Zadar-a boom-de-ay

Perhaps my decision to introduce each day's blog with a song was misguided, but I did, hence the odd title for today's report. And if you are shaking (or scratching) your head at my tenuous attempt, maybe I should have gone with Zadarska Balada by that well known Croatian octogenarian, Dani Marsan. "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay", to give it the proper title, is a jaunty vaudeville and music hall number first performed in the 1880s and oddly is also the theme tune for that once seen, immediately forgotten 1950s US children's TV series Howdy Doody. Just try singing the words "It's Howdy Doody time" in place of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" and I guarantee it will be stuck in your head for weeks to come.

Situated on the Adriatic coast, Zadar is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia and is the administrative seat of the northern region of Dalmatia. It is the second largest city in the region, with a population of 72,000. That's a lot of Dalmatians, far more than Mr Disney ever envisaged. It is also our planned destination for this afternoon, after the obligatory R&R by the pool. Even team Shady is out and about - me recumbent on the poolside sofa and Ben under one of the large patio umbrellas. It is very peaceful, with the gentle lapping of the waves stirred up by Laura and Jackie swimming lengths of the pool and the incessant song of the cicadas in the trees as a soundtrack. Male cicadas, the Welsh male-voice choir of the insect world, have a huge noise to size ratio and sing to attract a mate. As they appear to sing all day, it is a strategy that may not be working.

In a new experience for this sexagenarian, I used a ride hailing app to arrange our taxi to Zadar. I chose Bolt over Uber as it is a European company. It is a small and insignificant protest against the global reach of US imperialism, but it makes me feel better. I should stress that I am not a fanatic - I have an Amazon Prime subscription and I still call an extra long black coffee an Americana, and not a Canadiana like one of my friends. The app was easy to use, even for a first timer, and our request for a big, 6-seater taxi was accepted then just as quickly declined. With no other big taxis responding, we booked 2 standard cars, arranging to rendezvous at Zadar bus station. The cars arrived within minutes of each other and a 6-seater pulled in immediately behind the second car, presumably the one that briefly accepted our booking. I caught the driver's eye, raised my shoulders and spread out my arms in that international gesture that says "well one of us screwed up but I don't think it was me". He smiled and drove off. In retrospect, the bus station was probably not the best place to meet as it was about a 15 minute walk away from the old town and it was hot and uncomfortable, even in the shade.

The origins of the city of Zadar can be traced back more than 3000 years to around 400 B.C. Roman and Venetian ruins run throughout the old town, including the ruins of the first century Roman Forum adjacent to the impressive Cathedral of St Anastasia. The current cathedral building was constructed in the 12th-century on what was originally the site of a 4th-century basilica. Lucy, Kevan and me climbed the cathedral's 56-metres tall bell tower, putting both my fear of heights and my dodgy knees to the test. But the spectacular views of the old town and of the round, 9th-century Church of St Donatus immediately below us certainly justified the effort. Most of the flights of stairs were in a spiral, and easily manageable, but the final straight flight of steps, passing above the bells and onto the roof had my fear of heights on hyperdrive. The bells celebrated our achievement by ringing loudly as soon as we returned to ground level and I will be forever grateful that we did not spend 5 minutes longer at the top.

At the end of the peninsula, we reached two of Zadar's most recent and innovative attractions both by the architect Nikola Bašić. The Sea Organ is a series of underwater pipes that create haunting melodies as the waves push air through them, similar to the sounds that a whale makes. Next to this is the Greeting to the Sun, a collection of 300 multi-layer solar panels arranged within a 22 meter diameter circle. The installation collects solar energy during the day and creates a mesmerising light show at night, which unfortunately we missed as we left before sunset. It is well worth Googling and there are numerous YouTube clips of the light show.Les mer