Ancient Salona: Where Gargoyles Go to Die

Member of our tour tries out a grave at ancient Salona

If there was ever a place that gargoyles would prefer to die, it would be the ancient city of Salona. I went there on a tour that included ancient Salona and medieval Trogir while cruising on the Norwegian Jade. Founded by the Romans and very close to Diocletian's Palace at Split, Croatia, the ancient city is amazingly well preserved. It had all the requisite Roman city items: walls, a forum, a theater and an amphitheater. But what makes this site so wonderful is the amount of preservation. After having been to Olympus, Greece where all the good stuff is in the museum, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the ruins in their natural state.

Map of the ancient Salona site

Well preserved Ancient Salona near Split, Croatia

Ancient Salona became the capital of the Roman Province of Dalmatia, according to Wikipedia. More information on this gargoyle-inspired and spiritual place can be found here. We spent about an hour walking around. 

Detail of the ruins at Ancient Salona

I could have taken a few more hours without the other tourists. We had a unique crowd on our tour bus, a large group of retired military and their wives. They fought over seats on the bus like we were going to war. It was embarrassing the way they hogged the front seats.

Our group including retired military men and their wives

But the place was awesome and I just did what I always do, made the most of it. 

Sorrento Staircase to Heaven

Sorrento staircase

On a tour of the Amalfi coast on the Norwegian Jade, I literally passed through a restaurant. It wasn't open for lunch. There was the most amazing staircase railing, and I just had to photograph it. Looking for new material for my blogs, I decided to sort by date and I found these photos from 2013. They are gems.

Detail of the staircase

I love how a chair is stored under the rustic staircase. It is just awesome work, and I would think made from a local tree. This staircase to Heaven is definitely gargoyle-inspired.

Sorrento Restaurant

According to their website, shown here, this is where canneloni was invented. The place is just full of history. Wow.

I even found a photo of me I liked. Now that is a miracle!

Photo of me May 2013 on excursion of the Amalfi Coast

Praetorian Palace of Koper, Slovenia

Praetorian Palace courtyard at Koper, Slovenia

I found the architecture and design of Koper, Slovenia to be amazing and unique. Above is a well that is in an inner court yard of the Praetorian Palace. More info on the Palace can be found on Wikipedia, follow the link above.

Another architectural detail of the Praetorian Palace

And another architectural detail 

The style is considered Venetian Gothic. It was once part of the Venetican Republic.

Sun motif prevalent thoughout Palace

The sun motif was something I saw throughout the Praetorian Palace at Koper, Slovenia. I took the inside tour, which was not really all that impressive, as only a few rooms were open to the general public. Getting out and about and seeing the town was way more exciting!

Koper, Slovenia: A Delight

Graffiti of Koper

The graffiti of Koper, Slovenia is really at a minimum. I took this shot as I loved the guy in the cap and what it says, "Graffiti is Forever." Actually that is true and graffiti has been around a lot longer than we realize. Roman times had graffiti. I couldn't imagine Italy without it. It is just the way Italians express themselves.

Mostly Koper is filled with narrow cobblestone streets, small wonderful shops, including great bakeries and a market with luscious fruit.

Bakery where I ate a cream puff of some sort

Fruit stands are Koper market

I took a very long walk through Koper. It felt safe and relaxed. I walked from the Praetorian Palace to the waterfront, where I saw the fruit stands and stopped to have a very good cappuccino. Not expensive at all, as well. The people mostly did not speak English, but I was able to get by just fine ... holding out coins like I normally do to pay for my purchase. 

Streets of Koper

Koper was a place that calls my name, and I would love to go back. I felt there was much more to see there. I actually took a tour later on that day to see the Lipica horses. The show was good and the horses were beautiful, but i preferred the town over the horse excursion. I could have lingered there all day, walking along and stopping in shops and just gazing at a way of life so different from my own.

me on the streets of Koper

St. Lawrence Cathedral of Trogir

Portal of St. Lawrence

Closeup of the Lion from the Portal of St. Lawrence

 The Portal of the St. Lawrence Cathedral at medieval Trogir in Croatia has to be one of the most impressive portals I have ever seen. The only one that comes close is the Portal left in Lisbon. I say left as the rest of the Church was destroyed by an earthquake, and the Portal is all that remains. The St. Lawrence Cathedral has a pleasant interior, although quite small. But what remains with me almost a year after I saw it, is the amazing entrance.

