
These next 5 photos are of the building next door to Casa Batllo'
By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end. There, you'll see 'Blog History'. You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time. Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.
