After the fracas in the House of Commons yesterday, I thought this cartoon from Steve Bell in the Guardian was particularly appropriate
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Croatia Day Eight
Last full day in Croatia today - I am leaving the country tomorrow sadly. Tried to have a bit of a sleep in but unfortunately the room I am staying in is right above the kitchen and so I was awoken by the sound of breakfast being prepared. Oh well.
Went for a walk around the cliffs to the south of Hvar after breakfast - lots of houses with fabulous views and apartments to rent. Prime jogging spot as well although I was not indulging in that activity! Some fabulous views out to sea and to the islands and a strange circular rock island with a lighthouse on top.
Back in town, I visited the church near the hotel and also the art gallery in town. A large clipper was visiting Hvar for the day and it sat offshore all day, discharging its cargo of elderly American tourists from a little shuttle boat. Visited a few of the jewellery shops in town - coral is very popular here, as well as a bit of turquoise and mother of pearl.
Wandered the other way around the cliffs and sat on the beach until sunset, swimming, sunning and reading the Carol Shields book Duet (it is a republication of The Box Garden and Small Ceremonies - very enjoyable!)
Went for a walk around the cliffs to the south of Hvar after breakfast - lots of houses with fabulous views and apartments to rent. Prime jogging spot as well although I was not indulging in that activity! Some fabulous views out to sea and to the islands and a strange circular rock island with a lighthouse on top.
Back in town, I visited the church near the hotel and also the art gallery in town. A large clipper was visiting Hvar for the day and it sat offshore all day, discharging its cargo of elderly American tourists from a little shuttle boat. Visited a few of the jewellery shops in town - coral is very popular here, as well as a bit of turquoise and mother of pearl.
Wandered the other way around the cliffs and sat on the beach until sunset, swimming, sunning and reading the Carol Shields book Duet (it is a republication of The Box Garden and Small Ceremonies - very enjoyable!)
Friday, September 10, 2004
croatia day seven
Today I went on an excursion to the island of Brač, about forty minutes
hydrofoil ride away from Hvar. The trip was organised through one of the
travel agencies in Hvar and thankfully did not include a guide or an ominous
"fish picnic" (which may actually have been quite nice).
We travelled to Bol on the south side of island. Bol is chiefly famous for
the Zlatni Rat beach which is about 2km from the town and is a tongue-like
beach that juts out from the shore. The beach changes on a daily basis
according to the tides, wind etc. This is all of course a gradual process
and I didn"t have to change where I was sitting! Didn"t do an awful lot all
day, mainly just sat on the beach and read. The water was lovely and clear
but did feel slightly cooler than on Hvar.
Had a quick look around town while waiting for my hydrofoil to leave, but it
is pretty quiet and not so stunning as Hvar Town.
This evening, I"ve popped down and had a look at the Miss Croatia contest
but unfortunately they all look the same. The TV show has made the square
look gorgeous though!
_________________________________________________________________
Want to block unwanted pop-ups? Download the free MSN Toolbar now!
http://toolbar.msn.co.uk/
hydrofoil ride away from Hvar. The trip was organised through one of the
travel agencies in Hvar and thankfully did not include a guide or an ominous
"fish picnic" (which may actually have been quite nice).
We travelled to Bol on the south side of island. Bol is chiefly famous for
the Zlatni Rat beach which is about 2km from the town and is a tongue-like
beach that juts out from the shore. The beach changes on a daily basis
according to the tides, wind etc. This is all of course a gradual process
and I didn"t have to change where I was sitting! Didn"t do an awful lot all
day, mainly just sat on the beach and read. The water was lovely and clear
but did feel slightly cooler than on Hvar.
Had a quick look around town while waiting for my hydrofoil to leave, but it
is pretty quiet and not so stunning as Hvar Town.
This evening, I"ve popped down and had a look at the Miss Croatia contest
but unfortunately they all look the same. The TV show has made the square
look gorgeous though!
