The World Heritage Site Tour: Croatia and Sicily
 

This trip included an extraordinary number of Unesco World Heritage Sites, hence its name. I've labeled the actual World Heritage sites on our trip with the code WHS. Here's a link to the complete list: whc.unesco.org/en/list

<b>Overview:</b>

Travelers: M (Mimar), navigator, and J, husband, driver, from Seattle

Our trip consisted of 12 days in Croatia at the end of September and 10 days in Sicily at the beginning of October. Plus a couple days in England at either end. We flew from Split via Rome to Palermo. We chose to travel in the shoulder season, seeking cooler weather and smaller crowds. We had great, sunny but not too hot weather for almost the whole trip.

We applied our usual eating plan for Italy to Croatia also. We don't like late dinners, so in general we have big late lunches and gelato for dinner.

<b>Brighton</b>

<b>Day 1:</b> Because our polar route flight arrives at Heathrow and we need to fly out of Gatwick the next day, we decide to stay 2 nights in Brighton and then train to Gatwick for our flight to Dubrovnik -- to get over jet lag and check out Brighton, which we skipped in our southern England trip. Also we can borrow the flat of some friends.

It’s an easy bus trip from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Brighton and then taxi ride to our friends' flat, which is actually just over the border in Hove. But right on the beach front, with a sideways view of the beach.

We walk along the beach that evening, check out the streets between Brighton and Hove (see many kinds of ethnic restaurants) and have a good dinner at Indiana, an Indian restaurant near the flat.

<b>Day 2:</b> For breakfast, J goes out and buys a vente and pastry from a nearby Starbucks and brings it back to the flat for us to share.

We buy a SIM card for the cell phone which we bought in Glasgow on a previous trip and learn how to top it up. Then we take a bus to the Brighton train station and buy tickets for our next day’s trip to Gatwick. From the station we walk through the North Laine, a neighborhood of narrow streets and quirky shops. End up at the Royal Pavilion, where we have a not-very-good lunch in the tea room before touring the building. It’s an extravagant fantasy come to life. We are especially blown away by the dining room (elaborate bejeweled dragons breathing fire/light overhead) and the music room.

We walk on to the Pier for a sampling of English seaside kitsch, then return to wander a little bit of the Lanes before going back to Hove by bus.

<b>Day 3:</b> The next morning we taxi to the station and train to Gatwick, stopping along the way in the predawn to pick up sleepy commuters going up to London. British Air flight to Dubrovnik.

<b> Part 2</b>

<b>Dubrovnik (WHS)</b>

<b>Day 3, cont:</b> We are met at the Dubrovnik airport by a driver, who, during the drive in, tells us about the history of the city as well as recommending the local white wine (Pošip) and especially the local red (Dingač). He also tells us about the traditional dish of Pod Pekom, meat slow cooked under a bell that is piled with embers.

We stay in an apartment, the Villa Nicole, just outside (and up a lot of steps) from the Ploce gate into Dubrovnik. The apartment is on the main road into town from the south, so we don't have to haul the bags up the steps. We worried about the noise from the road, but it quieted down at night. There are 3 apartments opening onto a terrace with an interrupted view of Dubrovnik and the sea. The owner Nicole, her Vancouver-bred husband Vlaho, and their toddler daughter Lara are living in the center apartment of 3 while their house is remodeled. Ours is #1. It has a modern kitchen, with table (but no coffee pot), largish bedroom with desk and seating area, and a very nice, very modern bathroom that includes a washing machine.

The location is good, close to town and also to a public beach, but quieter than the Pile gate area.

As we did for the whole trip, we have very good weather in Dubrovnik, warm but humid. M sweats buckets after arriving at the top of those steep stairs.

Our first night we get our bearings, have pizza (okay) at Mea Culpa and stock up on food for breakfast.

<b>Day 4:</b> We sleep in a bit (jet lag), then walk into town to discover 5(!) cruise ships have anchored offshore and filled the town. Getting our morning coffee rather late, we meet a couple from Victoria, B.C. They’re leading a tour along the Dalmatian coast aboard a gulet, stocked with kayaks for investigating the various islands. Sounds an ideal way to visit the Dalmatian coast.

We walk around the crowds, buy a Croatian SIM card (a Tomato!) and buy sandwiches to go for lunch at Buffet Skola. We spend much of the day sleeping off jet lag. Approaching sunset we find our way through an opening in the wall marked “Cold Drinks” to the famed Buza Bar, which consists of a series of small terraces perched on rocks outside the town walls above the sea. We have a drink and watch the sunset, taking many photos.

After the sunset, we find our way to the nearby Konoba Ekvinocijo. For dinner, J chooses a fish from a tray of fresh fish. M has scampi Bouzzara. The fish is very good; the scampi has a great sauce, all the calories from which M uses up extracting the scampi from their shells. The restaurant gives J a free grappa, M a free pear brandy. The latter is excellent.

<b>Day 5:</b> The 5 cruise ships have gone, but a very large Italian cruise ship has anchored off the old harbor. M thought to walk the old walls of Dubrovnik this morning, but they’re already crowded with cruisers by 9:00. So in the morning we do a guided tour of Dubrovnik with another Vlaho, who leads us around the edges of the crowds, telling us about Dubrovnik’s many long years as an independent city, rivaling Venice as a power in the Adriatic. We lunch (good salads) in the cool shade at the Arsenal, overlooking the old harbor and long lines of Italians waiting in the hot sun for tenders to take them back to the ship.

