Croatia

Waterfront Promenade 

Split Croatia

Well I finally made it to Split Croatia.  
But before I detail that trip I do offer a bit of an apology for the way the last posting displayed the photos.  Can't for the life of me figure out what happened when I said publish.  Everything looked ok to me but it came out differently on the web.  Oh well, it happens. All looks good with a scotch or two under the belt...right?

So, Ava and I headed out early morning on January 15th to start our sojourn to Split.
Our travel route took us from Firenze, Santa Maria Novella train station -> Bologna -> Ancona where we boarded the Jadrolinija ferry for a 12 hour crossing to Split.  Arriving in Split at 0700 am on Saturday.  We were met by the owner of our apartment whom took us straight there.  Even though it is less than 1km to the apartment, It was all uphill and one way streets.  Add the language barrier and we would have been screwed if left on our own.

The night before:
The night before our departure the owner of our apartment in Firenze came to do a final inspection, read the metres and return our 500euro deposit.  Or so we thought.  
Although the accommodation did have its faults such as poor heating, mold on the walls, leaking radiators and a new oven replacement we did not mind it at all.When the gas metre was read the amount came to 600 cubic metres for the two months.  Now the rate for the gas is 1euro/cubic metre.  Yup!! Kiss the deposit good-by.  Well almost, we split the difference with the owner.  We were all in disbelief as to the amount.  And I was asking long before our arrival for the estimates on the utilities.  Now, I go all inclusive for utilites.  

The journey to Split:
We had too much frickin baggage.  It made the trip totally stressful, lugging it across platforms, up stairs and escalators, cramming it into small staterooms on the boat and it was bloody heavy.  never again after this trip is over.
Thank goodness we planned with long layovers in all of our stops.  The trains were delayed from the very first departure at Firenze SMN, then Bologna.  But the ship left on time.  It was not too crowded, comfortable and the breakfast was absolutely disgusting. 

Split accommodation:

I booked our current place on booking com.  It looked ok in the photos.  The location is excellent, close to the water, main beaches, shopping, Diocletian's Palace and transport hubs.  The only thing is that the place really sucks.  There is no place to sit other than the kitchen table or on your bed.  Sorry, but the old country ways just don't cut it with me.  Hot water is pretty rare and I hate baths.  The shower head comes to my hips.  Hmmmm.
Hopefully the next place is better...it is a block from the ocean with a view and proper seating area.
Grocery shopping here is an experience.  Thank god for google translate on my iphone.

Excursions:
Planning trips to Mostar and Sarajevo (Boznia & Herzegovina).  Zadar and Dubrovnik.
Possibly take the train to Zagreb, but have to do more research on that as it is heading into the snow belt.

Well, that's about it for now.  Enjoy the photos below and drop an email or two to my hotmail account if you have the time.

Cheers from Croatia, Bruce

Festive Season, San Gimignano & Santo Spirito

Festive Season
I managed to make it through the holiday season with sanity relatively in tact.
The downtown core of Florence was absolutely packed with tourists during this time.
Massive trees were erected and decorated in the major Piazzas and an armed presences was noticed.
One thing about the holidays here is that the decoration is pretty low key.  Shop keepers do most of the decorating and that is only a few days before the 25th and then they are down on the 6th January.
As I mentioned before the streets are decorated with lights and ornaments which gives the city a really nice vibe.

Ava and I did nothing special for Christmas.  Exchanged a few gifts we put under our 10" tree.
We went out for dinner on Christmas Eve for some really great steak.  It only comes one way and that is rare.  Don't even think of asking for it any other way.  Place was called Mamma Gina and just around the corner from Ponte Vecchio on the Oltrarno side of the river.

New Years Eve was spent outside the Pitti Palace where they had live entertainment and some fireworks provided by the locals.  Afterwards we went to Piazza Santo Spirito and had many drinks with some locals we met there.  Rachel and her husband (I can't recall his name) were kind enough to check up on me as one too many cocktails entered my system that night.  Can't imagine how that happened.

San Gimignano - Town of Fine Towers
On the 30 December we took a 1.5 hour bus ride to the beautiful hilltop town of San Gimignano.
The trip went through some impressive country side and small towns.  That is until we came to this really ugly town called Poggibonsi.  Even the tourist info describe it as a necessary stop over to change buses and nothing else.  They nailed that one on the head

San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the Province of Siena, Tuscany.  it has 14 medieval towers still standing and featured prominently in the 1999 movie 'Tea with Mussolini'.

The Duomo di San Gimignano - The walls of the basilica-plan church are entirely lined with frescoes that tell stories of the New and Old Testaments.  The Chapel of Santa Fina is dedicated to a young girl who suffered a serious illness and chose to spend the rest of her days lying on a wooden board, which they say sprouted yellow violas at the time of her death. Even the ancient towers blossom with violas amongst their stonework.  

The narrow streets lend a sense of timeless whimsy.

The small hamlet outside of the walls.




Basilica di Santo Spirito 

The Basilica di Santo Spirito is just around the corner from my apartment.  I go past it almost everyday and on Thursday there is a farmers market in the Piazza that sells antiques, veg, clothes and all assortments of items.  The outside of the church does not look like much as it was left in its rough 

Basilica di Santo Spirito

stage for many years and only has a plaster coat over the stonework.
One day we decided to enter and have a look see.  Well..I was totally blown away.  It is one of the most beautiful basilicas I have ever seen.  Unfortunately there is a strict no photo policy, to protect the artwork.  But if you go on line you can get some images.
The Basilica was built by Brunelleschi in the 15th century.
The interior is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture.   The colonnade arches are supported by 35 columns and there are 45 semi-circular chapels that repeat the rhythm of the arches.

The Basilica houses a 1493 wooden crucifix of christ sculpted by Michelangelo at the age of 18.
The crucifix was sculpted especially for Santo Spirito and is the first work he created for a church and is probably the first notably large figure of his that has survived to the present day.


Next Stop - Split Croatia 

On January 15 we will be travelling to Split for a two month stay in the city.  Busy planning side trips and I am really looking forward to being by the ocean again.
The trip starts out by train to Bologna with a connection to Ancona Italy for the overnight Jadrolinija ferry to Split.

I will keep you posted when I am settled in.