Trip Report_Croatia & Rome
Sep 18th, 2004, 04:25 PM
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Trip Report_Croatia & Rome
Bok!
Back from our first trip to Croatia. I will do my best to be informative, insightful and to the point. It's the latter I have a problem with, but here goes.
We flew (love those FF miles) via Air France and Czech Air to Zagreb. Better food than the usual fare and the stewards were extremely professional and service oriented on both airlilnes. It was a really good flight except for the guy in front of me who insisted on reclining his seat during the ENTIRE flight, I mean meals, everything. This subject has been beaten to death here but I just need to say that I really detest the "reclining seat in my knees for 8 hours straight phenomenon". Oh well, nothing a little Ambien won't fix-so I slipped him one. (just kidding)
I must say this flight was greatly improved by the use of a homeopathic remedy called Renelix which we put in our water. We were amazed at the difference in how we felt (I'm sure I'm gonna hear some crap about this--but trust me it helped us stay better hydrated or something-we felt GOOD when we landed).
Layover in Paris was even nice. Arrived just in time for some Café au Lait, croissants and second hand smoke. Yummy!
Arrived in Zagreb-decided to go ahead and pick up our tickets for the rest of our flights throughout Croatia and get some cash and as a result we messed around and missed the bus into the City. The buses are timed to the arrival and departure of flights---there was another one in 45 minutes but we were ready to get somewhere so 200 kuna flew out of my pocket and into the taxi drivers hand and he delivered us to the Regent Esplanade.
He gave us a stunning audio tour along the way pointing out all of the sights and making recommendations. His German was better than his English, which we found to be true among the over-55 crowd. Almost everyone under 50 speaks flawless English.
At the hotel we went downstairs and ate some Strukli right away. The stuff is the ultimate comfort food and it was fabu. Off to bed with a belly full of cheese and potatoes--slept like babies and then up with the sun.
8am walked up to the Trg Bana Jelacica where there were all sorts of goings-on. Got a front row seat in a lovely café overlooking the square and had a great cappucino and pastry, similar to a Krapfen filled with marmalade and it was just from the oven. Heavenly. By the way we found the Croatian coffee to be a bit gnarly but they have mastered the use of an Espresso machine so all was well.
From about 8-10am there is a group of ladies who show up at this one area of the square with clothes and other merchandise just draped on their bodies and people browse through them, bargaining for and sometimes purchasing items such as sweat pants or purses. It was like a flea market without the stands-just crazy. They abruptly leave at 10am---is it a law we wonder or do they just need to get home and start lunch?
There's so much going on in the square. We stayed entertained for some time. A furniture company had some "rooms" set up on one end in these big booths, blasting 70's disco music and drawing quite a crowd. I think there was a radio station broadcasting live and on the other end was a Native American band playing & selling cd's. They were good, head dresses and all. Kind of a "Deep Forest" sort of sound. It was a crazy scene. Lots of locomotion but not hectic. We loved it.
On up through the markets where you could buy all manner of produce and then souvenirs, hand crafts etc. We met a rather opinionated man selling teas. When he found out we were Americans he made sure to let us know how mad he still is at Bill Clinton and went on a short tirade about how Americans always think that if they just show up somewhere and dump some money on a problem then they can fix everything when really all it does is gives people money for weapons so they can continue to kill each other, blah blah blah. I only wanted tea. I finally asked him if I had to pay extra for the lecture or if it was free with purchase. He gave me a little chuckle and lightened up a bit but I had to agree with him on certain points.
The next person to cross our paths was a little beggar lady on the steps of the Church of St Mary. The church was ok--it's the one that miraculously survived a fire. But in this woman's eyes you could see all the misery this world can serve up to someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. Talk about surviving a fire...Something about her and the tea man helped to get this trip in perspective as we started to see the challenges the last 20 years has brought this country. The people are real. They are kind. And they've been through a lot.
We found the Kapitol area to be quite dull so we didn't linger and it was such a nice day we weren't in much mood for indoor past times like museums which Zagreb has in spades. We ate lunch in a place called Vinodol-has a great inside garden. Had some mushroom soup in a bread bowl and the ubiquitous dalmatian ham and cheese (If you've had Manchego and Jamon in Spain, you can skip the Croatian version IMO.) along with what would be the first of many bottles of Dingac, a great Croatian red wine.
More walking about, checking out the fashions, the stores, the people, etc. The city full of grafitti--(what city isn't) but it is very clean. Cleaner than most. You'll hear me say this alot about Croatia. No panhandlers. My antennae were in the "alert but not alarmed" position the entire time. Feels very safe. A lot of girls have almost shaved heads (hair about 1/4" long) We referred to it as the Joan of Arc cut. Cute.
Fantastic dinner at the Balthazar restaurant (was recommended by someone on this forum_Thanks!) The waiter was very excited because he never met anyone from Texas. We gave him our best Yee-Haw and he gave us some incredible service. Made an awesome wine recommendation-Gran Teran from Istria. Just super as was the food and dessert. We had a feast for about $80USD and got introduced to Prosek--a fabulous sweet wine served over ice as an apertif. Wonderful. So far so good in the food department.
We had one full day and one full night in Zagreb and we thought it was just the perfect amount of time. It could be done quicker but not at a leisurely pace and you certainly wouldn't have time to chat with the tea man.
Early morning flight to Dubrovnik. Arrived at 9:30 am and had Miro (recommended here) meet us (actually it was his son Dario). Yes there are cheaper ways to get into town (a taxi is about 50 bucks) but tick tock, time's a-wastin'.
