Schiehallion “Fairy Hill of the Caledonians” (745m) has a fascinating history and has a relative easy ascent which is why it’s no surprise that thousands of people climb it each year. It was quite the tourist trap on the sunny Easter weekend we decided to climb it. I guess the joy of this mountain is that dogs, kids and elderly people can get to the top and enjoy the stunning views of Perthshire and beyond.

Interestingly, because of it’s distinct shape, Schiehallion was instrumental in an 18th century experiment to measure the mass of the earth. Later, through these experiments contour lines were devised.

There is a path virtually all the way to the top built by the John Muir Trust so the walk is very straightforward; I will let the pictures do the talking this time. Group photo taken by Karen.

Tagged: Fairy Hill of the Caledonians, Munro, Perthshire, Schiehallion ]]> http://kirstyswanderings.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/schiehallion/feed/ 0 kirstyswanderings 1_schiehallion1 01a_group-photo1 2-the-ascent 4_looking-out 5_dog-looking-over-ridge 02_ali-at-summit_21 6_kirsty-on-summit 6_group-photo 9_neil-rosie 8_ali-karen1 11_ali-karen-neil http://kirstyswanderings.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/ben-starav/ http://kirstyswanderings.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/ben-starav/#comments Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:59:23 +0000 kirstyswanderings http://kirstyswanderings.wordpress.com/?p=552 ]]> Glen Etive is the most breathtaking spot in Scotland, which is why Ali, James, Karen and myself decided to head into the Glen and camp at the bottom of Ben Starav, (1078m) to prepare for the climb to the summit the following morning.

Walking from the car, laiden with two rucksacks each, to our camping spot was ironically one of the toughest part of the journey; although, it was definitely worth all the effort to find such a charming spot hidden from the path. The site was nestled next to River Etive with a view of the surrounding spectacular mountains. Note to self: pack lighter next time!

The tents faced onto the snow peaked top of Stob Coir an Albannaich and to the right (out of shot) Glas Bheinn Mhor and Ben Starav.

Once unpacked, we decided to take a wander down to Loch Etive as a warm up to the following day’s climb. The ground was quite uneven and boggy but was worth it to come across stunning scenery like this one below.

In the middle of nowhere we stumbled across an old thatched cottage which was a former stalker’s cottage, it’s now a bothy and used as a residential base for Venture Scotland. The mist above the chimney looks like smoke from their fire but the cottage was empty .

In the morning, after some bacon rolls and some tea, we set off nice and early through mud and boggy terrain, passing some spectacular waterfalls on the way.

As we climbed higher and higher the rain and mist got thicker and thicker, eventually turning into snow.

The next couple of photos are looking down towards Loch Etive before the weather closed in.

Here are Ali and James laughing before the snow really started to fall.

I was going for the wind swept look here….

Not laughing now!

The snow got deeper and deeper until we finally reached the top. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of us next to the cairn;  it was far too cold and windy to even think about getting our lunch out, nevermind the cameras. We were planning on heading round and bagging the other two summits but because of the weather and time restrictions we reluctantly headed back down the way we came. When we come back to do the other two, hopefully we’ll see the spectacular view that everyone talks about from these mountains!

Karen, Ali and myself nearing the summit (picture taken by James).

This  picture, taken by Karen, makes it look much worse than it actually was (or perhaps I  just had tunnel vision!).  This is James trying to take a picture of the sheer drop to the side of the mountain.

Another one by James, this time on our way down.

The snow cleared again as we came back down to sea level and the sun actually popped out for a short time. Unfortunately, most of this time I had condensation in my lens and couldn’t take many pictures! I managed to get this one though; quite a contrast to the weather we had a couple of hours earlier!

Lastly, a view of all three munros from the road: Stob Coir an Albannaich to the left, Glas Bheinn Mhor in the middle and Ben Starav (the summit in the clouds that you can’t see behind the first peak on the right).

Starting off 2009 with a walk in Glen Etive was the perfect way to start the new year. Ali and I decided to climb Buachaille Etive Beag’s two peaks: Stob Dubh (958m) and Stob Coire Raineach (925m).

