The Ham Nomads

7 Apr 2015. <HR> Rovinj, Istria —

Camping Porton Biondi is a nice walk (about 2km) from the old township of Rovinj. We had a lovely walk around the foreshore, passing (and buying from) a bread shop on the way. We were wondering why Europeans are so often seen walking about carrying baguettes. The probable answer is that the best choice of bread comes first thing in the morning, so you buy as soon as you can, and then carry that bread around as a prize for the rest of the morning!

Just as we were coming into Rovinj, we walked by a tourist office. We dropped in, got a plan of the old town and hints as to the best way so get around in there. We also asked where we might have our first coffee for the day -- just round the corner in the side street! The cafe had a terrace upstairs, so we sat up there in the warm sun (and cooling breeze) and enjoyed the view.

Then into Rovinj. There is a newer part of town, and it is well set up to target the tourist souvenir market. There is a large marina and, around it, restaurants with al fresco seating.

After looking around the beachfront we turned towards the old city. It is built on a little peninsula in the form of a hill. The the paving is all marble, worn to smoothness by centuries of foot traffic - it is only foot traffic, as every street up the hill is a set of stairs! You pass little doorways that are little shops selling local craftwork -- stonework, beading, jewellery, needlework, painting.

When you get to the top of the hill, you reach the cathedral that surmounts it. A marble building, and when you walk inside you go back at least four centuries. Delightful. It is the Cathedral of St Euphemia, so named because this early Christian saint has been interred here ever since she floated ashore in her marble sarcophagus on July 13, 800AD. Near the entrance to the bell tower was a stall selling religious paraphernalia and tourist booklets, run by a very friendly brother, who switched langiages for each person who came up to him. He informed us that this bell tower was superior to anything they had in Venice, so of course we undertook the climb. You know how we characterise some of our drives as 'adventure drives' -- well, this was an 'adventure climb'. The staircase, after only one set of solid marble steps, turned into these rather ramshackle stairs, with each 'step' consisting of a well-worn, rounded piece of timber, nailed at the ends to keep it in place. As you looked down through the stairs, you saw as much clear space as you saw timber stairs! -- and the whole is copiously garnished with pigeon droppings built up over the decades. But we climbed and, from the top, the view was as good as any we have seen. Perhaps because he resents the veneration of St Euphemia, Zeus (or is it Thor?) has made her statue atop the bell tower the almost constant target of his thunderbolts!

The Cathedral may be old, but the stained glass ...

Looking up the bell tower ...

... or looking down, it's just as scary!

... but the view is superb!

There are a couple of museums in the town, but we never got to them. Instead we went down to the foreshore of the old town, found a restaurant and had the most pleasant meal sitting in the sun on the edge of the Adriatic, surrounded at the other tables by German families whose children were having a great time feeding the seagulls, who were very patient and waited their turn (not like those pesky seagulls we encountered on the Isle of Skye!)

We then wandered a little more before slowly making our way back to the van. A most enjoyable and restful day, with a little adventure to break it up. We spent a second night at Camping Porton Biondi, as it was almost too comfortable to leave.

Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 17,245 miles ( 27,754 km )