He took us to the apartment we had rented which turned out to be a little too rustic for us. It was nice enough as was the landlord and very clean but the main problem was the lack of suitable air conditioning. We have stayed in some dives before and we're not above a little bit of roughing it but a little of that goes a long way when you're on vacation.
The bedroom was so unbearably hot and stuffy. The window was about 15" square and the walls of the room were about 18" thick so there was no air moving about at all. No way to get a cross breeze. There was a tiny wall unit spitting out little trickles of cold air in the "living room" but it couldn't move past the immediate area which coincidentally was just over a small hideabed. So about halfway through the night we relocated to that room. It was a little cooler in there but dang, is there any other hell like the hideabed hell?
We felt stupid about not having asked more questions about the apartment, specifically about the AC. We didn't want to stay there but didn't want to throw the money away--ee felt obligated to pay the landlady for the full week if we decided to leave so this was going to be a $500 error. We checked at the Excelsior and it was full-checked at the Villa Argentina and they had a room "across the street" which turned out to be a great room with a balcony on the third floor facing the water and we grabbed it. 203 Euro per night, breakfast included. Ouch. A lot more than our apartment but we felt like queens when we cranked up the AC and called down for room service!
We went back and turned the keys in to the landlady, paid her for the week and went on our merry way. Made a vow not to mention the lost cash for the rest of trip. Learned our lesson and moved on.
Villa Argentina was a great hotel with a good breakfast spread served on a terrace overlooking Dubrovnik as it?s kissed by the morning sun. Just a beautiful way to start the day. I had my birthday while staying there and they left some flowers and a bottle of wine in the room that day which I thought was a nice touch. (They must have noticed the birthday from my passport when they collected it?) We had some laundry done the last day there and we couldn?t get over how clean it was, how great their fabric softener smelled, how cheap it was and how fast it was. Sometimes it?s the small things, no?
Tomorrow I will gather my thoughts about Dubrovnik and the rest of the trip. Time to go work on the pictures.
Back from our first trip to Croatia. I will do my best to be informative, insightful and to the point. It's the latter I have a problem with, but here goes.
We flew (love those FF miles) via Air France and Czech Air to Zagreb. Better food than the usual fare and the stewards were extremely professional and service oriented on both airlilnes. It was a really good flight except for the guy in front of me who insisted on reclining his seat during the ENTIRE flight, I mean meals, everything. This subject has been beaten to death here but I just need to say that I really detest the "reclining seat in my knees for 8 hours straight phenomenon". Oh well, nothing a little Ambien won't fix-so I slipped him one. (just kidding)
I must say this flight was greatly improved by the use of a homeopathic remedy called Renelix which we put in our water. We were amazed at the difference in how we felt (I'm sure I'm gonna hear some crap about this--but trust me it helped us stay better hydrated or something-we felt GOOD when we landed).
Layover in Paris was even nice. Arrived just in time for some Café au Lait, croissants and second hand smoke. Yummy!
Arrived in Zagreb-decided to go ahead and pick up our tickets for the rest of our flights throughout Croatia and get some cash and as a result we messed around and missed the bus into the City. The buses are timed to the arrival and departure of flights---there was another one in 45 minutes but we were ready to get somewhere so 200 kuna flew out of my pocket and into the taxi drivers hand and he delivered us to the Regent Esplanade.
He gave us a stunning audio tour along the way pointing out all of the sights and making recommendations. His German was better than his English, which we found to be true among the over-55 crowd. Almost everyone under 50 speaks flawless English.
At the hotel we went downstairs and ate some Strukli right away. The stuff is the ultimate comfort food and it was fabu. Off to bed with a belly full of cheese and potatoes--slept like babies and then up with the sun.
8am walked up to the Trg Bana Jelacica where there were all sorts of goings-on. Got a front row seat in a lovely café overlooking the square and had a great cappucino and pastry, similar to a Krapfen filled with marmalade and it was just from the oven. Heavenly. By the way we found the Croatian coffee to be a bit gnarly but they have mastered the use of an Espresso machine so all was well.
From about 8-10am there is a group of ladies who show up at this one area of the square with clothes and other merchandise just draped on their bodies and people browse through them, bargaining for and sometimes purchasing items such as sweat pants or purses. It was like a flea market without the stands-just crazy. They abruptly leave at 10am---is it a law we wonder or do they just need to get home and start lunch?
There's so much going on in the square. We stayed entertained for some time. A furniture company had some "rooms" set up on one end in these big booths, blasting 70's disco music and drawing quite a crowd. I think there was a radio station broadcasting live and on the other end was a Native American band playing & selling cd's. They were good, head dresses and all. Kind of a "Deep Forest" sort of sound. It was a crazy scene. Lots of locomotion but not hectic. We loved it.
On up through the markets where you could buy all manner of produce and then souvenirs, hand crafts etc. We met a rather opinionated man selling teas. When he found out we were Americans he made sure to let us know how mad he still is at Bill Clinton and went on a short tirade about how Americans always think that if they just show up somewhere and dump some money on a problem then they can fix everything when really all it does is gives people money for weapons so they can continue to kill each other, blah blah blah. I only wanted tea. I finally asked him if I had to pay extra for the lecture or if it was free with purchase. He gave me a little chuckle and lightened up a bit but I had to agree with him on certain points.
