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Aaron and Flora LeachAaron and Flora Leach
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We're on our honeymoon at last! Follow us as we travel to Europe, South America and the US. Les mer
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    Dag 34

    Marjan Park

    17. mai 2016, Kroatia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    In the afternoon, after our trip to the fish market, we went to Marjan park, right next to the city centre. It reminded us of Kings Park in Perth with its size and proximity to the city. No cars are allowed on the park roads which is why throngs of runners and cyclists flock here. We rented bicycles to see if we could make it to the top of the hill. It wasn’t a little hill, but you should know by now that we leave no hill untackled. Slight exaggeration.

    Unlike Kings Park which is more suited for running and cycling, this park also offers rock climbing. Hooks have been drilled into the cliff faces and anyone can scale the walls at their own risk. It was amazing to watch guys hanging on to narrow cracks by the fingertips, before swinging to the next rock lip. There was also a house or cathedral of sorts that was built into a natural hollow or nook in the rocks. It was a pity that the door was locked shut.

    After a long hard slog to the top, we were rewarded with absolutely breath-taking views of Split and the coastline, and a very big cross. They seem to mark the top of every hill in Europe with a big cross. We took it all in before cruising downhill. Near the entrance to the park, we found an outdoor fitness area which we felt obliged to test out. These outdoor exercise areas (not kids’ playground) are very popular in Europe, and we’d love to see more of them in Perth.

    Another unique feature of the park is the pristine little bays dotting its outline – the forest meets the ocean. It would be absolute heaven in summer.    Les mer

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    Grilled fish in Split

    17. mai 2016, Kroatia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Before we headed home last night, we bought some fish from the supermarket. Our hosts had a charcoal grill that they kindly let us use. The host got the coals hot and ready for us while Aaron cleaned the fish in the ocean. The result was absolutely delectable. It really whet our appetite and we decided to go to the fish market today and do it all over again.

    The fish market was situated right in the city centre. If you’re not quick enough, your fish will get swiped from under your nose, as happened to us. We had our eyes on a big mackerel. Wary of being ripped off, Flora hung around to see how much money the locals were handing over to the fish lady. We were ready to make our purchase. Lo and behold, an Asian guy jumped ahead and bought the lot. All the mackerels. ALL THE MACKERELS. We observed that he did a similar thing to a few other fish stalls. Maybe he ran a restaurant. Maybe we could just save ourselves the trouble and go to his restaurant. He’s Asian – he would be a good cook, so Flora says. When we asked him if he owned a restaurant, we learnt that he was a chef onboard a cruise ship – this explains why he was cleaning out the fish market. We didn’t come home empty handed, although we don’t know what type of fish we bought.

    That night, we got chatting to a lovely young Colombian couple who were staying in a unit a few doors down, also owned by the same host. They were here for a holiday. We thought it’d be nice to use the charcoal grill together. They had some chicken and sausages they were going to cook up. The host had started the fire for us on the grill but we were left on our own from here on. We emptied a bag of charcoal rocks onto the fire and hoped for the best. Our conclusion: we should be on Masterchef! The result was splendid, once again. It was also heaps of fun just standing by the grill and chatting. Aaron declares that he would make a grill at home too so we can cook like this at home. We spent the rest of the night having a beautiful dinner together with our new friends.

    We should also mention that our accommodation was on the beach and offered the most incredible views. Life is good.    Les mer

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    Split

    16. mai 2016, Kroatia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    If we were wondering where all the tourists were in Rovinj, we had found our answer. They’re all in Split, scattered across different tour groups. The weather was finally clearing, much to our relief. We walked along the beautiful promenade which was now bustling with street stalls and like-minded people enjoying the view and some coffee. We disappeared into the maze of alleyways looking for the Old Town.

    Split is a town along Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast. If the Old Town looked like it was built by the Romans, well that’s because it was. The master builder’s work was evident in the old buildings that still remain. The Romans built the Diocletian’s Palace, a sprawling 4th century residence enclosed within some still-standing Roman walls. Back then, the palace complex housed Roman Emperor Diocletian’s during his retirement, as well as the many staff needed to maintain such a palace. Today, it houses shops, cafes and local residents.