About 4:30, M finally does the walls among a mere trickle of tourists, taking many photos of the stunning views of the city as the sun lowers in the sky. Meanwhile J (who is acrophobic) visits the Maritime Museum and a memorial of the War for Independence (as Croatians call the 1991 War). Dinner is ice cream, as it will be for much of this trip.

<b>Korčula</b>

<b>Day 6:</b> We catch the Jadrolinija boat up the coast. For 4 hours, we enjoy a very relaxing cruise, stopping at Sobra on Mljet Island, and then sailing up to Korčula, disembarking directly beside the town.

Korčula Town (on Korčula Island) is a very small, very well-preserved town on a peninsula. The walls have been removed to make a promenade around the outside of the peninsula. We stay at Apartment de Polo, which is located just beyond the old town on a road along the water. We have a room with a balcony and a memorable view of the water and the town. The road is lined with palm trees, there’s a little swimming beach, it all just feels idyllic. We fall in love almost immediately; there’s something about the scale of the town, the slower island pace.

Lunch at Planjak restaurant in the main square. Joe has risotto, only okay, M a salad. We stroll the promenade, M has a cream-filled flaky pastry. (Slovenian?) We had hoped to see the Moreska, a traditional folk dance presented twice weekly in the high season, but the performances have ended for the season.

<b>Day 7:</b> Had breakfast at the B&B, including 3 different marmalades, homemade from their own lemon and orange trees. Also good bread, ciabatta. Tereza is a lively hostess, fun to talk to.

Checked out interior of the town, the church etc. Korčula is supposedly the bithplace of Marco Polo but we never do go into Marco Polo’s house. Lunch on the terrace at Adio Mare. Great food. M had pot roast with prune, J ?, rožata (local custard dessert). J goes for a swim in the afternoon. In the evening we buy tickets for the early morning catamaran to Split. More ice cream for dinner.

I'm enjoying your report--what a nice pairing, Croatia and Sicily. I loved the Buza Bar, advertised only by the Cold Drinks sign. Wish I was there right now. We didn't get to Korcula, except for a short stop in the harbor on the ferry trip from Hvar to Dubrovnik, but you make it sound so inviting that we'll have to return for an overnight stay.

A catamaran to Split? Sounds heavenly. Looking forward to the next installments.

<b>Split (WHS)</b>

<b>Day 8:</b> The catamaran from Korčula to Split departs at 6 AM. As we leave the B&B at 5:30, first one set of travelers appears out of the predawn darkness, then another joins us, and another, all of us dragging our suitcases in the dark across the cobblestones to the dock. Kind of eerie. We have a smooth quiet ride in the catamaran, stopping at Vela Luka and Hvar town, picking up more passengers until the boat is very crowded.

After docking in Split, we check our bags at the railroad station Gardarobe, across from the dock, and walk toward the Palace. (The center of Split is the palace the Roman emperor Diocletian built on the seafront for his retirement. He never lived there. The townspeople moved in, and the town flows in and out of the palace.)

We wend our way through the market just to the south (right?) of the palace. This market, although quite large, seems rather rough-edged, few professional looking displays. We stop for breakfast at a café just inside the palace, then walk on to the Peristile, the columned central court of the old palace. There we pick up a guide, a supposed professor of English, who takes us around the palace. It was laid out like a Roman camp, with 2 main roads at right angles, each wide enough for 10 soldiers to march abreast. And 4 main gates where these roads intersect the walls. In particular, the palace basement was closed off and retained its original structure, giving clues to the original structure above, since altered. The palace was originally at the water's edge on the Adriatic, but the ground has been filled in since.

The guide takes us to the western gate and shows us a Successionist building, a surprising, out-of-context relic of the Austro-Hungarian occupation.

After our tour we walk to the Riva, a waterside promenade southwest of the palace, looking for lunch, and are lured into a sidewalk café. They’re pushing their calamari, which J orders. Then we return to the pier, retrieve our luggage, and wait for the rental car to appear.

After a prompting phone call, the car does appear and we head off inland for Plitvička. The rental car is a Czech Skoda, which performs very well, especially after we figure out how to turn off the emergency blinkers and jack up the driver’s seat. The freeway seems strangely empty, maybe because it’s a toll road. The roads in Croatia, especially the freeways, are very good, with lots of tunnels and viaducts to negotiate the hilly interior.

<b>Plitvička National Park (WHS)</b>

With little trouble we arrive at the Hotel Jezero at Plitvička. We have a nice-ish room, with a balcony overlooking the forest. The hotel is quite large; it’s hosting an interdisciplinary conference on karst, and there’s also a tour group of Americans. Dinner in the hotel restaurant (J has trout). Later that evening at the computer at the lounge, J meets 3 couples from the midwest. They have been using buses for transportation, are impressed by us driving. J convinces them to go to Korčula instead of Hvar.

<b>Day 9:</b> J wakes up at midnight with food poisoning, painful stomach cramps which bother him for the next 15 hours. (That calamari in Split?) M has a few symptoms too, and after breakfast she as well as J stays in the room for the rest of the day.

<b>Day 10:</b> In the morning J is completely recovered. We do an abbreviated tour of the park, walking and climbing around the lower lakes. The park consists of a series of lakes, stairstepping downhill, with waterfalls in between. There are wooden walkways built so you can wander among the lakes and waterfalls. The limestone in the soil makes the lakes a kind of aquamarine color. Very beautiful.