The next person to cross our paths was a little beggar lady on the steps of the Church of St Mary. The church was ok--it's the one that miraculously survived a fire. But in this woman's eyes you could see all the misery this world can serve up to someone in the wrong place at the wrong time. Talk about surviving a fire...Something about her and the tea man helped to get this trip in perspective as we started to see the challenges the last 20 years has brought this country. The people are real. They are kind. And they've been through a lot.
We found the Kapitol area to be quite dull so we didn't linger and it was such a nice day we weren't in much mood for indoor past times like museums which Zagreb has in spades. We ate lunch in a place called Vinodol-has a great inside garden. Had some mushroom soup in a bread bowl and the ubiquitous dalmatian ham and cheese (If you've had Manchego and Jamon in Spain, you can skip the Croatian version IMO.) along with what would be the first of many bottles of Dingac, a great Croatian red wine.
More walking about, checking out the fashions, the stores, the people, etc. The city full of grafitti--(what city isn't) but it is very clean. Cleaner than most. You'll hear me say this alot about Croatia. No panhandlers. My antennae were in the "alert but not alarmed" position the entire time. Feels very safe. A lot of girls have almost shaved heads (hair about 1/4" long) We referred to it as the Joan of Arc cut. Cute.
Fantastic dinner at the Balthazar restaurant (was recommended by someone on this forum_Thanks!) The waiter was very excited because he never met anyone from Texas. We gave him our best Yee-Haw and he gave us some incredible service. Made an awesome wine recommendation-Gran Teran from Istria. Just super as was the food and dessert. We had a feast for about $80USD and got introduced to Prosek--a fabulous sweet wine served over ice as an apertif. Wonderful. So far so good in the food department.
We had one full day and one full night in Zagreb and we thought it was just the perfect amount of time. It could be done quicker but not at a leisurely pace and you certainly wouldn't have time to chat with the tea man.
Early morning flight to Dubrovnik. Arrived at 9:30 am and had Miro (recommended here) meet us (actually it was his son Dario). Yes there are cheaper ways to get into town (a taxi is about 50 bucks) but tick tock, time's a-wastin'.
He took us to the apartment we had rented which turned out to be a little too rustic for us. It was nice enough as was the landlord and very clean but the main problem was the lack of suitable air conditioning. We have stayed in some dives before and we're not above a little bit of roughing it but a little of that goes a long way when you're on vacation.
The bedroom was so unbearably hot and stuffy. The window was about 15" square and the walls of the room were about 18" thick so there was no air moving about at all. No way to get a cross breeze. There was a tiny wall unit spitting out little trickles of cold air in the "living room" but it couldn't move past the immediate area which coincidentally was just over a small hideabed. So about halfway through the night we relocated to that room. It was a little cooler in there but dang, is there any other hell like the hideabed hell?
We felt stupid about not having asked more questions about the apartment, specifically about the AC. We didn't want to stay there but didn't want to throw the money away--ee felt obligated to pay the landlady for the full week if we decided to leave so this was going to be a $500 error. We checked at the Excelsior and it was full-checked at the Villa Argentina and they had a room "across the street" which turned out to be a great room with a balcony on the third floor facing the water and we grabbed it. 203 Euro per night, breakfast included. Ouch. A lot more than our apartment but we felt like queens when we cranked up the AC and called down for room service!
We went back and turned the keys in to the landlady, paid her for the week and went on our merry way. Made a vow not to mention the lost cash for the rest of trip. Learned our lesson and moved on.
Villa Argentina was a great hotel with a good breakfast spread served on a terrace overlooking Dubrovnik as it?s kissed by the morning sun. Just a beautiful way to start the day. I had my birthday while staying there and they left some flowers and a bottle of wine in the room that day which I thought was a nice touch. (They must have noticed the birthday from my passport when they collected it?) We had some laundry done the last day there and we couldn?t get over how clean it was, how great their fabric softener smelled, how cheap it was and how fast it was. Sometimes it?s the small things, no?
Tomorrow I will gather my thoughts about Dubrovnik and the rest of the trip. Time to go work on the pictures.
Sep 18th, 2004, 05:01 PM
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Did you buy your airline ticket for the rest of croatia, after you arrived? We are thinking of landing in Zagreb and buying tickets from Dub to Zagreb, for the end of the trip. Keep posting, very interested as we are going in April/May.
Sep 18th, 2004, 05:06 PM
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Pat
We bought tickets for the rest of our flights before we left home from Atlas Travel
http://www.atlas-croatia.com/
Got confirmation numbers before we left home and then picked up the actual tickets upon arrival at the Croatia Airlines Desk.
Super easy.
We bought tickets for the rest of our flights before we left home from Atlas Travel
http://www.atlas-croatia.com/
Got confirmation numbers before we left home and then picked up the actual tickets upon arrival at the Croatia Airlines Desk.
Super easy.
Sep 18th, 2004, 05:10 PM
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Offwego, Looking forward to the rest of your report. I too stayed in the Villa across the street from the Argentina. I loved my balcony and its amazing views of the old city. And the breakfast on that terrace.. Ah, I so want to go back. Did you swim in the sea?
Looking forward to the rest of your report!
Looking forward to the rest of your report!
Sep 19th, 2004, 03:16 AM
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Part Dva
Dubrovnik
In Dubrovnik we had alternating days of sight-seeing and lazing around on the beach, with lots of food and wine mixed in.
