Six weeks in Italy, Croatia and Slovenia and a not too great arrival back home.
Jul 1st, 2008, 11:03 AM
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Six weeks in Italy, Croatia and Slovenia and a not too great arrival back home.
Hi to everybody, here I am well on the road to recovery after an eighteen day hospital stay late last April. Just two days after we arrived from our wonderful, amazing trip, a kidney stone made its presence known, got stuck and was the cause of acute renal failure and septicemia. I count myself lucky to be writing to you Fodorites. I’m doing quite well, thank you, and looking forward to visiting our son and granddaughter in Kentucky in a couple of weeks.
While at the hospital, husband and I started questioning ourselves what if this had happened during our trip? We have never bought medical travel insurance and/or emergency evacuation insurance. Frankly, we had never given it much thought.
We have resolved that for our next trip we will have to do something about it.
Well, this is a travel forum, so let’s get on with our trip. I want to thank everybody who, in one way or another helped me in preparing our trip. Last year we had been to Italy and I had wanted to visit Croatia, Dubrovnik in particular, but could not work it in. This year I said “it’s now or never, we are not getting any younger” and husband agreed.
So here we were on our way after a lot of planning. We were flying to Rome, picking up our car and driving to Sulmona, San Giovanni Rotondo and then Bari, where we would take a ferry to Dubrovnik. From Dubrovnik, we would drive north to Trogir, Plivitce Lakes and Rovign. We would visit Bled in Slovenia, enter Italy and drive back to Rome via Soave, San Sepolcro and San Quirico D’Orcia. All hotel, car and ferry reservations had been made.
We arrived in Rome on March 6 after a non-eventful trip from San Juan via Philadelphia on US Airways. We had bought the tickets in September and were able to upgrade to Envoy Class. Nice! We had leased a Renault once again and had made sure that the car insurance covered the Countries we were going to visit plus the ferry ride to Dubrovnik. To our regret there was no way the insurance would cover a visit to Montenegro or Bosnia.
We picked up our leased car and took off for Sulmona, a small, quiet town in the mountains of Abruzzo. It rained some during our trip and it was cold in Sulmona when we arrived. We stayed three nights at Hotel Armando’s, a small, clean hotel with parking and perfect for us. Sulmona is famous for its confetti (confetti: a candy consisting of a piece of fruit, a root such as licorice, a nut or a seed coated and preserved in sugar). We visited the Pelino Factory and bought some chocolate covered almonds there that were delicious.
On our first day in Sulmona we bought a car anti-theft device called a “bullock” which gave husband peace of mind while in Croatia and Slovenia since most of the places we were staying at had unguarded parkings or no parking at all. The next couple of days were spent unwinding and visiting Sulmona, small towns nearby such as Pescocostanzo, Alfedena, Pacentas and Scanno and the Parco Nazionale D’Abruzzo. Since we were in the mountains and winter was still here, we did get a lot of snow, which, to us, being from the Tropics, was quite exciting. We also visited the resort of Roccaraso and enjoyed watching the skiers come down the mountain. The Piano della Cinquemiglia was snow-covered and stunning. We had visited this area eight years ago and at that time spring had arrived early so this time it was like visiting a new place. The area is beautiful and worth exploring.
Our next stop was San Giovanni Rotondo to visit the tomb of Padre Pio and the Gargano Peninsula, which is quite interesting. The weather here was really quite nice, just a couple of showers in the three days we were there. We stayed at La Terrazze Sul Gargano, a small hotel with parking near the Sanctuary. I would recommend it to anyone visiting San Giovanni. We arrived at the hotel late in the afternoon, dropped our bags and were able to hear a Mass at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Grazie. Next morning we visited, among others, the tomb of Padre Pio and his living quarters. We then drove to Monte Sant’Angelo and its Sanctuary, Vieste, and Foresta Umbra, all well worth the visit. Next day we spent most of the day in Manfredonia and its environs. After three nights in San Giovanni, we left for Bari via Castel Del Monte and Trani and its beautiful Romanesque cathedral. In Bari we were going to board the Jarolinija ferry to Dubrovnik that night. We were rather apprehensive, not because of the ferry crossing, but because we would be dealing with Italian and Croatian bureaucracy and did not know really what to expect. I must say that everything worked perfectly. We boarded the ferry with ample time, got settled in our cabin and had the most peaceful crossing you can imagine, the sea was so calm that the boat hardly moved. Our thanks to Neo Patrick, Stu T and Geoffl-lamer for their input, you really helped.
