John Edward Cooper’s Notes

DAY 5 - KOTOR & PERAST


Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast

This morning, we drive west, arriving at the medieval town of Kotor, we will have a guided walking tour, before time at leisure.

After lunch we continue to the captivating town of Perast. This lovely, small town is known for the two church islands just off the shore. We take a short boat ride to the man-made Our Lady of the Rocks island.

We return to the hotel for dinner.[i]

[i] This was the itinerary that tour manager Andrew had posted:

Day 5 - 08.30 Depart for Kotor and Perast
We have a guided tour of Kotor, then free time for further exploration and lunch. Then we continue to Perast where we can take a short boat ride to the nearby island to see the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. Return to the hotel at 5pm approx. Dinner is included this evening.

Janet vacated the bathroom, 6.48am. I shaved, and showered… Breakfast. At 8.30am we boarded the coach and headed for Kotor. “It was very hot and sunny already,” Janet noted. My notes at this point just stated:

Guide Biljana
Meet back 1.15pm

Our starting point and places visited today, as plotted by Google Maps “Directions”
(Click on image to enlarge.)


Riviera Travel map of Kotor
(Click on image to enlarge.)


Colour map of Kotor, received today
(Click on image to enlarge.)


Monday 11 September 2023 09:48:38
Kotor: proceeding from the parking place to the walled city (out of shot to the left); (ahead:) cruise ship Viking Sky


Monday 11 September 2023 09:48:46
Kotor: proceeding from the parking place to the walled city; (ahead:) Kampana Tower

We’d been issued with Vox listening devices, and at the gate of the walled town they were put to use when we were introduced to Biljana, who conducted us through some of the squares and streets and gave information and explanations of things.


Monday 11 September 2023 10:00:42
With our guide Biljana at the Sea Gate (West Gate), Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:02:46
The Sea Gate (West Gate), Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:04:14
The Sea Gate (West Gate), Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:04:44
Square of Arms, Kotor: Town Clock Tower


Monday 11 September 2023 10:05:24
Square of Arms, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:08:26
Proceeding from the Square of Arms, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:08:58
“Beskuća Family Palace”, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:10:00
“Pima Family Palace”, Square of Flour, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:11:36
Square of Flour, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:15:56
St. Tryphon’s Cathedral, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:16:12
St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor, with the cliffs of Lovćen behind


Monday 11 September 2023 10:17:16
St. Tryphon’s Cathedral, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:17:24
St. Tryphon’s Cathedral, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:18:04
Views of the hillside from St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:20:56
Views of the hillside from St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:23:38
Proceeding from St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:24:26
“Grgurina Family Palace” (Maritime Museum), Museum Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:25:32
Museum Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:25:38
Museum Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:28:58
Museum Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:29:50
Karampana fountain, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:30:10
Proceeding to St. Luke’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:30:54
St. Luke’s Church, St. Luke’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:31:44
St. Luke’s Church, St. Luke’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:32:18
(Ahead:) St. Nicholas’s Church, (left:) former Episcopal Residence (now Music School), St. Luke’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:33:10
Mosaic in the pediment of the doorway of St. Nicholas’s Church, St. Luke’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:34:46
Former Episcopal Residence (now Music School), St. Luke’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:35:54
Returning to the Square of Arms, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:36:56
Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:37:10
Returning to the Square of Arms, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:39:24
Returning to the Square of Arms, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:41:58
Returning to the Square of Arms, Kotor

The tour ended almost where it had begun, at the Square of Arms.


Monday 11 September 2023 10:43:08
Square of Arms, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 10:43:20
Square of Arms, Kotor

Janet and I just crossed the square to where there was a row of cafés and went in the first one we came to, called Forza, for refreshments.


Bill from “Forza”, printed “10:48:25”


Monday 11 September 2023 10:52:16
Refreshments at Forza Café, Square of Arms, Kotor

“Then we bought Kotor the Cat,” Janet recalled. “We had seen so many real cats on this holiday — everywhere.”


Thursday 2 November 2023 15:30:50
Kotor the cat at home with his new pals

We then found our way onto the city walls. From the Kampana Tower (first seen in the “09:48:46” photo), we walked along the north wall as far as the Bembo Bastion, then back again.