    At the heart of the palatial complex, the Emperor entertained guests in a lavish courtyard known as the Perystile. Today, it is guarded by a couple of appropriately dressed Roman guards. I doubt they were there to enforce peace amongst the coffee-sipping civilians sitting on the steps of the square. They were quite happy posing for photos with tourists. The Emperor would definitely not approve of them making light of their jobs.

    With the exception to most of Old Town, the bell tower that stands in the centre was not built by the Romans. Its construction was suspect, in fact, the tower was initially deemed so structurally unsound that it had to be modified and partially reconstructed a few times over the centuries. Best leave the building work to the Romans, hey? Nevertheless, we were feeling reckless and decided to climb the tower anyway. There was only one set of stairs to be shared by people going up and down. Near the top, steel stairs replaced stone ones. The stairs were supported by scaffold tubes and held down by 10mm half-rusted bolts. I probably should not have pointed this out to Aaron while he was climbing up the stairs. His knees turned to jelly (haha!) but he survived the trip back down after we took some photos of Split at the top.

    The Old Town is full of little lanes that are a delight to explore. As always, they are flanked by little shops selling all sorts of local crafts and temptations for tourists. We stopped at a funky café to rest our feet and have some coffee on the way home. We also time our coffee breaks with when we need to go to the toilet. You have to pay anywhere from 50 cents to 1 Euro to go to the toilet in Europe but it’s free at a café or restaurant ;)    Les mer

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    Dag 31

    Rovinj

    14. mai 2016, Kroatia ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Rovinj is a city in the province of Istria in Croatia. It sits near the northern tip of the Adriatic Sea, next to Italy and Slovenia. It used to be governed by the Italians before it was ceded to Austria during the Napoleonic era and finally Croatia when it became independent in 1991. Italian and Croatian are the official languages of this city. 98% of the population speak both languages.

    We explored the old town today and was so pleasantly surprised at its beauty. It rivalled the old towns we had seen in France and Italy. There weren’t many tourists about although we were told that Rovinj is especially popular amongst the Italians as it was only a short drive away or a ferry ride across the Adriatic Sea from Venice. The weather had been poor the past few days and it rained intermittently today.

    The little bays around the city looked amazing even in poor light. There are steps cut into the rocks for easy passage into the water. This is definitely the place to be in summer when the weather is more predictable. If you’re ever in Venice, it is worthwhile taking the ferry across to Rovinj for a day or two. The old town is very small and can easily be covered in a day.

    We were expecting cheap prices but, so far, Croatia has been more expensive than Italy. We would find out later on from other tourists that prices have doubled, if not more, in the past year alone to make the most of the tourism industry. If you’re living in Europe or earning the pound in the UK, you probably would still consider Croatia cheap.    Les mer

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    Dag 30

    Croatia

    13. mai 2016, Kroatia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We set off on a long drive to Croatia today. We left early so we would have enough time to turn around at the Croatian border should Flora’s Indo passport give her any problems. As we waited at the checkpoint, we were the only car there. We could see that the immigration officers have either never seen an Indonesian passport before or were a bit dubious about this particular one. The queue of cars was now getting ridiculously long and we were told to pull over to the parking bay and they summoned Flora out of the car. We were let through once they were sufficiently convinced of Flora’s character.Les mer

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    Dag 29

    Florence

    12. mai 2016, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our accommodation was halfway between Florence and Bologna. We had a hard time deciding which city to spend the afternoon in as we leave for Croatia tomorrow. It turned out that Viv and Kez were enroute to Florence the very same day! This was actually unplanned. Despite having said our goodbyes in Positano a few days earlier, we decided to have dinner with them one last time in Italy.

    Everyone was pretty spent from driving/taking the train/sleeping in the car. We decided that this evening would be spent at an idyllic pace, doing things that everyone REALLY wanted to do, like shopping for a leather jacket! Haha. Aaron’s so thrilled!

    It turns out, Viv is quite well-versed in the art of differentiating good leather from bad leather. It’s all in the stitching, she says. The salesmen could sniff out an unsuspecting victim. One salesman demonstrated that a particular leather jacket that Flora was trying on was of supreme quality as it did not burn when he tried to set it alight with his lighter. Oldest trick in the book, Viv says. She saved Flora from the jaws of a wily old fox.