While at the hospital, husband and I started questioning ourselves what if this had happened during our trip? We have never bought medical travel insurance and/or emergency evacuation insurance. Frankly, we had never given it much thought.
We have resolved that for our next trip we will have to do something about it.
Well, this is a travel forum, so let’s get on with our trip. I want to thank everybody who, in one way or another helped me in preparing our trip. Last year we had been to Italy and I had wanted to visit Croatia, Dubrovnik in particular, but could not work it in. This year I said “it’s now or never, we are not getting any younger” and husband agreed.
So here we were on our way after a lot of planning. We were flying to Rome, picking up our car and driving to Sulmona, San Giovanni Rotondo and then Bari, where we would take a ferry to Dubrovnik. From Dubrovnik, we would drive north to Trogir, Plivitce Lakes and Rovign. We would visit Bled in Slovenia, enter Italy and drive back to Rome via Soave, San Sepolcro and San Quirico D’Orcia. All hotel, car and ferry reservations had been made.
We arrived in Rome on March 6 after a non-eventful trip from San Juan via Philadelphia on US Airways. We had bought the tickets in September and were able to upgrade to Envoy Class. Nice! We had leased a Renault once again and had made sure that the car insurance covered the Countries we were going to visit plus the ferry ride to Dubrovnik. To our regret there was no way the insurance would cover a visit to Montenegro or Bosnia.
We picked up our leased car and took off for Sulmona, a small, quiet town in the mountains of Abruzzo. It rained some during our trip and it was cold in Sulmona when we arrived. We stayed three nights at Hotel Armando’s, a small, clean hotel with parking and perfect for us. Sulmona is famous for its confetti (confetti: a candy consisting of a piece of fruit, a root such as licorice, a nut or a seed coated and preserved in sugar). We visited the Pelino Factory and bought some chocolate covered almonds there that were delicious.
On our first day in Sulmona we bought a car anti-theft device called a “bullock” which gave husband peace of mind while in Croatia and Slovenia since most of the places we were staying at had unguarded parkings or no parking at all. The next couple of days were spent unwinding and visiting Sulmona, small towns nearby such as Pescocostanzo, Alfedena, Pacentas and Scanno and the Parco Nazionale D’Abruzzo. Since we were in the mountains and winter was still here, we did get a lot of snow, which, to us, being from the Tropics, was quite exciting. We also visited the resort of Roccaraso and enjoyed watching the skiers come down the mountain. The Piano della Cinquemiglia was snow-covered and stunning. We had visited this area eight years ago and at that time spring had arrived early so this time it was like visiting a new place. The area is beautiful and worth exploring.
Our next stop was San Giovanni Rotondo to visit the tomb of Padre Pio and the Gargano Peninsula, which is quite interesting. The weather here was really quite nice, just a couple of showers in the three days we were there. We stayed at La Terrazze Sul Gargano, a small hotel with parking near the Sanctuary. I would recommend it to anyone visiting San Giovanni. We arrived at the hotel late in the afternoon, dropped our bags and were able to hear a Mass at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Grazie. Next morning we visited, among others, the tomb of Padre Pio and his living quarters. We then drove to Monte Sant’Angelo and its Sanctuary, Vieste, and Foresta Umbra, all well worth the visit. Next day we spent most of the day in Manfredonia and its environs. After three nights in San Giovanni, we left for Bari via Castel Del Monte and Trani and its beautiful Romanesque cathedral. In Bari we were going to board the Jarolinija ferry to Dubrovnik that night. We were rather apprehensive, not because of the ferry crossing, but because we would be dealing with Italian and Croatian bureaucracy and did not know really what to expect. I must say that everything worked perfectly. We boarded the ferry with ample time, got settled in our cabin and had the most peaceful crossing you can imagine, the sea was so calm that the boat hardly moved. Our thanks to Neo Patrick, Stu T and Geoffl-lamer for their input, you really helped.
