21 April
Now what? Plan B. I wanted to walk the walls of the old city. This was not ideal weather for it, but now we had the day free to do it. We had a leisurely morning and around 10 got up and took the bus to the city. We arrived around 11 and upon entering, we immediately bought the tickets and began our climb to the wall. When we went through the ticket control, the man there told us it was raining and slippery. Maybe we should come back another day. UGH! The ship was only here for one day so no. We were climbing now. And up we went.
Yes, it was raining, but it wasn’t bad enough to warrant the use of the umbrella. We climbed the rest of the way to the top and began our journey around. Now for anyone who knows me, this is quite the feat. I’m terrified of heights and climbing the barely railed steps was an ordeal for me but I made it and the new was spectacular.
We stood there overlooking the orange rooftops of the city below inside the wall and then we turned our attention outside the walls. It too was stunning. We walked around the sea side of the wall and entered every guard tower we could find. We climbed up and down stairs and entered any area allowed.
At one point, I was hunched over and almost crawling to get up the stairs. You see, the outer wall dropped to a level well below my waist and just barely above my knees. The inner wall did not exist as far as I was concerned. My beautiful lover walked behind me as I encouraged myself to get to the top where I could see that the wall was once again taller. Unbeknownst to me, he was filming. I only realized it when he told me to turn around and smile. I've added it to my youtube channel for your laughing pleasure.
We carried on and took a few photos of the light houses and outer castles perched high atop the rocky shoreline. After a while we had completed the circuit and decided it was time to explore a bit. Here we didn’t last long. We looked at a few buildings while trying to find a place to eat. We only found breakfast so we decided to leave the old city walls and head to a place we saw when the bus dropped us off. We figured we could stop and have a beer and warm up while waiting for lunch.
The place we went into has stunning views of the sea but it was open to the elements. There were heaters inside, but sadly they insisted that we sit at an outer edge table. I realized that the food would be cold as soon as they put it down, to say nothing about me being cold and wet. We decided to leave and try our luck elsewhere.
We wandered the street for a while and were about to give up when I spotted a place up the hill. Off we went. We found a perfect restaurant. Posat is an upscale farm to table place and the food did not disappoint. George had the cod with olive crust, and I had a pumpkin soup and a local squid ink pasta and seafood dish that was outstanding. Two glasses of wine, a beer, and lunch only set us back around $100. Not too expensive for what we got. I would highly recommend it for anyone visiting Dubrovnik. Forget the place next to the gate with a view. Hike up the hill and really enjoy a local meal with great service.
As is usual, we bought a liquor and then returned to the ship. As we got back early, we played a game before heading to dinner. The rest of the night was as usual.
22 April
Ancona Italy.
Today we had a tour so it was an early morning wake up again. We boarded a bus at 8:30 and headed to Osimo for a tour of the city and the Cantinone Caves. The bus ride was quicker than I expected, but sadly our guide was struggling with English. No matter. I’ve been enough times in Italy to realize that we are in an industrial area that was once (and probably still is) a major shipping port. Not much to tell other than that.
I was excited to see the caves here. The port tours on the tv screen showed some wonderful carvings that show biblical allegories. These were carved by the freemasons. I spent some time looking at images online and couldn’t wait to see them in person.
Bait and switch. This is not where we ended up. We were in the Grotte del Cantinone. These galleries are about 300 meters below the street level and are part of the Basilica-Sanctuary of San Giuseppe da Cupertino. They are right next to the Roman walls and had some nifty carvings and a few crosses to see. It is said that the Franciscan friars used them as warehouses to store food and for places of individual solitary worship. While I was saddened to not see the amazing carvings I saw on the tv, I loved the tour of the caves.
It was interesting to hear how the people moved throughout the caves by using a system of holes carved into the ceilings. The caves are a constant 18 degrees year round. One of the ways they keep an eye on the humidity level of the caves is through the root system of the trees above. I really didn’t understand this part, but it sounds plausible.
When we exited the caves, the guide took us to the central square where she explained a bit about the history of the city. She next took us to another building where they found some remains of ancient ruins and a few burial sites. The next stop was to be a church, but as per our agreement of many years back, we opted to beg off and explore the city on our own.
We took off down the main street and after a while popped back out to the road we came in on to take in the spectacular view. It is truly beautiful. Osimo was first conquered by the romans in 174 BC and remained so until 1100 AD when it became a free community. It was later given to the Pope and for the most part remained a part of the Papal States until Italian unification in 1861. There is a bit of history here and we wanted to see some of it.
Sadly, we didn’t. Instead, we found a nice little trattoria and went inside for:
"A book of verses underneath the Bough,
A jug of wine, a Loaf of Bread—and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wildernss—
O, Wilderness were Paradise enow!" (Omar Khayyam, 1040-1122)
Ok. Not quite, but we did have a wonderful ham and goat cheese sandwich, some beautiful wine, the most amazing salami plate with olives and a chickpea bread. We couldn’t have asked for a better lunch. The owner and his wife and son all work in the shop and all three were eager to talk with us. My Italian is rusty to say the least, but the father was able to tell me that he had spent some time on a cruise in the Caribbean, Brazil, Ecuador, and Miami. They were thrilled to hear that I have family in the Emilia-Romagna region. The mother came out and was excited to talk about her cruise and showed me how to make a simple lemon sauce for the salad she was making. It was truly a wonderful experience not to be repeated. If you find yourself in Osimo I can’t recommend the Tavernetta del Corso enough. It was time well spent and the value for money can’t be beat. Lunch, 2 glasses and 2 bottles of wine to go only set us back $45. Best lunch to date. We packed up the extra sausage and took it along to the ship with us. I see breakfast in my future.
On our way back to the guide, I popped into a small shop and found 3 boxes of Pocket Coffee! Pay dirt! 32 pieces per box and 5 Euro 40 each. That is less than I pay for one box on Amazon. Who’s a happy girl then?
We returned to the ship around 2 pm and George went upstairs for a nap. I scooted out to find some milk. It was a rainy day, but that didn’t stop me. I was on a mission. While out I also got 2 more boxes of Pocket Coffee and a couple of big bags of Cipsters-the best potato chips ever.
Dinner was, in of all places, in the dining room called Toscana on the ship . I had booked this for a sea day on the original cruise. Ah well. Good company, and I think they knew when I sat down and ordered the zuppa di fagioli to actually put some beans in it. Overall, it was a great day for none of the reasons we expected when we woke up. I love days like this.
Tomorrow is Kotor Montenegro-a place I’ve never heard of. I have some researching to do before we head out. Until then, Happy Puzzling and Smooth Sailing.
No comments:
Post a Comment