14 May, Pula

May 14, 2023

I had a day off the bike in Pula because I wanted to have a look around although I didn't need the rest after a couple of days in Poreç.

I had a wander around Pula in the evening and it had a good vibe. It's a mixture of ancient ruins (not that ruined), old town and more recent development (but maybe not modern). There was quite a few tourists kicking around and a mix of languages, mainly German and English.

The morning started with a sort-of rude awakening. I was staying in a room to myself within an apartment with 3 other rooms and a kitchen. Like most Mediterranean houses the floors are tiled and, in this case, there was little in the way if soft furnishings so sound travelled easily within the apartment. I woke to the sounds of a young lady clearly enjoying whatever her partner was doing to/for her before breakfast. Judging by the volume, the rhythm and content of the exclamations she enjoyed it several times! Or maybe Meg Ryan was having a visit to Pula?

Once I got over the shock of such a liberal awakening I headed out for a walk picking up breakfast on the way.

My first stop was at a temple built where the town square was eventually developed. Quite a magnificent structure noticeable for its height relative to length and breadth. The height really made it stand out. For 2€ I was a le to have a look around the temple and I got a few photos of the exhibits. Quite amazing to touch rock/stone that had been worked thousands of years ago. Interestingly the temple took a direct hit from a bomb during WW2 causing massive damage to the frontage. The before and after photos are below. It did make me think about the restoration. Are the columns made from original stones salvaged from the explosion or were they made from new stone made to look old. If the latter how on earth did they make it look like the original and is it really the temple?

Then I moved on knowing that there was a Roman Amphitheatre in the town. I was very keen, almost excited, to see this. It didn't disappoint. I guess it would describe the remaining structure as ruins but in many ways they are not really ruined. They still stand quite magnificently attracting lots of visitors. As a civil engineer I really marvel at what the Romans built over 2000 years ago. Even in today's terms this would be a challenging construction especially if using natural stone quarried many miles from the site. Quite amazing. The site of this amphitheatre is sloping and the eastern side of the site is much higher than the western. Yet the top of the walls is consistent all the way round. This was achieved without the use of optical instruments which is remarkable. I guess they probably used some sort of water channel giving them an accurate and level surface from which to measure.

I also wonder at how many people had died on the site of the amphitheatre both during construction and when gladiators took part in competitions!

I then decided to find the Venetian Hillfort built on the high point of the town. By this time it was raining heavily so it was simply a qui k walk up, take a couple of photos and then find an ice cream before heading to shelter.

I almost stopped at one ice cream parlour when I saw it was selling lavender flavoured ice cream. Lavender is a lovely colour and it smells nice (in small doses) but I am not sure of the flavour. I suspected it might have been one lick and done.... so I kept going looking for the parlour I passed earlier and which looked like its stock was less mass produced.

And here we have orange and ginger sorbet. I have to say it was very nice. The two flavours could easily be identified and, yet, the combination worked very well. The only disappointment was the weather. It was too cold to fully appreciate the refreshing flavours and temperature of the sorbet.

Orange and ginger sorbet, fruit, 3/10.

I have included this because when we were in Airline Beach in Queensland, Laura had Apple Pie ice cream and declared it as the best she ever had. My I e cream that day was similarly lovely (don't remember the flavour)

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