The first day when just roamed the city at a leisurely pace. We entered via the Ploce Gate and when you make that first turn and arrive on the Stradum , well it's just breathtaking. So old. So perfectly restored. I cursed God for only giving me these two eyes. I could not take enough in with them. There was just too much to behold. I must have stood there with my jaw agape for several minutes before I could even move my feet.
First impressions were "it's so clean" and then "wow there's a lot of tourists here". It was sort of Disneyland-ish in it's presentation (perhaps it's the restoration--you know it's old but it looks new.) For sure, you couldn't deny how beautiful it is. Michelangelo said you could define a civilization by the way their stones are cut. I tried to make sense of that as I looked at what much be the world's supply of oblong beige blocks. So many of them. Just think how painstaking it was to put that city back together, block by block. A true testament to their love of the city that they didn't just leave it and charge admission to see the ruins, like Pompeii. What a tragedy. Boggles the mind to think of what it took to put that place back together.
We stumbled upon a free midday concert at the St Ignatius Church cuz that's what we do, just stumble on stuff. It was Mozart performed by a Chamber Orchestra from Munich and was wonderful. The acoustics in the church were perfect.
Someone on this forum recommended the War Exhibit which we saw. It was a stirring group of photos of the Iraqi War. The kind the media machine doesn't much show us at home. It was a bit of a downer on my Dubrovnik Disneyland vacation but I was glad I saw it. Really made you proud to be part of the American War Machine. OK OK I'll get down now.
Beaches:
Exiting the Ploce Gate you walk down Frana Supila about 5 minutes and just past the Post Office on the right you see a set of stairs going down. This leads to the East-West Beach Bar. There are two options for beaching here. You can pay the nice man 50k per person for a super comfy beach chair with cushions and umbrella and lay there in the classic European sunbathing rows with another nice man bringing you all manner of cool refreshing beverages. They also have those Sun Beds which are kinda funny. Or you can hang out outside the roped off area for free in the "public zone" with only your towel to protect you from the rocky beach and fetch your own drinks. Either way you get to enjoy the same incredible water. The water is CLEAN as is the beach which I find incredible since there was quite a crowd there each day. Something about swimming in that water and then glancing over and seeing the walled city before you with the sun shining just so. I'm running out of words to describe it. Magical. We spent two full days on this beach and it was very relaxing. Hot sun. Cool water. Did I mention the beverages? They also serve food there but midday, we left our towels and books on our chairs (to save our primo location) and went on into town to enjoy lunch.
If you walk past this beach and continue on down Frana Supila, the road will split at the Villa Argentina-you veer to the right and go down the road (Vlaha Bukovca) and travel it all the way to it's ultimate end at a church. This is about a 20-30 minute walk from town. Just past the church is an unmarked set of steps going down to more of a locals beach where you can also rent chairs and umbrellas and there's a walk up bar serving all manner of beverages and ice cream. These stairs down are quite a bit longer than the set in town and then there's the hike to get to it, so if you're feeling guilty about your gelato intake, this is the beach for you. The proprietor of the small beach bar is a very nice man who I heard speak just about every european language. He told a story of his great-grandfather who sold some beachfront property for 100kg of SALT. The same land had just been sold last year for One Million Euro. Imagine that, says he, with just a trace of bitterness.
Water shoes are a must although we were the only ones I ever saw wearing them and I just couldn't figure it out. The beaches are rocky and everyone we saw was suffering to no end navigating across it. Not to mention the water being full of sea urchins. I don't get it. Especially on vacation, your feet are your most valuable asset. Bruised feet and scraped heels are just not on my agenda so we decided to be dorks and wear them. I didn't see anywhere selling them in Dubrovnik, so bring them along. We were glad we did.
One day we couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to walk over to Lapad in search of even better beaches. First of all, if you go over there, take the bus (which we snapped to coming back). Secondly, the beaches right there in Dubrovnik are better and more convenient. No reason to wander.
Food:
Basically in the touristed areas of Croatia, there are about 20 things on every menu and they are the same in every restaurant. The thing is to figure out who can prepare those 20 things the best. Our noon meal consisted of pizza/calamari and wine and the evening meal was mussels followed by grilled fish with vegetables and more wine. And Prosek. And some more wine. the food got better the more you drank.
The biggest variable was the way the mussels were prepared and the freshness of the fish. Otherwise you can really eat anywhere. There's no imagination in the menus but the food was better than I expected.
We had heard on this forum that Proto was the best and I would disagree. The fish we had there was the worst of the trip and it was overpriced. Maybe it was a fluke, but why spend the money when you can have the same thing everywhere? Our favorite place was the Konoba Penatur. Best sea bream in town hands down. Fresh and well prepared. Nice wine selection. We drank lots of Postup there and the goat cheese they serve with the bread is unforgetable.
We didn't care for the beer in Croatia; finally took to drinking it German style with some sprite in it. But the wine was far better than I was expecting. Even the house wine (red) was good.
A favorite past time was feeding fish eyes to the odd hungry cat that always seemed to find us wherever we ate. They are very polite and just sort of hang out nearby, looking cute and hoping for a little something.
There's a great market every morning where you can buy excellent produce and cheese.
Ate at Ragusa 2 also on recommendation from this board and it was OK. More entertaining than the food was the woman who was "hawking customers" as they strolled by, undecided about where to eat. She would size them up and within a blink of the eye start speaking German, Italian, English, whatever. We were laughing with her about how good she was at pegging where they were from. I mean she really had a gift. It makes you realize just how sterotypical we call are to the locals.