We stayed at the Isles of Glencoe hotel which had a nice view across Loch Leven to the Pap of Glencoe. Staying locally gave us the perfect opportunity to rise early and take advantage of the limited Scottish daylight at this time of year. Before we set off for out climb we headed out to Loch Etive to take in the views. On our way, we came across a heard of young deer and a couple of Stags. Of course we had to stop and take a couple of photos.

Our climb took us to the ridge of Buachaille Etive Beag which had wonderful panoramic views of the two summits. The picture below is looking towards the peak of Stob Dubh and Glen Etive. This Munro was higher and had lots of icy snow to navigate through, although previous walkers had worn some handy footprints which we used as a staircase to reach the top. The light on the mountains was very pretty and our lenses didn’t really do the view justice.

The second peak (Stob Coire Raineach) wasn’t quite as high but much more of a scramble and we got up there in surprising time. The light had started to go so we were quite keen to start making our way down. In the picture below, you can see Etive Mor to the right and a bit of the Blackwater Reservoir miles in the distance.

The obligatory portrait shots next to the cairns:

Ali on the peak of Stob Coire Raineach.

Me on the peak of Stob Dubh.

Recording all the places I have visited was the perfect excuse to start a blog  so I can look back fondly and remember the interesting countries I have experienced. Certainly a sound way to share my photos and relay hilarious stories with anyone that seems vaguely interested. Eventually, as time has gone on I found myself not just posting cultural holiday photos but our local camping trips and walks have started to sneak onto the blog too.

Predictably, I’ve now reached the stage that any slightly exciting episode that’s happening in my life is now being photographed and stuck on the blog. Hence, here are the photos from the 156ft abseil off the Forth Rail Bridge in South Queensferry which myself, Fiona and four others did for Care In the Community.

Albeit, my abseil is still correctly classified under ‘Kirsty’s Wanderings’… just not a horizontal one… more….. vertical!

The following photos were taken by Ali to prove I did the jump ‘controlled descent’ off the bridge.

I know I’ve gone too far and really fallen into the blog trap when photos of last night’s dinner start appearing!

North Queensferry Gloaming

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. f/16, 30sec, ISO 100, 15mm

Clachan Waterfall

EF-S 17-85mm f/4.5-5.6. (f/16, 30sec, ISO 400, 24mm)

J. Piłsudski’s Bridge, Kraków

EF-S 17-85mm f/4.5-5.6. (f/16, 15sec, ISO 100, 68mm)

La Seu Cathedral, Palma

EF-S 17-85mm f/4.5-5.6. (f/16, 7sec, ISO 100, 24mm)

Port Edgar, South Queensferry

EF-S 17-85mm f/4.5-5.6. (f/16, 45sec, ISO 100, 24mm)

Our first stop on the way to the remote Wester Ross was Glencoe in Argyll. Alasdair, Rosie, Neil and myself pitched our tents at the Red Squirrel Campsite nestled in the mountains. We’ve been here before but it’s such a natural and informal site it acted as a perfect place to break our journey.

We found a spot just next to the River Coe and surprisingly the midges were manageable, with the help of our special hats of course! Our first job was to get the tents up and have a wee glass of champagne sitting in the sun, to celebrate Rosie and Neil being together for 10 years.

It wasn’t long before the boys were playing in the river and Neil had an unintentional swim with Rosie’s handy waterproof camera (or not as it turned out to be!).

Before…….. The boys enjoying the sun and the water.

After……. a rather wet Neil had to be rescued by Alasdair.

Later that night we decided to head to the Clachaig Inn for a bite to eat and some real ale. The legendary Inn sits in the middle of the mountains and serves hearty food with a wonderful cosy atmosphere. Unfortunately, it started to rain and continued raining until the next morning so we decided to stay another day in Glencoe to let the tents dry out. A good excuse for a walk… so off to Kinlochleven we went and found a walk up to the Grey Mare waterfall and beyond. We climbed up the hillside and at the top had great views of Loch Leven and the Pap of Glencoe (shame about the grey sky….grrrr!). To the other side we had a good view of Blackwater Dam.
On the left, Neil balances on a loose pole over a cliff edge. On the right Rosie shows off her new walking poles.

