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!