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Report from Croatia and Slovenia
Thank goodness for three hour layovers in Newark and Frankfort otherwise we never would have arrived in Trogir on time and stress free…
Was in Trogir 2 nights before starting the tour, then 3 more nights there before departing today. We love Trogir! Very small and quaint, along the water, with a labyrinth of narrow, twisting car free alleyways that double as streets because cars would never fit! A group consists of 20 people with the average age probably 70 or so. There are 17 women and just three men! Looks to be a very good group. For seafood lovers, this is paradise! Octopus, calamari, Seabass, sea bream and tuna are caught daily and the restaurants grill them. Delicious! iPhone shots of Trogir: https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b0376c684.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ef3d4d417.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...21332d082.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5214b49ad.jpeg School fronting the water on the promeo https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f71c9b221.jpeg Famous Catholic Church https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e2692266b.jpeg Views from the top https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8cc18f20c.jpeg Church bells start at 6am…. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4ffbd0926.jpeg Another view from top https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bb3284d50.jpeg Ditto https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0a5008527.jpeg Ditto https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8eb3e256c.jpeg Heading down https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...94ee538e1.jpeg Looking back on the way down https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b5f126d13.jpeg Fortress https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...50773319b.jpeg View from very top https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...06d2b7221.jpeg |
Thanks for the pictures dcdd
I do recognize them all. Looks like you are having a good time. Stay safe and heathy and happy. Hi to Joyce |
Vicky, if only the world had more hearts like yours. We’ll done.
We took a day trip to Krka NP where there are lots of beautiful waterfalls (and birds!): https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...eb2eea195.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9ce0a37c6.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6b93170c0.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...44790a41f.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1b6d088b4.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3d6999450.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8eed97743.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...497171bca.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e961d87da.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...88acb837c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...15be0e820.jpeg Mute Swan |
Went to Split for a morning visit yesterday. Percy will tell all about these photos as it is nearing my bedtime.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c17a67d01.jpeg Famous Split fish market https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a0f7aa9d0.jpeg Diocletian Palace outer wall. Some of the Games of Thrones was filmed inside the Palace. Was built by Roman Emperor Diocletian for hie retirement and was completed in 305 AD. Considered to be some of the finest and best preserved Roman ruins. Still inhabited today by 3,000 people! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b73c50904.jpeg More Palace, the well preserved basement. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...63997b5f1.jpeg Basement. Notice the absence of mortar! https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9625d824c.jpeg Basement https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a1427f3e1.jpeg Basement https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5019c1872.jpeg Diocletian was the first Roman emperor to abdicate the throne so he could continue living in Split. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2082eef99.jpeg Palace grounds were extensive; mausoleum is on the right where Diocletian is buried. Bell Tower in the middle. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a4a976fa2.jpeg Palace https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4fb94e229.jpeg Gate from 4th century https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9b93b48c8.jpeg North Gate out of Palace https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...776ff2bcd.jpeg North Gate into the Palace https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2fc0947a5.jpeg Just outside the North Gate is the huge statue of Catholic Bishop Gregory Nin, a Croatian National hero for defying Rome to change the mass language to the national language instead of Latin. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...36d09d7d0.jpeg Replica of St Mark’s Square in Venice in Split https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...979b68710.jpeg Walking up Marjan Hill, a large park overlooking Split. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3fdb14adf.jpeg View of Split from Marjan Hill |
Also in Split is the former home of renown Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic which is now a museum housing over 100 pieces of his work.
He fled the country during WWII and went to America where President Eisenhower granted him citizenship in 1954. He spent most of his life in the US as a professor at Notre Dame. Auguste Rodin called Mestrovic “the greatest phenomena among the sculptors” of his time. I’d never heard of him… https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...68a6c5ce3.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...436954530.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0c9b2eb33.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fccf2ca24.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02d6cf9a1.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d153bc089.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...025b3fb0a.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c4a95704f.jpeg I added the “fig leaf” |
From Split we were driven south along the Adriatic Coast to our current home in Makarska where we will spend 4 nights. Arrived yesterday.