The Hobbits give us a big wave and the girls audition for Chicago.

Next morning we packed up our dry tents and parked at the bottom of the Three Sisters. Our big walk of the holiday was to the Coire Gabhail Glen (also called the Lost Valley) and then up to the ridge between the left and middle Sister. The Glen is wide and flat (below, left) which was apparently perfect for members of the Macdonald clan to hide stolen cattle! The shot on the right is looking the opposite direction towards the ridge between the two Sisters. It took about two hours to get to this spot and then we climbed on until we reached the snow.

On the way up there were a couple of refreshing waterfalls and burns we had to jump across or in Rosie’s case swim across!

The big finish…..

The official group photos! What a view… not us… the mountains I mean ;0)

After a steep decline and sore legs we got to the bottom and the sun came out. What a spectacular rugged landscape! After a short recovery and some physio from Neil we headed North towards Applecross, on recommendation from Rosie and Neil.

On the way, we stopped off at Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. No nice cliché sunset shots from me as we got there about 6 ish but we did get one.. or two… or three!

Just one more……

…..that is all!

The term ‘hairy’ is quite the understatement which describes the road to get across the Applecross peninsula. It lies between the mainland mountains and the  Island of Skye and the area has an incredible undisturbed quality to it. An idilic place to spend a couple of nights.

After having a couple of windy nights in the tent we thought we would give the wigwams a try at the Applecross campsite. I am so glad we did… they are charming, comfy and warm.

After our long day we headed down to the village and had dinner in the Applecross Inn. The inn is a popular haven for walkers and visitors and has a splendid menu from fresh seafood to steak and chips. It sits in a perfect position to view the spectacular Islands of Skye and Raasay.

When we headed back to our wigwam fortunately we caught a stunning sunset looking onto Raasay. Yay… we got one sunset photo! Although, if it had been a wee bit more to the south it would have looked cool behind the Cuillin mountains… darn that sun!

In the morning Rosie and I found we somehow couldn’t stand up or sit down and had searing pain in our thigh muscles that had helped us trudge up and down the mountain… not pleasant! Thank goodness we were in wigwams and not the tents.

So a gentle stroll around the Applecross area was called for and off we set. Rosie and Neil took us to a lovely wee cafe called the ‘The Potting Shed’ which is set in the walled garden of Applecross House. It was a bit rainy but we could still appreciate the beautiful scented roses, red lupins and other herbaceous plants scattered around the garden. Hopefully Rosie got some good tips for her garden back home!

Sadly, we had to pack up and leave the lovely Applecross behind but Rosie and Neil decided to stay anther night with us and head up to Gairloch. We decided to have breakfast in the campsite restaurant called the ‘Flower Tunnel’. Sausage rolls were just what we needed to start us off for the day while planning our route.

On recommendation from another camper we stopped just outside Applecross at Sands which has fantastic dunes and smooth, silky sand. The water was so blue and the sands so golden it looked like a beach from the Mediterranean, as you can see from the picture below.

Just next to this beach is an MOD base and while we were there a helicopter and submarine passed us by. Ali managed to catch them both with his camera while we posed for some more pictures.

After stopping for lunch and meeting some ducks in Gairloch we decided to hire another wigwam in the local campsite. As the weather was really bad outside we whittled away the time with some more portrait shots! Next morning we woke up to a very windy day, the waves were incredible and I could have watched them all day.

Unfortunately, the time came where we had to say goodbye to our wigwam buddies Rosie and Neil. Ali and I then headed east and stopped off at the impressive Corrieshalloch Gorge and the 46m Falls of Measach. The photo on the left doesn’t really do justice to the sheer scale of the place…. honest it was big!

My last shot of the holiday is my favourite type – a slow water shot (Rogie Falls). This was taken during our forest walk just outside Strathpeffer.

It took months of keeping quiet and organising our trip to Poland but we did it! When Karen, David and I finally told Ali we were off to Kraków the next morning, for his birthday treat, he was stunned and speechless. Phew! The flight was hassle free and flying from Edinburgh took just over a couple of hours to get to Poland’s capital city, Kraków.