More detail of the Portal of St. Lawrence Cathedral

More information can be found on the St. Lawrence Cathedral by clicking this link ... Trogir Cathedral. This information is from Wikipedia. Remember to donate to Wikipedia, if possible, as it is operated solely on donations and I like that. No advertising!

Wonderful gargoyle-inspired creatures

Trogir is an amazing place. It is easy to feel as if you have entered a medieval world while here, and I liked it so much better than Split. 

Little girl from our cruise

One of my favorite shots is of a little girl I photographed throughout the day on our tour of Salona and Trogir. What a beauty! 

I highly recommend Trogir for a truly gargoyle-inspired day!

Cruising Solo: Sorrento

Me at a lovely restaurant in Sorrento

Cruising solo is always interesting and fun, at least for me. I get to meet a whole lot of people I probably wouldn't otherwise. On my last solo cruise on the Norwegian Jade, I ate most of my meals alone. Sometimes I brought my Kindle, other times I chatted across tables with other cruisers. 

Fellow cruiser from Norwegian Jade

Another fellow cruiser from Norwegian Jade

I met a lovely couple at lunch on a tour of Sorrento and a boat tour from Salerno to Amalfi and back. I don't remember their names, but I do remember their kindness and their unique story. They live in northern California and buy condo buildings and refurbish them. We had more fun discussing the pros and cons of the different cruise lines. Like me, they are avid travelers and love to cruise as well. We just hit it off for that one fab lunch. I never saw them again after that.

I also took a lot of great photos at Sorrento. We did a walking tour and it is full of gorgeous architecture.

Architectural detail from a Church at Sorrento

One of my favorite photos

This photo is so amazing! I took it as a gentleman was running in to the Church, not to be late for Mass.

More architectural goodies from Sorrento to follow! 

Norwegian Jade Review Part III

Shops opened at night on Norwegian Jade

Norwegian Cruise Line advertises that they are a Freestyle cruise line. I do have to agree with them, but that is not necessarily a good thing. This is the attire people were wearing for dinner on the Norwegian Jade.

Front desk at night on Norwegian Jade

I saw everything just like I saw on the Norwegian ship in Hawaii in 2006. Bedroom slippers, short shorts at night, lots of clothes that looked like they may have been new in the 1950s. I like HAL as people tend to dress up more. 

me and Sarah in 2008 on HAL Noordam

Dinner on Eurodam 2011

To each his own, some people really hate to dress up and probably NCL is perfect for them. On NCL, you don't need to go out and buy a new wardrobe, but what's the fun in that?

Norwegian Jade Review Part II

Cabin steward Manolo

The best part of my Norwegian Jade cruise was my cabin steward, Manolo. He was the nicest, most accomodating and hard-working cabin steward that I have ever encountered on my cruises. Almost every time I left my cabin, there he would be either in a stateroom working or in the hall preparing to go in to a room. He always greeted me by name, asked about the excursions I went on or was leaving for and left me the most beautiful towel animals at night. (I sure missed the chocolates I get on HAL, but that wasn't Manolo's fault.)

Towel animal duck

Towel animal frog

Towel animal elephant

My favorite towel animal of all was the one I labeled "sexy bunny." Really cute!

Towel animal sexy bunny

Norwegian Jade Review Part I

me at Alizar Restaurant

Those of you who read my blog already know I had a lot of misgivings about going on the Norwegian Jade. I was on the Norwegian Pride of America back in 2006 to Hawaii, and I didn't love it. Being that the Jade was originally built as the Pride of Hawaii, a sister ship to the Pride of America, I thought there was a good chance I wouldn't be thrilled. Honestly, I wasn't. Norwegian Cruise Line just is not for me. I love Holland America. I love the dressing up (not every night, but at least a few nights.) I love the older, more sophisticated crowd. I love the attention to detail with all the lovely architectural details of the ships and beautiful china and wonderful uniforms of the staff. I love how well-trained everyone is on Holland America. I love all the fresh flowers. 

Norwegian Jade hull design

But not all was bad on the Jade. The food was surprisingly good. I only had one meal I didn't love at the Alizar, and I told the waiter and he brought me something else. I did eat four nights in the specialty restaurants and really loved Le Bistro and Jade Garden. Cagney's was okay. The steak tasted kind of strange, almost like liver. I did not love Moderno, but it is just too much meat for me. I did eat dinner every night at 6pm. I was traveling alone and brought my Kindle. Some nights I chatted with other singles or groups sitting near me. Often, I read a book. The service is top-notch when they first open the restaurant. I ordered a sparkling water and tipped the waiter each night.

