On the boat ride back from Delos to Mykonos I thought it would be fun to recall all of the other ancient sites that I have visited and assemble a near perfect virtual ancient city.
Posted in Croatia, dubrovnik, Europe, France, History, Literature, Morocco, Spain, Travel, United Kingdom, World Heritage
Tagged Arles, Athens, Colosseum, Didyma Turkey, Ephesus, Hierapolis, Mérida, Rome, Volubilis
My A to Z of Cathedrals finishes today with Z for Zadar in Croatia…
We flew to Zadar because the air fares were absurdly cheap, our plan was to drive south so we didn’t stay long which in retrospect was rather rude.
Zadar was pleasant but the weather was poor and a couple of hours were just enough to see all of the things that needed to be seen. In the centre were the ruins of the old Roman Forum and just as in Pula the previous year old bits of Roman buildings, columns and artefacts were strewn about the main square and the adjacent streets and there was an area of what looked like very important excavation work that was completely accessible to the public to go and make their own important archaeological discoveries.
Posted in Cathedrals, Croatia, Europe, History, Literature, Natural Environment, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
In the sky the late sun and some occasional clouds were beginning to assemble into an impressive sunset ensemble rather like a bonfire in the sky and with Kim’s magic camera (if you remember, it can capture a sunset even if there isn’t one) it seemed certain that we would be able to get some good pictures.
Micky and I met first and after taking the pictures we took an outside seat at the tavern and over a beer we approved the menu by making sure that there were not too many slippery things from the ocean on it and there were some suitably plain alternatives for Sue and Christine and having satisfied ourselves that it would meet with approval we sat and waited for the others to join us.
Posted in Croatia, Europe, Food, History, Hotels, Natural Environment, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Croatia, Culture, Fazana, Istria, Konoba Feral Fažana, Life, Photography, Pula, Villeta Phasiana
The final window in the A to Z. I posted about Zadar quite recently so no link for this picture.
The rose window developed out of the oculus, a small round window found in Ancient Roman architecture, but it was during the mid-twelfth century with the development of Gothic architecture that rose windows came into prominence.
During the Gothic period, the emphasis in church architecture was on soaring height and a greater sense of light. Taller window-filled churches were made possible by advances in building techniques such as supporting stonework in the form of bars or ribs between glass sections. Tracery allowed windows to become larger and more open, more decorative and elaborate, inside spaces to be more open and brighter.
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Cathedrals, Croatia, Europe, Food, History, Literature, Travel, World Heritage
We were heading for the town of Trogir, which is about fifteen miles west of Split and which is the best preserved Romanesque-Gothic complex, not only in the Adriatic, but in all of Central Europe and inevitably therefore a UNESCO World heritage site.
It was mid morning when we arrived and the town was already very busy.
Posted in Beaches, Croatia, Europe, Food, History, Natural Environment, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Dalmatia, Life, Photography, Split, Travel, Trogir, Zadar
When it comes to taking pictures I like doors, statues, balconies and washing lines, Kim on the other hand likes people pictures so I thought I might share a few of them with you.
This one was taken outside the Cathedral in Hvar in Croatia…
Posted in backpacking, Cathedrals, Croatia, Europe, History, Hotels, Literature, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Croatia Islands, Hvar, Hvar Cathedral, People Pictures, People Watching
We had to find some accommodation so we went to the tourist information office to see what was available. The lady at the desk told us that the only hotel available was the Hotel Adriana that had rooms for €280.
This was obviously way beyond our budget and while this devastating piece of news sunk in she skilfully moved in with the alternative offer of a simple room in the town for 400 Kuna (about £50). This was obviously her sister or her best friend but there was no contest and we took it.
Posted in backpacking, Cathedrals, Croatia, Greece, Literature, Natural Environment, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Adriatic Sea, Croatian Islands, Hvar, Life, Photography, Travel
After a drive to Mostar in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina we returned to Croatia to the seaside resort of Gradac and booked into the Hotel Marco Polo that was located directly on the beach and had a room with a balcony and a view of the perfectly blue Adriatic Sea.
After settling in we walked along the seafront looking for a bar with a view of the sunset but as the town is situated in a bay and faces south this proved stubbornly illusive. We found a nice restaurant that was entertaining a noisy birthday party and we agreed that this looked good for later on.
When we returned the party had gone and it was much quieter but I think the staff were worn out and weren’t in the mood for doing any more cooking because most of the menu was unavailable and the waiter presented us with a choice of fish starter, fish soup and fish of the day. This turned out to be a real bonus because the octopus salad starter was delectable and the fish was succulent and delicious.
Posted in backpacking, Croatia, Europe, Food, History, Hotels, Literature, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatian Islands, Dalmatia, Greek islands, Hvar, Life, Photography, Travel
Leaving Skradin we drove south along the delightful Dalmatian Coast and as we did so the weather started to deteriorate with huge bilious clouds building over the Mosor Mountains that rise to almost one thousand four hundred metres and were collecting the grey and preventing it moving north as they rushed in from the sea and built instead into columns of threatening anger.
To the west by contrast the sky was clear and the sun was shining but to the east and over the land it was not nearly so pleasant. We drove past the town of Primosten and the city of Trogir, leaving these for another day, and carried on to Split, which is Croatia’s second largest city after the capital Zagreb.
Because of its strategic importance Split suffered damage during the war and probably the most tragic incident of all occurred in November 1991 when the Yugoslavian frigate named Split fired shells at the city. The damage was insignificant and there were only a few casualties but this was the only time in history that a city has been bombarded by a military vessel bearing its own name.
Posted in Arts and Crafts, Cathedrals, Croatia, Europe, History, Hotels, Literature, Natural Environment, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Brač, Diocletian's Palace, Hvar, Life, Photography, Split, Travel
A few posts back I told you that I had not been bitterly disappointed to miss out on a waterfall trail in Yorkshire. This is one of the reasons why…
I haven’t seen any of the world’s major falls such as the Angel Falls in Venezuela (the highest, and twenty times higher than Skradinski Buk), the Victoria Falls (claimed to be the largest in the world by volume) or the Niagara Falls (the widest in the world), but these were nevertheless really most exciting, probably better than the Aysgarth Falls in Yorkshire but not quite as spectacular as Gullfoss falls in Iceland, both of which I have been lucky enough to see.
Posted in backpacking, Croatia, Europe, History, Hotels, Literature, Natural Environment, Postcards, Travel, World Heritage
Tagged Krka National Park, Life, Photography, Roški Slap Falls, Skradin, Skradinski Buk Falls, Travel
Have Bag, Will Travel 