WITH the bikes packed away and no destination that had to be reached, the morning was a little slow to get moving. We had some breakfast and then headed down to the old city. The plan was to stop at the cafe where we had been a couple of weeks ago - again it was agreed that they made the best latte of the trip. Right next door the pastry shop was doing a booming business, seemingly with the high school and/or uni aged kids who were on holiday for the week. There was consistently a lineup outside the door. A gold mine.
Running out of cherry pastry time I waited my turn and picked up some treats then we headed to find a bench along the riva to watch the boats bobbing in the water as the treat was devoured. There were people everywhere - again, so very busy. In fact, we read a spot or two online that suggested that some activities in Europe were best avoided this week because of the holiday time.
While we sat on our bench we noticed a crew cleaning up the harbour. Two divers were collecting debris from the sea floor and carrying it up to a small motorboat and then to a man on the pier. Nice to see the pride in their landscape - we saw bits of old rope, tin cans, and old chair and even a seaweed encrusted jigsaw. I wish people back home showed as much respect to the environment to be officially cleaning it up.
Next was some wandering through the back streets of the old city, including the palace, and then to the park across from the statue of Nin. It was while sitting in the park by the fountain that it suddenly donned on me that I knew this spot. I had captured a nice evening shot of this fountain back in 2003. As I frequently comment, these threads of times continue to intertwine.
We returned to our room where we enjoyed the terrace a bit before heading to the Tommy supermarket for some food and snacks. In case of bad weather, we picked up a few things and made dinner in our room. As the rain started, intensified then continued well into the night.
I checked my luggage and got it ready for tomorrow's flights and tried to get to sleep early - there will be an awakening at around 3 am!
Today's ride: 6 km (4 miles) Total: 330 km (205 miles)