Lunch is at the restaurant Lička kuća, just down the road in a large log building, built like a hunting lodge. The kitchen is in the center of the big restaurant and has a large meat grilling-roasting area. We seize the opportunity to have Pod Pekom, M veal, J lamb. The food is good. Then we drive off for Istria.

We are uncertain about which road to take as we leave the area and finally decide on a twisty road made of patched asphalt with no line down the middle and running among the trees, no towns. After the really good roads previously, we’re sure we’ve made a mistake. But it turns out to be the correct road running cross country to connect with the main east-west freeway. After a while, the forest gives way, and we pass country towns and see small stands by the road selling cheese (sir) and olive oil.

<b>Istria (Rovinj)</b>

After more time on the excellent freeway, we make an unplanned detour through Rijeka, driving the whole length of this long town, until we come out on the highway that goes down the center of the Istrian peninsula. Finally we arrive at Rovinj and drive past a gate into the old town. We are renting an apartment, the Porta Antica, here for 4 nights (thank you, Maitaitom, for the recommendation) and are allowed to drive in to drop our bags. Then, to save the expense of the town parking lot, we search out a free parking place on a back street and find our way back to the apartment. We stock up on food and a bottle of local Graševina wine at the small Konzum market around the corner.

The apartment has a nice living/dining room with lots of windows overlooking the port, a small kitchen and a small bedroom. The highlight is a balcony overlooking the harbor and the harborside promenade. We spend a lot of time out on the balcony sipping wine and admiring the view. In turn, practically every passing tourist sees us out there and points us out enviously to her companions. Never been the focus of so much envy and admiration.

<b>Day 11:</b> Today we stay in Rovinj and check out the town. Have a good lunch at Trattoria al Gastaldo just up the alley from our apartment (M gnocchi, J spaghetti with truffles). We walk the promenade around the peninsula and see people swimming from the rocks off shore. We climb up to the church at the top of the town as the sun sets. Nice view all around the peninsula. Slippery walk back down the marble street.

<b>Day 12:</b> Today, a Sunday, we drive inland to check out some Istrian hill-towns. We go first to Buje, which is very sleepy. We find a road called Belvedere, which has a great view around the surrounding countryside. And pass a shop where a guy is unloading his grapes, preparatory to making wine.

We continue on to the town of Grožnjan. This turns out to be the day Grožnjan is having a festival to celebrate the local wine and the local funghi, especially the truffle. And an art show/competition. We stumble on what seems a back way into town but run into bus gridlock as there are buses as well as many cars bringing people into town for the celebration. We find a parking place and walk into town. Many paintings are displayed on the town walls. The town is extremely crowded with people, mostly Italians (from Trieste?). We take refuge in a restaurant, Bastia, and have a big, long, good lunch there. (Toast with truffles, M good spaghetti carbonara, J cold frittata with truffles, shared excellent veal medallions in mushroom sauce. Very good Malvasia wine.) We walk around the edges of the very cute, artsy town, which has well-kept houses but is hard to enjoy in the crowd. We find our car and escape back to Rovinj.

<b>Day 13:</b> Another hill town day. We drive to Motovun, which is small and medieval-feeling and not at all crowded. We park by a church and flower-filled cemetery and walk up the hill, through the gate and around the walls a bit, admiring the view. Then have lunch at Pod Voltom at a table in the loggia just outside the old gate and overlooking the countryside. (J very good risotto with truffles and a chocolate dessert with truffle shavings, M gnocchi--njoki--in goulash.) Motovun is very striking from afar on its hilltop. J has acquired a taste for truffles.

<b>Day 14:</b> We pack up and drive to Pula. By sheer luck – and following the signs to the center – we find ourselves in a spacious parking lot right near our primary sightseeing destination, the Roman amphitheater. We park and walk around the well-preserved amphitheater and its small museum. Then we head out for our planned restaurant for lunch. After getting lost and redirected, we find the restaurant is closed today because it’s all booked up for a group. So we walk back in the direction of the Forum, Pula’s other antique sight to see. We find a restaurant from M’s list behind the cathedral. It seems rather pub-like and has a big table full of what looks and sounds like mechanics from the local garage. But we have an okay lunch and continue on to the Forum. Which is an empty square with a column or two, and a few tourists sparsely placed in a few sidewalk cafes.

We don’t find Pula simpatico; it’s too gritty and Soviet-feeling, the people kind of rough. So we retrieve the car early and head for the airport. We get lost but no worry, we’ve got plenty of time. We retrace our steps and find our way to the Zracna luka. (Croatian for airport. Valuable to know if the airplane symbol is covered by foliage.) The airport is totally empty except for one or two employees and 2 security guards with a dog patrolling the grounds. There are few signs. After asking, we find where to park the rental car. Our rental car desk – along with every other desk – is empty. We call the agent and she comes over. She’s friendly and wants to visit Seattle for its cool raininess. Finally, a half an hour or so before takeoff time, a few people trickle in for the only flight of the evening, ours to Split. With all 25 people on board and no competition for departure slots, the plane takes off 10 minutes early and lands early in Split. We taxi to Trogir.