Our call for best pizza was the Polizar which is a café down at the old port. The crust defines the pizza and this one was thin, crisp and dusty. Tried others but this was our winner. Drinks at the Buza Bar is fun. Awesome view, interesting music mix.
Loved the Franciscan Monestary and the weird human faces and horse heads on the columns, which I thought was unusual. Why would there be these pagan symbols in a Christian Church? I gotta look that up somewhere.
Saw a Folkloric show one evening. We don't usually go for this sort of thing but thought it was quite good. The venue was awesome, open to the sea with that wonderful breeze blowing in. The costumes were incredible, the dancing was interesting but the music was a bit obnoxious after a while. To my ear it sounded like a mix of Greek folk music (which is nice) and Hungarian (which isn't). There are like 2 notes. All in all though it was time well spent. The best part was seeing the young people obviously having a great time participating in keeping their culture alive.
There are no bugs in Dubrovnik which was nice. There is also a shortage of sea birds which I found odd. There are lots of dogs but no dog turds. Most of the dogs are small, white and fluffy. There must be 2 cats for every person. All skinny, sweet and friendly.
Took an excursion to the Elaphite Islands; Kolucep, Sipan and Lopud. Left at 10:30 and returned at 6pm. Nice lunch on board with drinks. Nice mix of people on board. We chatted with Hungarians, New Zealanders and a French couple. Very relaxing although there's not much to do on any of the islands. You're not there long enough to really get in a good swim, except on Lopud where the water isn't very inviting on the harbor side of the island. There is a beautiful beach about a 20 minute hike to the other side of the island. When you land on the pier, go left up the harbor and look for a sign pointing off to the right for the path to the beach. They are there long enough for you to hike over, swim for about an hour and hike back. Bought the best figs we've ever had in our lives from a nice man with no teeth on Sipan.
We of course walked the wall and spent half a day doing it. The audio Guide was worth it but so would a good map/book. I was fascinated by the number of people who thought it prudent to schlep strollers up and down that thing---all those stairs. Good grief. Anyway the wall is an absolute must. A wonderful vantage point to all things in the city and the views out over the water are stunning. Also a good workout. There are a couple of places along the way to sit and have a beverage.
Our last night in Dubrovnik the Bura (wind) came howling rattling our shutters all night and wow was it ever cold when we boarded the ferry at 7 am the next day. It was our cue to get the hell out of Dodge. I bet it's bitter cold when that thing blows in the winter.
We spent 6 days in Dubrovnik and had a good time every day, although if we hadn't been laying on the beach we could have cut about 3 days out of it. If I were to come here in the off season when it's too cold to swim I would have gotten bored in 6 days. But that's just me.
I loved Dubrovnik. Not sure how you couldn't unless you don't like pizza or fish or are confined to a wheelchair. The ADA definitely has not made it to Croatia.
I loved the shortage of Americans. We heard tons of Australians and Brits but only ran across one table of Americans the entire time and enjoyed so much their conversation about how rich they are. If there were more Americans there, they had their mouths shut (for a change) and there was something so relaxing about knowing you won't maybe run into your next door neighbor while you're halfway around the world. I loved the little carts the delivery men drove. I loved the vacuum cleaners they used to clean the streets. I loved the stair climbing though it wore me out. How do they do it all day? Every time I started to complain about it, some 90 year old woman would whiz by and put me to shame. I loved the kitties. I loved those swallows that come each evening at dusk and buzz through the streets as if they are in some canyon, going from one end to the other making that weird noise.
******
Tomorrow the story of the refugee ferry from Dubrovnik to StariGrad and our time in Hvar.
Dubrovnik
In Dubrovnik we had alternating days of sight-seeing and lazing around on the beach, with lots of food and wine mixed in.
The first day when just roamed the city at a leisurely pace. We entered via the Ploce Gate and when you make that first turn and arrive on the Stradum , well it's just breathtaking. So old. So perfectly restored. I cursed God for only giving me these two eyes. I could not take enough in with them. There was just too much to behold. I must have stood there with my jaw agape for several minutes before I could even move my feet.
First impressions were "it's so clean" and then "wow there's a lot of tourists here". It was sort of Disneyland-ish in it's presentation (perhaps it's the restoration--you know it's old but it looks new.) For sure, you couldn't deny how beautiful it is. Michelangelo said you could define a civilization by the way their stones are cut. I tried to make sense of that as I looked at what much be the world's supply of oblong beige blocks. So many of them. Just think how painstaking it was to put that city back together, block by block. A true testament to their love of the city that they didn't just leave it and charge admission to see the ruins, like Pompeii. What a tragedy. Boggles the mind to think of what it took to put that place back together.
We stumbled upon a free midday concert at the St Ignatius Church cuz that's what we do, just stumble on stuff. It was Mozart performed by a Chamber Orchestra from Munich and was wonderful. The acoustics in the church were perfect.
Someone on this forum recommended the War Exhibit which we saw. It was a stirring group of photos of the Iraqi War. The kind the media machine doesn't much show us at home. It was a bit of a downer on my Dubrovnik Disneyland vacation but I was glad I saw it. Really made you proud to be part of the American War Machine. OK OK I'll get down now.
