Thinking Allowed: Winged cats

Here we are, back again. While very delayed, I figure we owe it to two very nice locations to catch up on the blog because we all really enjoyed our small stays in Rovinj and Venice,

After a tumultuous boat ride that involved a few of us spewing out the last remnants of Italy, Rovinj was a haven of solid ground. Tova and Jakob flopped on the sunny ground outside the police station as soon as we arrived, and lay prone until the nausea started to subside half an hour later. Can there be anything more appealing than a medieval town built on a peninsula of land? And with that rhetorical question, suffice it to say that we had a wonderful time exploring cobbled streets and numerous beaches. A couple of the girls and I had an amazing trip to Plitvice Lakes National Park with friends. The town was always full of tourists milling around which gave us a small taste of what our visit to Venice would be like. Around 8pm Rovinj really started to come to life, which always made me wonder where everyone went during the day. I learned a lot about what it is like to live in Croatia from the very forthcoming car rental attendant. It’s not easy as cost of living is high but earnings are low. We spent time every day at the beautiful beaches which ring the city; even on the stony tip of the peninsula, there are rocky pools where bathers venture into the waves.

And then another boat ride and we were in Venice. All of us were both very excited to see Venice, especially Aurora and Sophia who had just read the Thief Lord, and nervous about so many people all around us after so many weeks on our own in backcountry. I had read somewhere that the real appeal of Venice can only be appreciated if you spend the night on the island. Being a person who has a great love of walks in the early morning and at dusk - so half-light basically - the statement rang a bell and we spent two nights on the island before moving to a cheaper hostel in Mestre. Our apartment was away from the most popular areas but close enough that we could easily walk everywhere. Walk everywhere we did. Some sightseeing but really just a lot of aimless wandering around getting a feel for the place. When the girls got tired of walking, we left them at home and walked some more - along canals, over bridges, through artwork, to island ends, in churches, through piazzas, to dead ends, through throngs of people, in the quiet of the night. And just like the statement I read, our early-morning and late-night walks were our favourites, and really fostered a love of the city in us.

While Aurora and I did a long train ride to Salzburg and back to pick up left luggage Jakob and the other girls also grew to appreciate what Mestre had to offer. It's not Venice but Jakob says it's got character and likes it. One highlight was the best gelateria in Mestre, which was in a little out-of-the-way arcade in a residential area near a swimming pool; we all got adventurous in our flavours in Italy, trying new tastes like orange, licorice and fig. And then, after a little sample of two amazing cities, we were off to Norway.