After settling into our hotel we realised just how close we were to it’s main attraction – The Rynek Glowny Central Square, shown in the heading picture. Our view from our bedroom window was St Florian’s Church, shown below left (built between 1185 and 1212). On our first morning, I got up to close the hotel window and discovered these wonderful warm colours from the sunrise on the church. This acted as the catalyst for us the have regular pre-dawn jaunts into the city to try and capture some gorgeous photos. The picture of Karen and David below is at our usual breakfast table. Karen looks surprisingly awake considering she had been up since 4 am to get some Castle sunrise shots!

Our first wander around Kraków took us to the Rynek Glowny Central Square, also called the Market Square which is one of the largest Medieval plazas in Europe and dates from 1257. The square has 47 elegant buildings consisting of houses, shops, bars and restaurants so it’s a busy, bustling place. The surrounding streets are a grid like system so all roads lead back to the grand square.

In the centre of the square we have the magnificent Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) which originated about 700 years ago (shown below). It started off as a covered market and was once a major centre for international trade.

These side arcades, shown below, were added later and looked especially graceful in the afternoon light. Today, it is still used as a market but instead of local traders selling spices, silk and leather it provides souvenirs for tourists (mostly slippers!). Upstairs, the Kraków National Museum exhibits a huge collection of Polish art.

Adjacent to the main square is St Mary’s Basillica, built in the 14th century and stands 80m tall. Every hour a bugle is played from the top tower and we were very surprised one morning to hear the player stopping in mid tune and slamming the wooden shutters closed. We had a good chuckle assuming he thought nobody would notice him escaping early due to the fact it was 5am in the morning and rather cold! However, since returning home I read that the tune is actually supposed to break off in mid-stream to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before an attack on the city.

Also situated in the main market square is the Town Hall Tower and is the only remaining part of the Town Hall which was demolished in 1820. The cellars once housed a city prison with a medieval torture chamber which is now a cafe and theatre. Several fires weakened the structure so that a huge buttress had to be added in 1680 to support it. What’s more, in 1703, severe winds made the gothic tower lean slightly, which it still does to this day. At the top of the tower is the Kraków Historical Museum which also offers views over the city.

On the south corner of the Central Square is St. Adalbert’s Church with it’s copper dome, it is almost one thousand years old and is one of the oldest churches in Kraków, it predates the square by almost a century.

The picture below is the rooftop moments before it poured down with rain so we had no choice to take a break from our sightseeing and nip into a cafe and taste the Polish beer.

Between our hotel and the Central Square was St Florian’s Gate (Brama Florianska) and the remnants of the city walls, which encircled the old town. It is one of the best know gothic towers in Kraków and was built around the 1300’s out of red granite. Originally, the defences consisted of 39 towers and 10 gates but St Florian’s gate is the last remaining one.

Linked to the city walls through the Florian Gate lies the medieval Barbican of Kraków, built around 1498 and was a fortified gateway. It is a moated cylindrical brick structure with an inner courtyard and seven turrets and is one of the very few surviving structures of its kind in Europe. The Barbican now occasionally serves as a concert and exhibition hall.

Just around the corner from the Barbican is the magnificent Slowacki Theatre. It opened in 1893 and is a miniature version of the famous Paris Opera House. Regrettably, we didn’t manage to catch a concert but we did manage to get a night shot of this building as it looked spectacular lit up against the dark sky.

Karen spotted a globe on top of this building while walking through the Planty Gardens, again just around the corner from our hotel. It is the best example of art nouveau architecture in Poland and was built in 1906. It is an asymmetrical structure dominated by a pyramidal tower with a globe on top gives it the name ‘Globe House’.

Another spectacular building is the Collegium Maius which is the oldest college and best building in Kraków’s Jagiellonian University, built in the 15th century. Here you can see the beautiful courtyard and at certain times a clock performs a show with wooden figures of kings and famous professors parading to solemn music.

On Ali’s birthday we decided to take a tour to the outskirts of Kraków to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Salt was excavated here as early as the 11th century due to the high deposits found in this area. There are enormous network of galleries and chambers and now it houses a display of the old mining methods and tools.