Beaches:
Exiting the Ploce Gate you walk down Frana Supila about 5 minutes and just past the Post Office on the right you see a set of stairs going down. This leads to the East-West Beach Bar. There are two options for beaching here. You can pay the nice man 50k per person for a super comfy beach chair with cushions and umbrella and lay there in the classic European sunbathing rows with another nice man bringing you all manner of cool refreshing beverages. They also have those Sun Beds which are kinda funny. Or you can hang out outside the roped off area for free in the "public zone" with only your towel to protect you from the rocky beach and fetch your own drinks. Either way you get to enjoy the same incredible water. The water is CLEAN as is the beach which I find incredible since there was quite a crowd there each day. Something about swimming in that water and then glancing over and seeing the walled city before you with the sun shining just so. I'm running out of words to describe it. Magical. We spent two full days on this beach and it was very relaxing. Hot sun. Cool water. Did I mention the beverages? They also serve food there but midday, we left our towels and books on our chairs (to save our primo location) and went on into town to enjoy lunch.
If you walk past this beach and continue on down Frana Supila, the road will split at the Villa Argentina-you veer to the right and go down the road (Vlaha Bukovca) and travel it all the way to it's ultimate end at a church. This is about a 20-30 minute walk from town. Just past the church is an unmarked set of steps going down to more of a locals beach where you can also rent chairs and umbrellas and there's a walk up bar serving all manner of beverages and ice cream. These stairs down are quite a bit longer than the set in town and then there's the hike to get to it, so if you're feeling guilty about your gelato intake, this is the beach for you. The proprietor of the small beach bar is a very nice man who I heard speak just about every european language. He told a story of his great-grandfather who sold some beachfront property for 100kg of SALT. The same land had just been sold last year for One Million Euro. Imagine that, says he, with just a trace of bitterness.
Water shoes are a must although we were the only ones I ever saw wearing them and I just couldn't figure it out. The beaches are rocky and everyone we saw was suffering to no end navigating across it. Not to mention the water being full of sea urchins. I don't get it. Especially on vacation, your feet are your most valuable asset. Bruised feet and scraped heels are just not on my agenda so we decided to be dorks and wear them. I didn't see anywhere selling them in Dubrovnik, so bring them along. We were glad we did.
One day we couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to walk over to Lapad in search of even better beaches. First of all, if you go over there, take the bus (which we snapped to coming back). Secondly, the beaches right there in Dubrovnik are better and more convenient. No reason to wander.
Food:
Basically in the touristed areas of Croatia, there are about 20 things on every menu and they are the same in every restaurant. The thing is to figure out who can prepare those 20 things the best. Our noon meal consisted of pizza/calamari and wine and the evening meal was mussels followed by grilled fish with vegetables and more wine. And Prosek. And some more wine. the food got better the more you drank.
The biggest variable was the way the mussels were prepared and the freshness of the fish. Otherwise you can really eat anywhere. There's no imagination in the menus but the food was better than I expected.
We had heard on this forum that Proto was the best and I would disagree. The fish we had there was the worst of the trip and it was overpriced. Maybe it was a fluke, but why spend the money when you can have the same thing everywhere? Our favorite place was the Konoba Penatur. Best sea bream in town hands down. Fresh and well prepared. Nice wine selection. We drank lots of Postup there and the goat cheese they serve with the bread is unforgetable.
We didn't care for the beer in Croatia; finally took to drinking it German style with some sprite in it. But the wine was far better than I was expecting. Even the house wine (red) was good.
A favorite past time was feeding fish eyes to the odd hungry cat that always seemed to find us wherever we ate. They are very polite and just sort of hang out nearby, looking cute and hoping for a little something.
There's a great market every morning where you can buy excellent produce and cheese.
Ate at Ragusa 2 also on recommendation from this board and it was OK. More entertaining than the food was the woman who was "hawking customers" as they strolled by, undecided about where to eat. She would size them up and within a blink of the eye start speaking German, Italian, English, whatever. We were laughing with her about how good she was at pegging where they were from. I mean she really had a gift. It makes you realize just how sterotypical we call are to the locals.
Our call for best pizza was the Polizar which is a café down at the old port. The crust defines the pizza and this one was thin, crisp and dusty. Tried others but this was our winner. Drinks at the Buza Bar is fun. Awesome view, interesting music mix.
Loved the Franciscan Monestary and the weird human faces and horse heads on the columns, which I thought was unusual. Why would there be these pagan symbols in a Christian Church? I gotta look that up somewhere.
Saw a Folkloric show one evening. We don't usually go for this sort of thing but thought it was quite good. The venue was awesome, open to the sea with that wonderful breeze blowing in. The costumes were incredible, the dancing was interesting but the music was a bit obnoxious after a while. To my ear it sounded like a mix of Greek folk music (which is nice) and Hungarian (which isn't). There are like 2 notes. All in all though it was time well spent. The best part was seeing the young people obviously having a great time participating in keeping their culture alive.
There are no bugs in Dubrovnik which was nice. There is also a shortage of sea birds which I found odd. There are lots of dogs but no dog turds. Most of the dogs are small, white and fluffy. There must be 2 cats for every person. All skinny, sweet and friendly.
Took an excursion to the Elaphite Islands; Kolucep, Sipan and Lopud. Left at 10:30 and returned at 6pm. Nice lunch on board with drinks. Nice mix of people on board. We chatted with Hungarians, New Zealanders and a French couple. Very relaxing although there's not much to do on any of the islands. You're not there long enough to really get in a good swim, except on Lopud where the water isn't very inviting on the harbor side of the island. There is a beautiful beach about a 20 minute hike to the other side of the island. When you land on the pier, go left up the harbor and look for a sign pointing off to the right for the path to the beach. They are there long enough for you to hike over, swim for about an hour and hike back. Bought the best figs we've ever had in our lives from a nice man with no teeth on Sipan.