<b>Trogir (WHS)</b>

Our B&B in Trogir is the Villa Moretti, actually on Ciovo, another island just over a bridge from Trogir. M hadn’t found many reviews of this place so it is a bit of a stab in the dark. But our room turns out to be the nicest on this trip. It is large and elegantly furnished with old family antiques. And has a large, modern bathroom. The house is the family home of the Morettis, a shipping family originally from Genoa. It was labeled Palača Moretti on the map. (Emilia, the hostess, was born a Moretti and has a book about the family history written by a local historian.) There are 4 rooms on the third floor, all with great views across the water to Trogir. Breakfast – cheese, fruit, yogurt, rolls - was served on an adjoining loggia overlooking the marina and Trogir.

<b>Day 15:</b> Trogir town is 5 minutes walk along the water and over a bridge. We wander the town, especially like the church. Have lunch at Skrapa (J grilled sausage, M grilled chicken). Once again ice cream for dinner. Lazy day, nice bath in the evening.

<b>Day 16:</b> This is our last day in Croatia. We have a lazy morning in Trogir, a leisurely lunch along promenade at Fontana (pizzas), talk with the waiter about tourism and the weather. We taxi to the Split airport. We’re a little apprehensive about our two-leg flight to Sicily, since our original tickets for leg 1 to Rome had been canceled. But we’re able to resuscitate our Croatia Airlines tickets to Rome. (We have a very good impression of Croatia Airlines, modern planes, helpful people.) The plane is a half hour late in leaving. Now we’re apprehensive about having enough time to retrieve our bags and change terminals at Fiumicino airport.

We stumble through the Rome Airport. The line for non-EU arrivers is a VERY slow. Then, having retrieved our bags, we have to ask to find our way from Terminal C to Terminal A; there are no signs. Once on our Blu Express plane (which looks like a retiree from the Southwest Airlines fleet, a very old 737) they announce the take-off is delayed because the Palermo airport is closed due to rain, wind, and lightning. The last 2 planes due to land were diverted to Catania. A helpful Sicilian student next to J explains the situation in English. We wait on the ground for 1 ½ hours listening to James Brown (I Feel Good) until the weather improves. Blu Express flight attendants are rather casual, don’t insist on storing all luggage under seats or overhead. M’s neighbor has a heavy bag, sitting on the floor. Not such a good idea for what might be a rough flight.

But the flight is routine. We retrieve our bags; the whole front of M’s is soaking wet, must have fallen in a puddle. We are met at the airport and driven (very carefully--what was all that about Sicilian drivers?) the longish way into Palermo to our hotel, arriving about 11:00 PM. The Hotel Ambasciatori seems very cozy and welcoming; our room is small but nice. M’s clothes have not gotten wet. We fall into bed.

<b>Palermo (WHS)</b>

<b>Day 17:</b> We drag ourselves out of bed, but the breakfast room wakes us up. It’s up a flight of stairs on a lovely terrace with a stunning panoramic view of Palermo. Good breakfast. Our room has a small balcony but also with a great view over the town. It’s a little noisy, being above a main street. We highly recomend the Hotel Ambasciatori.

Meanwhile it’s still raining. We drag ourselves out to find the bus to Monreale, having planned a pedestrian route on our GPS. The GPS totally screws up, keeps telling us to turn around, as we follow its directions. Finally we forget about the GPS, find our way to the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, and, by asking people, work our way south to the Piazza Indipendenza, buying our tickets along the way at a Tabacchi.

The bus makes its way through heavy traffic and up out of town to Monreale. The Duomo is very impressive, the mosaics, the tilework, the inlaid marble floors, Arabic details. Paid extra for the cloisters, which are very big. We have a nice lunch at the Taverna del Pavone. Afterwards J points out we spoke only Italian at the restaurant. (Well, we're pretty fluent in food words.) The trip back into town on the bus is much quicker; is this because it’s now siesta time? Many shops are closed.

For dinner we go out in the rain again to a pastry shop, where we have so-so cannoli and very sweet cassata, very small decaffeinated espressos.

Palermo has a surprising number of trees and parks; it’s greener than we expected.

<b>Agrigento (WHS)</b>

<b>Day 18:</b> Set alarm, wake up tired. But the rain has stopped, the sun is intermittent, and the view even better from the terrace. We taxi to the airport and pick up our rental car. The taxi driver, while speeding down the freeway, has a conversation on his cell phone, using his free hand to gesticulate; no hands left for the steering wheel.

En route the driver gets a phone call from our hotel; he hands the phone to us. Our son has called the hotel after we left. He has an issue; he will email details. We commence to worry. All sorts of bad possibilities (death, illnesses, fire) pass through our brains, instantly and throughout the day. But there’s not much we can do now. We drive out of the airport to Segesta, a well-preserved Greek temple isolated in an agricultural countryside. Beautiful temple, several tour buses.

J is surprised by how green the countryside is. As we drive down the middle of the island and then along the southern coast, we see lots of olive trees, vineyards, and orange groves, also palms, eucalyptus, cacti, and a pepper tree. J expected dry, poor land.

We arrive at our B&B, the Camera con Vista, in (just outside of) Agrigento. It’s very modern, very minimalist. Our room is on the ground level around the corner from the desk, with a large terrace with a distant view of the temples. The hard marble surfaces make for lots of echoes.

We borrow/help ourselves to the computer and read our email. Our son, exercising our car, has got a ticket for a red light infraction, that’s all. Big sigh of relief.

We drive just down the road to the Villa Kephos, arriving after closing time, on the heels of a tour bus, and have a late pizza lunch. Good (Sicilian) bread. Back to the hotel to rest and recover. And enjoy our terrace and its view of the temples lit at night.