_________________________________________________________________
Want to block unwanted pop-ups? Download the free MSN Toolbar now!
http://toolbar.msn.co.uk/
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Comments
There is apparently something wrong with the commenting function - will try and sort this out at some stage when I am not paying for the time - sorry guys!
Croatia Day six
Nice relaxing day today - no boats sadly for the first time this trip!
Went for a wander around the town this morning checking out day trips. I was planning to go to Brač and stay in Bol for the last two nights but instead I will just do a day trip there tomorrow and then catch the catamaran to Split early on Sunday morning. There are lots of different companies offering boats - some ferries, some hydrofoil, some catamaran. Unfortunately you have to look in different places to find details! Confusing! Never mind, I think I have everything figured out now.
Spent a bit of time on the beach near the hotel this morning. Lots of leathery people out sunbathing - canćt remember whether I have mentioned this before but I have seen loads of people just applying oil rather than sunblock - scary!
I was relatively sensible and covered up when necessary! Spent most of the day there and then went to the Spanjol Fortress which perches above Hvar Town in the afternoon. Amazing views over Hvar and out the islands. It was worth the long trek up there!
Saw Sara off to the catamaran to Korčula where she is staying next - she is in Croatia for a few more days than me so she is going to Dubrovnik as well.
Miss Croatia / Dalmatia is on here tomorrow night - we have seen a few of the contestants parading around town in high heels. They are all very skinny and groomed. Two Aussie boys nearly fell in to the harbour in their eagerness to get a photo!
Amazing amount of Kiwis and Aussies here as well - as Sara said, you may as well be drinking on the Strip in Christchurch!
Went for a wander around the town this morning checking out day trips. I was planning to go to Brač and stay in Bol for the last two nights but instead I will just do a day trip there tomorrow and then catch the catamaran to Split early on Sunday morning. There are lots of different companies offering boats - some ferries, some hydrofoil, some catamaran. Unfortunately you have to look in different places to find details! Confusing! Never mind, I think I have everything figured out now.
Spent a bit of time on the beach near the hotel this morning. Lots of leathery people out sunbathing - canćt remember whether I have mentioned this before but I have seen loads of people just applying oil rather than sunblock - scary!
I was relatively sensible and covered up when necessary! Spent most of the day there and then went to the Spanjol Fortress which perches above Hvar Town in the afternoon. Amazing views over Hvar and out the islands. It was worth the long trek up there!
Saw Sara off to the catamaran to Korčula where she is staying next - she is in Croatia for a few more days than me so she is going to Dubrovnik as well.
Miss Croatia / Dalmatia is on here tomorrow night - we have seen a few of the contestants parading around town in high heels. They are all very skinny and groomed. Two Aussie boys nearly fell in to the harbour in their eagerness to get a photo!
Amazing amount of Kiwis and Aussies here as well - as Sara said, you may as well be drinking on the Strip in Christchurch!
Croatia Day Five
Suprisingly didnćt feel too seedy this morning. Made it up for breakfast which is more than can be said for the others.
Sara had kept in contact with James who was meant to be going on a day trip to Vis and the Blue Grotto which actually got called off because of lack of interest. So we decided that we would hire a boat and travel round to the group of islands which lie south of Hvar - the Pakleni islands. Cost of a little four person boat for the day (I think it was 6 horse power) was 350 kuna.
We had a brilliant day! First of all we travelled over to Palmizana, the main area on the island. Did some swimming and then had a great lunch at the restaurant, marred only by an infestation of wasps! We had many trials and errors on the boat, including having problems tying knots and accidentally untying other boats, having the shade come off and fall into the sea and having to turn back when the sea got a little rough. But we also saw donkeys, goats and lots of naked Germans! Stopped off to visit the chapel of St Klement which was a lovely stone church on the top of a hill. The walk up had loads and loads of cacti lining the path - have never seen so many in my life. Not sure whether they are being farmed a la the tequila place that Angus used to work on.