Weather continues to be very unstable with partly cloudy skies but always a chance of rain, unusual for this time of year. Temps have been in mid-60s but should be in the 70s from now on. Scenes from Makarska and today’s hike and boat ride ending up in Omish. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5150c246f.jpeg View from our Makarska hotel window. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4f9dc8fec.jpeg Looking left outside our window https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f91d5f15f.jpeg THE Catholic Church in Makarska on the square (Croatia is 86% Catholic). https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...958104ed7.jpeg Today’s hike ended up at that river. Pretty steep! Very impressed with the conditioning and fitness levels of the group. This is a hiking trip so maybe that shouldn’t be surprising even if the average age is probably 70+. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3e43bdf11.jpeg Ditto. A fellow shutterbug!!! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d581c64d6.jpeg Boat ride https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a0cdef23d.jpeg Boat ride through deep canyon https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d1c606b0e.jpeg Ditto https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8c46748cc.jpeg Arriving at Omish, a very small but picturesque medieval town. It’s famous for being the town from which pirates robbed ships long ago. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5c58ea7cb.jpeg Omish https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c98181ff1.jpeg Lunch time!!! Grilled fresh tuna! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bc1c8c1e3.jpeg We made it! https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8bcb978d5.jpeg Beautiful views! https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...03398510e.jpeg Then time for some chocolate-orange gelato in Omish!!! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5779a758d.jpeg And then time for some Omish pastries!!! Can you say stuffed!!!!!! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...850695ceb.jpeg On the way back to Makarska we stopped at this overlook. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0a3fa8fdf.jpeg Then we did a one hour hike into Makarska along the water to work off lunch and gelato and pastries! 22,900 steps today! |
Loving the pics, dcd! How beautiful!
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Luv the pics dcd- beautiful country and tasty deserts. Now for some wine for all your efforts.
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dcd
You are doing a Great job of explaining about Split. Glad you made it up Marjan Hill. I did not go to Makarska. Are you going to Zadar next.? Bee-you-tee-ful pictures. |
So fabulous, dcd.
what travel company are you using? |
Thanks dcd:
I did not go on The Mljet National Park Island. I was on the Peljesac Peninsula at Stone and Mali Ston on my way to Korcula and could see Mljet across the inlet. Looking forward to your excellent pictures and commentary, Thanks for entertaining men while I am still isolating !! :sick: |
Some photos from yesterday’s hike and our last day in Makarska. Joyce and I are digging Croatia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5325921c7.jpeg Sooooo goood, and he wouldn’t let me pay! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4c65ad4a6.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8021d71dc.jpeg Sinkhole lake https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...573c633fd.jpeg Another sinkhole lake https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...66e5fb00e.jpeg Lunch!!!! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...61bbf01c7.jpeg Unbelievably good https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2a8488c92.jpeg Lunch is served! https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6f2a0df0d.jpeg Homemade cherry brandy https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3cc3870ba.jpeg Wine tour and tasting. Bought a bottle. Croatian wine, particularly red wine, is very good! https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...659fd9bd9.jpeg Looking down on our village of Makarska on this 3 hour hike. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cf86fdbe2.jpeg Another view of Makarska. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2ca604fd0.jpeg Terrific museum of the area built into rock. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...880f73ae1.jpeg Makarska during the golden hour. Spent 4 nights here. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2972ed73f.jpeg Makarska by night at the foot of Biokova Mountain. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6dd7a0caa.jpeg Loved this https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...02ad64a9a.jpeg Wildflowers are in bloom everywhere!!! https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...42d4c8526.jpeg Ditto https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...125f8febe.jpeg Biokova mountain https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...022e53e25.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...25ec2b528.jpeg Went to an Observatory in Makarska and saw the moon up close and personal. Saturn and Jupiter weren’t visible unfortunately. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...14ce8cfd0.jpeg The guide took this photo through his 14” lens using my iPhone! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...776e67412.jpeg Tour of an olive oil factory which turns olives into olive oil very quickly. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2f43b6646.jpeg The 17 ladies on our tour were all swooning over Mario, our olive oil tour guide. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f02cbf0f1.jpeg Unbelievable archaeological museum in Navaro where relics from the height of the Roman Empire were discovered just 15 years ago. On our way to Mljet NP today, we very briefly passed through Bosnia Herzegovina before returning to Croatia, Another country to add to the list!!! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f0f572059.jpeg Sunset tonight from our hotel on Mljet Island where we will be for 2 nights. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...48ceff251.jpeg Mljet Island |
Wonderful photos, dcd. They all have a certain warmth to them that is conveyed through your lens. What an eye!!