One of the main attractions of this mine is the Chapel of the Blessed Kinga and is found 200 metres below the surface. Everything is carved entirely out of salt, including the chandeliers and the floor; there is even and underground lake. Amazingly, these carvings and statues were created by the miners themselves.

Back in the city, south of the old town is Wawel Hill which lies (starting form bottom left of the first picture) Wawel Royal Castle, Wawel Cathedral and St Andrew’s Church on the right. These shots were taken from across the Vistula river (Wisła).

People had lived on this hill as early as fifty thousand years ago and it was during the early 16th century that the rulers took up residence there. The Castle (close up bottom right pic) was created by the best native and foreign artists. Karen and I got up early for a sunrise shot of this, unfortunately when we arrived the castle lights were switched off and the red sky disappeared! You can see the castle (small building on the left) lit up in the bottom left picture just before we rounded the corner to get a close up.

Perhaps, one of the reasons we didn’t quite make it on time to photograph the castle is because we got slightly distracted photographing the J. Piłsudski’s Bridge as it had a fantastic sunrise behind it. You can see the trail lights of a tram going over it during the 15 second exposure. Worth the distraction I think and nice to end my Kraków blog with this one!

Barcelona…. what a place! Architecturally, culturally, scenically and of course the tapas restaurants are to die for. Ali and I will definitely be back as we couldn’t fit everything into one week. The hotel we stayed in was a 2 minute walk from Placa de Catalunya and Las Ramblas which was extremely handy for the restaurants and the metro.

So, our first port of call was a stroll down Las Ramblas which are busy pedestrian avenues. Lined all the way down the street were stalls and performers or people dressed up in a lots of different themed costumes such as a cowboy or a goddess. When we reached the bottom just before the Monument a Colum (Columbus monument) at Port Vell we came across some Salsa dancers, who put on a great display. On another day an ex footballer displayed his skills for the visiting tourists. These pedestrian streets have a great atmosphere but verging on being ‘tacky’ and a bit too busy for my liking.

We carried on towards Port Vell and had a wander around the exclusive harbour, apparently it’s the busiest harbour in Europe and gets massive ships and yachts visiting. It was not unlike Palma harbour with lots of lovely fish restaurants looking over the water

A short Metro ride away brought us to Port Olympic. At one time itwas a run down industrial area of Barcelona but since the Olympics in 1992 the waterfront has become a vibrant affluent area complete with beaches miles long. The picture on the left is one of the two tower blocks which were built to house the olympic competitors and once they were over they were sold at quite a high place and is an exclusive place to stay.

This shot here sums up the Port Olympic area – a woman has found a relaxing, shady spot to sit and read her book.

The Cathedral of Santa Eulàlia (also called La Sue) was only 2 minutes from our hotel. It is a typical Catalan Gothic structure and started being built in the 15th century but the Gothic facade was only finished in the 19th century. You will have to trust me on this one because while we were there the whole building was covered up being renovated. Apparently it is beautifully lit up at night…. humph!

Of course we can’t go to Barcelona without visiting La Sagrada Familia basilica. Again the photos are not great as we visited during the height of the midday sun. This extraordinary building was designed by Gaudi who died in 1926, while only one bell tower had been built. His plans were lost in the civil war but it continues to be built on reconstructed plans and is aimed to be finished in 2026 for the anniversary of Gaudi’s death.

One of our favourite days out was our visit to Park Guell, which is a 37 acre park on the slopes of Mont Pelat in the Gracia district. In the bottom left picture you can see people looking over the city from the terrace at the top of the columns. It has a wonderful fairy-tale theme and starts with the gatehouses at the entrance to the park, the one in the picture below was inspired by the Hansel & Gretel story.

There are many architectural elements flitted around the park and one of the main attractions is a multicoloured mosaic dragon fountain at the entrance (photo by Ali). The other main attraction of this park, no not Ali, but a large serpentine bench on the terrace overlooking the city, which he is sitting on in this picture. It was extremely hot while visiting this park so unfortunately didn’t spend as much time as we would have liked here.. next time!

As we wandered round the Park we were grateful for shaded areas to cool down in such as the Hall of 100 columns or pathways of sloping columns made out of materials found in this area.