Jade Garden waiter

I had rack of lamb at Le Bistro and escargot that was divine. The green tea ice cream at Jade Garden was to die for, and the dish I had was excellent too. The wait staff in Jade Garden were a lot of fun as well. The Maitre'D asked if I wanted dessert and I asked him if I didn't like it, would they make me eat it like my father always did? The Wine Steward, Maitre'D and waiter all thought that was hugely funny and we joked about it.

Le Bistro Restaurant on Norwegian Jade

The worst part of the ship was the stateroom. To me, it was totally claustrophobic. There was way too much closet space and the bathroom was super cramped and laid out weird. There are two partitions in the tiny bathroom, which separates the toilet from the sink area and then the shower. I did not have a tub. The shower was large, but I missed not having a tub. I am a small person, 5'1" and 118 lbs, and I was knocking my elbow constantly in the toilet area. I cannot imagine how larger and taller people survive in this bathroom. The stateroom itself was also very small. The other really bad layout is the halls. I guess NCL doesn't want to have wide halls so they can have more area for public rooms. But the hallways are very narrow, making it difficult to navigate when people are coming from the other direction.

Also the walls are paper-thin between staterooms, so I got to listen to conversations from my drunken neighbors each night before they went to sleep. My stateroom was quite distant from the reception area, but I could often hear the piano player in my room. 

7th Floor Deck on Norwegian Jade

The other thing I really disliked was the amount of smokers on the 7th floor deck. That is the walking deck and each night when I tried to take my walk after dinner (I usually walked two miles), I was choked by cigarette smoke. In the end, I started walking the jogging track, which was not ideal but better than inhaling second hand smoke.

More to follow in Part II.

Norwegian Jade: Here I Come

Norwegian Jade

A few weeks from now, I will be on my yearly cruise to Europe. Using points for my airlines ticket and negotiating an amazing price, I was able once again to scrape together the money to go. It is the way I recharge my interior design batteries, so it is as much a work trip as a pleasure trip. I spend two weeks immersing myself in all the architecture of Europe and a lot of gorgeous beach scenery too. Cozumel is beautiful, but nothing beats a mountain view from the water. It is different and makes me appreciate where I live so much more when I get back.

Cagney's Steak House on Norwegian Jade

I can't wait to continue my gargoyles and graffiti tradition, but I also plan to eat well. I made four reservations in specialty restaurants. I will dine alone, with my Kindle in hand just in case I need it. I never know if I will read or end up chatting. Either way works for me. I have dinner reservations in Cagney's Steak House, Jasmine Garden, the Brazilian Churrascaria restairant called Moderno and Le Bistro, the French restaurant. I had dinner at the French restaurant on Jade's sister ship, The Pride of America, and it was great.

Jasmine Garden on Norwegian Jade

I am not sure how much pool time I will have as I am going on excursions every day in port. I also love to walk around the deck, so I only hope the 7th floor deck is as good as HAL's lower promenade for walking.

Pool area on the Norwegian Jade

Outdoor cafe area on Norwegian Jade

Can't wait now ... only 14 days until I leave for Europe!

Split About Split (Croatia)

Diocletian Palace street at Split from Wikipedia

It's about time I finally got down to checking out the areas of my cruise next month. I already signed up for excursions, and honestly I am really glad I did, as most of them are already closed out. It will probably be a big free-for-all on the Norwegian Jade the first day trying to sort out everybody's shore excursions. 

One place I was really happy to get away from and see some medieval towns was Split, Croatia. Little did I realize the town itself has so much to offer. The Diocletian Palace, built at the turn of the 4th century by Roman Emporer Diocletian, looks spectacular. I found some photos on Wikipedia today that blew me away. Gargoyles would sure be comfortable here!

So I got out my cruise docs, checked the time of my tour and lo and behold, we get back to Split early enough, I should be able to do a private trip to see the Palace. Those are usually the best parts of my days. Traveling solo can make visits to places by myself a little daunting, but by going with a group in the morning, I usually befriend some kind soul who is willing to trek around the town with me in the afternoon. That is my hope.

Spinx in Split from Wikipedia

There is an underground area of the Diocletian Palace that looks like it has great shopping as well.

Underground the Diocletian Palace from Wikipedia

More information on this magnificent Palace can be found on Wikipedia here.

Hopefully I will get to see Ancient Salona, Medieval Trogir and the Diocletian Palace at Split all in one day. Gargoyles, here I come!