<b>Day 19:</b> Breakfast is yogurt and a huge plate of sweet rolls and bread. Having ventured into Agrigento town proper for a bancomat (ATM), we return to the Valley of the Temples and visit the museum. It has a very good collection of Greek vases. We spend a very interesting hour and a half there and have lunch at the museum café in the garden, splitting a foccacino sandwich and an arancina. We buy another sandwich and more Coca Cola Light for later. We drive down to the Temple area and pay to park again. The temples are spread out along a ridge, not in a valley. Our first stop is the very well preserved Temple of Concordia, then the Temple of Giove.

We feel kind of templed out, drive back to the hotel, sit outside on our terrace, eat the sandwich, drink the coke, and enjoy the view. Later, we drive to the seaside town of San Leone, which is disappointingly hokey. But we get excellent gelato at Lo Cuspide (sp?), as recommended by our host. We ask for gelato in a panino (a roll) as is traditional in Sicily. This raises a big laugh from the cashier. They say briosch, not panino. Lots of local people there on Sunday night; it’s a popular spot for good reason, great gelato, big selection of flavors, good prices.
Back at the B&B, we watch the temples as the sun sets and the moon rises.

<b>Villa Romana at Casale (WHS), near Piazza Armerina</b>

<b>Day 20:</b> We leave Agrigento and drive eastward along the southern coast of Sicily, through some yucky towns, though some stretches are scenic, lots of olive groves. We turn inland at Gela and drive north through the middle of the island. Well south of Piazza Armerina we see signs for the Agriturismo Gigliotto where we will stay tonight. Then we see the Agriturismo itself, still quite a ways south of Piazza Armerina. Continuing north, we follow the signs through the center of Piazza Armerina to the Villa Romana at Casale. The walkway to the entrance is lined with 20-30 tents selling tourist junk; kinda discouraging. The villa itself is partially closed, crowded with bus tourists, and hot under the plastic roof. The walkways are only 2 people wide. When a tour group stops to talk about one particular room, everybody else must wait until they’re finished. But it’s worth the hassle. The mosaics are amazing, in both quality and quantity. They have more colors than we’ve seen before. The most striking: the long hippodrome showing a horse race, the triclinium with the labors of Hercules, the portico with animal heads, hunt. And the women in bikinis.

After seeing the villa, we have a big lunch at the nearby La Ruota: pleasant surroundings, excellent food. (J loves the coniglio, the best he ever had; M is equally happy with her carmelized orange peel on roast pork, also tagliatelle with pistachio cream sauce.)

We drive back on the highway to the Agriturismo Gigliotto, arriving early. Not a real agriturismo, more of a country hotel, it is nevertheless surrounded by fields of prickly pears, grapes, olives, and fruit trees. We asked what they used the prickly pears for, got the impression they didn’t like them, were even annoyed by having acres of them. Not much demand?

J checks out the grounds, picks himself a prickly pear and puts it in his pocket. Ends up pricked, and has to dig those prickles out of his shorts. He also picked 4 crisp and tasty eating apples. He also found 2 adult and two small goats in an enclosed pen. The horns on the adult male goat looked like twisted ribbons.

Our room is in a separate building and has a big terrace overlooking the prickly pears. The room is good, very hotel-like, modern, well-furnished. M spends some time reading on the terrace.

<b>Siracusa (WHS)</b>

<b>Day 21:</b> Bad day. Breakfast at the Agriturismo was okay, a little meager but outside on a big terrace overlooking the vineyards. We start our drive to Siracusa, heading north for the main east-west freeway. But the highway has a fence across it, grass growing on it. We are detoured via the outskirts of Enna, which we had been trying to avoid. We finally get on the freeway, and zoom through to <b>Noto (WHS)</b>, one of 3 baroque towns rebuilt in similar style after a large earthquake in 1693. We spend a long time circling the outside of Noto, not having done our homework. (Noto Antica is not the historic center but the old town, farther back in the hills. The town was moved after the 1693 earthquake. The new center is the one with all the baroque buildings.) Finally we park the car and walk into the center. The one main street is very striking, especially the Duomo, the buildings all similar in the baroque style, all in warm golden sandstone. We lunch at the Trattoria Giglio, off the Piazza Municipale. There are only tourists there; the food is not very good. (However J liked his spaghetti with lots of anchovies and sardines.)

With lots of time til we’re due to drop off the car in Siracusa (the car rental office in downtown Siracusa closes from 1:00 til 5:00), we decide to check out the Roman villa at Tellaro, which is supposed to have amazing mosaics, better than those at Casale, in brighter colors. We find our way easily, pay no admittance because we’re so old. But there’s only a very few mosaics to view, and they don’t seem so outstanding. So time to go to Siracusa. After following signs all around the countryside, we find the entrance to the freeway, the same freeway we took to get to Noto, is inexplicably blocked by a fence. OK, we’ll take the highway SS 115. But about 20 minutes short of Siracusa and just as we’re about to get on the freeway, we get stuck in stopped traffic. Evidently there’s an accident up ahead. We sit for 1.5 hours until a policeman comes by and says the accident will take 3 or 4 more hours to clear. The woman in the car in front of us knows we don’t understand much Italian; she’s going to Siracusa by the back way and offers to lead us. We follow her and a truck for about an hour far back into the hills up a many-hairpinned road, (by Avola Antica), around a canyon and back down into Siracusa. (Had he known, J would have preferred to wait the extra 4 hours and not drive the high and narrow mountain roads.)

