Italy with Ellie 2016-Day 6- Porec

Day 6- Off to Porec

Diana did come back! But you can see why we wondered if she would be joining us again!

                          We are off to a drive to a sea resort on the Adriatic Sea of Porec

 Our hotel is at the end of the land on the right. Below you can see it at the end of the point.

 Porec which is the richest town in Croatia which is on the Adriatic Sea.  We stayed at the Hotel Palazzo that was built out onto the sea in 1909 and was finished in 1910 with 70 rooms and 4 suites. In WWII the hotel was destroyed as the bombing missed the target of the ships in the harbor and hit the hotel. It reopened in the 1950s.  In 1960 gambling was permitted and in 1990 it was used for refugees. In 2008 rebuilt to its original grandeur.

                                Lunch out on the veranda. What a way to start the visit here!

  We walk around the town.  There are about 70,000 tourists that pass through town in the height of the season. . .Here you see a 15th century round tower.

 the poster of the game that is coming this weekend. Riding horses and hitting a target with a jousting stick.

                                  Example of Roman ruins that were present all over the town. This is the 3rd tower built in 1473.

These next few pictures are of the town.

                            Amazing how old these buildings are and they are still in use today.

                                              Pretty doorways along our walk.

                                  We are walking into the Euphrasian Basilica- 6th century.  Its current shape possibly represents the best preserved early Christian cathedral complex worldwide!

This is an Episcopal complex in the center of Porec and is on the UNESCO list.and added in 1997 Here Christianity was established as early as the 4th century. "It is a great example of the most complete surviving complex of its kind.  The basilica, atrium, baptistery and episcopal palace are outstanding examples of religious architecture while the basilica itself combines classical and Byzantine elements."

The basilica has retained its original shape though there have been fires and earthquakes. This is  the third church built on this site. The bell tower is 16th century.  Here you see two of the 18 elegant Greek marble colonnades.

The baptismal font in the arch way and the cistern where rain water is collected.

Remnants of 4th century mosaic tile floors.

                   
                         The fish was the first symbol of Christianity then the use of the cross

     There were layers of flooring which revealed more mosaic patterns of previous centuries.

The magnificent mosaic in the arch above the altar depicts Mother Mary and Child representing the Annunciation and the Visitation.

This area is known for mushrooms and famous for the white truffles. They are called Tartuti bijeili. These go for about $300 a jar.

               Carol and I had no idea we had worn our black and white outfits at the same time!

The day is ending but we are off to try our luck at the casino.....
ciao.

Italy with Ellie 2016- Day 5 Motovun

Day 5. Motovun
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We made it back to the hotel for a nice dinner and waited for Dianna to join us.

Up to write a few postcards then off to the post office to buy stamps and mail them.

The symbol on the right is of Motovun with its five towers; the symbol of Venice (lion of San Marco) in the middle and the Polizini family coat of arms is on the left.

Mario Andretti was born here in 1940 and used to run his car around these narrow winding streets. There isn't much room to do this!

We walked the streets of the town to get the flare of the area. The streets are very uneven made out of cobblestones and dirt.

A few sayings we have learned in our travels: Umbrellas are called "sun shields" and "A little bit down" was the saying of the day; when in fact it was a long way. As we traveled along we were told we were on Roman roads. The Romans came in 1 BC to collect the clay and limestone that was prevalent in the area. Water can't be contained in limestone.

It is 88 degrees out. The river we passed was 30 miles long. The forest is an ancient forest. The tall, broad and straight trees resulted in a thriving boat-building industry.
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                                        A peek through a window as we walked along.

                                                                           Town of GROZNJAN

This area is famous for Truffles. They found a 3 lb white truffle here and was put in the Guinness Book of World Records.  An average black truffle sells for $400 to $500. There are 3 or 4 kinds of them. The white one is the rare one and costs about $20 more. They train dogs to hunt the truffles.


The city was abandoned in 1200-1500 . It has a history of being abandoned then found again. In 1902 -1935 the railroad came and left and now the population has declined to 150.  A great wall with two gates and a moat around it were built in the Middle Ages to protect the city.

The town is precious with its little artisan shops that started to pop up in the 1960s. We weren't allowed to shop but some of our more crafty members slipped off and got some great buys. I wasn't fast enough!

                             Here you can see the outside of the city gate with the moat showing.

  I asked if it got cold here. Our guide told us that they can have frost, and once in a great while some snow.

 The picture on the right is a hocks-berry tree with a great hollow in it.

              We are off to hike a "short walk with a short cut" to where we are going to eat.

In this map you can see Motovun where we started . Stopped at Groznjan. Then our hike to who knows where..It was hot and long..

                                   A look back on the town. It was such and cute and quaint village.
                  Then onto, as Ellie wrote," a walk in the beautiful surrounding hills and dales"

We "tripped" on through the hill up up into the forest where Diana fell and hurt herself.  I was very nervous for her especially since she landed on a rock to her chest. Her breathing was fine. I made her laugh to test it.  I bandaged her arm from my little first aid kit I always carry; removed her rings and an ambulance was called. This is not a small feat since we are in the middle of nowhere.  The closest hospital is in Slovenia and we were in Croatia! It was determined that she needed an X-ray. I didn't think she had broken anything but the ambulance did. So off she would go after lunch.

The rest joined us for lunch at the Seljacko Domacinstvo Agriturismo restaurant. (I think) in Groznjan.

                                                          What a trooper!

                                              Notice how red the soil is in this picture.

.We traveled back to the hotel after we sent Dianna off to the hospital with one of the hotel's gentlemen!  She was in good "hands". with such a handsome young man.  OK Dianna will we see you again??? or are you off to another venture?!
ciao :-)