It’s starting to feel decidedly wintry here in Beastie Towers these last few days – the trees outside are almost bare, and the sun seems to be getting up ever later every morning, and having A LOT of early nights! So I’m sure you can understand why I was very happy to discover this last update from adventurous Irish Beasties Paddy and Plunkett in my inbox this morning… The final installment of their recent Croatian adventure! Care to join us as we take a sunny wander through the cobbled streets of Poreč, a pretty harbour town on Croatia’s Mediterranean coast?
Plunkett is certainly enjoying himself here – the back streets are so peaceful, and this place is brimming over with history. The town centre stands on the site of a Roman castrum (or fortified military camp), which was established there in the 2nd century BC. Then, a century later, Poreč (or Parens, to give it its Latin name) was officially declared a city, and it’s been continuously inhabited ever since. It hasn’t all been plain sailing though – during its lifetime, Poreč has survived almost complete destruction by the Genoese in the 14th century, a nasty brush with the Plague a couple of centuries later, and Allied bombings during the Second World War. Oh, if these streets could talk!
Meanwhile, Paddy is more interested in THIS…
However, since it was still quite soon after breakfast, he agreed that it was probably better to have a nice cup of tea instead.
But what’s going on over there?
It looks like they’re setting up for a wedding party!
“Oh Plunkett, let’s go! There might be some free cake and champagne!”
“No way, Paddy! Anyway, you can’t – it’s bad luck to show up at a wedding wearing white unless you’re the bride.”
“Ah, you’re probably right. I’d hate to upstage her with my beee-yooo-tiful smile!”
With that settled, the boys decided to take a stroll down by the harbour.
And then Paddy spotted this…
“Hmmm… Rent a boat? Yes please!”
“This one looks perfect… Nice and speedy!”
But Plunkett isn’t so sure.
“NO WAY am I letting you drive that thing, Paddy!”
Fortunately, Paddy has a plan up his woolly sleeve…
“Don’t worry, Plunkett! Meet my new friend Captain Jack… He says he’ll get us back to Ireland no problem, and it’ll only cost us 3 barrels of rum!”
Hmmm… Does anyone else think this might not be such a good idea? Hopefully we’ll catch up with Paddy and Plunkett again soon, but I’m not making any promises!
And before I go, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to some fellow bloggers, who have been keeping me cheerful this past (hectic!) week with their kindness and generosity. Check out this haul of happy mail!
The box of goodies is from Jan at The Snail of Happiness, who sent me something from her garden (I can’t say any more on that one until after Christmas), plus some incredibly soft Welsh wool (I’m mentally running through project ideas already), locally-produced soap and a lovely card. Best of all, everything now smells deliciously like zesty black pepper – glorious! Then in the front, there’s one of Tierney’s (from Tierneycreates) little wallets, which I was lucky enough to WIN in her 4-Year-Blogiversary Giveaway! She’s been making these little wonders from leftover quilting fabrics, and it’s such a neat, lightweight purse. Plus she also included a handmade card, made from upcycled old business cards! So once again, thank you both – your parcels have really made me smile this week!
I’ll be back next Tuesday with more monster adventures, so stay tuned! Have a great week, everyone!
I fail to see why ice cream can’t be part of a vacation breakfast. I mean, it probably has less sugar than most American cereals! The days are getting horribly short here as well, so I could go for a bit of Mediterranean sun and warmth myself…thank the boys for a little glimpse of sunshine!!
Cheers, Tammie! I have to confess that I was glad to see the sunshine pouring out of my computer yesterday… Why oh why did I save all my teeny black-on-black sewing until now?! Good call on the ice cream for breakfast, too… I might just take you up on that suggestion! Thanks for dropping in 😀
I can picture you, sewing kit at hand, watching the weather radar and dashing out to chase the sunny spots across the country! 😂😂😂
Hahaha! Good idea… You know, it might actually come to that in a couple of weeks! 😂
I always find myself envious of Paddy and Plunkett’s adventures. They travel to such interesting places.
Thanks, Laura! And don’t they just? I’m going to have to get hold of their itineraries for next year… Maybe I’ll be able to tag along on one of their trips! Thanks for your comment! 😀
Looks just lovely! And congrats on your haul! I’m sure it’s a just reward for all your hard work last weekend. It’s really very grim here… nothing quite so disheartening as watching the sun set out the office window at 3pm. Please tell P&P that I will also take them anywhere they wish to go for 3 barrels of rum.
Duly noted! Now you can’t be surprised when they show up at your door looking for a lift somewhere. Thanks for joining them on their latest jaunt… I’m reeeeally hoping they bring some of that sunshine back with them! It sounds like we could both use it! 😆
Meeeeeeee too… though three barrels of rum can make anywhere seem sunny! 🙂
Beasties in Croatia… moreover at 30 minutes from my home town…. I hope that the two of them had had some good time 😊 by the way, the beautiful gift you got reminded me that I have some lovely Irish wool at mine… let’s posticipate Christmas for a couple of weeks…. 😱😱😱
They certainly did! I’m not too sure about their future adventure on the high seas with Paddy’s new friend, but Porec looks lovely! And I agree… Can we add put off Christmas for a little while so I can get caught up with everything? 😆 Good luck with your seasonal crafts, Tajana, and thanks for popping in! 😀
Look at those Beasties on holiday! Love it! This post and the photos of the Beasties roaming about caused my face to enter into a huge smiling configuration 🙂
How fun you got all those goodies in the mail, you must know lots of fun people 😉
Heehee, I do! 😉 I’m feeling very lucky this past little while 😀 Now all I need to figure out is the secret of how Paddy and Plunkett manage to get away on all those holidays… Have a smiley Friday!
Thank you for sharing these sunny climes snapshots, Helen! There is nothing like seeing sun, sea, and weathered cobble-stoned streets to feel an instant lift (a perfect antidote to the cold and sunless weather we’ve been having in Chicago these past few weeks). I am savouring those beautiful and intense blues in that water + sky! And I love P & P’s almost wedding crashing (it made me think of how awesome it would be to design a handknit Aran wedding dress?). So lovely to see your little purse, too; such a lovely colour. 😀
Thanks, Shirley! I’m glad you enjoyed the boys’ latest travel tale… An Aran-style wedding dress would be quite something, wouldn’t it? Especially when paired with stripey Beastie legs… 🤔 Have a great week, and hopefully the sun will show his face in Chicago again soon! 🌞