Having parted from our wonderful helper, the only gas station we find is unmanned, and won’t take our chipless-and-pinless credit card. Plus M can’t call the car rental agency; the Vodaphone SIM card we bought in England looks like it works, but doesn’t. We head for the hotel, stumble on the car rental place and leave the car, paying an extra $100 because we haven’t filled up the tank. However, they drive us to our hotel, just over the bridge in Ortigia.

L’Approdo delle Sirene is another minimalist hotel/B&B but more comfortable, very modern with a notebook computer in every room. We have a corner room with a view of the canal between Ortigia and the modern city. Nice hotel.

<b>Day 22:</b> Breakfast on the rooftop terrace with great views in 2 directions. It’s a very good breakfast, with a broad selection of items including lots of fresh fruit (prickly pear) and a very good fruit tart.

We stay in this morning, resting up from yesterday. In the local paper there's an article about yesterday's accident. Sadly a young man was killed. His car is unrecognizable in the photo. Maybe our yesterday wasn't all that bad.

Noonish we start a walking tour of the island. As a result of the same earthquake that damaged Noto (and Ragusa and Modica), there are many baroque facades, most notably the Duomo, but in a pale grey limestone rather than the warm sandstone of Noto. The interior of the duomo incorporates Doric columns from the Greek temple to Athena originally on this site. There are also interesting twisted columns wreathed in grape vines on either side of the entrance.

We have a late lunch at Trattoria Kalliope (too crowded so bad service but good food. M loves her insalata siracusana: orange sections, capers, olives and red onions, also likes housemade ravioli. J has a big salad with salami, cheese, olives, toasted almonds, sundried tomatoes, lettuce.) A strolling accordionist strikes up, and a little girl at an adjoining table starts screaming. Evidently she doesn’t like accordions. Her father finally takes her away. Gelato for dinner per usual.

<b>Day 23:</b> We taxi to the Parco Archeologico. Lacking signs, we have to search to find the ticket office and then the Greek Theater. The theater is quite complete, but doesn’t have as good view as I expected. Maybe the trees are a post-Greek arrival. In fact, the park has quite a lot of trees and vegetation, but some areas are blocked off. We join the crowds in the Ear of Dionysius and check out the Roman amphitheater.

We leave the park and walk down through the town towards the train station. En route, we pass the “Toys R Us” of Italy and stop in to buy gifts for our neighbor kids. It’s very hard to find an unbranded toy. We continue on and, with help, find the train station, buy our tickets for tomorrow’s trip to Taormina, then hop a free bus back to Ortigia. Lunch is so-so at Trattoria Il Cenacolo. (J good paella, the special; M insalata siracusana with pale tomatoes, and mediocre lasagna.) We do an evening walk around the south end of the island. And get gelato for dinner as usual.

<b>Day 24:</b> J goes off early to the market, comes back reporting lots of just-caught fish, good produce (nice, bright red tomatoes) in quite a large market. We pack up and leave our bags in the hotel. Then we repeat yesterday evening’s walk in the daylight. We have lunch at La Terrazza, which promises a view. It delivers on the view but not much else. (J mixed grill, M orecchiete in a sauce that seems to be all oil, salads have sickly tomatoes, old lettuce.)

On to Taormina.

Still enjoying your report! It takes a while to write up these lengthy trips, doesn't it? Your story about hearing from your son brought back memories -- once when we were staying at La Calcina in Venice our son contacted us through the hotel. Turned out he was moving to a new NY apartment and needed help coming up with the thousands of dollars required upfront. And how were we supposed to do that while we were in Venice?!? We were kind of sorry we left him our contact information (kidding).

We too stayed at the agriturismo near Villa Romana and found those fields of cactuses so unexpected. We were in a nice room in the main building. Enjoyed the dinner there. We were lucky to be able to tour Villa Romana early in the morning, just after it opened, and spent the first half-hour or so virtually by ourselves before the tour groups started to arrive. That was special.

Which part of your trip did you enjoy the most--Croatia or Sicily? We've been to both, but not to Istria. Do you think it's worth a return trip to visit that part of Croatia?

Looking forward to the rest of your report. Thanks for taking the time to write it and to share it with us.

Mimar, what a great report from a fellow Washingtonian. I would dearly love to spend some time in Istria and Sicily has been on my short list for some time now. Your descriptions have really inspired me, especially the Istrian truffles. I'm working on my trip report from Dubrovnik. I was there from Oct. 5th to the 22nd. Can't wait to read the rest, thanks!

Istria was a must for my husband. It's strongly influenced by Italy; all the towns have Italian as well as Croatian names -- from the time when it was a part of Italy. And my husband is of Italian (though not Sicilian) descent.

Istria and Slovenia would make a good combination. I just saw a TV program set in Slovenia. It looked beautiful, very much like Austria. If you look at the map, it's surprising how close Istria is to Slovenia and Trieste. You can train from Ljubljana to Rijeka or Pula.

Rovinj made a great base. It's a nice size town, very pretty. And it didn't feel like it was dedicated to tourists, with no life ot its own.

To answer aprillilacs question, Croatia was our preference. There are valuable sights to see in Sicily and we enjoyed Taormina, but Croatia felt more friendly, more human in scale, especially the scenery along the coast, the islands, the towns. And we felt a little bit like we were discovering it, even if its history goes back for milennia.

I still love reading about Croatia (although it has already been three years since we went) and you did a great job on your report Mimar! Wish I was sitting on that terrace in Rovinj......