After a stone skimming competition on a beach (I was a distant fourth) we travelled back to Hvar Town. Met up for drinks at Carpe Diem, the cool bar in town and then headed off for dinner at a lovely place in an alley way. Had some great grilled chicken and spent quite a bit of time talking to the Croatian owner and his son who also worked there. The son, who is 15, starts school at 7.30 and has swimming and diving lessons in the sea!
Sara had kept in contact with James who was meant to be going on a day trip to Vis and the Blue Grotto which actually got called off because of lack of interest. So we decided that we would hire a boat and travel round to the group of islands which lie south of Hvar - the Pakleni islands. Cost of a little four person boat for the day (I think it was 6 horse power) was 350 kuna.
We had a brilliant day! First of all we travelled over to Palmizana, the main area on the island. Did some swimming and then had a great lunch at the restaurant, marred only by an infestation of wasps! We had many trials and errors on the boat, including having problems tying knots and accidentally untying other boats, having the shade come off and fall into the sea and having to turn back when the sea got a little rough. But we also saw donkeys, goats and lots of naked Germans! Stopped off to visit the chapel of St Klement which was a lovely stone church on the top of a hill. The walk up had loads and loads of cacti lining the path - have never seen so many in my life. Not sure whether they are being farmed a la the tequila place that Angus used to work on.
After a stone skimming competition on a beach (I was a distant fourth) we travelled back to Hvar Town. Met up for drinks at Carpe Diem, the cool bar in town and then headed off for dinner at a lovely place in an alley way. Had some great grilled chicken and spent quite a bit of time talking to the Croatian owner and his son who also worked there. The son, who is 15, starts school at 7.30 and has swimming and diving lessons in the sea!
Croatia Day Four
After loading up on the included breakfast at the hotel, I went for a swim, then packed before catching the 1230 ferry back to Split. It was a great trip, really sunny the whole way. So I had a lovely time sitting the sun, reading, listening to my iPod and watching the ocean go by.
Got into Split OK, then booked my ticket for the 1600 catamaran to Jelsa on Hvar. After a drink and a pastry and a bit of a postcard writing I boarded the cat. It was very comfortable and fast, but I still missed sitting outside! This was more like being on an aeroplane. After talking to a couple of Irish girls on the ferry, I realised that perhaps the bus from Jelsa over to Hvar town might be a little busy so I made sure I legged it to the bus station.
Bus ride took us over some spectacular hills and Sara met me at the bus station. She'd booked me a room at the Dalmacia Hotel which is very central, so I'm staying there for the next couple of nights. Hvar town is lovely - quite considerably more lively than Vis town, but very marbled and Italianate again. It is absolutely teeming with people and yachts. One yacht that we saw looked so luxurious! It was registered in the Cayman Islands and had a security guard standing on the quayside. The rumour around town is that Tom Cruise, fresh from attending the Venice film festival, was here a couple of days ago in a four story yacht! Wouldn't be surprised but not really the way to do an inconito holiday at all!
After freshening up, we headed out to meet James, an Australian guy Sara had met earlier and two Swedish people he'd met, John and Michaela. We had a few drinks at a bar in town, then headed to a local restaurant where I had some scampi - had no idea they looked kind of like prawns when in their shells! I will never look at scampi and chips the same way again! A neighbour from the restaurant, Will, came and joined us for a board game of Learn About Croatia. We couldn't understand the rules at all so just made up stories about different places we'd never been to. It ended up being quite a late night...
Got into Split OK, then booked my ticket for the 1600 catamaran to Jelsa on Hvar. After a drink and a pastry and a bit of a postcard writing I boarded the cat. It was very comfortable and fast, but I still missed sitting outside! This was more like being on an aeroplane. After talking to a couple of Irish girls on the ferry, I realised that perhaps the bus from Jelsa over to Hvar town might be a little busy so I made sure I legged it to the bus station.
