Tag: Travel

Sunset Boat Trip

One of the best ways to get a sense of a place is to have a view of the shoreline. That way, you get to see the whole of the city, wrapped up, postcard perfect, containing everyone as they go about their lives. Split was no different and sailing away from the shore slowly removed the bustle of the city. The sounds faded. Our boat was quiet, and the sound of the sea soon took over.

The outline of towers and buildings set against the silhouette of the mountains in the distance was captivating. We had been promised incredible sunsets and Croatia delivered. I’m a bit of a sunset/ sunrise collector (see here for more pictures from our travels) and this was definitely one of the more memorable.

The further out to sea we traveled, the more the light faded, creating beautiful patterns on the waves. Lights glimmered from the houses on the shore and beach stragglers waved to the boat as we passed.

As the temperature dropped and we sat in near total darkness, the trip back to the city brought burning lights – creating a snapshot of a city brought to life.

Diocletian’s Palace and the Basements Below

Diocletian’s Palace is a sprawling network of twisting, turning streets, ruins and basements. Whilst the palace walls house the marbled streets above, below street level are a warren of passages more fitting for a horror set than a palace of wealth.

Most famous for their use in Game of Thrones, as a place to keep dragons, the basements have an interesting history.

They have only recently been cleared out and made accessible (some parts are still closed off) following a clean up operation spanning the last 50 years.

Filled with debris, rubbish and rubble over the years from the development works above, the basements had become an inaccessible time capsule, the hallways blocked with remnants of the changes taking place.

Slowly, the basements have been cleared, opening up section by section to the public. We overheard this story from one of the tour guides, her disembodied voice echoing through the underground rooms to where we stood, looking up at one of the huge piles of remaining rubble. It was amazing to think that the high ceilings and pillars had recently been hidden by the things discarded by the people in the city.

Walking through the basements, dimly lit with the sound of water dripping down the walls was a haunting experience, contrasting with the bustle from the markets in the halls above. The only noise echoing though the corridors was the rustle of birds and the slight echoing of other tourist’s footsteps. At least I hope that’s what it was……

Would you like my window seat?

We are 36,000ft in the air and the announcement comes over the tannoy:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, if you look out to the left side of the aircraft, there is a brilliant view of the Austrian Alps”.

I’m that person on a plane who is happy to give up their window seat. It’s not that I don’t want to see the views. I really do, but looking out of the airplane that high up as it’s tilting is guaranteed to do two things: make me panic and make me throw up.

Wandering Beeb is the opposite. He’s quite happy looking out of the window and taking photos, snapping away and telling me all about what he can see below.

I’m not the greatest on planes anyway – I tend to think that they only stay up in the air based on the power of wishful thinking, so anything that reminds me of how high up we are is a bit ‘no no’.

On this particular flight, however, I really want to see the Alps. I’ve looked out of the windows on purpose once before, as we headed into Vegas. It was night time and we were flying in over the strip. Instead of paying for a helicopter ride, we were able to see the whole of the strip as the plane made its approach to the runway. I was persuaded to take in the view after much discussion and whilst it made me feel quite sick, I was really glad for the experience.

This time, as the Alps passed below us, I took the decision to look out without any cajoling or discussion. It was beautiful. The line of the mountains and the colours of the sky were stunning. I manage to peek out long enough to see the snow-capped tips of the mountains against the horizon and to pass my phone to Wandering Beeb to take a couple of shots.

A big achievement for me, despite feeling a mixture of vertigo, sickness and fear. A beautiful site and a proud moment. Something to remember the next time I’m eager to pass up that window seat.

Unplanned Nights Out

It’s really nice to get glammed up and head off for a night on the town. Half of the fun is in the getting ready and the other half is reliving the memories the next day. Planned nights out can end up a little stale sometimes however, and it’s always those nights that just ‘seem to happen’ which make the best memories.

With that in mind, here are a round up our top 3 spontaneous nights out on our travels:

BBQ Party In Yosemite, California

A few baked potatoes and sausages made up most of our camping meals. One of the nights in Yosemite saw a family camp next to us – wow did they put us to shame!! They had floodlights, RVs, tables, chairs and so much food!! Being from the UK, we are naturally a reserved bunch but one of the guys bounded over and invited us to join them for dinner. I’m so glad we accepted, as the night was full of amazing food (including meat cooked in a hole in the ground!) excellent company and more than a few beers. We got to learn about them and their travels and even picked up a few camping tips along the way. It was lovely to be invited into someone else’s party and we had the best night of our trip.

Ruin Pubs in Budapest

Szimpla Kert was an amazing night out, but it took us a while to find it! You can read about it here.

Street Singing in Croatia

We were returning back from the little shops and wine bars in Split when we stumbled across an open air gig. One of the bars (Luxor) opens out on to a courtyard where lots of people (locals and tourists alike) sat watching the two performers, one singer and one guitarist.

They were playing a whole range of songs and the atmosphere was great. We sat down on the stone steps, under a blanket of stars and listened to the music play. We got speaking to a lady who was travelling with her university course and exchanged some conversation about places to visit, things to see and her observations on the city. We also might have shared a few chips! It was an easy and relaxed way to share experiences with others (even for an introvert like me!) and was one of the best evenings of our trip.

All of these spontaneous nights out had one thing in common; speaking to other travellers. Without chatting to other people, our experiences would have been far less interesting. We’d never have known where the best ruin pubs were, or learned about other people’s camping tips. Make a point of speaking to fellow travellers and locals, you’re far more likely to learn about a cool place to go.