<b>Taormina</b>

We have an easy, pleasant train ride up the coast through Catania to Taormina. At the Siracusa train station we encounter a couple from Connecticut and spend most of the time talking to them. The short little train is nice and clean and seems air-conditioned, much better than the old, dirty, graffiti-smeared train we saw headed to Modica. At the Giardini Naxos station we take a taxi up a steep, twisty road to Taormina. Where we greeted at the gate to the city by a large multi-story parking garage built into the hillside.

Our hotel, the Villa Schuler, is well placed; our corner room is large, with 2 small balconies and a nice large bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. The views out the windows are stunning day and night: the steep drop down to the sea with an anchored yacht, the hillside lushly planted with tropical trees and plants, the distant views of Giardini Naxos, at night a diamond necklace girdling its bay.

We walk through the hotel’s back garden, out a gate, and up about a block’s worth of steps to arrive at the Corso Umberto I, the main street of the town. This is a pedestrian-only zone, very clean and well-kept, lined with expensive shops. There are peekaboo views through the shops to the water. When we arrive at the Piazza IX Aprile, a bride and groom are just emerging from the church. They parade slowly up the street, photographer snapping. The piazza overlooks the view to the sea and toward the south.

After all the sightseeing of the previous 3 weeks, Taormina is our rest stop. And it's a very pleasant place.

<b>Day 25:</b> We breakfast outside on the terrace overlooking the sea and the magnificent views. You order from a menu. J stuffs himself disgracefully: eggs, meat, cheese, fruit, yogurt, rolls and croissants. This hotel caters to Germans, so that means bigger breakfasts. Coffee is plentiful but only so-so.

We walk the Corso again with many other tourists, find the Parco Communale with great views and interesting buildings as well as the lush vegetation that is so much a part of Taormina’s charm. We lunch across the street at the Trattoria al Giardino, which has been recommended by our hotel. But get mediocre food and bad tomatoes again, even after M specifically asks if the tomatoes are good.

<b>Day 26:</b> We get an early start and just beat out the tour groups to the Teatro Greco, our one must-see in Taormina. Great views again, both directions, especially of Mt. Etna. We do some gift-shopping. M is tempted by the lovely lacy parasols in different sizes. We walk to the far end of town, find another small park/look-out next to the parcheggio, see vineyards on the slopes of Etna. Good lunch at La Tavernetta, perched on the steps of a pretty salita. And good gelato for dinner that night.

<b>Windsor:</b>

<b>Day 27:</b> We take an expensive taxi to the airport at Catania. The British Air flight to Gatwick is very crowded. At the airport shops, travelers form neat, orderly queues; they must be British.

Taking advice from Fodors' experts, we are spending 2 nights in Windsor before flying home from Heathrow. From Gatwick we had originally planned to take a train to Windsor Riverside, changing at Clapham Junction. But the bus ride from Heathrow to Brighton had been so easy we decide to bus again. But when we get to Heathrow, the taxi drivers quote us L39 to L55 for the 20 minute trip to Windsor. We instead catch a local bus, which is late. Now we’re pitched into commute hour traffic. We crawl through Slough and finally arrive in Windsor. We have to drag our bags some distance to a taxi rank in front of Windsor Castle. Finally make it to the B&B at about 6:30. We should have taken the train.

The B&B has only one room. It’s adequate with a separate, dedicated bathroom (down the hall and a couple stairs) that’s very nice and modern.

We have dinner at a nearby pub, the Duke of Connaught. J has beef curry and a pint of bitter, M a good prawn (shrimp) and avocado salad. J fought the beef curry all the ensuing night.

<b>Day 28:</b> Breakfast in the small dining room with an uncommunicative hostess. J has the full English breakfast. We walk 10 minutes or so along the Thames River to Windsor Castle. There are lots of geese and swans on the river, also narrow boats. The ferris wheel seems a bit out of place.

Lots of security around the castle. We spend a long time inside: very impressive art, impressive state rooms, for entertaining state visitors to the UK. M likes the doll house with its own electricity and running water, also the dolls given to Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret by the French, each doll with a wardrobe designed by French couturiers(!).

After the castle, we lunch at Latinos, a Greek restaurant, on an assortment of mezes. Then we check out the shops in Windsor. J is impressed by how they’ve made the old train station into a shopping mall, while retaining its functionality. We find an Internet “café,” and print our boarding passes for the trip home. Back to the B&B for a rest.

Later we walk back along the Thames to Eton. The school is closed to visitors. There are assorted adolescent boys around town, looking self-conscious. Only one or two wear the traditional uniform; the rest look like normal teenage boys in sports garb. But we see something of the school and the nice little town.

We stop for a snack in Gilbey’s restaurant. M has afternoon tea, J a good pineapple cake with ice cream. Then, back along the Thames in the dusk. Nice sunset through the trees. People are feeding the swans, ducks, and Canadian geese, which, all together, make a great number.

<b>Day 29:</b> We leave B&B late morning by taxi (L15!) to Heathrow. Easy, comfortable flight. J sits next to a Spanish film writer/director, who’s flying to Seattle to present her award-winning film that’s being shown as part of a mini-Spanish film festival. (Later we take her to lunch and attend a showing of her film.)

<b>Home:</b>
J can no longer stand our homemade mediocre coffee and buys, at Costco, an expensive espresso machine to replicate the great coffee we had on the trip.

<b>Observations:</b>

Even more than is generally true in Europe, to visit Croatia and Sicily the traveler has to be able to walk some distance on uneven surfaces and climb stairs.