Jul 1st, 2008, 11:21 AM
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Luhimari:
Very happy that you have recovered from that terrible scare! (I had one 20 years ago and it was pulverized with a lipotripsy radio-wave device)...went home next day and it hasn't reoccured. You weren't so lucky...nice to know that the Jadrolina crossing was a good one. Would like to hear about the rest of your adventure.
Stu T.
Very happy that you have recovered from that terrible scare! (I had one 20 years ago and it was pulverized with a lipotripsy radio-wave device)...went home next day and it hasn't reoccured. You weren't so lucky...nice to know that the Jadrolina crossing was a good one. Would like to hear about the rest of your adventure.
Stu T.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 01:45 PM
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We arrived in Dubrovnik before seven in the morning and, thanks to our GPS made it to Villa Adriatica, our home for the next four nights, without getting lost. We had room number 1 and the view from the terrace is stunning. The location of the house is perfect, right next to Ploce Gate and, this being the off season, we had no problem finding parking near the house. Thanks to all Fodorites who highly recommended Villa Adriatica.
What can I say about Dubrovnik that has not been said before? Our plans were to visit the city for a day then get out of the city and visit different towns, islands, etc. It never happened. Dubrovnik so captivated us that we spent all of our time experiencing it. We walked the walls, did all the walking tours from the excellent book “Visible Cities Dubrovnik”, visited the monuments and just enjoyed the city in a leisurely manner. On the first day we went to the Post Office to buy sim cards for our old Italian cell phones. They worked perfectly. On the last day we did get into our car and went to have lunch at Konoba Konavoski Komin up in the mountains. Jadranka, our landlady, recommended the place and we had a mouth-watering lamb baked under an iron bell. The place is very nice, the view is beautiful and the food is delicious. We highly recommend it,
Maitaitom: We were under the impression that your trip would not include Dubrovnik and husband kept saying, you must write to Maitaitom and tell him that under no circumstances should Dubrovnik be missed. I see that you did go and am waiting for your trip report. We are really sorry about the loss of your cat.
We left Dubrovnik at midday for our next stop for the next four nights: Trogir. We were somewhat worried about the 5 mile Bosnia crossing. Remember, the car insurance did not cover Bosnia and we did not know if this was going to be a problem. Nothing to worry about, at the crossing they just signaled us to drive through. The views that we got to see on the road from Dubrovnik to Split were outstanding. It was a pity that the road was closed halfway through and we had to take a detour to Metkovic. The detour, nevertheless, was quite interesting because we got to see a lot of things we would not have seen otherwise. It took us longer to get to Trogir, but we were in no hurry.
We arrived in Trogir late in the afternoon and I really liked the location of the Hotel Concordia. It was right on the waterfront promenade and we had free parking right next to the hotel. Our first floor front room had two windows from were we could see the boats coming and going and docking right next to the esplanade. During our stay, various cruise sailboats docked and stayed overnight and the crews went ashore to dine in the town’s restaurants. Amazing, going from a modern boat to a town from the Middle Ages in a couple of steps! What a way to cruise!
Early on our first day in Trogir it was raining with a lot of thunder and we took it easy at breakfast, waiting for the storm to go away. We then spent the rest of the morning just wandering around the beautiful town of Trogir and visiting its monuments. In the early afternoon we drove to Primosten which has a cemetery around the cathedral which reminded husband of the clos parroquials in Brittany. From there we went on to Sibenic and its beautiful Cathedral.
