Cape to Milan

Beautiful Perast is a tiny town just north of Kotor and the proud owner of two charming islands in the translucent bay. We arrived by bus after some half-English, half-Montenegrin encouragement from the Kotor-based couple we stayed with. Sadly I must report that we did not see the one thing about Perast that our female host loved so much: “ALL THE LITTLE SHEEP!”  But what Perast lacked in (little) sheep, it made up for with gorgeous water and fun winding alleyways.

Today Perast is home to only a few hundred people (including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas in the summer) but was once a wealthy Venetian maritime hub. The town’s grand architecture–cathedrals, palaces, and imposing towers–reflects its rich past, and all of it is set along quaint stone pathways with a few sleepy cafes and even sleepier stray cats.

The 55m bell tower of this Catholic church is impressive from below and seems to almost pose for your pictures from above.

Case in point.

We took a boat out to Our Lady of the Rock Island, home to this pretty blue-domed cathedral. Two sailors created this artificial island stone-by-stone after finding an icon of the Virgin Mary on a rock there. The tradition continues today; each July 22, the men of Perast still sail out to the island to drop stones.

The ornate interior…

including this blue dome…

… and silver-plated images.

Outside of the church with Perast to the left.

The church also houses a sea-centered museum. This 200 year-old vase was a gift from Japanese sailors.

A woman waiting for her seafaring love’s return stitched this embroidery piece for the duration of his absence (although legend is that he actually never returned). She incorporated gold and silver lace, Chinese silk, and even her own hair; you can see the hair of the stitched people change from blonde to whitish-gray.

More pretty views:

We went at the perfect time of year as well; the weather was pleasantly cool, and we didn’t have to put up with cheesy summertime businesses like this one: