Cannes, France… Big Boats

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Trudy

Day 50, Tuesday, October 17th, 2023

We are in the French Riviera! We thought it would get warmer and sunnier the further south we went, but not so…today is cloudy and only 21°. On our way to the beach I notice these strange cones from some type of coniferous tree, no idea what they are but they were very prickly!

Our first view of the Mediterranean Sea this trip. No sunbathers on the beach today.

It started to rain a bit and this little sweetie wanted her own umbrella! I asked her dad if I could ‘prends un photo’ and he smiled and said yes. She was such an independent little girl.

soon we are at he harbour checking out the boats.

People watching is very interesting. This young lady posed for several photos for her friend…and me! It was quite the outfit she was wearing, with her thong panties quite visible.

There are a lot of sailboats moored here…

and then there are the big boats…

and the really big boats…

complete with all the accessories! It is really mind boggling to see these huge boats and we can only imagine how much they cost, not only to purchase but to maintain and operate. Not something we will ever have to worry about!

The boats names are interesting…from the rather strange ‘maxi beer Oliver’s bear’, to the curious No.9 (is this the ninth boat that they have owned?, to the quite pretentious Veni Vedi Vici ( I Came, I Saw, I Conquered ) to the more modest ‘Lucky Us’.

I wonder if this is a game of “My mast is taller than your mast?”

There are so many of these huge boats, or perhaps I should be calling them ships? I’m not sure of the correct terminology.

Boats aren’t the only expensive item in Cannes. The little black boots are 1100 € and the tall boots are 1300 € !

I don’t think we can afford a vacation home here either! Look a the price for a three or four room apartment, ranging from 74 to 110 square meters.

On our walk we passed several interesting murals, all movie or film related.

La Spezia, Italy

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Trudy

Day 56, Monday October 30, 2017

We are now in La Spezia on the west coast of Italy. We went for a 4 1/2 hour walk this afternoon to the harbour in La Spezia. This was our view for our tea and cookie break, before we went to check out all the boats.In the distance there are two big cruise ships that dwarf everything around them.We check out the fishing boats, and our shadow selves take a closer look.Then we pass all the sail boats…on our way to where the ‘big boys’ dock.At least we thought they were the big boys, until we saw these! See the men on the sailboat? This gives some idea of just how huge these boats were.Hard to imagine that a boat this big is privately owned.
This one has three more boats inside!Bob noticed something rather strange on this boat. Can you spot it?

We caught a bus home which stops right in front of our apartment. I was happy as I didn’t want to walk another 15,000 steps to get home!

The Sun Is Shining In Poreč, Croatia!

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Trudy

Day 17, Thursday September 21, 2017

Finally, the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day! We drive to Poreč, which sounds like porridge, and spend most of the day exploring this Croatian Town. The town’s main feature is a 6th Century Byzantine church, The Euphrasian Basilica.We climb these stairs, all 118 of them up to the bell tower for some great views of Poreč.

I think Bob has really become a gardener. He started to weed the Bell Tower!The bells are very large and we are quite happy that they do not ring while we are up there.This is where we were standing in the last photo, in these archesThere are intricate floor mosaics from the 4th Century…and mosaics from the 6th Century cover the apse. They are incredibly detailed and very beautiful.There are nine Greek marble columns connected by arches on each side of the central nave.I really loved the way the light from the window shines on this Madonna.You might find this short video about the Basilicas interesting.Part of the Bishop’s Place in this complex has a little museum. The embroidery on these vestments was amazing…and I found this painting from the 15th Century very unusual. I will need to try to find out a bit more information about it.This depiction of the Crucifixion was from the 13th Century. I continue to be amazed that so many of these ancient works have survived all these years.This was a workroom off of one of the display rooms. I love peeking into these sorts of places. Here are some of Poreč’s streets. We really enjoyed our time in this town.We sat in the sun having tea and watching some of the big yachts come and go. Their owners must have a lot with a lot more money than we do!On the way home we drive through some other small towns. We stop for a walk about in Vrsar. Take a look the size of the boats docked here.This was something different to see. Along the main road of a town called Flengi we saw no fewer than twelve pigs being roasted in these big BBQ’s.