Next morning we drove to Split and visited Diocletian’s Palace, which should not be missed. We found Split extremely interesting but where glad we had decided on staying in Trogir which was smaller and quieter. After spending almost the whole day in Split, we drove to Klis Castle. By the time we arrived, the place was closed for the day, so we only saw the outside of the castle. It was nice, but nothing to write home about.
On our final day in Trogir, we drove to Zadar, a very interesting city well worth the visit. Do not miss the water organ in the waterfront and the big, round solar panel near it.
What can I say about Dubrovnik that has not been said before? Our plans were to visit the city for a day then get out of the city and visit different towns, islands, etc. It never happened. Dubrovnik so captivated us that we spent all of our time experiencing it. We walked the walls, did all the walking tours from the excellent book “Visible Cities Dubrovnik”, visited the monuments and just enjoyed the city in a leisurely manner. On the first day we went to the Post Office to buy sim cards for our old Italian cell phones. They worked perfectly. On the last day we did get into our car and went to have lunch at Konoba Konavoski Komin up in the mountains. Jadranka, our landlady, recommended the place and we had a mouth-watering lamb baked under an iron bell. The place is very nice, the view is beautiful and the food is delicious. We highly recommend it,
Maitaitom: We were under the impression that your trip would not include Dubrovnik and husband kept saying, you must write to Maitaitom and tell him that under no circumstances should Dubrovnik be missed. I see that you did go and am waiting for your trip report. We are really sorry about the loss of your cat.
We left Dubrovnik at midday for our next stop for the next four nights: Trogir. We were somewhat worried about the 5 mile Bosnia crossing. Remember, the car insurance did not cover Bosnia and we did not know if this was going to be a problem. Nothing to worry about, at the crossing they just signaled us to drive through. The views that we got to see on the road from Dubrovnik to Split were outstanding. It was a pity that the road was closed halfway through and we had to take a detour to Metkovic. The detour, nevertheless, was quite interesting because we got to see a lot of things we would not have seen otherwise. It took us longer to get to Trogir, but we were in no hurry.
We arrived in Trogir late in the afternoon and I really liked the location of the Hotel Concordia. It was right on the waterfront promenade and we had free parking right next to the hotel. Our first floor front room had two windows from were we could see the boats coming and going and docking right next to the esplanade. During our stay, various cruise sailboats docked and stayed overnight and the crews went ashore to dine in the town’s restaurants. Amazing, going from a modern boat to a town from the Middle Ages in a couple of steps! What a way to cruise!
Early on our first day in Trogir it was raining with a lot of thunder and we took it easy at breakfast, waiting for the storm to go away. We then spent the rest of the morning just wandering around the beautiful town of Trogir and visiting its monuments. In the early afternoon we drove to Primosten which has a cemetery around the cathedral which reminded husband of the clos parroquials in Brittany. From there we went on to Sibenic and its beautiful Cathedral.
Next morning we drove to Split and visited Diocletian’s Palace, which should not be missed. We found Split extremely interesting but where glad we had decided on staying in Trogir which was smaller and quieter. After spending almost the whole day in Split, we drove to Klis Castle. By the time we arrived, the place was closed for the day, so we only saw the outside of the castle. It was nice, but nothing to write home about.
On our final day in Trogir, we drove to Zadar, a very interesting city well worth the visit. Do not miss the water organ in the waterfront and the big, round solar panel near it.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 01:58 PM
#4
"...and husband kept saying, you must write to Maitaitom and tell him that under no circumstances should Dubrovnik be missed."
Did you guys hit the Buza Bar? We loved Dubrovnik. We are also glad we stayed in Trogir and not Split. Looking forward to more of your trip.
Did you guys hit the Buza Bar? We loved Dubrovnik. We are also glad we stayed in Trogir and not Split. Looking forward to more of your trip.