Bus ride took us over some spectacular hills and Sara met me at the bus station. She'd booked me a room at the Dalmacia Hotel which is very central, so I'm staying there for the next couple of nights. Hvar town is lovely - quite considerably more lively than Vis town, but very marbled and Italianate again. It is absolutely teeming with people and yachts. One yacht that we saw looked so luxurious! It was registered in the Cayman Islands and had a security guard standing on the quayside. The rumour around town is that Tom Cruise, fresh from attending the Venice film festival, was here a couple of days ago in a four story yacht! Wouldn't be surprised but not really the way to do an inconito holiday at all!
After freshening up, we headed out to meet James, an Australian guy Sara had met earlier and two Swedish people he'd met, John and Michaela. We had a few drinks at a bar in town, then headed to a local restaurant where I had some scampi - had no idea they looked kind of like prawns when in their shells! I will never look at scampi and chips the same way again! A neighbour from the restaurant, Will, came and joined us for a board game of Learn About Croatia. We couldn't understand the rules at all so just made up stories about different places we'd never been to. It ended up being quite a late night...
difficulties
Difficulties at the internet place in Hvar town has meant a delay in updating the blog - I am back again in a different cafe now so hopefully this will work!
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Croatia Day 4
After loading up on the included breakfast at the hotel, I went for a swim, then packed before catching the 1230 ferry back to Split. It was a great trip, really sunny the whole way. So I had a lovely time sitting the sun, reading, listening to my iPod and watching the ocean go by.
Got into Split OK, then booked my ticket for the 1600 catamaran to Jelsa on Hvar. After a drink and a pastry and a bit of a postcard writing I boarded the cat. It was very comfortable and fast, but I still missed sitting outside! This was more like being on an aeroplane. After talking to a couple of Irish girls on the ferry, I realised that perhaps the bus from Jelsa over to Hvar town might be a little busy so I made sure I legged it to the bus station. Bus ride took us over some spectacular hills and Sara met me at the bus station. She'd booked me a room at the Dalmacia Hotel which is very central, so I'm staying there for the next couple of nights.
Hvar town is lovely - quite considerably more lively than Vis town, but very marbled and Italianate again. It is absolutely teeming with people and yachts. One yacht that we saw looked so luxurious! It was registered in the Cayman Islands and had a security guard standing on the quayside. The rumour around town is that Tom Cruise, fresh from attending the Venice film festival, was here a couple of days ago in a four story yacht! Wouldn't be surprised but not really the way to do an inconito holiday at all!
After freshening up, we headed out to meet James, an Australian guy Sara had met earlier and two Swedish people he'd met, John and Michaela. We had a few drinks at a bar in town, then headed to a local restaurant where I had some scampi - had no idea they looked kind of like prawns when in their shells! I will never look at scampi and chips the same way again!
A neighbour from the restaurant, Will, came and joined us for a board game of Learn About Croatia. We couldn't understand the rules at all so just made up stories about different places we'd never been to.
It ended up being quite a late night...
Got into Split OK, then booked my ticket for the 1600 catamaran to Jelsa on Hvar. After a drink and a pastry and a bit of a postcard writing I boarded the cat. It was very comfortable and fast, but I still missed sitting outside! This was more like being on an aeroplane. After talking to a couple of Irish girls on the ferry, I realised that perhaps the bus from Jelsa over to Hvar town might be a little busy so I made sure I legged it to the bus station. Bus ride took us over some spectacular hills and Sara met me at the bus station. She'd booked me a room at the Dalmacia Hotel which is very central, so I'm staying there for the next couple of nights.
Hvar town is lovely - quite considerably more lively than Vis town, but very marbled and Italianate again. It is absolutely teeming with people and yachts. One yacht that we saw looked so luxurious! It was registered in the Cayman Islands and had a security guard standing on the quayside. The rumour around town is that Tom Cruise, fresh from attending the Venice film festival, was here a couple of days ago in a four story yacht! Wouldn't be surprised but not really the way to do an inconito holiday at all!