Coffee: we're Seattleites and we like our coffee. Croatia doesn't seem so coffee-oriented. There was no coffee pot in our Dubrovnik apartment. They expected us to drink instant. Aaargh! In restaurants and hotels, we'd ask for Caffe Americano and get one average-size cup. Then we'd ask for more. Finally in Sicily I started asking for a mezzolitro, a half liter, as if we were ordering mineral water. This was taken to be a hilarious joke.

I bought a Kindle (an ebook reader by Amazon.com) to take on this trip. Usually my luggage is stuffed with paperbacks, but not this time! (My way of traveling light.) I loaded the Kindle with about 15 books before we left, since my version won't download in Europe. (Amazon has just come out with a model that will download in Europe.) It's amazing how quickly you can acquire a whole book, about 60 seconds. Among the books were an Italian/English dictionary and a Croatian primer.

We also had an HP iPAQ, a PDA with GPS and Internet capability. This worked quite well, except for certain issues with the Tomtom GPS. The WiFi was nice.

Croatia:

We really liked Croatia. We hoped to avoid the tourist crowds in the shoulder season, but didn't, at least in Dubrovnik. It looks like Croatia has been discovered. Or maybe it has been discovered by Europeans for years, just not by Americans until lately.

But great scenery, good roads (tunnels and viaducts), good food, very good wines, friendly people, most of whom spoke English.

Europeans use Croatia as a relaxation vacation destination, so the bigger hotels tend to be on a beach at some distance, maybe a bus ride, from town. There are now boutique hotels inside towns like Dubrovnik and Trogir, but these tend to be quite expensive. The inbetween option is an apartment or a soba, a room, in or near town. So most of our accommodations were apartments or rooms. You can find these reviewed on tripadvisor.com, under the tabs B&Bs/Inns, Specialty Lodging and Vacation Rentals. And when we arrived in Korcula, the boat was met by a number of landladies with photos of their available rooms.

Using boats to go between destinations requires careful preplanning. You can't assume the boat will travel the day you want to go, especially out of the high season.

The ice cream in Croatia is presented like gelato, but isn't; it's not as good, not as flavorful as gelato. (And we did a very thorough examination of this issue.)

Dubrovnik felt a bit artificial, manicured. It’s very beautiful but more of a museum than a living city.

Inland Istria is Umbria-like, agricultural, with hilltowns, vineyards, good white wines, great views. And, of course, the truffles. Black truffles are expensive; white truffles are very expensive.

Sicily:

Surprisingly green and fertile.

Traffic has its own rules. Stop signs are a mere suggestion, usually ignored. To hesitate momentarily or just slow down a little is a tacit invitation to cross traffic or a crossing pedestrian. The roads are good, but not necessarily available. Maps bought in the US, GPS and driving instructions from ViaMichelin were of little help in Sicily – the highway numbers didn’t correspond to reality.

In restaurants we saw something of the Screw-the-tourist attitude. In spite of the beautiful tomatoes in the markets, not one single restaurant served ripe, flavorful tomatoes. (Though there were some good cherry tomatoes.)

Windsor: I hadn't much wanted to go to Windsor on previous trips, but I was wrong. The castle is definitely worth a visit, and the town is very pleasant.

hi mimar,

great report about what sounds like a lovely trip. DH and I went to Dubrovnik for our honeymoon over 30 years ago so you're right that europeans discovered Croatia quite a long time ago - only then we called it "Yugoslavia"!

you really seemed to pace yourselves well - would you have had fewer or more stops, if you did it again?

Whew, now that that's done, thanks to aprillilacs, Barb, Happycheesehead and annhig for your comments

To annhig: The only change we would make is an another day or so in Korcula. That was so pleasant a place.

We regretted not having time to go to Slovenia but didn't want to short-change Croatia.

On the other hand, we probably won't do another trip where we tack 2 disparate and slightly hard to get to places together. It's one thing to go to France and Italy or Austria and Switzerland, quite another to get yourselves across 2 bodies of water. Especially now, with the economy, airlines are in flux. Maybe later, when things settle down....

Very nice report, thank you for posting.

Mimar, very interesting report. I am thinking about a week in Sicily but some of the reports I am reading give me pause. It sounds as if it took you quite a while to get from Point A to Point B. Anything you'd change about your itinerary in retrospect?

After reading raves about Selinunte, I wish we stopped there. And, if we had more time, I would have liked to see Erice.

We're not speed-demon travelers. We like to take our time, fit in with the Italian life-style. And museums keep us rapt for longer than we'd planned. Other travelers cover the same ground more quickly.

And traveling in Italy always requires an ability to roll with the punches. Things happen: strikes, accidents, demonstrations, train breakdowns, fences across the freeway.

We are thinking that our next European trip might be to Istria and Slovenia, so I am glad that you think this sounds like a good combination. A friend was in Slovenia last summer and raved about its natural beauty. Istria has long been on our short list.

I just got a new copy of the Fodor's Croatia and Slovenia guide (I left the other one with a friend in Sarajevo last fall) so we are reading up

I really want to see something of Slovenia; it looks so beautiful, like a compact Austria. But it's waiting in line with Greece, Turkey, and central England. Not to speak of our trip to rural France next May.

One thing: we looked into renting a car for both Istria and Slovenia. The cross-border drop-off charge was prohibitive. You can train to Rijeka or Pula and pick up a car there. Or bus to Porec to get your car.