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Valdemossa

One place that Richard had been quite anxious to see was the village of Valdemossa. The photos on the Web were especially lovely and we figured out we could get there on our own by a city bus from Palma. Took about half an hour and was Euro 3.70 roundtrip. So much nicer than going on a tourist bus trip. Not that we didn't enjoy yesterday's but in this case we just wanted to see Valdemossa and wander around.

We took the 10:00 bus, glorious sunny day. And Valdemossa certainly delivered on beauty.









There were tourists there, like us, enjoying the beauty, but it was by no means crowded. In fact, it's been like that all week. Tourists, but not jam packed. Which makes seeing the places, and going into the churches, wonderful.

We eat at small cafes with reasonable prices. Richard eats a lot of spaghetti, and I have eaten tapas, paella (which was a bit disappointing--should have researched it) and moussaka. The last was what I had in Valdemossa and it was so delicious! One thing, when you ask for agua (water) they always bring you bottled water although from what I could see most of the water was safe to drink. Well, phrase it a bit, the water we drank from the taps at our hotel was safe. I think. Neither of us came down with anything.

While Richard went to sketch, I paid to go through the Valdemossa Charterhouse, a former Carthusian monastery and museum to Chopin/George Sand who spent a year there. I enjoyed it, there was a lot of beautiful art and carvings, historical exhibits about the history of people who had lived there. And of course the sun was shining through the windows and it was glorious and peaceful. There was a tour going through but they were quiet.

Bust of Chopin in the garden


Ceiling of Church
The Church





Fred and George looking about how they felt during their winter stay--apparently NOT a success from George's writings!

The monk's apothecary

Magnificent art
Ivory triptych from 15th century





Monk's cell, basic but what a terrace he had!



The Prior's library and a gorgeous painted triptych




















I met up with Richard after going through the Real Cartuja and we so enjoyed walking the streets, taking in the views, wondering what it would be like to live here for a year (guess who was doing most of the wondering?) Then we had a drink and an ice cream at a lovely terraced cafe with the scent of honeysuckle all around us. Again, quite magical.

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