After freshening up, we headed out to meet James, an Australian guy Sara had met earlier and two Swedish people he'd met, John and Michaela. We had a few drinks at a bar in town, then headed to a local restaurant where I had some scampi - had no idea they looked kind of like prawns when in their shells! I will never look at scampi and chips the same way again!
A neighbour from the restaurant, Will, came and joined us for a board game of Learn About Croatia. We couldn't understand the rules at all so just made up stories about different places we'd never been to.
It ended up being quite a late night...
Monday, September 06, 2004
Croatia - day three
Had planned a dive day today so was at the Dodoro Dive Centre in Vis for the 10am trip. There were two Croatian dive masters, two Slovenian guys, one German guy and me. We travelled out to the site of the Teti, an Italian merchant ship and dived there. I was feeling quite confident about it all but as soon as I was in the water I felt very unconfident and uncalm! Not good for diving. Managed to lose a flipper and get my mask all tangled up! Kind of got the hang of it once we were descending by the rope but still really didn't feel like I was enjoying it very much. We ended up descending to about 30 minutes, saw a huge eel and some little fish. But I felt very unco-ordinated and ascended a bit faster than I should have - partly because I didn't have enough weights I reckon.
The boat ride out to the dive site was lovely - fantastic scenery! Could also see quite a few old military bunkers cut into the hillside.
Spent the afternoon on the beach reading and this evening walked right round to the other side of Vis town - it's a huge harbour. The other side is more picturesque but has loads of expensive restaurants and gift shops, catering for the wealthy yachties who are moored here at the moment.
Da Vinci Code count - one guy on the beach reading it. I'm about 2/3 of way through it now! A quick read.
The boat ride out to the dive site was lovely - fantastic scenery! Could also see quite a few old military bunkers cut into the hillside.
Spent the afternoon on the beach reading and this evening walked right round to the other side of Vis town - it's a huge harbour. The other side is more picturesque but has loads of expensive restaurants and gift shops, catering for the wealthy yachties who are moored here at the moment.
Da Vinci Code count - one guy on the beach reading it. I'm about 2/3 of way through it now! A quick read.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
hotmail!
So I've reactivated mhairi_thompson@hotmail.com if anyone did want to email me. Unfortunately if your name's not on the door, you're not getting in - ie if you're not in my address book, I can't receive emails from you (hotmail security setting). But I think most of you are there. And of course phone is working so you can text if you want.
hound dog
Lots of good stuff on McSweeneys at the moment including this letter to Elvis Presley from his Hound Dog
Croatia - Day Two
Got up in early in time to catch the bus to town to be on the 9am ferry from Split to Vis. Cost of one way trip (two hours) 36 kuna (about 3 pounds).
Bizarrely, when boarding the ferry, I bumped into a woman I knew from sight at work. Her name is Sara, she's originally from Christchurch and she's spending a couple of weeks travelling around Croatia. So it was brilliant to have a travelling companion for the day and we've planned to meet up in Hvar in a couple of days.
Ferry ride was lovely. It was a gloriously sunny day and we were able to sit out and watch the islands go by. The ferry wasn't that busy and we had our choice of where to sit. After disembarking at Vis, I dropped my stuff off at the Hotel Tamaris where I'm staying for a couple of nights - Sara had alreadz planned to head back to Split at the end of the day.
After a wander around town, we headed to the beach, where we spent most of the day. Water was lovely - amazingly clear which bodes well for diving tomorrow. Had some pizza for lunch and a 'Quattro' (four chocolate icecream) before heading back to the beach.
Sara headed back to Split on the 5pm ferry and I wandered around town before heading back to the hotel. Vis has a lovely laid back feeling. For years, this was apparently Tito's favourite island and it feels very untouched and isolated. Lots of stone buildings with terracotta roofs and a real Italian influence. There are also lots of yachts that have berthed this evening - a perfect way to see the islands!