An extremely popular event is the “Magic Fountain of Montjuic” at the National Palace in Barcelona which offers a spectacular display of colour, light, sound and water acrobatics. Thousands of people attended this event so getting pictures turned out to be quite tricky.

This is what the National palace looks like during the day; there are escalators on either side of the hedges here which made the journey up the hill much more pleasant!

After hearing about the multitude of pick pockets we were rather anxious especially when we first arrived on Las Ramblas, the busiest street in Barcelona. There were hundreds of people walking near us but we found if you were sensible enough and didn’t walk about with your bag hanging open and a sign saying ‘take my euros’ then you didn’t have anything to worry about.

Mind you on our last night (it was very late) when trying to take a night shot of Barcelona’s Arc de Triomphe, Ali had a couple of dodgy looking characters came up to him to distract him and pick pocket him but Ali kept his wits about him and came running back to his wife!

Anyway, the arch was built for the 1888 Universal Exposition and is situated at the end of a wide promenade, which served as the exposition’s main entrance.Another wonderful must visit area of Barcelona is the street which the famous Casa Mila lies. It is commonly known as La Pedrera and is the largest civil building designed by Antoni Gaudi, constructed between 1906 and 1910. It was Gaudi’s last work before devoting himself to the construction of the Sagrada Familia and was built as an apartment block for the Milà family.

Here are some close-ups of this unique modernist architecture with it’s cave-like windows and bendy balconies. We found ourselves joining in with the tens of different people standing outside gazing at this spectacular building.

The Casa Mila is also spectacular at night.

Another fun way to travel in Barcelona is to use the tram and of course we had to have a shot.

It took us up to Tibidabo mountain where St Mary’s cathedral is situated. The cathedral was constructed between 1227 and 1493 and its style is predominantly Gothic. Bizarrely, the only other thing on this mountain, next to the cathedral, is an amusement park as you can see in the bottom right picture.

We did also visit Barcelona Castle which is not very exciting but it did have some nice views of the city. Unfortunately, it got a bit dark before we could get any pictures. Although here is one of Ali sitting on the terrace.

Of course we can’t go all the way to Barcelona and not come home with a picture of “The Tube’… so here it is! The Metro is such an organised and cheap way to travel in Barcelona; we got a ticket for the week and jumped on and off it all day. If only Britain had transport like this!

Can’t wait until our next trip to this fantastic city!

The Hotel we chose is located at the top of the Passeig de Born and is a converted 16th century mansion, with a grand entrance hall, and internal, typically mallorcan, courtyard which our room looked over. If you are looking for a busy family hotel then this is not the hotel for you but if you are after a less imposing, traditional place to stay then I would heartily recommend it. If you do visit this hotel then remember and ask for a room overlooking the courtyard.

Passeig de Born is a tree lined avenue with lots of grand sculptures all the way down the street. It has various boutiques and shops and is one of the older streets in the heart of the city and only 5 minutes walk to the cathedral. On the corner opposite is a convenient well known bar called the Bar Borsch, which was a great stopping point to rehydrate before and after our wanderings. Also a great place for avoiding the midday sun and watching the locals and tourists passing by. This is where we bumped into Richard Wilson, alas no pictures but I think we did worry him with our three cameras and tripods sitting next to him!

Having our own personal tour guide (aka Dad) was extremely useful and as soon as we arrived he whisked us off to the cathedral (La Seu). This impressive cathedral was constructed from the limestone of the Santanyi quarries, it was designed in the French Gothic style in 1230 but was only completed in 1601, with the interior being finished off by Gaudi. It overlooks the harbour and the ‘Parc de la Mar’ with it’s impressive fountains and statues. Until the 1960s the sea reached up to the city walls. When the building of a new road occurred, an artificial lake was constructed to reproduce the effect .

We could have spent all day taking pictures of this imposing building and it looked just as spectacular at night.

I wanted to get a night shot of the cathedral with the famous water fountain but every night it was switched off because of outdoor concerts. I was still happy with my night shot anyway and I think this is my favourite picture of the trip (see top of page for this one).

