Palmathedrium/Aquathedral

As I mentioned in the previous post, whilst away in Majorca my Mum booked a trip to Palma Aquarium. It turned out we couldn't find any English excursion companies so booked with a German one and their tour guides were warned that we'd be on the coach though we were sat next to a French family so weren't the only non-Germans onboard. After the hour and a half to two hour journey, bulked up by the many pickups, we reached Palma Aquarium and for once my teenage Brother showed some enthusiasm! The leaflets boasted it to be 'Europe's Most Spectacular Aquarium!' and though I'm not sure how you judge how spectacular something is, it was great and I've been to a fair few for comparison. The first section of the building was filled with Mediterranean species from the 'Old World' as they put it which was succeeded by the 'New World' consisting of mostly tropical fish. Following that you are lead outside to their Mediterranean gardens with mostly children's entertainment though there are some more tanks around, there's a restaurant here too which we came back to at the end. The next part was one of my favourites, the mostly openair 'Jungle' which is apparently the second largest rooftop garden in Europe, houses piranhas, catfish as well as some reptiles and amphibians with an abundance of tropical plants of course. The last section is dominated by the 'Big Blue' which features several shark species, the largest of which is the Sand Tiger Shark, as well as countless other fish. Also in this area is an exhibition dedicated to the endangered Blue Fin Tuna and a series of Jellyfish tanks. It was a really pleasant morning which was followed by an even nicer twist as though our excursion only included the Aquarium we managed to get back on the coach in the afternoon to continue the day in Palma for no extra cost! The trip cost 37€ which worked out great for the two destinations as if you went independantly to the Aquarium the entrance costs around 18/20€ and the buses to Palma cost around 15/20€. As we pulled into the old town in Palma we could instantly see the magnificent Cathedral, something that I was really interested in seeing whilst in Majorca and the construction of which spanned three centuries! Spanish architect Antoni Guadí and local artist Miquel Barceló have both been instrumental to aspects of the interior. The surroundings were quite enchanting, I love the old style of Mediterranean architecture with fountains and courtyards all around! We didn't venture outside of the cathedral's shadow in the three hours we had in Palma but I definitely don't regret that!