We of course walked the wall and spent half a day doing it. The audio Guide was worth it but so would a good map/book. I was fascinated by the number of people who thought it prudent to schlep strollers up and down that thing---all those stairs. Good grief. Anyway the wall is an absolute must. A wonderful vantage point to all things in the city and the views out over the water are stunning. Also a good workout. There are a couple of places along the way to sit and have a beverage.
Our last night in Dubrovnik the Bura (wind) came howling rattling our shutters all night and wow was it ever cold when we boarded the ferry at 7 am the next day. It was our cue to get the hell out of Dodge. I bet it's bitter cold when that thing blows in the winter.
We spent 6 days in Dubrovnik and had a good time every day, although if we hadn't been laying on the beach we could have cut about 3 days out of it. If I were to come here in the off season when it's too cold to swim I would have gotten bored in 6 days. But that's just me.
I loved Dubrovnik. Not sure how you couldn't unless you don't like pizza or fish or are confined to a wheelchair. The ADA definitely has not made it to Croatia.
I loved the shortage of Americans. We heard tons of Australians and Brits but only ran across one table of Americans the entire time and enjoyed so much their conversation about how rich they are. If there were more Americans there, they had their mouths shut (for a change) and there was something so relaxing about knowing you won't maybe run into your next door neighbor while you're halfway around the world. I loved the little carts the delivery men drove. I loved the vacuum cleaners they used to clean the streets. I loved the stair climbing though it wore me out. How do they do it all day? Every time I started to complain about it, some 90 year old woman would whiz by and put me to shame. I loved the kitties. I loved those swallows that come each evening at dusk and buzz through the streets as if they are in some canyon, going from one end to the other making that weird noise.
******
Tomorrow the story of the refugee ferry from Dubrovnik to StariGrad and our time in Hvar.
Sep 19th, 2004, 09:44 AM
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I have posted the first set of photos. They are of Dubrovnik and the surrounding islands of Kolucep, Sipan and Lopud.
I have not posted photos before. I hope this works.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/s...;sm=1&sl=1
I have not posted photos before. I hope this works.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/s...;sm=1&sl=1
Sep 19th, 2004, 09:52 AM
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Fabulous photos! Dubrovnik is such a beautiful town.
You mentioned that 6 days would have been too many had you not spent two on the beach. For anyone planning their time in Dubrovnik, there are some wonderful excursions with Atlas that could make 6 days far too little. I went to Serbia/Montenegro and the Peljesec (sp?) Peninsula and both were wonderful experiences. I wish I had taken the trip to Mostar.
You mentioned that 6 days would have been too many had you not spent two on the beach. For anyone planning their time in Dubrovnik, there are some wonderful excursions with Atlas that could make 6 days far too little. I went to Serbia/Montenegro and the Peljesec (sp?) Peninsula and both were wonderful experiences. I wish I had taken the trip to Mostar.
Sep 19th, 2004, 01:42 PM
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I enjoyed your report and loved your photos. Magical is the perfect descriptive word for Dubrovnik.
A week was just about right for us. We spent a day in Cavtat, a lovely little resort town and went on our infamous trip to Serbia-Montenegro with MIro.
I'm glad you contacted Miro; I hope these Croatia threads will send business his way as he is such a kind soul. I'm sure his son is just as nice.
I'm sorry you were disappointed with Proto. We ate there three times and had great meals each time. We thought Ragusa 2 was just okay as well. We didn't have any bad meals in Croatia. And the Dingac.....mmmmmm!
We also noticed the lack of dog and pigeon doodoo. What well trained animals! We loved the sweet kitties.
Thanks for posting.
A week was just about right for us. We spent a day in Cavtat, a lovely little resort town and went on our infamous trip to Serbia-Montenegro with MIro.
I'm glad you contacted Miro; I hope these Croatia threads will send business his way as he is such a kind soul. I'm sure his son is just as nice.
I'm sorry you were disappointed with Proto. We ate there three times and had great meals each time. We thought Ragusa 2 was just okay as well. We didn't have any bad meals in Croatia. And the Dingac.....mmmmmm!
We also noticed the lack of dog and pigeon doodoo. What well trained animals! We loved the sweet kitties.
Thanks for posting.
Sep 20th, 2004, 10:38 AM
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Part Three
Hvar
The Bura came and blew us out of Dubrovnik. We arrived at the ferry station way too early since the lady at Atlas told us to be there at 6am. We spent the time drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes in at a little café next door until the ship came in. All the passengers disembarked but we couldn?t figure out where we were supposed to go to queue up for boarding. By the way those sobe ladies in Dubrovnik are fierce! We asked three different people in the terminal and were told three different things about where/how to get on the boat. Finally we just went outside and stood where the cars were lined up and at 7:20 they started letting the cars on. Several other people who were also lost came over to us and we all decided this auto queue was the only way on so we collectively proceeded. We guessed right-queue with the cars! Up a pretty steep set of stairs to the ship, many people struggling with luggage, baby strollers, etc. No one there to help with luggage. We helped many elderly persons with their suitcases and were once again thankful we are such light packers.