Next to the cathedral is the Palau de l’Almudaina which was the Royal residence in the Middle Ages. I loved the reflection of the palm trees on the right hand side of the building .

My ‘slow water’ shot of the trip was taken in the S’Hort del Rei gardens at the bottom of the cathedral and the royal palace where there are lots of sculptures and fountains and this one was particularly pretty.

Bellver Castle was our next stop, it is located 3 km from the city centre and is 112m above sea level. It is one of the few European circular castles and the Gothic style was constructed between 1300 and 1310. The building is now used as a museum and the auditorium is used for public recitals including classical music.

The castle is only a couple of euros to get in but is definitely worth it to wander round the different rooms and head up to look down on the auditorium. You get spectacular views of Palma Bay with the huge boats berthed in the marina. It is quite windy up there so watch if you happen to put your husband’s lens hood on the wall… make sure it doesn’t blow away and land in the moat below…oops!

An unexpected hit of the trip was a visit to the Pueblo Espanol or Spanish Village (architectural museum designed by architect Mr Fernando Chueca Goitia) where reproductions of famous buildings from Cordoba, Toledo and Madrid are located with typical houses from the Spanish regions. I was quite surprised regarding the detail and size of the reproductions and the visit gave us an interesting mini tour of Spanish architecture showing its development through Muslim and then Christian influences. The Chapel (below left) is a reconstruction of the Iglesia de S. Felix De Torralba de Ribota in Calatayud, originally built in 1367. Each different building had a traditional Spanish sign on the outside to let you know what the building was (see bottom right picture).

The mosaic tiles with the sun streaming in the window (below left) is a reconstruction of the Patio De Los Arrayanes (Royal Palace) in Granada, built in 1333. I definitely need a bigger zoom to capture the detail on these fascinating gargoyles, the one on the right looks like it is waving at us ;0)

Part of the Spanish Village includes the Congress Palace which is a conference centre, it is usually open to the public but was closed for renovation while we were there. Fortunately for us the signs were in Spanish so we managed to wander in and take a few photos before being huckled out and the gates locked after us.

During the hottest part of the day we took a wander down La Rambla, another tree lined avenue offering welcoming shade. This street has a huge flower market everyday and it is was nice to have a jaunt down the street looking at all the wonderful flower stalls.

Round the corner from La Rambla is Placa Major (bottom right picture) which is an enclosed square and has a craft market every other day. It is also very hot and busy, so we just had a quick visit here. The streets next to this square are quite interesting and typically Spanish so I would recommend wandering round them.

On the Wednesday of our trip we decided to head 40 miles east for a day trip to the Caves of Drach just south of the marina town Porto Cristo. The caves are known for their peculiar limestone formations and underground lake, they have thousands of spectacular stalactites and stalagmites which are artistically lit up. At the bottom of the caves there is an auditorium, in front of the Martell Lake. When the lights go out, the lake is illuminated and you are given a short classical concert (actually it was a guy with keyboard) as they float past on illuminated boats.

Very pretty but extremely commercial and we were not allowed to take photos, not because the flash would affect the formations but so we could buy postcards at the exit, humph! Nobody paid any attention to the guards but they did shine their torch and shout ‘no photo!’ if you were caught; very amusing, especially as dad kept getting caught. I managed to sneak these two past the guards. The photos are quite grainy due to the ISO being set at 1600 and the pictures I got don’t do the formations any justice.

I uploaded this picture because of the story behind it rather than it being a good picture. I gave up trying to get it right because as I was standing, in a pedestrian area I might add, people decided to walk in front of the camera instead of behind me. I packed up after a scooter, unbelievably, squeezed in front of me nearly knocking my tripod over – as you can see from the light trails!

My last shot of the trip is a night shot of the city wall. Palma certainly knows how to light up their architecture.

I thought I would also include Ali’s fantastic night shot of Bellver Castle and the moon. He took this while we dined at a restaurant overlooking the marina which has this view as the backdrop. To see more of his photos check out his flickr page.

Thanks to Dad for showing us around Palma, we had a wonderful time. Here is one of his long exposures of a fountain at the bottom of Passeig de Born, overlooking the Cathedral. Good one dad, it looks like a scene from a fairytale!