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Report from Croatia
Hello from Dubrovnik!!!!
I’ll try to squeeze in a post before heading downstairs to the buffet. Not losing weight on this trip….. Can’t respond to everyone, unfortunately, but sassy, good luck with the interview and hope you get an offer; Adey and Percy, get well; Percy, I recognize you; gruezi, she’s beautiful and you rock a one piece… and good news on your bro; Vicky, that bed was worth the wait; Barb, beautiful photos and that Tshirt is a hoot - LOTS of stray cats over here but can’t bring myself to photograph them; kureiff, losing that election for a thankless job might be the blessing in disguise, especially with Kate graduating; Florida, I’m getting in shape hiking 20,000+ steps most days; and a great big “hi” to everyone else! Our first tour ends tomorrow night. Been lots of fun, have see some amazing and beautiful Croatian sights and made new friends. Would love to come back here some day and see more of the country. Hey wait a minute, we’re coming back in a week with the second tour (after a short detour to Slovenia and Lake Bled)! Yippee!!!!! We’ve had great weather (sunny and mid 70s which feels like mid 80s here for some reason) since the first 2 days. Some photos to follow. |
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View from our room in Mljet NP https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a87c89103.jpeg Mljet Island https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d7930e945.jpeg Mljet NP - Tito’s favorite retreat. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...95f6652e7.jpeg Grilled Sea Bream, soooo good. But only for awhile! |
Gotta limit the number of photos apparently.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...40b24007d.jpeg Ston has the third longest remaining walls behind the Great Wall and Hadrian’s. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b47a79239.jpeg Charming town https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...58f6229b0.jpeg Roses grow well over here! https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ba55ae14e.jpeg Neat alleys https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c96931247.jpeg We’ll be climbing that wall in the distance. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e98833481.jpeg About to go up, 1700 steps until lunch! https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aca38d184.jpeg Away we go! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...22505f605.jpeg Earthquake in the 1990s caused quite a bit of damage and the reconstruction is still ongoing (obviously Island time). https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...96e2fadeb.jpeg Great views! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6ded3b893.jpeg That be Joyce! |
We do a tour of Dubrovnik’s walled old town tomorrow and Joyce and I will walk the ramparts on our own afterwards.
Time for dinner! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...33edc2b0f.jpeg Last night’s sunset from Dubrovnik https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...79418753b.jpeg Today’s day trip to a small village where traditional folk dancing occurs every Sunday after Mass and the locals (and tourists) love it. Croatia is 86% Catholic. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ef54b0041.jpeg Looking toward Dubrovnik https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...38cee45b3.jpeg The town of Cavtat below. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...410570bb8.jpeg Dubrovnik https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fe113537f.jpeg Dubrovnik |
dcd:
I lover following your trip in pictures. That wall climbing that you did in Ston, did you start in Mali Ston ( by the Mali Stone Bay) and then climb the wall over the hill and then down the other side to the town of Ston ! How about Oysters, you are suppose to have oysters there !! Great pictures as always. Glad that you both are healthy, I have a friend stuck in Europe with Covid. I know you and Joyce will love those walls around old Dubrovnik. Make sure you get up to Srd Mountain and this offers the most panoramaic view over Dubrovnik. Wish I was there again. But I am seeing it through your beautiful pictures. Keep those pictures coming |
Joyce and I have fallen in love with Croatia and Dubrovnik is our favorite, so far. We fly to Zagreb this afternoon where the second tour starts in a couple of days.
Some of my favorites from Dubrovnik. Our fab VRBO host picked us up at our tour’s hotel at 9:30 AM and brought us to this much superior apartment with a killer view. And he brought us “refreshments”! We’ll, it was 5:00 somewhere! https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...10ba11caf.jpeg Joyce wants to come back here and chill for a week. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e4c38a856.jpeg We rode the 3 minute cable car up the hill behind Dubrovnik for the sunset. The walled Old Town is below. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e49ba636d.jpeg Sunset https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ff9cbb8d9.jpeg Going back down https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...382654dfb.jpeg The Pearl of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik! |
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