Da Vinci Code information - Sara's also reading it, and spotted one man on ferry reading it.
Bizarrely, when boarding the ferry, I bumped into a woman I knew from sight at work. Her name is Sara, she's originally from Christchurch and she's spending a couple of weeks travelling around Croatia. So it was brilliant to have a travelling companion for the day and we've planned to meet up in Hvar in a couple of days.
Ferry ride was lovely. It was a gloriously sunny day and we were able to sit out and watch the islands go by. The ferry wasn't that busy and we had our choice of where to sit. After disembarking at Vis, I dropped my stuff off at the Hotel Tamaris where I'm staying for a couple of nights - Sara had alreadz planned to head back to Split at the end of the day.
After a wander around town, we headed to the beach, where we spent most of the day. Water was lovely - amazingly clear which bodes well for diving tomorrow. Had some pizza for lunch and a 'Quattro' (four chocolate icecream) before heading back to the beach.
Sara headed back to Split on the 5pm ferry and I wandered around town before heading back to the hotel. Vis has a lovely laid back feeling. For years, this was apparently Tito's favourite island and it feels very untouched and isolated. Lots of stone buildings with terracotta roofs and a real Italian influence. There are also lots of yachts that have berthed this evening - a perfect way to see the islands!
Da Vinci Code information - Sara's also reading it, and spotted one man on ferry reading it.
Croatia '- day one
Black Diamond goes international!
This is the first update from abroad. I am currently in Vis, Croatia on holiday. Finding it quite strange to get used to this keyboard - the Z and the y are transposed! Different language I guess!
Anyway, flew to Split yesterday morning on Hungarian Airlines via Budapest. Sadly didn't have a visit to Budapest scheduled, but would love to do so at some stage. Secured some accomodation at the bus stop with Nena (and no she didn't have 99 red balloons). Private accomodation is very popular in Croatia and often cheaper than staying in a budget hotel. Nena's place was ok - had to share a bathroom and the place was about 20 minutes walk from the centre, but it was ok for one night.
After dropping my stuff off, I went and had a beer at a harbourfront cafe and watched the world go by. The harbour is quite large with lots of ferries and boats coming and going, mainly travelling to the islands around Split and up and down the coast, but there are also boats that go to Ancona in Italy.
Walked around the Diocletian's Palace after it had got dark. I'll go back when I go back to Split, but it was interesting to see it all lit up.
After a meal at a harbourfront restaurant, I wandered back to the bus stop and successfully caught my bus home.
Da Vinci Code information: the man at Books Etc. said that they sold 200 copies last week but he's had to buy the audio book to listen to in the car because he has no time to read it.
This is the first update from abroad. I am currently in Vis, Croatia on holiday. Finding it quite strange to get used to this keyboard - the Z and the y are transposed! Different language I guess!
Anyway, flew to Split yesterday morning on Hungarian Airlines via Budapest. Sadly didn't have a visit to Budapest scheduled, but would love to do so at some stage. Secured some accomodation at the bus stop with Nena (and no she didn't have 99 red balloons). Private accomodation is very popular in Croatia and often cheaper than staying in a budget hotel. Nena's place was ok - had to share a bathroom and the place was about 20 minutes walk from the centre, but it was ok for one night.
After dropping my stuff off, I went and had a beer at a harbourfront cafe and watched the world go by. The harbour is quite large with lots of ferries and boats coming and going, mainly travelling to the islands around Split and up and down the coast, but there are also boats that go to Ancona in Italy.
Walked around the Diocletian's Palace after it had got dark. I'll go back when I go back to Split, but it was interesting to see it all lit up.
After a meal at a harbourfront restaurant, I wandered back to the bus stop and successfully caught my bus home.
Da Vinci Code information: the man at Books Etc. said that they sold 200 copies last week but he's had to buy the audio book to listen to in the car because he has no time to read it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)