Week 10: Places
14 September - 20 September: Croatia - Italy
This is what Dubrovnik looks like if you walk up up up a mountain and Edwin takes a photo of you.
See below for what Dubrovnik looks like from the city walls, which we were told, with audio guide, would take us 1 hour to walk around. With the little cafés, people from Eindhoven that we bumped into (I ask you, how does this keep on happening!?) and Edwin´s taking photos, it took us … 4 hours. Just gorgeous.
This is what the water in Dubrovnik looks like with Edwin swimming in it.
This is what Edwin looks like sitting on the stairs in Dubrovnik.
This is what a door lintel looks like somewhere in Dubrovnik.
Villa Cimbrone. Edwin and I both wished our parents could be with us, particularly our mums. The views were stunning (perhaps not quite for faint-heared Gerrie or Susy), and the gardens were exquisite. There were gazebos, and statues, and manicured lawns, rose gardens, tearooms galore. This place was left to ruin but was bought early last century by an English aristocrat who re-did the gardens and villa in English style. I could imagine a movie being made here, or a book being set here. I’m tempted to write a screenplay or book set here, just so I have the excuse to come back for more details, you know, research… Just lovely.
We took a rumbly bus up to the foot of Vesuvius and then a monster 4WD truck up to the crater. There, a handsome Italian guide gave us a quick rundown of its geological make up and historical significance, and then we walked around the lip. It was rather cool to do this, except that we were trapped inside a raincloud and couldn´t see the city at the food of the volcano. The safety zone is 15 kms from the foot of the hill, which means that everyone in Naples (all 1 million of them) are safe. However it means that the 800,000 people who have Vesuvius in their back yard, are not. But, volcano experts monitor the beast all the time, and apparently you have 3 weeks to evacuate in the event of another erruption. In 80AD when the legendary erruption destroyed Pompei and Herculaneum, the lid blew off and rose 28 km into the air. Back in 1944, the last erruption, it shot up only - hah, only - 5 km. It´s supposed to blow every 30 years - so we've missed a few cycles thanks to protection by Saint Gennaro, patron saint of Naples. Yet, technically another event is just around the corner. Hmmmmmmm. But, our guide assured us, no erruption would take place the day that we visited. We just got some docile steam from one opening, and lots of volcanic rock in our shoes.
This is what Dubrovnik looks like if you walk up up up a mountain and Edwin takes a photo of you.See below for what Dubrovnik looks like from the city walls, which we were told, with audio guide, would take us 1 hour to walk around. With the little cafés, people from Eindhoven that we bumped into (I ask you, how does this keep on happening!?) and Edwin´s taking photos, it took us … 4 hours. Just gorgeous.
This is what the water in Dubrovnik looks like with Edwin swimming in it.
This is what Edwin looks like sitting on the stairs in Dubrovnik.
This is what a door lintel looks like somewhere in Dubrovnik.
Villa Cimbrone. Edwin and I both wished our parents could be with us, particularly our mums. The views were stunning (perhaps not quite for faint-heared Gerrie or Susy), and the gardens were exquisite. There were gazebos, and statues, and manicured lawns, rose gardens, tearooms galore. This place was left to ruin but was bought early last century by an English aristocrat who re-did the gardens and villa in English style. I could imagine a movie being made here, or a book being set here. I’m tempted to write a screenplay or book set here, just so I have the excuse to come back for more details, you know, research… Just lovely. 
We took a rumbly bus up to the foot of Vesuvius and then a monster 4WD truck up to the crater. There, a handsome Italian guide gave us a quick rundown of its geological make up and historical significance, and then we walked around the lip. It was rather cool to do this, except that we were trapped inside a raincloud and couldn´t see the city at the food of the volcano. The safety zone is 15 kms from the foot of the hill, which means that everyone in Naples (all 1 million of them) are safe. However it means that the 800,000 people who have Vesuvius in their back yard, are not. But, volcano experts monitor the beast all the time, and apparently you have 3 weeks to evacuate in the event of another erruption. In 80AD when the legendary erruption destroyed Pompei and Herculaneum, the lid blew off and rose 28 km into the air. Back in 1944, the last erruption, it shot up only - hah, only - 5 km. It´s supposed to blow every 30 years - so we've missed a few cycles thanks to protection by Saint Gennaro, patron saint of Naples. Yet, technically another event is just around the corner. Hmmmmmmm. But, our guide assured us, no erruption would take place the day that we visited. We just got some docile steam from one opening, and lots of volcanic rock in our shoes.
posted by Chasing Paradise at 10:09 AM
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