During our stay in Opatija, we took a day trip to Pula. The two-hour drive reminded me of Hwy 1 along Big Sur, but much longer and with large island silhouettes in the distant sea. High craggy cliffs descended into the crashing water below with a twisty slow-moving road that followed the zigzag shoreline. The drive was amazing but Opel’s thirst finally reached “red.” We pulled into a petrol station for a diesel meal. As I steered toward the pump, a local handsome uniformed man appeared and motioned me to a specific pump. I say handsome because Donna and Petey commented that Croatian men showed their beauty as well as the Croatian women and Dave and I had likewise commented on. There was no need to exit from the car as this was a full service station! … just like in the olden days except the handsome man left the windshield washing to the beautiful girls … last adjective added for balance.
Pula was an important port city during the Roman Empire, a strong foothold to their eastern region. It changed hands over the centuries but remained an important port for commerce and trade. Many a rich merchant made Pula their port of call. Today, the wealthiest work in the expansive shipyard that borders the Old Town. Tourists flock to this small town because it has one of the largest and best preserved Roman Colosseums in the world. Completed in 80 AD, it’s on par with the infamous Colosseum in Rome. No surprise, parking was an issue. We followed Steves’ tip to leave Opel in a large inexpensive lot next to the huge coliseum … but so did every other tourist with a rental car. The parking lot looked like the Visalia swapmeat on a busy Sunday. Against Petey’s wishes, I parallel-parked Opel broadsiding a row of cars that blocked their exit. “Hey, they have room to pull forward on the café sidewalk.” She wasn’t buying it but, “we have no other option,” I defended.
Petey & I took the Colosseum self-guided tour. It’s a unique, chilling feeling walking on the same turf as gladiators of ancient times. The Hollywood images from Ben Hur (Charlton Heston) and The Gladiator (Russell Crowe) were mostly confirmed. Titus (Anthony Hopkins) was filmed here. Beneath the ground floor we walked through a maze of staging rooms where wild animals were kept waiting to be released for parade or for battles. In this basement maze we were introduced to the amphorae, a two handle ceramic vase-shaped antiquity vessel commonly used for hauling all types of liquids (wine, water, olive oil) as well as dry goods (salt, sand, spices). The unique design included a nipple-shaped point at the bottom that served to stabilize the vessel in the ground or on a stand. Back atop the Amphitheater surface, a water trough ringed the flat field. It was designed to separate the animals from the high price box-seats. The animals would not cro
ss this narrow moat but the front row seats were still within range of the blood spatters from the brutal fighting, sort of like Jack Nicholson getting spritz’d by Kobe’s sweat on a nearby play. Above the evenly carved stone seating would have been another ring of bleacher seats built of wood … cheap seats. I snapped a picture from the highest seat looking through the large majestic arches toward the deep blue sea … postcard! Steves’ gives the amphitheater a brief mention but I would rank it high on the “must see” meter.
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