Monday 11 September 2023 11:20:52
Heading west from the Square of Arms, Kotor, and ascending to the walls


Monday 11 September 2023 11:21:44
Ascending to the Kampana Tower, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:22:30
On the Kampana Tower, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:22:52
On the Kampana Tower, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:23:22
On the Kampana Tower, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:24:20
(Left:) Škurda River, (ahead:) Bembo Bastion, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:24:32
(Left:) Škurda River, (ahead:) Bembo Bastion, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:26:10
(Nearer:) tower of the Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare, (behind:) St. Nicholas’s Church, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:26:22
Walls and fortifications to the east, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:26:32
Walls and fortifications to the east, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:26:52
Church of Our Lady of Remedy, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:27:46
Bembo Bastion, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:29:06
“Map of Kotor Bay, Vincenzo Coronelli (1688)”


Monday 11 September 2023 11:32:16
Returning along the north wall, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:33:40
St. Nicholas’s Church, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:33:46
Franciscan Monastery of St. Clare, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:35:10
View of the city from the north wall, Kotor

I wondered whether one could go along the western wall from the Kampana Tower, but any way that there might once have been was barred by private property.


Monday 11 September 2023 11:36:52
Back to the Kampana Tower, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:37:40
View south-east from the Kampana Tower, Kotor

So we descended back down to ground level.


Monday 11 September 2023 11:39:16
Descending from the walls, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 11:40:20
Descending from the walls, Kotor

“We… then went for lunch,” Janet wrote. “We found a smart Italian restaurant (‘City Restaurant’). [John] had a pizza diavola, and I had a huge (seriously: I couldn’t eat it all!) salad and yummy bread. Very cheap.”


Monday 11 September 2023 11:55:58
Lunch at Restaurant City, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Bill from “Restoran ‘City’”, printed “11:56:04”


Monday 11 September 2023 12:00:06
Lunch at Restaurant City, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 12:01:24
Lunch at Restaurant City, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 12:10:20
Lunch at Restaurant City, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Additional bill from “Restoran ‘City’”, printed “12:35:13”


Monday 11 September 2023 12:40:04
Lunch at Restaurant City, St. Tryphon’s Square, Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 12:57:14
Last views of the mountains overlooking Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 12:57:20
Last views of the mountains overlooking Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 12:57:28
Last views of the mountains overlooking Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 13:04:24
Last views of the mountains overlooking Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 13:04:34
Last views of the mountains overlooking Kotor


Monday 11 September 2023 13:04:48
Last views of the mountains overlooking Kotor, including the Church of Our Lady of Remedy

We reboarded the coach for our 1.15pm departure to Perast and a boat trip to the artificial island Our Lady of the Rocks and the church and museum built on it.


One of the two tickets for “Our Lady of the Rocks”


Monday 11 September 2023 13:37:50
Our Lady of the Rocks in the Bay of Kotor, seen from the coast of Perast


Monday 11 September 2023 13:37:58
Bay of Kotor, seen from the coast of Perast: Sveti Đorđe Island (centre) and Our Lady of the Rocks (right)


Monday 11 September 2023 13:38:08
Sveti Đorđe Island in the Bay of Kotor, seen from the coast of Perast


Monday 11 September 2023 13:43:40
Passing the Town Museum, Perast


Monday 11 September 2023 13:44:36
Heading for Perast Marina


Monday 11 September 2023 13:45:42
Boarding the Dado at Perast Marina


Monday 11 September 2023 13:46:22
Boarding the Dado at Perast Marina


Monday 11 September 2023 13:47:24
Looking back at Perast


Monday 11 September 2023 13:50:00
Aboard the Dado from Perast to Our Lady of the Rocks


Monday 11 September 2023 13:55:28
Aboard the Dado, approaching Our Lady of the Rocks


Monday 11 September 2023 13:59:42
Ashore at Our Lady of the Rocks


Monday 11 September 2023 13:59:52
Disembarking from the Dado at Our Lady of the Rocks


Monday 11 September 2023 14:00:50
Our Lady of the Rocks: navigation light at the north-west end; memorial to Croatian poet Frano Alfirević


Monday 11 September 2023 14:00:50 (detail)
FRANO ALFIREVIĆ
   POET
  1903–1956


Monday 11 September 2023 14:01:20
Our Lady of the Rocks: church and museum

“There was a guided tour of the small church,” Janet wrote. “I went in, but had a claustrophobic ‘do’ so left. Went for a pee and waited for the others.”
 I stuck with the group, and followed the guide from the church into the adjoining museum.


Monday 11 September 2023 14:08:54
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:09:12
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:09:20
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:09:30
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:09:52
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:10:34
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:12:40
Our Lady of the Rocks: church, altar; (left:) door to the museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:12:50
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:15:06
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:16:02
Our Lady of the Rocks: church


Monday 11 September 2023 14:21:08
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:21:22
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:22:00
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:22:18
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:25:38
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:25:50
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:25:56
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:26:08
Our Lady of the Rocks: at the museum, going upstairs


Monday 11 September 2023 14:26:24
Our Lady of the Rocks: museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:26:32
Our Lady of the Rocks: at the museum, going upstairs


Monday 11 September 2023 14:27:14
Our Lady of the Rocks: at the museum, upstairs


Monday 11 September 2023 14:27:36
Our Lady of the Rocks: at the museum, upstairs


Monday 11 September 2023 14:29:32
Our Lady of the Rocks: view from the upstairs window of the museum

The guide showed us a tapestry that included the maker’s own hair in the embroidery.

