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Woke up early. Suzy the motorhome is parked up and not moving anywhere today. Out of her front window she can see an empty site with a few motorhomes scattered around. Through her back window she can see the Adriatic. What more can a girl want?
Washed pots and showered. There is everything you could wish for on this site. We spoke again to our neighbours in the Roma Home and very friendly they were too.
After a leisurely breakfast we headed out of the campsite along the access road to the village. We were informed by reception that the bus stop was near to the pub in the village which sported the Beccs beer sign. Turn left and we would find the bus stop. Easier said than done. We tried to the left and found nothing. We asked at the bakery and were directed to the right and told to keep walking until we saw the crossing.After about 10 mins walk we saw the crossing and a couple who turned out to be French waiting for the bus. Bus ici ......... Oui so we waited. A young man turned up and then a heavily pregnant girl who looked
Zadar
St Donats as if she had worms as she walked about pacing as if her life depended on it. She was hell bent on ignoring everyone else waiting and was determined to get on the bus first and this she did when the bus turned up. We asked for two tickets and proffered the usual 2 euros fare and got a distinctly frosty look from the bus driver. Not understanding how much the fare was I went through my purse . 200 kuna too much ., Another 200 not right. Then he grabbed 200 kuna from my purse and took another 20 kuna. We had no idea how much the fare cost nor did it say a price on the bus ticket but we thought he had charged us 200 kuna around £20 for the single trip into Zadar.
The bus drove round the houses and the marina and finally ended up in the bus station which was quite a considerable distance walk from the old town. We did eventually find our way even though there were no signs helping us along our way and what a delight the old town was.
Zadar or Zara as the Venetians called it
was stunning. We entered through one of the gates to the city which led into a square where we had a capaccino and an espresso 1.70 kuna even cheaper than at Ljubljana. We saw the Land Gate and the walls which were built by Michele Sanmichele in 1543. When you ask what Venice did for a city you can see exactly what they did here. The walls are impressive and the city was very beautiful. The lion of St Mark is everywhere. We walked and took in the beauty of it all. It is possible to climb up the campanile but we didn’t.
From here we walked to the medieval tower of Bablja Kula and the church of St Simeone. Cruise ships were in town and the centre seemed buzzing. There were so many churches to see – St Chrystogonus with its Gothic exterior and Baroque interior , St Donats 9
th century outside but trashed inside and used as a concert hall. It was interesting to see how the builders had used roman columns for building material and thrown them in hapzardedly. We had intended to see the silver of Zadar but the museum closed between 1 and
6pm so we missed it.
So instead we walked to the harbour and promenade. The Adriatic was blue and it made a lovely place to sit. Boats small and large came into the harbour. The large Jardolinja ferries plyed their trade and small vessels offered trips to the islands and Krka waterfall. We went in search of the sea organ and spotted the holes in the pavement but the sea was calm and not a sound could be heard.
Lunch was taken at a small restaurant off the main square. Spagetti Napolitano and Mjesano Meso Porc – Mixed Grill plus coke for 172 kuna. Excellent value and excellent service.
Everywhere marble pavements and cafes spilling into the street.
We came home by taxi which probably cost less than the bus fare this morning. All I can say is what a lovely city- it will live in our memory for years.
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