A Few of My Favourite Things

Since we are currrently in Austria, the title of this post is referring mainly to schnitzel with noodles (although I am also partial to crisp apple strudel). As a diversion from our solitary travels, we spent the day yesterday with my wife's cousin at their chalet near Salzburg.

The big revelation for me in this part of the trip has been the affinity that Austrians have for Lederhosen. The owner of the alpine restaurant where we ate lunch had a traditional pair, but our twentyish waitress also had on a pair of leather shorts (in a somewhat more groovy style). We have even seen other tourists sporting this outfit.

Spelunking in Slovenia

Slovenia has one of the largest underground cave systems in the world, and the most prominent among these are the Skocjan Caves. These are an easy 45 minute drive from downtown Ljubljana, but don't seem to be promoted very aggressively. Nonetheless, we drove out to visit the caves today, and they are truly spectacular. Photography is not allowed in the caves proper, but even a photo from near the entrance gives some hint of their size.

The Reka River disappears underground at the entrance to the caves, and runs underground almost as far as the Adriatic before emerging again. This view is from just outside the cave at the point where the river enters. The high ground forms the roof of a 100m high cavern.

More on the caves here - http://www.park-skocjanske-jame.si/eng/skocjan-caves-park_caves.shtml

More from Split

To arrive in Croatia, we took the popular ferry route from Ancona to Split. There are a couple of lines that serve this route. The one we used, Blue Line, has the slogan "Low Cost." This slogan appears everywhere - from the side of the boat to the crew's uniforms. The trip itself was actually pleasant, although the vehicle loading and disembarking seemed a bit disorganized.

In honour of Split's Roman heritage, a performer dressed as the emperor Diocletian makes an appearance at noon every day in the town square to greet the crowd. The whole thing is a little bit tongue in cheek, which makes it less cheesy than I had expected.

Gregory of Nin (Grgur Ninski) was a 10th century bishop who was first to conduct mass in the local Croatian language. It is reputedly good luck to touch the toe of the statue.

On the route north from Split, we passed a memorial to Nikola Tesla (known for the Tesla coil, and many other practical and theoretical innovations in the field of electricity). I had no idea that he was born in Croatia.

Diocletian's Palace

The town of Split in Croatia makes me think of what Italian seaside resorts must have been like fifty years ago, when they were a bit less crowded and a bit less expensive. We arrived by ferry from Ancona, and found a room in a fantastic location inside the historical perimeter of Diocletian's Palace with very little effort. Diocletian was notable for being the only Roman emperor to retire, rather than ruling until assassination or death of natural causes, and in 305 AD he settled in a palace that is now in the heart of Split.

The Trip So Far

Now that the kids are home and getting ready to go to camp, it seems like a good point to summarize our trip so far. Over a couple of weeks, the destinations add up.

Picking the highlights from any trip is a very personal thing. Here's my list from the family portion of the trip.

Favorite city:  Locarno
Favorite activity:  The telepherique up Mont Brevent in Chamonix
Best meal:  Choucroute de la mer at Bofinger in Paris
Best appetizer:  Marinated anchovies at Trattoria San Gennaro in Praiano
Best value:  Our meal at La Piccola Cuccagna in Rome
Best drink:  Grappa at Fattoria Castelvecchi in Tuscany

And, with a different selection of categories, my wife Martha's list.

Best meal:  Scallops with bacon and potato at Bofinger
Best primo piatto:  Scialatielli with shrimp and lemon cream sauce at Pupetto in Positano
Best drink:  Meloncello
Best day:  The beach at our hotel in Praiano
Best ritual:  Morning outing to the boulangerie in Paris

L'Aquila

On the way from Rome to Ancona yesterday we made an impromptu stop in L'Aquila. I vaguely remembered that it had suffered an earthquake a few years ago, but I wasn't at all prepared for the scale of damage that is still present. The historic center of the city is essentially a ghost town, with virtually all buildings still showing obvious earthquake damage and some whole streets cordoned off. Most of the buildings had various sorts of temporary bracing in place to hold them together. The black grid in the photo is a set of steel I-beams that are bolted through many of the buildings. The whole experience was very sobering.

On a different note, I had forgetten what a goat rodeo the Fiumicino airport in Rome is. After some tense moments, we did get the kids on a plane for Toronto yesterday, concluding the family portion of our trip. The kids arrived home safely with the obligatory one lost bag that seems to be part of any flight to or from Italy.

The Amalfi Coast and Rome (now with photos)

We've had some internet connectivity issues over the last couple of days, which I suppose is part of the charm of being in Italy. In that time we have spent two nights on the Amalfi Coast (south of Naples) and two nights in Rome. On the travel day between Praiano and Rome we stopped at Pompeii. My main recollection from my previous visit there, in August, is of intense heat. My previous impression was correct. Even without the volcano, I think that the Roman residents would have been incinerated in the summer. The photos below are from Praiano. In the first one, our (ludicrously expensive) hotel is in the foreground and the town of Positano is on the other side of the bay in the background.

This is the interior of the "House of the Tragic Poet" in Pompeii (famous particularly for the Cave Canem mosaic at the entrance).