Jul 3rd, 2008, 05:29 AM
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We are returning to Dubrovonik on a cruise ship this fall and decided to book a private tour to Montenegro for the day. The fact that you said you are not covered by insurance while there bothers me. Is this not a safe area to go to? Should we anticipate any problems while there? Since we have already visited Dubrovonik and Cavtat, I was just looking for something different for my group of 12.
Jul 3rd, 2008, 06:54 AM
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Luhimari, glad to hear you are better! We always buy insurance, AIG-Travel Guard. In our minds it is worth it. We have the tendency to be over-insured at home so this is an extension of that I suppose. Peace of mind is peace of mind. We feel it is money well spent. Hopefully we will never have to use it. Thanks for the trip report. We leave for Croatia on September 3! Shirley, Waukesha, WI
Jul 3rd, 2008, 08:40 AM
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Luhimari,
Enjoyed your report of your travels. We also went to Sulmona and Scanno last year and enjoyed the local atmosphere. Driving through Abruzzo on our way from Umbria to the Amalfi coast, those two towns had seemed interesting and this was the one part of the trip that we decided to wing it. Also stayed at the Armando at the suggestion of one of the locals filling up her tank as we stopped. Looking out of my balcony at the Armando, I could see the high rise apartments around me and many people going about their daily lives on their balconies.
The passeggiare in Sulmona was amazing and the "flower shops" of candy a feast for the eyes. Also had a good meal at Hosteria dell'Arco. The antipasto was served buffet style and it was nice to sample a variety although I'm not exactly sure of what we had.
On our way to Scanno we stopped at the small village Anversa degli Abruzzi to find the organic sheep farm, Porta dei Parchi, www.laportadeiparchi.it. We had read about the farm and the cheeses were to die for. The farm is up a road just before the town. We had to ask the mailman for directions. We actually bought several cheeses and had a picnic at the lake below Scanno with some tomatoes and bread that we bought in a local grocery. We always keep picnic supplies in the car. It broke my heart to throw out some of the cheeses because we had no way to keep them. The funny thing about the sheep farm is that they have a program where you can adopt a sheep. We didn't.
I also bought a silver filigree beaded necklace in Scanno in a jewelry store. They are supposed to be noted for the filigree necklaces, but we only found one jewelry shop that had them. Several other stores were closed, so maybe they also had some. The only thing that we were disappointed about is that we saw no one in the native colorful costumes that I had read about.
I have added this detail to your post because there is not much written about this area.
We can't seem to tear ourselves away from Italy, but your description of Croatia is very enticing and it may be on one of our future itineraries.
Enjoyed your report of your travels. We also went to Sulmona and Scanno last year and enjoyed the local atmosphere. Driving through Abruzzo on our way from Umbria to the Amalfi coast, those two towns had seemed interesting and this was the one part of the trip that we decided to wing it. Also stayed at the Armando at the suggestion of one of the locals filling up her tank as we stopped. Looking out of my balcony at the Armando, I could see the high rise apartments around me and many people going about their daily lives on their balconies.
The passeggiare in Sulmona was amazing and the "flower shops" of candy a feast for the eyes. Also had a good meal at Hosteria dell'Arco. The antipasto was served buffet style and it was nice to sample a variety although I'm not exactly sure of what we had.
On our way to Scanno we stopped at the small village Anversa degli Abruzzi to find the organic sheep farm, Porta dei Parchi, www.laportadeiparchi.it. We had read about the farm and the cheeses were to die for. The farm is up a road just before the town. We had to ask the mailman for directions. We actually bought several cheeses and had a picnic at the lake below Scanno with some tomatoes and bread that we bought in a local grocery. We always keep picnic supplies in the car. It broke my heart to throw out some of the cheeses because we had no way to keep them. The funny thing about the sheep farm is that they have a program where you can adopt a sheep. We didn't.
I also bought a silver filigree beaded necklace in Scanno in a jewelry store. They are supposed to be noted for the filigree necklaces, but we only found one jewelry shop that had them. Several other stores were closed, so maybe they also had some. The only thing that we were disappointed about is that we saw no one in the native colorful costumes that I had read about.
