Hitting the Road - Pac-Man Style

Recently, the most awesome google April Fool's "Joke" was released - the ability to play Pac-Man on google street view.  If you haven't seen this yet, you are missing out.  Just go to maps.google.com and click on the little pac man icon on the lower left.  It's tons of fun, and I hope it never goes away!

Recently, Wired released an article that showed the "best" places to play Pac-Man.  Check it out.  Several people criticized the article (in the comments that followed) saying that the google street views were limited only to 5 cities, like New York, Boston and San Francisco.  Commenters said that "hipsters" thought that these were the only cities that they knew to exist.  Some of the maps they came up with (like Boston Commons) were pretty good.  But I knew...

... I could do better.

So, without further ado, my top 10 places to play Pac-Man on google street view.

10. Stockholm, Sweden

Some of these lanes are remarkably hard to get.

9. Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France

Quick, make a decision!

8. Istanbul, Turkey
It's easy to get lost in the maze of roads in real life.  Even easier in Pac Man.

7.  New Delhi, India
The big traffic circles may be fun - but they are perfect places to get cornered by ghosts.

6. Veendam, the Netherlands
This map may, in fact, be impossible.

5.  Barcelona, Spain
You'll need some finely timed navigation skills to clear out this intricate circle.

4.  Dijon, France
That three lane traffic circle, near to the ghost-spawning grounds, is evil.  Just evil.

3. Mykonos, Greece
Those twisty, bougainvillea lined streets may be beautiful, but they are also perfect places for Pac-Man and his big, fat mouth to get stuck.

2.  Trogir, Croatia
True to past experiences, Croatia offers a challenging video gaming experience, as well as a horrifying driving experience.  The streets don't quite line up, so often you get stuck as a ghost bears down on you.  Terrifying, just like in real life.

And the Number 1 place to play PacMan....

1.  Wales
This is by far the most challenging Pac Man map.  It may not look like it - but this little area to the right of the ghost-spawning location  is nearly impossible to get.  It's mostly because the ghosts go around and around the little triangle at the top.  The only way to get in there is to either turn the ghosts blue, or wait at the traffic circle and lure them out, one by one, then go in.  I have yet to succeed.

Wanna play?  Just click on the links and give it a try.  And for anyone who can beat any of these maps - take a screenshot of your cleaned up map and I'll give you a point.  No time limit!

Uneven Steps

The last city we visited on our grand Croatia tour was Split.  We first saw Split from the sea, as we kayaked into the main port.

The center of the city is surrounded by high walls.

The main church, surrounded by small cafes and people enjoying the early summer weather.

A restaurant makes clever use of the old steps, setting up a unique place to rest and eat.

The main church is one of the oldest I've ever been in (it's actually the oldest in the world!  A point if you can guess what year it was originally built in - whoever is closest, no google!).  The center of the church is not a rectangle or a T shape, as many others, but rather it's circular, and coated in gold!

Next up - climbing the tower of the church!  The steps were high- each step was more or less a foot high, and highly uneven.

The views on the way up.

Halfway up, we notice this kiva-like structure on the adjoining building.

Climbing the tower!  This tower was unique - we could easily see where we were going and outside for views!

View from the top!

We visited these little guys in their home.

Back on the ground, we discover the origin of the "kiva-like" structure.

City streets of Split.

On the Open Ocean and Other Tales of Peril

Heading further down the coast, we ended up in Split, where we rented kayaks and paddled out around a peninsula that is one of the big parks in the city.

Take to the sea!

Sea kayaking is one of my favorite things.  There is nothing like just a thin slab of plastic between you and the watery deep, paddling furiously to orient yourself so your boat doesn't flip in the wake of a larger and more motorized boat, and starting a friendly argument with your husband on what is the most effective paddling technique.

Our first stop was a small isolated sandy beach.

Here we stopped for a snorkeling break!  Even though the water was filled with life, few of them were photogenic enough to actually be caught on camera.  But there were a few photogenic creatures.
A sea cucumber, nestled among the rocks.  There were hundreds of them!

Some weird tubular thing.

A point if you can name it.

Next, back in the kayak and continued to paddle around the peninsula.  Our guide leads us around some steep rocky cliffs.

An old fortress on the cliffs.

A beautiful cliff... so beautiful, my husband is not happy just to look at it...

Rather, he wants to climb it!  He swims on over...

And begins to climb (even with wet tennis shoes and clothes!)

Go Bram go!  This was one of the items on Bram's bucket list - deep water soloing (climbing without a rope over water, so if you fall, you land in the water).  

Many people asked: did he fall?  Here's your answer:

splash!

But he's not easily discouraged, and he's back on the rock.

Then we got back in the kayaks and headed into the main port of Split.  It was really something to kayak next to cruise boats!  Ieee!

Our first view of downtown Split - approaching it from the water - the way it should be.  :-)

Small Town Life, Croatia Style

Next, we headed south along the beautiful Dalmatian coast, being treated to amazing views along the way.

Along the winding coastal road.

Soon we entered the beautiful old, do town of Šibenik.

Again we saw beautiful old town streets.

Near the fort was a small church and courtyard, the Saint Lawrence Monastery Garden, filled with the most interesting plants.

Looking into the main portion of the garden.

We also came across a small grotto, embedded in the face of the cliff, that featured  a small shrine.

The main church was the Cathedral of St. James, built from the 1400s to the 1500s.

I heard that this cathedral is only made of stone.  It doesn't even have mortar, and is entirely held together by gravity alone - even the impressive dome!

Gravity... and angels!

Chilling along the coast.