We woke up to another beautiful day with an estimated maximum of 30˚C,
but humid. At about 9:00am we set off in the black Mercedes people
mover. After about 45 minutes, we had an unexpected stop at a roadside
cafe. It turns out that the owner of the cafe looks after injured and
orphaned wild animals and then returns them to their natural habitat. In
his collection at the moment are a number of young deer and two young
brown bears whom he has raised from cubs when their mother was killed.
We then continued our journey
through the lush farms and market gardens with the sentiments of Ralph
McTell's "Peppers & Tomatoes" running through my mind as we passed each
one.
Bob Fox singing "Peppers & Tomatoes"
We then passed through a long tunnel (the second longest tunnel in
Croatia) and when we emerged the landscape had changed into a dry
Mediterranean one with dry limestone outcrops and the sea in the
distance. We entered the University city of Zadar and were dropped off
in the old "walled" part of the city. The wall is in excellent condition
and was built by the Venetians in about the 16th. century. We made our
way the cathedral named in honour of St. Anastasia. The interior was
austere compared to some of the other cathedrals we have been in in
recent days
A short distance
away we came to the Church of St. Mary, with its bell tower and
Benedictine nunnery/Gold & Silver museum. It was built in the 12th.
century and the museum has glass cabinet after cabinet each holding
ornate arms, hands feet etc, each one containing part of a bone from
that part of the various Saint's bodies. Then across the square to the
St. Donat Church, which is pre Romanesque and used for small concerts etc
The Column of Shame in the
centre and the bell tower of the Serbian Orthodox Church
dedicated to St. Elijah at the back left hand side of the photo.
As we walked back to the
end of the old city we passed the Church of St. Simon, The
Square of Five Wells with its 13th. century tower and finally
the 15th Century gates to the city. We checked into the Proto
Hotel at about 4:00 pm.
The Square of the Five Wells
One of the Venetian City
Gates & Wall
Then a short walk
alongside the Adriatic. After dinner, which was at one of the many open
air restaurants, we walked down to the end of the promenade in the balmy
evening air and listened to the "Wave Organ" play as the sun set. The
wave organ is a set of pipes set into the promenade and as the water
moves up and down it forces air through them producing random organ
music.
Saturday
3rd. July 2010
Another clear sunny day today with an estimated maximum of about 33˚C.
Today is described in the itinerary as a "Free" day. Antonia said we
could travel by ferry to Dugi Otok which is the largest island in he
Zadar Archipelago and about 30 minutes away or alternatively, she would
show us around Zadar. The group opted for the latter and we set off in
the people mover at around 9:00am. We began by driving to the hills
behind the city so that we had a view of Zadar, the Adriatic Sea and the
distant islands.
We then re-entered
the old walled city of Zadar passing and stopping at the various marinas
and local swimming places. Then walked through the Saturday morning
market. There were all kinds of fruit and vegetables in the open air
stalls, including peppers & tomatoes side by side.
The vegetable
section led through to the fish market. Surrounding the whole market
were stalls selling clothes and souvenirs, etc. We had lunch just
outside a huge building called the Armoury, which houses a couple of
shops including one that had d'Arenberg wines from McLaren Vale in
amongst the Croatian wines. There were no other foreign wines in sight.
We then set about exploring the various art and jewellery shops. Briar
bought a necklaces and a number of bracelets made by local crafts
people. I bought two small paintings from a street artist for 350 kunars
(A$70) and a 1 litre bottle of locally made brandy for 65 kunars (A$13).
We then wandered around the old city taking photos of the brightly
coloured alleys and side streets, most of which were paved with marble
flagstones which had become polished with the thousands of feet passing
over them.
