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selenakWell, almost. We don't actually leave until Wednesday, but I doubt I'll be able to post tomorrow, so that's it for pic spam extravaganzas. I only had brief chances each time to browse through some ljs, and I know I'll have massive fandom catching up to do. And what's this I hear about the writers' strike?
Now, following another tip from Iris the helpful, we took the train to Palma on Sunday morning, as the churches were bound to be open then, and we really did want to see at least three from the inside. Which we did. And then some. Usually I like my Gothic and my Baroque separately, but in this case, the combination really worked (i.e. Gothic outside, Baroque inside). Returning to Santa Maria del Cami, we were able to enjoy the market day that happened on that same Sunday. On Monday, i.e. today the weather changed and grew noticable colder, but never mind. We visited the Arab gardens of Alfàbia anyway, and added Soller for good measure.
Back to Palma. Just a quick reminder of the outside of Le Seu, the great Cathedral of Palma, which doesn't have to hide behind the cathedrals of France or England for style and beauty:
Now, this is how it looks inside, about three quarters of an hour before mass starts.
The inside of this cathedral got partly redesigned by Antonio Gaudì, who also made this candelier (supposed to be the crown of thorns) for the cathedral:
I tried to take a picture that showed the entire length of the cathedral, but it ended up a bit too dark. Still, look:
Now, the basilica of St. Francis greeted us with an old aquaintance, so to speak. The statue outside is Fray Juniper Serra. Buried inside, on the other hand, is Ramon Lull, the No.1 missionary hero of the island, but the tomb was inaccessible right now. On the other hand, the basilica was all light and baroque splendor inside, als you'll see in a moment; it was also completely empty except for my mother and myself.
Today, as mentioned earlier, the perpetual sunshine deserted us. But some clouds on the sky and lower temperatures couldn't lessen the beauty of Alfàbia. Those gardens have a remarkable story. Their name means "a cup of olives" ("al fabi" in Arab). The Muslim governor of Inca, Benihabet, created them. He converted to Christianity in 1229 when the Catalans invaded and thus was allowed to keep his possessions, including the house and gardens. According to my guide book, today's owners are still his descendants. The place comes across as something of a slightly neglected country seat where time stopped. (Not during the reconquista, incidentally, but later, somewhere in the 18th century.) One expects a spell to break any minute. Meanwhile, it's beautiful to look at.
Let's go inside.
Those are handwritten books. The first privately (as opposed to museum-) owned ones I've seen.
Before the Aragonese conquered the island from the Catalans, the last king who never actually got to rule, Jaume IV, supposedly had this chair made. In actuality,it probably does date from the period though who sat on it is questionable. But: look at the carving of Tristan and Isolde playing chess!
And the whole thing from slightly above, as we were on the road to Soller:
Soller. They made their money with oranges, and then the town got temporarily impoverished when orange lice struck.
But before that interlude, they build a lovely church:
And a photo just for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
londonkds, since he asked. (This tram/train continues to Port de Soller.)
Finally, to cap my entry, a photo from Sunday. A view over the harbour of Palma from the Cathedral:
Finally, to cap my entry, a photo from Sunday. A view over the harbour of Palma from the Cathedral:
Now, following another tip from Iris the helpful, we took the train to Palma on Sunday morning, as the churches were bound to be open then, and we really did want to see at least three from the inside. Which we did. And then some. Usually I like my Gothic and my Baroque separately, but in this case, the combination really worked (i.e. Gothic outside, Baroque inside). Returning to Santa Maria del Cami, we were able to enjoy the market day that happened on that same Sunday. On Monday, i.e. today the weather changed and grew noticable colder, but never mind. We visited the Arab gardens of Alfàbia anyway, and added Soller for good measure.
Back to Palma. Just a quick reminder of the outside of Le Seu, the great Cathedral of Palma, which doesn't have to hide behind the cathedrals of France or England for style and beauty:
Now, this is how it looks inside, about three quarters of an hour before mass starts.
The inside of this cathedral got partly redesigned by Antonio Gaudì, who also made this candelier (supposed to be the crown of thorns) for the cathedral:
I tried to take a picture that showed the entire length of the cathedral, but it ended up a bit too dark. Still, look:
Now, the basilica of St. Francis greeted us with an old aquaintance, so to speak. The statue outside is Fray Juniper Serra. Buried inside, on the other hand, is Ramon Lull, the No.1 missionary hero of the island, but the tomb was inaccessible right now. On the other hand, the basilica was all light and baroque splendor inside, als you'll see in a moment; it was also completely empty except for my mother and myself.
Today, as mentioned earlier, the perpetual sunshine deserted us. But some clouds on the sky and lower temperatures couldn't lessen the beauty of Alfàbia. Those gardens have a remarkable story. Their name means "a cup of olives" ("al fabi" in Arab). The Muslim governor of Inca, Benihabet, created them. He converted to Christianity in 1229 when the Catalans invaded and thus was allowed to keep his possessions, including the house and gardens. According to my guide book, today's owners are still his descendants. The place comes across as something of a slightly neglected country seat where time stopped. (Not during the reconquista, incidentally, but later, somewhere in the 18th century.) One expects a spell to break any minute. Meanwhile, it's beautiful to look at.
Let's go inside.
Those are handwritten books. The first privately (as opposed to museum-) owned ones I've seen.
Before the Aragonese conquered the island from the Catalans, the last king who never actually got to rule, Jaume IV, supposedly had this chair made. In actuality,it probably does date from the period though who sat on it is questionable. But: look at the carving of Tristan and Isolde playing chess!
And the whole thing from slightly above, as we were on the road to Soller:
Soller. They made their money with oranges, and then the town got temporarily impoverished when orange lice struck.
But before that interlude, they build a lovely church:
And a photo just for
londonkds, since he asked. (This tram/train continues to Port de Soller.) 
Finally, to cap my entry, a photo from Sunday. A view over the harbour of Palma from the Cathedral:
Finally, to cap my entry, a photo from Sunday. A view over the harbour of Palma from the Cathedral:
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-11 07:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-12 07:48 am (UTC)Lovely pictures!
Date: 2008-02-12 03:35 pm (UTC)I've enjoyed them all. Thank you.
Re: Lovely pictures!
Date: 2008-02-13 08:33 am (UTC)