The Joys of Retirement Production Company

Tomorrow we fly to Venice! We walked a bit on the Riva and visited the fresh market again. On to our next adventure

We did a bus trip to Krka National Park and the Coastal resort town of Primosten today. See more of our photos at https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/KRKA-National-Park-and-Primosten

We took a boat trip to Trogir today to visit this small island town. I’ve posted pictures at our smugmug. https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Trogir

We had a fabulous dinner tonight, with a couple traditional Croatian dishes Pasticada with gnocchi and octopus under the Bell. This is octopus with onions and potatoes, cooked slowly for a couple hours under a dome. We were told by 1 of our drivers, if we could ever find a restaurant that does it, to order it! And he was right, it was the most tender, delicious octopus we have had so far! Delicious! The pasticada was too, a very tender beef dish with homemade gnocchi! And to top it off we found an authentic true Gelato store! We will be back there I KNOW!

A highlight of our evening, as we walked back along the Riva, We stumbled onto this delightful tradition. Older folks come sit along the Riva and sing traditional Croatian folk songs! They told was a little of that tradition. They don’t necessarily know each other, not really friends, they just stop and join the singers as they walk by! Enjoy a snippet!

We have also added a few new scenes from Split as we walked to dinner in the old town. https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Split

We took leave of Dubrovnik and took the ferry to Split, to the north. We walked the old city and Diocletian’s palace today! Enjoy our tour pics. https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Split

We had a lovely lunch with a gorgeous view today

We took the cable car to the Panorama restaurant for the view, the breeze, and lunch! Well worth the trip! An added history lesson was the museum of their war for the Homeland in 1992. Pictures is the beauty and the suffering are at our smug mug account

https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Dubrovnik-from-above

During the war for the Homeland in 1991 the forces of Bosnia and Montenegro had to capture the Fort on top of Mt Srd, at the location of the top of the cable car today. After capturing that position, they bombarded Dubrovnik and sieged it for 9 months. The museum here was very interesting, but sad. Below is the siege line

The best parts of staying a week in places like Dubrovnik are the chances to have a bit of a routine, to not have to rush to see all the sights in a day, and to do small side trips! Today we visited Cavtat, a small Coastal village 20 our so miles worth of Dubrovnik, by boat an hour away. It was cooler on the water and in the what town. Enjoy some of our photos. https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Caveat-day-trip

Yesterday we took the boat to Lokrum Island, the park directly across the bay from our lodgings. It was a pretty hot day for such a hike, but Emmett made it to the top…. I cheered him on from the shade halfway up!

Part 2 is our summer travels has begun! See our photos at https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Dubrovnik-Croatia

Our tour has arrived in Vienna, the city where we perform 3 times! Today we sang 5 beautiful songs in St Stephen’s cathedral and our full repertoire in St Peter’s, a lovely small Baroque church, just a couple hundred meters away. Both concerts were appreciated by those attending and the thrill of singing in a cathedral was reward enough for us! I’ve posted photos of both venues but pictures and video of us singing will have to wait for other folks photos. We do have several people, spouse and friends, our cheering section, who are traveling with us, who are taking photos. Our days are full! And our feet are tired, but we are blessed beyond belief by the Beautiful venues, the heavenly music, and this memorable experience!

Our group traveled to Vienna today with a stop on the way at Melk Abbey on the Danube. Photos today of the Abbey are available at our smug mug. https://susandemaggio.smugmug.com/Melk-Abbey

Today our group did a 2-3 hr walking tour of Salzburg with tour of Mozart’s birthplace, and we ended it with the wonderful noon organ concert at the cathedral! I’ve included just a minute of the grand organ, the largest of the 5 in the church. The organist demonstrated 3 of the 5. It was wonderful to hear the differences in their sound! It was a fabulous morning!

In the afternoon we returned to Mirabelle gardens to perform our first concert, joined by our travel friends from Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas for the Salzburger Festspiele where we are listed as the American Festival Choir! We are about 50-55 voices, singing to 1 electronic keyboard. We had a great gathering of listeners and I believe they enjoyed our music, all praising God!

More photos of the day are posted at our smugmug account. When we have some video of our performance I will post for you. Tomorrow we sing again!