    We didn’t just look at leather jackets. We saw the Duomo (or Il Duomo di Firenze as the locals call it) in the heart of Florence’s Old Town. Once again, we were gobsmacked by what’s in front of us. The exterior had recently undergone a careful clean (water-blasted) to reveal its original splendour. You can tell a marked difference between the sections that had been cleaned and ones that hadn’t.

    We walked around Old Town until it was dinner time at a local favourite. We’ve heard a lot about the Florentine steaks. It did not disappoint. 1kg of T-bone steak was devoured in a matter of minutes by the two of us. Viv and Kez were less carnivorous than us. It was the perfect way to end our time together in Italy. For real this time! Viv and Kez will carry on with their adventures in Cinque Terre and Venice before concluding their Italy trip.    Les mer

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    Dag 27

    Giro d'Italia!

    10. mai 2016, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    So we've arrived in Benevento, the venue of Stage 5 of Giro d'Italia. The race is supposed to start at 1pm and we're early. Curious - they haven't started setting up for the race yet. No road barriers anywhere to be seen. No cars parked along the side of the road waiting to cheer their teams on.

    Suddenly, Aaron yells, "SHIT!" After confirming that today is the 10th, we realise that we're a day early. Not a big deal, you think. We can just hang around here for an extra day, except we've already booked our next accommodation for that night some 3 hours' drive from here.

    We have to be on the move as we've spent more time than we had originally allowed for in France and Italy (rightly so, I might add). Sadly, we have missed our only opportunity to watch Giro d'Italia :(

    Oh well, can't dwell on these things for too long! Hello Florence!!    Les mer

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    Scala, Ravello

    9. mai 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    On the way home, we stopped by at a town called Ravello, across the ridge from Scala, which is where we stayed. We have seen Ravello from Scala and it looked like it was worth a visit.

    This town boasts a number of 5-star hotels. Not surprising considering the commanding view each hotel gets from their location. Restaurants here seem to tip-toe precariously on cliffs for a view that’s second to none. How did they build in such precarious locations? This seems pretty consistent with the way they drive - they laugh at death in the face.

    Ravello also has a network of little alleyways with shops – always a favourite with Flora. It’s a pity we discovered this town so late in our Amalfi trip. The shops were starting to close, we take a few more happy snaps before we head back to our accommodation. Tomorrow will be an early start as we're heading up to watch Stage 5 of Giro d'Italia (Italy's version of Tour de France).    Les mer

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    Driving along Amalfi Coast

    9. mai 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    We thought it's appropriate to have a post dedicated to the perils of driving along the Amalfi Coast. As mentioned in previous posts, the roads are so narrow but these Italian drivers are either all extremely gifted drivers or just have no fear of death.

    We (more specifically Aaron as Flora was more often than not asleep) could only capture a handful of close shaves on camera. Due to the narrow roads, tour buses go wide when taking a bend or a turn. The bus drivers of course can't see if there are any oncoming vehicles, but why worry! It'll work out in the end.... *insert lots of cursing and swearing here*    Les mer

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    Praiano

    9. mai 2016, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    We enjoyed a lovely sleep-in today. Flora got up early enough to enjoy a run to Scala with Aaron. The jog down was nice; the jog up was something else altogether. How in the world do those professional cyclists climb mountains over such long distances? We’ve seen kids riding ponies up and down this part of town; maybe Flora could hitch a ride.

    The afternoon sees us driving along the Amalfi Coast to Praiano. It’s a tiny little village by the sea wedged between Positano and Amalfi. Have we left Earth and landed in Heaven?? This little bay that we came to was devoid of tourists (except maybe us) and flanked by steep cliffs on either side. The eye cannot comprehend such beauty. We have lunch at a café next to the pebbled beach before dipping into the clear blue waters.

    The water is so refreshing (limb-numbingly freezing cold)! After about 3 minutes of the body acclimatising to an ice bath, our swim was one of the most pleasant experiences we’ve had on this trip. The view of the bay as we treaded water is (I’m at a loss of words here) just breathtaking. In true Aussie style, we dried off (sun-baked) atop the pebbles and spent a good couple of hours lazing around without getting sunburnt. Praiano, you are truly a magical little gem in the Amalfi Coast.    Les mer

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