Croatia

I must say that before visiting Croatia I didn't really know too much about it. I knew it was part of the former Yugoslavia, I had heard of Dubrovnik, and somehow I also knew that the capitol is Zagreb. From our news here in the UK I also knew that Croatia is the newest member of the European Union; admitted just this past summer. What I didn't know was that Croatia only declared it's independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, and the Croats fought a four year war for independence to win their freedom. Our cruise made two stops in Croatia in Dubrovnik and Split.

The old city of Dubrovnik is surrounded by almost 2 km (1.2 miles) of walls, with a harbor opening into the Adriatic Sea.

Inside the walls this mainly pedestrian city was loads of fun to explore. Filled with shops, cafes, museums, churches and cathedrals, we spent several hours wandering around the streets.

We had a beautiful day and definitely could have stayed here longer, but our group was off to see a traditional mill and sample some local snacks.

We tasted some locally made liqueur and enjoyed some nuts and figs at this stop.

Our last stop of the day was at a farm with a family owned restaurant. We walked through the farm where we definitely saw some different sorts of vegetables. The farmhouse itself was huge, almost mansion-like. Our guide explained that here on the farms people do not get married and move away into their own homes. Instead, wings or floors are added onto existing homes. Most families have several generations living together and everyone has jobs to do. Of course, many are involved directly with farming. We were served a wonderful supper and entertained by some of the family.

Our itinerary included a stop in Split on the way back to Venice. Split was really interesting to visit, and very different from Dubrovnik!

I never anticipated the palm trees!

Scott believes the two guys were trying to impress the girl. Wonder which one did the better job?

Our ship, the Legend of the Seas. 

Time to get back on board. Next blog: Ephesus, in Turkey!

35 Years! Venice

Scott and I are always gratefully amazed at just how blessed our lives have been. We were married on a chilly October day in 1978. To celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary we booked an Eastern Mediterranean cruise and were quite pleased when our good friends, George, Diane, and Susie, were able to join us. Our ship departed from Venice and we decided to fly over a few days beforehand, which gave us some time to explore the city.

We had to take a boat from the airport to our hotel. Scott and George are checking out the sights!

The Grand Canal from the waterfront cafe at our hotel.

Our hotel was just a few steps away from the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square). From our hotel we were an easy walk to the Piazza and the Rialto and Academia Bridges.

Campanile di San Marco in the Piazzetta San Marco
Most of the buildings in the square date from the 12th and 13th century, including the Doge Palace, St. Mark's Basilica, and the Campanile di San Marco (the  Basilica's bell tower). 

Doge Palace

The Bridge of Sighs so named because this is the bridge from the Doge Palace to the jails. Here prisoners could catch their last glimpse of the outside world.

St. Mark's Basilica

This magnificent cathedral was believed to have been constructed around 1073. 

After a busy day travelling to Venice and strolling through the streets, we stopped in St. Mark's Square for a coffee, and were treated to some live music. Actually, several of the cafes lining the square have live musicians to entertain their guests.

Those two tall columns hold statues of the two patron saints of Venice. The winged lion atop the Column of San Marco is the symbol for St. Mark. On top of the other column, the Column of San Teodoro, is a statue of St. Theodore the original patron saint of Venice. 

We took a guided tour of Venice which included a boat ride on the canals. The weather was not the best, but we still learned a lot  about the city and had a great time!

The Rialto Bridge

There has been some sort of bridge here since 1181, but this stone bridge has only been here since 1581. Lined with shops, the bridge is a bit of a "destination" all in itself, and one of the more famous landmarks of Venice.

Our friends, George, Susie and Diane, at the Rialto Bridge.

Those gondolas are everywhere in Venice! But a trip in one of them is quite dear and will set you back a few Euros. 

Shops on the Rialto Bridge

Duck!

Gondoliers are required to wear black pants and a striped shirt and many wear the traditional hat although it's not required. Although our American, romantic, vision is of a gondolier singing quietly while paddling his gondola down a deserted canal, that's not exactly the case. The gondolas are indeed paddled, not poled, as the canals are too deep for that. The canals are far from deserted, however, and "traffic jams" seemed common. And, gondoliers are definitely not required to sing, although some do. Some will also talk about important structures as they paddle past them. Some, if you are really lucky, will do both.

I did say it was our 35th anniversary, right?!

