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Mallorca - Spain

5/14/2015

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On landing in this largest baleric island I thought it seemed like a regular city. I was beginning to get disappointed. But as soon as the La Seu Palma Cathedral came into sight, I realized that the real Mallorca lies along the coastline and it's alleyways.The Romans, Byzantines, the Moors and the Catalans, all fell in love with this city and settled here in the past 2000 years adding to each layer of its history and culture. Tennis fans will be interested in knowing that it is a birthplace of Rafa Nadal.

Palma Cathedral is an enormous church,  rising out along the coastline of the Baleric Sea. Around it horse carriages are ready to take you for a stroll along the coastline. This area is also popular with bicycling enthusiast's , who ride along the coast. When you enter the Cathedral you are stunned by three things- it's immense-ness, it's beauty- it is more contemporary than traditional because Gaudi was here, and it's serenity.The audio guide was very helpful in providing commentary about each apse, the saints and other biblical stories. Gaudi was commissioned in 1901 to transform the church, he removed the columns in the middle, added metal chandeliers around them and the stained glass windows are his signature style. All this lend more light and space inside the church. It is very beautiful.

Behind the cathedral are narrow cobblestone streets lined with souvenir stores selling Mallorcan pearls, locally made cotton dresses, straw baskets and hats. Walked through the Bany's Arab ( Arab Baths) which is a tiny garden with fountains and baths, a remnant of the Moorish culture that existed here between 18-19th century.The alleys have preserved the past in the old palaces with majestic wooden doors and flower dressed balconies.

Heading towards the coastline, Passieg Maritime, came across an open air market  where hawkers had set up eyecatching displays of their wares- breads, olives, cheeses, jewelry,  scarves and much more.This waterside promenade has windmills and is a bikers delight.

As you leave this area and walk towards the city, a tree lined fancy street- Passieg de Borne, which has come to be known as the "Golden Mile" is a contrast to the cities medieval-ness. It is a luxury shopping street lined with high end stores such as Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Caroline Herrera, Versace, Twin set, Mulberry, Rialto Living and others making it a designer's street. Spotted a very sad looking "Minnie Mouse" walking along and then resting her tired feet as I sat people watching.

It was now time to head to the airport to catch the flight back to Barcelona. So we started gravitating towards it, passing through Placa Major, where street performers and artists were vying for your attention as well as your Euros. Had a great day at this awesome island.
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Santorini - Stunning Views, Sunset and........ Donkeys

5/10/2015

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On  Mother's day treated myself to a trip to the most beautiful " postcard island" of Santorini.  My husband and I flew down to see this island which is magical, as if emerging from the sea as a huge rock .It is perhaps the most idyllic places in the world. Very mystical. The famous cycladic cliff side houses, painted blazing white with deep blue roofs appear hugging the cliff sides, definitely defying gravity.

Santorini is made up of volcanic ashes, and the volcano's caldera is nearby the island with the hot springs around it to take a dip. People take a boat ride into the caldera to swim, snorkel and cover themselves in mud from the volcanic spring.The volcano still smolders today. Layer upon layer of red and black  volcanic rocks interspersed with desert like landscape forms an extraordinary and unique illustration.

Some facts about Santorini:
- It is born of fire.
- Santorini's official name is actually Thira.
- The island sits in the water-filled caldera of a volcano.
- 5400 years ago the first caldera appeared.
- 30, 000 years ago this island was double in size of current Santorini.
- The current semicircular shape of the island was formed 3700 years ago. Greek for "Strongili" = circular.
- In 1613 the second largest volcanic eruption out of the numerous eruptions that have happened here occured. Darkness lasted for 2 weeks. Winter lasted for 2 years. It sunk 1/ 4th of the island.
- First settlement of Akrotiri was established around 4500 B C. It was destroyed by an earthquake around 1700 BC. Then it had 30,000 inhabitants which is 2X the population of today. It was rebuilt and flourished until 2nd millenium BC
- It has red, black and white beaches due to it's volcanic past.
- Now a sophisticated integrated monitoring system is installed to predict any volcanic/seismic activity on the island.

From the airport we drove into Fira, which is the capital city of Santorini.  It was early in the morning and a bit chilly. The bakeries were emanating delicious smells . Had a cup of coffee and climbed down the steep 587 steps to the Old Port of Skala. It is here that the cruise ships dock and people flock to the island. Walking down,  we were in the way of the donkeys who were heading to work to the bottom of the steps to lug the tourists 300 meters above into the town. You have to keep an eye out for donkeys running through as if getting late for work and them leaving behind some surprises on the ground.The donkey taxi is
the highlight of the island and have been depicted in some movies set in Greece.You can hire them to transport you to and fro from the bottom of the cliff on  steep slippery rocks.  Well, I opted out of a donkey ride trusting more my own two feet on the smooth, slippery volcanic rocks.For getting back into town we took the cable car and enjoyed the views of the sea.
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Started our stroll along the Gold Street lined with cobblestone paths. It has quite a shopping scene and you can have a fix of your retail therapy here. From traditional souvenirs to glittering fashion boutiques offering brand names, unique handcrafted  gold Greek jewelry . Typical for Santorini are accessories made from lava stones. It is also lined with cosy restaurants ,taverns, clubs and pubs.  You can feel the old time charm of the city.

Then we headed south of the island towards Akrotiri , a 3500 years old Minoan town preserved in volcanic ash just like Pompeii. The ruins are quite well preserved.You can see the ancient streets, buildings and even stairs leading to a second floor in the ruins. Minoan pottery and frescos were also on display. Not far from this ancient site is the Red beach. It is an absolutely breathtaking setting, where soaring red lava cliffs emerge from the black sandy shore and immerse into the clear blue sea. It is a fun spot for swimming, sun bathing and snorkeling.For lunch we tried the famous Santorini tomato balls ( fritters of cherry tomatoes) along with fava ( yellow split  pea puree) and horiatiki ( tomato, cucumber, olives and feta cheese salad) at a restaurant along the beach.

Then we drove on to the quintessential town of Oia ( pronounced ee- yah). Oia is built on a steep  slope of a caldera, providing amazing views.
Driving up to the villages you can see various layers of volcanic ash formed by many eruptions over a range of many years. It is quite dramatic to see stunning cliffs showing off their pumice strata on one side of the road and flat beaches on the other side. It is very easy to fall in love with the blue domed churches and white washed houses with winding narrow passageways. No matter which way you shoot your camera you are bound to get a good picture.The views are breathtakingly beautiful. I could just stand and stare at the place for hours, impressioning it on my mind. It is indeed like being in a beautiful dream. Couples put love locks at this spot as a testimony to their togetherness. We found a vantage point and waited for the sun to set.

It was hard saying good bye to this amazingly beautiful place. If I could, I would just rent a terrace with a view as Santorini is an ultimate balcony over the Aegean Sea .
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    A Stressor
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    Mallorca - Spain
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    Santorini
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