The church… houses… a famous votive tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović from Perast. It took her 25 years to finish it while waiting for her darling to return from a long journey, and eventually, she became blind. She used golden and silver fibres but what makes this tapestry so famous is the fact that she also embroidered her own hair in it. [Wikipedia]

Monday 11 September 2023 14:30:16
Our Lady of the Rocks: votive tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović, upstairs in the museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:33:18
Our Lady of the Rocks: votive tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović, upstairs in the museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:34:18
Our Lady of the Rocks: leaving the museum by its upstairs exit


Monday 11 September 2023 14:34:30
Our Lady of the Rocks: view of Sveti Đorđe Island from the upstairs terrace of the museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:34:44
Our Lady of the Rocks: descending from the upper floor of the museum


Monday 11 September 2023 14:36:42
Boarding the Sveti Đorđe at Our Lady of the Rocks


Monday 11 September 2023 14:41:32
Last views of Our Lady of the Rocks from the Sveti Đorđe


Monday 11 September 2023 14:42:24
Last views of Our Lady of the Rocks from the Sveti Đorđe


Monday 11 September 2023 14:46:14
Disembarking from the Sveti Đorđe at Perast Marina

“Back on land,” Janet wrote, “we went to a café/bar for a pomegranate juice but left in a huff (with bad language) as we were clearly invisible. Bastards. We went to another and were served immediately. [John] had a freshly squeezed orange and I had freshly squeezed orange and lemon. Mmm!”


Bill from “Armonia”, printed “14:57:39”


Monday 11 September 2023 15:02:42
Refreshments at Armonia, Perast


Monday 11 September 2023 15:09:38
Armonia, Perast


Monday 11 September 2023 15:10:26
Perast Marina

According to my notes, we “reboarded [the] coach, 15:30.” There was a “slow-moving crawl from ca.15:50 entering Kotor.” I noted that we were “approaching and descending into Budva, 16:30”. As Andrew spoke, I made a note:

Wed[nesday] 8.30 start

i.e. the day after tomorrow, for tomorrow, Tuesday, would be a free day. I noted that we were “descending to Petrovac, 16:58”. I made an additional note from what Andrew was saying:

Departure Day
3–3½ hours before [the] flight

We “arr[ived at our destination], 17:02”. Janet went to the Aroma supermarket adjoining the hotel for water, etc. (specifically, as Janet wrote, “a big bottle of water, two small ones and a Pepsi Max”).[ii] I went up to the hotel room and lay on the bed, though I had to get up to let her in. Transferred 119 photos from the camera’s SD card to “Documents” on the Samsung computer (18:36–18:38 CEST). Copied the resultant files back to the SD card as backup (18:39–18:40 CEST). Checked my Gmail inbox (18:42 CEST)… We went down to the dining room buffet at 7pm for dinner. We had an inkling of doubt when we noticed the so-called entertainer also in the dining room, but dismissed this because of what we’d been told. However—
 I wrote: “We were promised that the intrusive jangling, wailing bastard wouldn’t be torturing tonight. We got back to the room, 20:00, and he was doing it. [We were] getting ready for bed, ca.8.30pm.”
 Janet wrote: “Back in our room: the Bleating Bastard! We were told he would not be ‘on’ tonight. Bastards. I can’t write about this. I had a shower, etc., and we were in bed at 9pm.”
 (I write the following, weeks later: Let my curse, that Hotel Ami Budva Petrovac be burned to the ground, or completely destroyed in an earthquake, stand!)

[ii] Janet added: “In Aroma, I browsed, as I like to do.… I solved a mystery from my childhood: I discovered ‘Munchmallows’! [John] said[, when I told him, that] it could have been a brand name, but I never thought about that as a child. I recall they were ‘Munchmallows’ and assumed, at that time, that that was what they were [generically].…”
 There is a Wikipedia article:

Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, also known as chocolate teacakes, are confections consisting of a biscuit base topped with marshmallow-like filling and then coated in a hard shell of chocolate. They were invented in Denmark in the 19th century…

The article goes on to give examples, including “1956, Scotland, Tunnock’s teacake”, but doesn’t include in its list “Munchmallows”.
 My own childhood recollection, is that one referred to them as “marshmallows”, and so I couldn’t understand why it said “Munchmallows” on the packet.

[Tuesday 12 September 2023]