Whilst Paris is still my favorite city in Europe, I believe Venice might be a close second. We walked for hours and even got lost a few times, but loved it. On our last day we checked out some Murano Glass. After all, we needed some sort of souvenir from our time here!

Ciao!

"Croeso i Gymru!"

Scott and I have had Wales on our list of places to go for a long time. We had been told that it's a beautiful place to visit, so in August, on our last holiday weekend of the year until Christmas Day, we jumped in the car and drove about 4 hours to Wales. Realistically, I really didn't think Wales would be much different than England. After all, they are both part of the UK, right? Perhaps my first clue that things are just a bit different  was the name of town where we booked our B&B: Llandudno. Honestly, we still aren't positive on our pronunciation of that one! Luckily our sat nav needed no translation and we arrived in due time, although we noticed that the road signs were a bit "different"!

The town of Llandudno is nestled along a bay of the Irish Sea.
The buildings are Victorian era, and the town is actually the largest seaside resort in Wales. 

Yikes!

Yes, indeed Welsh is still spoken in Wales. In fact, in some parts of Wales an estimated 50% of the population speak Welsh as their first language. We did hear a bit of Welsh being spoken now and again. Lest you get this confused with Gaelic; both Welsh and Gaelic are derived from the Celtic language, but they are definitely not the same language!

Henry Liddell was the Dean of Christ Church in Oxford. The Liddell family, including his daughter, Alice, spent their summers here in Llandudno. When Alice was about 10 years old a family friend, Charles Dodgson, was asked to entertain Alice and her sisters. He told them a fantastic story about a young girl, coincidentally named Alice, who somehow managed to fall into a rabbit hole. Sound familiar? Charles Dodgson went on to write his story, "Alice In Wonderland", under the pen name Lewis Carroll.  LLandudno celebrates their connection to this wonderful story. Statues of all of the famous characters can be found scattered throughout the town.

Scott and "The Mad Hatter".

Wales is a land full of castles and there were several within a few minutes' drive of Llandudno. We didn't make it to all of them, but we did get to Convy Castle and Beaumaris Castle, which is on the Island of Anglesey. First stop: Convy Castle

The town of Convy, with the medieval Convy Castle in the background. This massive structure was built for King Edward I.

This castle was built in just 6 years: 1283 to 1289. It is one of several castles built by Edward I intended to "contain" the Welsh people. 

The drawbridge entrance to Convy Castle

Scott and I enjoyed our visit to the town of Convy, and spent several hours exploring this castle and walking the city walls. 

Anglesey Island, located just off the coast of Wales, is the largest island in the Irish Sea. We set off for Beaumaris, and it's fantastic castle, the last and largest of Edward I's castles.

This castle is positively massive! Edward I had great plans, but he did not have the funds to actually finish what he'd started!

Entrance Gates

I definitely don't think I want to try wading, or swimming, across THAT moat!

We arrived at Beaumaris Castle to find a Medieval Fayre. What fun! 

Ca

A Knighting Ceremony!

"Fire Breathin' Dragon!"

Archery Contest

After two castles, you just know Scott was ready to stretch his legs a bit in the great outdoors, so we headed to the beach: Newborough Beach Park to be exact. 

There are lots of walking paths at Newborough Beach Park. We finally decided on a trail the led off to our right. Of course it was beautiful!

If I had only done my homework, though, I might have suggested a path that went off in a different direction. After we returned to Cumbria we were told that Prince William and Kate's "cottage" is on a path that leads off to the left from that park. I wonder why they didn't put that information on their signs? LOL!

Our last full day in Wales brought a dilemma. There were still a couple of castles to see, but also a beautiful waterfall. And then there's Snowdon, the tallest mountain in Wales. At 1,085 metres (3,560 feet) it's actually just a bit taller than Scaffell Pike. Castles, or mountains and waterfalls.... I'll bet you know what's coming next!

Swallow Falls

From the falls we drove to Snowdon. There is a train that takes people up the mountain almost to the summit (yeah!). We enjoyed the trip up and the scramble over the last few feet to the summit. And, unlike our walk on Scaffell Pike, the trip down was just as easy as the trip up! 

Views at the summit.

On top of Snowdon!

Our weekend came to an end and we turned our car towards Cumbria. We had an amazing spring and summer exploring Great Britain, and there's so much more we'd like to see! What a beautiful country!

Ooops! I almost forgot! "Croeso i Gymru!", the title of this post, translates to: "Welcome to Wales!"