I have added this detail to your post because there is not much written about this area.
We can't seem to tear ourselves away from Italy, but your description of Croatia is very enticing and it may be on one of our future itineraries.
Jul 3rd, 2008, 09:21 AM
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Luhimari, I am loving your report and it brings back lots of memories. I was leaning towards Turkey for next year but I'm seriously contemplating going back to Dubrovnik instead and sitting on the balcony at Villa Adriatica again!
Looking forward to more!
Tracy
Looking forward to more!
Tracy
Jul 3rd, 2008, 10:35 AM
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Luhimari - Your question re: medical insurance while traveling is timely. I did investigate and had the information that we needed while in Italy last April. Fortunately nothing happened to require using it! You mention using a GPS to locate lodgings in Dubrovnik. We have a Garmin GPS that we used very succesfully in Italy but I did not know there were maps available for it for Croatia...we are headed there in May 2009. Please share a little more information. Glad you are on the road to recovery!
Jul 3rd, 2008, 10:39 AM
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Luhimari - I am enjoying your report and am so glad to hear you enjoyed Croatia - it is a truly amazing country. What a way to return though, luckily you are doing ok now, what a scare. I always buy travel insurance, but I hope I never need it. I've written down the name of the restaurant you went to in the mountains from Dubrovnik. How far from Dub. was it? Pricey?
Jul 4th, 2008, 10:21 AM
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Stu T and Julia1: Thank you both for your comments.
Maitaitom: Unfortunately Buza Bar was closed, that’s one of the downsides of traveling in the off-season. What a great excuse to visit Dubrovnik again!
CarolandBob: I’m sure you will not have any problems, Montenegro is quite safe. It’s just that the insurance offered with our leased car covered only certain countries and not others, one of them being Montenegro.
LuvToRoam: We’ll look into AIG-Travel Guard. Thank you for the suggestion.
Packed: We also carry picnic supplies and have picnics while touring the countryside. While driving in the area of Abruzzo and very near Scanno on our first visit eight years ago, we came upon a sign that said cheese for sale and pointed at a farm across the road. We stopped and bought some delicious goat cheese from the owners of the farm. This year, even thought the landscape was so much different because of the snow, we were able to find the farm again. To our surprise, they no longer sold cheese at the farm, they had a store in Scanno. When we got to Scanno, which is very pretty and worth the visit, we found the store and it was closed. It only opened on weekends during the off-season! To make a long story short, husband talked to the girl at the Tourist Office, the girl called the guy at the farm and the guy at the farm called his mother in town and she opened the store for us so we could buy cheese. Amazing! The farm’s name is Azienda San Liborio and their cheese is excellent. I did buy a pair of gold filigree earrings at a local jewelry store.
tcwreath: We have never been to Turkey but Croatia has captivated us and we will surely return.
macinpv: Our Garmin is a Nuvi 370 which we bought early this year and in its European maps it only includes certain cities in Croatia and Slovenia. We don’t rely exclusively on the GPS; we also always have maps with us. The GPS is handy in places like Dubrovnik for which we didn’t have a city map yet, having just arrived.
Barb: The restaurant is about 30-45 minutes from Dubrovnik and you can go there in a taxi (I don’t know how much they would charge). We spent 204 kunas ($57 more or less) for a very satisfying meal.
The weather since we had arrived in Croatia had been what we like to think is typical late winter, early spring weather: sometimes sunny and cool, frequently cold, and always with some rain thrown in. Our next stop was the Hotel Jezero at the Plitvice Lakes and by the time we got there it was late in the afternoon, thanks to an oops! by the navigator (we missed an exit). It rained all night and next morning it was cold and rainy and I told husband to go ahead for his walk around the lakes, I would wait for him in the hotel were it was dry and warm. Fifteen minutes later he was back saying that it had stopped raining. So off we went on our hike. Half an hour latter flurries started to fall. By the time we finished our hike around the lower lakes everything was white and misty. Amazing!! There are not enough words to describe the beauty of the place! The walk around the lakes is a must in any kind of weather. Because of the snow, the upper lakes were closed so we did not get to see them.
