Palma bike tour continued.
City Council of Palma. The bench outside is for locals to sit and watch the world go by, however, it appears that weary tourists have found a resting place.
King James I the Conqueror
By one account, the name James was chosen by his mother after she lit twelve candles giving each an apostle's name. St. James's burned the longest, hence, his Spanish name Jaime.
King James reigned from 1213-1276 and was the most beloved king of Mallorca. His accomplishments were great and varied.
Passeig Des Born (Born Passage) is a favorite area for tourists and locals.
The entrance to the passage is "guarded" by a pair of sphinx. The sphinx is the classic form, a lion's body with a human head. The sphinxes were carved in 1833 and the passage was dedicated to Princess Isabel and called Salon de la Princesa. The name was changed later to Passeig Des Born.
The Passeig des Born is a tree lined promenade leading from the harbor and the cathedral to the downtown core.
Born Passage was originally a watercourse, a stream running through the old city. Normally the stream bed was dry but during heavy rains, flash floods were a problem. In 1403 a flash flood killed many people and destroyed property. The watercourse was diverted to a new channel and the original was filled in and became a wide passage through the city. It was used for jousting matches among other things. Born is from an old Catalan word for joust.
The passage is now home to florists, newspaper sellers, and fashionable shops.
Just as I was learning all the history and right after hearing of the "fashionable" shops, I spotted Christine digging in her purse. I held my breath until I saw her
head straight for the gelato ice cream store. Hey, get me one, also!!
Christine got each of us a nice big ice cream cone, and we were now ready to just smell the flowers.
I have never seen a flower such as above, but it was pretty as well as unique.
We also sat and took in the surrounding scenery. The stately houses were built by nobles. Now they are a combination of residences and shops.
We enjoyed the various structures and architectural styles.
We could have stayed for a much longer time, but it was near the end of our bike tour.
Did Christine enjoy the tour? I think a picture is worth a lot of words.
After settling back aboard the liner, we sailed off into the sunset to our next adventure.
City Council of Palma. The bench outside is for locals to sit and watch the world go by, however, it appears that weary tourists have found a resting place.
By one account, the name James was chosen by his mother after she lit twelve candles giving each an apostle's name. St. James's burned the longest, hence, his Spanish name Jaime.
King James reigned from 1213-1276 and was the most beloved king of Mallorca. His accomplishments were great and varied.
Passeig Des Born (Born Passage) is a favorite area for tourists and locals.
Born Passage was originally a watercourse, a stream running through the old city. Normally the stream bed was dry but during heavy rains, flash floods were a problem. In 1403 a flash flood killed many people and destroyed property. The watercourse was diverted to a new channel and the original was filled in and became a wide passage through the city. It was used for jousting matches among other things. Born is from an old Catalan word for joust.
The passage is now home to florists, newspaper sellers, and fashionable shops.
Christine got each of us a nice big ice cream cone, and we were now ready to just smell the flowers.
I have never seen a flower such as above, but it was pretty as well as unique.
And back to our ship Noordam.
And day is done.
It seems you didn't get a "green flash" at the sunset. Never been to Spain, but it sure looks like a wonderful place to visit. Fiji is on my list first though:)
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