Venice to Rovinj ( think of Raveen for pronunciation)
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| ROVINJ |
Can you say foggy? Our 3 nights in Venice were great having
been able to visit with Betty and Mauro and little Dario, and Massimo and
Elisa. We again got to see the real Venice away from the crowds of St Mark’s
square to where Venetians relax and enjoy themselves. A “Scarpe Rotte” http://www.scarperotte.it/ visit was in
order, here there is a clash between government and the people of Italy over
selling off treasures. We visited the Fortress Marghera,
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| Real Life in Venice |
a famous fortress
built to defend against attacks from land on Venice. We enjoyed a great grilled
lunch with wine, lasagna, roast beef, pork and chicken and met more of their
extended families. Another day living like real Venetians do! The next day we
headed into to Venice to visit the Frari church, visit St Mark’s Sq. ( I think
that’s enough) then back to Masimo’s and Elisa’s for an unforgettable lunch
of Baccala, Brushetta, Pasta with
shrimp, zucchini and arugula, and then a main course of raw Tuna with arugula and lemon. This was
topped with in season strawberries done to perfection.
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Lunch at Scarpe Rotte
From Left, Betty and Dario, Mauro, Massimo, Sandra and Elisa |
We then headed back to Mauro’s where some
maintenance I wasn’t able to do at Heiko’s was performed here. It was great
because there were a few unexpected turns in the repair that we were able to
use Mauro’s tools for. We bid farewell only too soon, hard to believe we came a
day early and staying 3 days feels like still a rush.
We headed out in the fog on Friday
morning and made it to Trieste by lunchtime on the backroads. Next we crossed
through a small part of Slovenia and entered Croatia at Buzet. The border
crossing personnel (yeah they love me, don’t you know it) complimented me
declaring me "The first Canadian who had all the right
documentation at the border. " Nope no ceremony, I was crushed. They
even asked for my international driving permit, the first time I've been asked
since getting one.
We got a chance to relax and have a
nice dinner on the Quay in Rovinj.
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| Great view and company for eating |
Today we walked back into the centre of
Rovinj and toured the Cathedral there, marked with a 12 century bell tower that
is a match to the one in St Mark’s square in Venice.
A little bit about Croatia and the Istria
Peninsula. It sounds like Iberian which would be the peninsula Spain and
Portugal are on, but it isn’t. It was once part of the Hapsburg Empire, is just
east of Venice on any Europe map, and was part of Italy from 1918 – 1947 when
Mussolini’s war reparations were to lose it back to what became Yugoslavia. It
is a hilly and wooded region with beautiful bays and coves and was once
inhabited by the Venetians as an extension of their empire. It will become part
of the EU July 1, this year after being involved in a bloody war in the mid-
1990’s. Our trip in 2006 documented a lot of this.
Rovinj is very beautiful and we
were lucky enough to be here for a typical Saturday Sail race day. Some very
nice action was to be had including a maxi sailor that was close to the old 12 Meter
yacht standard. With Mylar sails aplenty, there is a lot of money poured into
these sailboats.
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| Start of Race |
Next we day tripped to Porec, just
40 kms away home to a 5th century Basilica of St Euphrasis, a World
Heritage Site. As we travelled there along the coast what was evident is this
is a camping paradise with coastline camping, including ‘Naturist resorts”,
google FKK, to learn more. Yes there might be more googling to follow.
Actually that might be Ogling.
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| Sailboats in race |
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| Scarcophogus of St E. |
The Basilica here has some very
amazing intact artifacts as pictured here. Next we head to Pula at the southern
base of the peninsula and onto southern Croatia next.
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| 4th century tile work still evident |
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| WHS Info on site |
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