That night it snowed all night but by the time we were ready to leave, after watching the Formula 1 Malasia Grand Prix at the hotel’s bar, it had stopped snowing. We were driving to Rovinj and there was a lot of fog on the first part of our trip, so it was slow going. One of the guys watching the car race was from Pula and suggested we stop at Slunj, which has a lot of small waterfalls from a river that twists through town. It is worth the stopover and be sure you have enough film or room in your SD cards for all the photographs you’ll want to take.
We finally arrived in Rovinj and immediately got lost and could not find our way to Hotel Park (no Rovinj in the GPS). Husband had to call the front desk and they told us how to get there; as a matter of fact, he had to call two more times until, finally, we made it. It wasn’t easy, even after four nights there it was still confusing (reminds us of Padova). I was apprehensive about the hotel because it was a big hotel, not the kind we usually go for, but they did offer parking and a room with a view. Yes, it was a lot bigger than usual, but the people at the hotel were really nice and we did get a room with a view, and what a view!! Rovinj is outstandingly beautiful and the view from our room of the town and the marina took our breath away.
We spent the next morning exploring Rovinj, even though the town was walking distance from the hotel, we drove our car to the parking closest to town, thereby giving my legs a much needed break. Husband says this is the cheapest parking in the world. At this time of year, it came to about twenty two cents an hour. We really liked Rovinj and at this time of year there were few tourists around so we really enjoyed the place. That same afternoon we drove to Pula and, thanks once more to the GPS, made it right to the parking in front of the spectacular Roman Amphitheater. We walked through town and saw all the Roman ruins which make this town worth visiting. On the way back to Rovinj, we visited Vodnjan, which we could have skipped. Maybe we were tired, but it did not say anything to us.
Maitaitom: Unfortunately Buza Bar was closed, that’s one of the downsides of traveling in the off-season. What a great excuse to visit Dubrovnik again!
CarolandBob: I’m sure you will not have any problems, Montenegro is quite safe. It’s just that the insurance offered with our leased car covered only certain countries and not others, one of them being Montenegro.
LuvToRoam: We’ll look into AIG-Travel Guard. Thank you for the suggestion.
Packed: We also carry picnic supplies and have picnics while touring the countryside. While driving in the area of Abruzzo and very near Scanno on our first visit eight years ago, we came upon a sign that said cheese for sale and pointed at a farm across the road. We stopped and bought some delicious goat cheese from the owners of the farm. This year, even thought the landscape was so much different because of the snow, we were able to find the farm again. To our surprise, they no longer sold cheese at the farm, they had a store in Scanno. When we got to Scanno, which is very pretty and worth the visit, we found the store and it was closed. It only opened on weekends during the off-season! To make a long story short, husband talked to the girl at the Tourist Office, the girl called the guy at the farm and the guy at the farm called his mother in town and she opened the store for us so we could buy cheese. Amazing! The farm’s name is Azienda San Liborio and their cheese is excellent. I did buy a pair of gold filigree earrings at a local jewelry store.
tcwreath: We have never been to Turkey but Croatia has captivated us and we will surely return.
macinpv: Our Garmin is a Nuvi 370 which we bought early this year and in its European maps it only includes certain cities in Croatia and Slovenia. We don’t rely exclusively on the GPS; we also always have maps with us. The GPS is handy in places like Dubrovnik for which we didn’t have a city map yet, having just arrived.
Barb: The restaurant is about 30-45 minutes from Dubrovnik and you can go there in a taxi (I don’t know how much they would charge). We spent 204 kunas ($57 more or less) for a very satisfying meal.
