South Pacific Travel

The Royal Palace of La Almudaina in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, is an official summer residence for the King of Spain. The building is a former Arab fort called the "Zuda" rebuilt in 1309 by King James II of Mallorca.

The 15th century Torres de Quart are one of only two pairs of gates remaining from the medieval city wall which once surrounded Valencia, Spain. Shots fired by French troops in 1808 during the Peninsular War have left their mark on the towers.

A stall in the Central Market in Valencia, Spain, specializes in horchata de chufa, a creamy drink made from tiger nuts which is a local Valencian specialty. A long sponge-like pastry called a farton is often dunked in glasses of horchata.

Seafoods such as oysters, clams, shrimps, and snails are for sale at the Central Market in Valencia, Spain.

The stained glass and tiles decorating the modernist Central Market (1928) in Valencia, Spain, compliment the colorful array of produce available at the stalls. The spacious hall below the sloping roof and dome is always buzzing with local activity.

Prior to completion of a modernist Central Market building in Valencia, Spain, in 1928 an open air market existed on the site. Today over 250 vendors sell regional produce below the iron and glass structure.

La Almoina Archaeological Museum in Valencia, Spain, exhibits the skeletons of 17 rebel Roman soldiers executed in 75 BC during the Sertorian Wars when Pompey the Great sacked Valentia Edetanorum.

Ancient Roman thermal baths and a well lie below the glass roof of La Almoina Archaeological Museum in Valencia, Spain.

Cardo Maximus was one of two main streets passing through the 1st century AD Roman city of Valentia Edetanorum. A sewer ran beneath the large flagstones. These remains are now preserved in La Almoina Archaeological Museum in central Valencia, Spain.

The excavated thermal baths, forum, and streets of ancient Roman Valentia Edetanorum can be seen at the underground La Almoina Archaeological Museum in Valencia, Spain. Subterranean remains from the Visigothic and Muslim periods are also visible.

A magnificent fresco by Baroque artist Antonio Palomino covers the oval dome of the 17th century Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados in Valencia, Spain.

Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados (Our Lady of the Forsaken) is one of the three patron saints of Valencia, Spain. Locals fondly call her "la Geperudeta" (the hunchback in Catalan) for her slightly stooped pose.

The 14th century ex-Chapter House of the Catedral de Valencia in Valencia, Spain, has a star-vaulted ceiling. The Holy Grail was delivered to the cathedral by King Alfonso the Magnanimous in 1437 and since 1916 it has been in this chapel.

A red agate cup purporting to be the Holy Grail used by Christ at the Last Supper is venerated in the Catedral de Valencia in Valencia, Spain. The cup was first taken to Rome by the Saint Peter and then sent to Spain by Pope Sixto II in the 3rd century.

The Holy Grail is exhibited in the center of a 15th century alabaster altar in the Chapel of the Holy Chalice of the Catedral de Valencia in Valencia, Spain.

The double doors of the Retablo Mayor of the Catedral de Valencia in Valencia, Spain, carry twelve 16th century paintings only six of which are visible at a time. On the Gothic vault above are 15th century frescoes of angels playing musical instruments.

Between the 13th and 15th centuries the Gothic Catedral de Valencia in Valencia, Spain, was built over the ruins of earlier Roman, Visigothic, and Muslim buildings. Archaeological remains of these periods can be seen in a museum below the building.