THANKSGIVING MALLORCA:)

The island of Mallorca is off the coast of Spain, across from Barcelona...very touristy in the summer with Germans and the rest of Europe who enjoy the beach life:)   We found it a very green island compared to many we have visited. Without the hordes of tourists, it is a very lovely place to enjoy as you see from the empty beach at Soller.  Green mountain plunging into the Mediterranean reminded us of Oregon... but with palm trees:)  We stayed in the main city of Palma de Mallorca and enjoyed finding a "restaurant row" on the waterfront that was fun and busy with locals... great city to walk and enjoy!! We also went to the Hardrock Cafe on the harbor and had Nachos:)   The 14th century gothic cathedral is lovely from the seaside but we loved seeing it from a distance in town (top picture).   The Castell de Bellver is a round castle, royal fortress also from the 14th century that looks down on the harbor and the cathedral... and is in a pine forest:) Mallorca has old, original windmills used to pump water but now they just add to the scenery.  We used local buses to visit other beach towns and a early 1900's train to ride into the mountains to the lovely market town of Soller... and then a cogwheel train to the Port de Soller:)  The mountain towns were inland from their ports as they protected themselves from pirates!      We visited local markets, walked the waterfront and old, narrow streets of the old city of Palma and were so pleasantly surprised at how much we liked this island:)