The weather since we had arrived in Croatia had been what we like to think is typical late winter, early spring weather: sometimes sunny and cool, frequently cold, and always with some rain thrown in. Our next stop was the Hotel Jezero at the Plitvice Lakes and by the time we got there it was late in the afternoon, thanks to an oops! by the navigator (we missed an exit). It rained all night and next morning it was cold and rainy and I told husband to go ahead for his walk around the lakes, I would wait for him in the hotel were it was dry and warm. Fifteen minutes later he was back saying that it had stopped raining. So off we went on our hike. Half an hour latter flurries started to fall. By the time we finished our hike around the lower lakes everything was white and misty. Amazing!! There are not enough words to describe the beauty of the place! The walk around the lakes is a must in any kind of weather. Because of the snow, the upper lakes were closed so we did not get to see them.
That night it snowed all night but by the time we were ready to leave, after watching the Formula 1 Malasia Grand Prix at the hotel’s bar, it had stopped snowing. We were driving to Rovinj and there was a lot of fog on the first part of our trip, so it was slow going. One of the guys watching the car race was from Pula and suggested we stop at Slunj, which has a lot of small waterfalls from a river that twists through town. It is worth the stopover and be sure you have enough film or room in your SD cards for all the photographs you’ll want to take.
We finally arrived in Rovinj and immediately got lost and could not find our way to Hotel Park (no Rovinj in the GPS). Husband had to call the front desk and they told us how to get there; as a matter of fact, he had to call two more times until, finally, we made it. It wasn’t easy, even after four nights there it was still confusing (reminds us of Padova). I was apprehensive about the hotel because it was a big hotel, not the kind we usually go for, but they did offer parking and a room with a view. Yes, it was a lot bigger than usual, but the people at the hotel were really nice and we did get a room with a view, and what a view!! Rovinj is outstandingly beautiful and the view from our room of the town and the marina took our breath away.
We spent the next morning exploring Rovinj, even though the town was walking distance from the hotel, we drove our car to the parking closest to town, thereby giving my legs a much needed break. Husband says this is the cheapest parking in the world. At this time of year, it came to about twenty two cents an hour. We really liked Rovinj and at this time of year there were few tourists around so we really enjoyed the place. That same afternoon we drove to Pula and, thanks once more to the GPS, made it right to the parking in front of the spectacular Roman Amphitheater. We walked through town and saw all the Roman ruins which make this town worth visiting. On the way back to Rovinj, we visited Vodnjan, which we could have skipped. Maybe we were tired, but it did not say anything to us.
Jul 8th, 2008, 05:32 AM
#15
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Luhimari -
Thanks for the info on Hotel Concordia. I am in process of booking a reservation there for May 2009. Sounds like we might have the same room that you stayed in. I have asked the Hotel twice if the room is nonsmking and have not received a reply. What was your experience? Was the room fresh smelling or did you notice the odor of smoke?
Thanks for any information you can supply!
Thanks for the info on Hotel Concordia. I am in process of booking a reservation there for May 2009. Sounds like we might have the same room that you stayed in. I have asked the Hotel twice if the room is nonsmking and have not received a reply. What was your experience? Was the room fresh smelling or did you notice the odor of smoke?
Thanks for any information you can supply!
Jul 8th, 2008, 02:05 PM
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macinpv: We stayed at room #2 on the first floor. I really did not notice any smoke odor in the room. I hope this helps. The people at the hotel were very nice and for breakfast you could order eggs any way you wanted.
Jul 8th, 2008, 07:16 PM
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Great report Luhimari. I'm glad you're on the road to recovery. It is quite unfortunate about travel insurance, but we learned the hard way to always purchase primary coverage travel insurance, no matter how near or far you are from home. It does provide a sense of security should something happen.
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
Jul 8th, 2008, 08:01 PM
#19
Luhimari, thanks for the great report. We have booked and had to cancel three different trips to Croatia and Slovenia, and your report has inspired me to try, try again.
FYI, this is the medical evacuation insurance we buy:
http://www.medjetassist.com/
FYI, this is the medical evacuation insurance we buy:
http://www.medjetassist.com/
