Day Two Mallorca March 28 Taking the Wooden Train to Soller

Although I posted the pictures shortly after I returned home,


I am writing this post over a month later.

Our first morning in Llucmajor, I took a little wander around the property



before everyone else was up.  It was a lovely morning and did I mention I was awoke by the sounds of roosters and donkeys?



Our hostess, Adele, laid out a beautiful breakfast, and Mike had whipped into town for fresh bread.




Our plan for today was for Sue and I to visit the town of Soller.  Mike and Adele dropped us off at the train station in Palma and we took the antique electric wooden train up into the mountains.  It was so crowded with tourists, some local, a few British, but mainly German on this holiday, Easter Monday, I didn't actually enjoy it as much a I might have.  I think that is why I only seem to have a picture of the station along the way in Bunola.




I have to admit that when Sue thought this would be fun to visit an said that it was supposed to be quaint, in my mind i thought momentarily," Do I really need to see one more quaint village?" but of course I did.  Above is inside the cathedral right in the centre of town.



Note those orange trees!!!




Here we are in the central plaza




My favourite kind of streets...




It seemed time for lunch so this was our view.





The bread and olives were just delicious.  And I am sure our main course was as well-probably a salad (see why I need to take lots of pictures).




It really is a beautiful town and the tourists seemed to have spread out.  There is a trolley down to Soller Port but we decided not to take it and concentrate on the hillside village.  Before a tunnel was built in 1997 it used to take over nine hours to get to Soller by road from Palma, a journey with something like 28  switchbacks on the way up and 31 on the way down.   After our drive yesterday, I can imagine.  Now it only takes 45 minutes. The train, which we took, used to be the only comfortable way to get there!


On the 19th century, citrus fruits were shipped directly from Soller Port to Marseilles, so the wealth generally stayed in this tiny place.  As a result there are some beautiful Modernistic mansions and small plazas.




Not all shops were open on Easter Monday, but certainly enough.



This packaging shows traditional Mallorcan patterns.



My favourite blue and white combination



Look at the beautiful patterned tile work!




Lush vegetation-it looked like spring!



Lemon trees!



I think this is one of my favourite pictures from my whole trip...



Doesn't this look like a lovely place to linger?





Look at those baked goods!


These are different varieties of Mallorcan salts.



Just enjoying the sun and perhaps awaiting the train...





Products made from local oranges.  And did I mention we bought fresh oranges here and although I moaned a bit  about carrying them around all day, mine was the most delicious orange I have ever tasted!


I began collecting Mallorcan cats (well in pictures at least).



Blossoms everywhere



Honeysuckle














The Soller train station has a free art museum focussed on Joan Miro (whose grandmother was from Soller) and Picasso who were great friends.





another cat...








What a view!














I must say waiting for the train to arrive was quite delightful (we were a bit worried it would be as crowded going back as it had been coming).










Here's the little tram...




Okay now you can see the train and we had lots of space this time.





I totally recommend a train trip to Soller!!!





And yes, it was worth a trip to yet another charming Spanish town...



Next post will take you exploring in Palma, the main city of Mallorca...

Location:W 21st Ave,Vancouver,Canada

Mallorca March 27, 2016-Easter Sunday

We kind of hated leaving Barcelona. We really liked Hotel Constanza and would have liked to have seen the Gaudi Park, but it was time for us to go visit Sue's friends in Mallorca.










We were able to just walk a few blocks to catch the airporter bus and then we were off to Mallorca.









A friend had lent me the Insight Guide, Explore Mallorca and the map is from that book. We flew to the capital, Parma, where Sue's friends picked us up and took us to their home just outside Llucmajor

Llucmajor is about 15 kilometres from the airport and a busy town of about 9000.






We dropped our bags at their home and then they were taking us off exploring. Above is the front of their new home. It is flat here but our journey was into the mountains.








Our first destination was to Valdermossa, which is up in the mountains and very pretty. It is somewhat famous as where the writer, George Sands (who was a woman) and composer, Chopin spent time. Mallorca was the most spring like place we had been. I loved seeing the lemon and orange trees.









Our trip included visiting some beautiful villages but this one is spectacular, every street a picture.











And it was a lovely Easter Sunday and the town was filled










Beautiful stone houses with pretty balconies








And beautiful stone streets that are worn from centuries of use and apparently carpets are sometimes put out to keep people from slipping when it is wet.










This town has its own patron saint, Santa Catalina Thomas, who was born here.


































In case you want to know a few directions...










I found it interesting in Mallorca that many of these mountain villages will have their own ports accessible by winding mountain roads down to sea.











When house hunting Adele decided that as pretty as these mountain villages are, practically it was easier to live on a flatter surface.
























My pictures just don't capture those twisty mountain roads























I just loved the colourful potted plants























Our next stop was Deia
This town literally is on the side of a mountain but with spectacular views. Writer and classicist, Robert Graves, author of I, Claudius, lived, there,and now apparently Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Pierce Brosnam, have homes nearby.











I loved these bowls but were a bit expensive and wouldn't have fit in my suitcase.





















I met a couple of local residents








The lady below was selling fresh orange juice but wouldn't sell us any oranges.












It was so lovely to see all the flowers
















And more lemons




























We wended our way back through incredible scenery and quite a few hairpin turns eventually out of the mountains to Llucmajor


































Here is the town centre.








We ended up having dinner at their friend, Nick's favourite restaurant








Where perhaps not surprisingly we found Nick and joined him for a delicious dinner.




Let's have a few food pictures





What a wonderful and unforgettable Easter Sunday!