Croatia: Trogir The Little Venice In Dalmatia

Trogir, August 2013

Town of Trogir is located on a tiny island and is one of the oldest also most exciting cities on the Croatian side of Adriatic coast. That afternoon, I was on my way to Split and passing by this little town with 2300 years of traditions. "Whoa! I have to explore this medieval town!" I said that to myself. It's rich culture is created under the influence of old Greeks, Romans, Venetians. I've always loved ancient stuff and visiting old town in Europe countries so I was quite sure I would love Trogir too.

the little Venice

As soon as I walked through the gate, I was greeted by those beautiful limestone buildings along the narrow alley. My eyes widened with excitement and I couldn't stop saying "Ohhh this is so pretty! Wow, I love this!" And I stopped complaining about the scorching hot weather that made me melting like a snowman under the sun. It's a very touristy place indeed, a lots of people were doing sightseeing, taking pictures and shopping in the ancient town.

cathedral of Saint Lawrence

the city hall

After a while I decided to give a little rest for my weary legs and had a glass of iced coffee in the city hall. I sat down on a marble bench next to the clock tower and admiring the view of Lawrence cathedral. Suddenly a group of tourist gathered in front of me, aimed the camera to my direction and started taking pictures. I was confused and thought, "Why are they taking my picture?" as I smiled nervously. They ignored me. Then the guide started to explain while pointing something behind me, so I look over my shoulder. Turned out I was blocking an important piece of art the whole time. It's a relief by Nikola Firentinac known as "Justice" dating to 1471. I'm sooooorry, folks :p

the clock tower

there's one 'sexy shop' down this alley :p

laundry day

pretty corner

In the 1997, Trogir's old city centre was put into the UNESCO's list of the world's monumental heritage. I was chatting with a local lady and she told me that people have to fork out at least 200 thousands euro to buy a house in this town. They are free to design the interior while the exterior of the building must be preserved.

one of the house

a pretty traffic control girl!

I found it so easy to be in love with this tiny town, every corner of those alleyways kept surprising me with its charm. Trogir with concentration of palaces, churches, towers, fortress on a small island deserves it's nickname "The Stone Beauty"

PS: "How about freebies?" I heard you asking me. Of course I've bought plenty souvenirs from Balkan for my readers. You.....yes, you!There are 2 Montenegro T-shirts, postcards, chocolates and key rings. YAY!
Please follow my twitter @twitdebbzie for more updates about these freebies. Cheers!

frebbies

Travel Updates: Balkan Countries

August 2013

Greetings from Sarajevo!
I've been on a trip around Balkan countries for 2 weeks now. So far I'm loving every bit of my journey but the weather is unbearable. The heat would rise over 40C during the day and made me tired easily while exploring the cities. I've been drinking water like a camel and my skin got really dark because of the sunburn. Today my local guide told me that I'm actually lucky because last week the weather reached almost 60C in Mostar. That's just crazy!
Okay, here's a quick updates about some cities that I've visited

ITALY

tiramisu in Milan

Venice

SLOVENIA

Postojnska Cave

MONTENEGRO

Kotor

CROATIA

Dubrovnik

 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Mostar

I have 3 more days here then I will fly to Singapore and stay there for 6 days before going back home.
Cheers! :)

Canada: Where I've Been In Vancouver

Vancouver, July 2012

Stanley Park

After a very long flight and a crazy drama in the airport before my departure, I was totally relieved to finally landed in Vancouver, Canada. It was quite early in the morning and instead of sleeping in the hotel, I was wandering around Stanley Park attempting to fight the jet lag. Stanley Park is a 404.9-hectare  urban park bordering downtown Vancouver. It was opened in 1888 by Mayor David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada.

It's a beautiful park with lots of things to see and to do. But I was terribly sleepy when I got there, so I decided to take a nap in one of those park benches. I think I was in deep sleep for sometime when I woke up hearing a group of tourist were talking very loud and one of them was taking picture of the sleeping beauty princess a.k.a ME. Perhaps they thought I was a homeless girl or something.

Cheers!

Totem poles

The nine totem poles at Brockton Point are BC's most visited tourist attraction.
The collection started at Lumberman's Arch in the 1920s, when the Park Board bought four totems from Vancouver Island's Alert Bay. More purchased totems came from Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) and the BC central coast Rivers Inlet, to celebrate the 1936 Golden Jubilee. In the mid 1960s, the totem poles were moved to the attractive and accessible Brockton Point.
The Skedans Mortuary Pole is a replica as the original was returned home to Haida Gwaii. In the late 1980s, the remaining totem poles were sent to various museums for preservation and the Park Board commissioned and loaned replacement totems.
The ninth and most recent totem pole, carved by Robert Yelton of the Squamish Nation, was added to Brockton Point in 2009 (source Vancouver.ca)

each house owns a car and a boat

a peaceful neighbourhood

seriously! How do you aim the toilet bowl in that position?

Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden

Chinatown

Capilano suspension bridge

I also made sure to visit the famous Capilano suspension bridge. It's a simple suspension bridge crossing the Capilano River in the District of North Vancouver. Located about 20 minutes north of downtown Vancouver, the Capilano Suspension Bridge has wowed millions of visitors since its creation in 1889. The current bridge is 140 metres long and 70 metres above the river. Walking along this bridge was definitely a thrilling experience. As I walked I did feel the bridge sway beneath my feet. And the fact that just a month before my visit,  there was one tourist fell down and died - it made my heart beat faster.

cliff walk

gorgeous scenery

 Besides the bridge, there's another attraction for the adrenaline junkies. It's called Cliff Walk, a 700-foot long (213 metres), 300-foot high (91 metres) walkway anchored to the east face of Capilano Canyon and suspended far above the surging Capilano River. It is both beautiful and exhilarating. Actually I think it's way cooler than the suspension bridge itself because I could see both the lush trees, moss and ferns of the rain forest as well as the breathtaking scenery of the river, canyon and Suspension Bridge.

What do you think about Vancouver ?