Vacation : Day 2

We did a lot of walking on day 2 and walked all over the "Old Town".  We decided to take a bus into the city center (which was only 5 minutes from my cousin's home) because the center is just total chaos and parking is impossible.  The main attractions in the Old Town are the Cathedral and the Palace which sit side by side.

I found the following on Wikipedia regarding the Cathedral:

"The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma, more commonly referred to as La Seu, is a Gothic Roman Catholic church located in Palma, Majorca, Spain, built on the site of a pre-existing Arab mosque. It is 121 metres long, 55 metres wide and its nave is 44 metres tall. Designed in the Catalan Gothic style but with Northern European influences, it was begun by King James I of Aragon in 1229 but finished only in 1601. It sits within the old city of Palma atop the former citadel of the Roman city, between the Royal Palace La Almudaina and the episcopal palace. It also overlooks the Parc de la Mar and the Mediterranean Sea."

 

I have never been to the cathedral of Notre Dame nor have I seen

the Vatican but the architecture of this cathedral is absolutely 

incredible.  Pictures don't really do the building justice.  It is

huge, but when we were inside Jon told me that this cathedral

would fit inside the Vatican...........amazing!

 

Being inside of a Catholic church or Russian Orthodox church

only brings me one kind of feeling and that is one of total

sadness.  I felt the same way inside this cathedral.

 

So, now for a little humor.  One of the few

reasons why we paid 4 euros for each adult

to get inside of the cathedral was for Naynay

to use the restroom.  We were a bit desperate. 

The restrooms were at the exit of the cathedral

in a courtyard.  As we approached the bathroom

there was a sign up above that had a man and a

woman so Jon assumed that the bathrooms were

communal.  So.......he took both boys in with

him but as I was waiting for him I realized that

the left entrance was for men and the right

entrance for women!!!!  He totally went to 

the right!  As I peeked in and saw when he was

finished and about to wash hands I yelled at him to

get out quick.  This is a picture of him coming out

of the men's bathroom after washing hands!  I 

couldn't stop laughing, it was hilarious.

 

This is the courtyard area.  

 

The foundation of the cathedral.

So, what did we learn on our second day?  

1.  Eating out in Spain is super duper expensive.  I don't even want to 

write how many Euros we spent at Burger King...........ouch!!! 

2.  There's Coke Zero in Spain!  One of Jon's all time favorite drinks.

3.   Don't believe everything you read in the internet.  Before going to

     Mallorca I read up a lot on safety and health issues on the island. 

Everything I read about this cathedral always warned tourists 

   about Gyspies who try to sell you a flower and then pick-pocket

    you.  As you can imagine, I was totally horrified and on the look

     out for women selling flowers.  I didn't see a single one and never

    felt threatened at all.  I found all the people we encountered to be

extremely gracious and welcoming.

4.  Always make sure you double check the entrance of the bathroom!