It was certainly cheap (92k per person) and once I got on board I knew why. There were no seats available; we had to stand and or sit on the wooden deck if you wanted fresh air or sit in the café if you wanted heated second hand smoke filled air. We moved back and forth between the two. I went downstairs to see if we could upgrade our tickets to a cabin so we would have somewhere to park it for 8 hours and after I saw the cabins I decided that would be even worse. They are like little crypts. Had we to do it over again, we would have flown and saved the day. The scenery was lovely but the last 6 hours is a repeat of the first 2. I wasn?t expecting the ferry to be a luxury liner but I wasn?t expecting a refugee barge either. That?s what it felt like. They do serve food on board but after trying it, I was glad we had brought along some fruit from the market.
We arrived in StariGrad right on time and decided to opt for the super expensive taxi into Hvar rather than get on the bus with the other refugees. The taxi driver was very nice and we used him again later in the stay. He let us know we had come just in time as 15,000 Italians had just vacated the island. We heard about the noisy Italians more than once while we were there from exhausted wait staff and bartenders. We stayed at the Villa Adriatic because every other hotel in town was booked for the weekend. Couldn?t figure it out until we saw the huge stage being set up in the main square. Apparently Miss Universe was in town and there was a concert being put on. That night we were serenaded into the wee hours with the loudest music I?ve ever heard. I have always been a big fan on Italian pop so Euro Trash pop music does not bother me and it?s a good thing since we heard it all night long.
The Villa Adriatic windows open up to one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It really was dramatic and more than made up for the ?ok? room. Breakfast at this hotel was also ?ok? with a nice terrace outside in the front. But dang it was LOUD. The all-night revelers sounded like they were in the bed with us. Anyone who needs their sleep would be advised to stay further out of town.
The first night we dined at Juniors and had the mandatory mussels and grilled fish. This was the best I had so far and we returned there a couple of other times after also trying Bounty, Pape and Macondo. At Juniors they also had the most wonderful white wine I?ve ever had ?Zavala? a local wine with heavy herbal undertones and the most wonderful straw color. I am a red wine drinker and couldn?t believe how much we loved this wine.
First thing in the morning we made the hike up to the Spanish castle for a nice tour and spectacular views of Hvar and the islands beyond. It was a very clear day and beautiful up there. Something I appreciated about Croatia is that the admission prices to the sites are very inexpensive so you tend to go in and see just about everything. On the way back down, we strolled through the market and got more of those good figs which we enjoyed on our taxi ride to Jelsa where we rented some 1940?s model bikes and took the shady lane that hugs the coast over to Vrboska. Vrboska is a cute little town with a canal that runs through and little bridges crossing over. There is a 15th century church with an engraving on the floor which translates to ?You won?t be different my friend-me today, you tomorrow?, which was directed to the Turks who came here and slaughtered everyone. In Vrobska we had hoped to find a restaurant called Konoba Kod Komina and we asked 2 or 3 people but we got no info so we assumed either I had written it down wrong, a guide book is incorrect or we were just asking the wrong people. But as luck would have it we had the best pizza of the whole trip in Vrboska. Riding our bikes back to Jelsa, we stopped a couple of times for a quick swim and to dry on the rocks. The road is about 5 feet from the water. There was no one around. It was just so relaxing. In Jelsa there is a lovely town square with an ice cream place that made the most decadent ice cream treats I?ve ever had. After the long afternoon of biking and swimming, we indulged.
Next day we got a water taxi (20k per person RT) and went first to Stipanska which is an island just off Hvar where there is a great outdoor restaurant serving, guess what? Grilled fish! Access to the water on this island is off some pretty sharp rocks, not the smooth flat kind so since we had no cushions this was not a good ?lounging on the water? island for us. We instead noticed some footpaths so we followed one and hiked to the other side of the island where there were some wonderful secluded rocky beaches as well as some small and very rustic cabins which I assume are for rent. This island is a great choice for someone who really wants to have their own beach but be sure to bring supplies. We had a nice hike?the island is covered with Pine trees. Caught another water taxi (they come every 20 minutes or so) to Jerolim, which is a FKK beach (nudist). Here the rocks were much smoother, which is a good thing when you?re running around nekked I guess. They also had chairs all around and a very nice outdoor restaurant with ice cold beer and great calamari. We liked Jerolim. Once you got used to all the naked grandmothers it was ok. PS Why do only old fat people run around naked? Where are all the hard bodies? But I digress.
We had origjnally intended to stay in Hvar 2 nights and then in Trogir one night, but we liked Hvar so well we sacrificed the night in Trogir and stayed.
3 days in Hvar and we still never made it over to StariGrad which I regret but I think if we?re ever back in this part of the world again, we shall.
We took a one hour ferry from Hvar to Split that left at 06:30. There is a 24 hour bakery next door to the Jadrolinja office so we got jacked up on nicotine and caffeine and climbed on board. At 07:30 we had arrived in Split and walked down to the bus station to check our luggage so we could have a look at Diocletian?s Palace. I had read lots of things about this place and still could not visually reconstruct it in my head. It is worth seeing however and I like the way life is sort of going on within it. It?s a living thing.
By lunch time we were done with the Palace and didn?t much care for the rest of Split. Maybe after being in Dubrovnik and Hvar, the urban-ness of Split was just too much. So we hired yet another painfully expensive cab (yes I know we could have taken the bus, but tick tock) and went over to Trogir. Now the cab driver worked us a deal to take us from Split to Trogir, leave us there a few hours and then come take us from Trogir to the airport. We were scared of this because of the luggage thing but we turned our radar all the way up and got a good vibe from him so we risked it. Besides, we thought the worst that can happen is we get a free ride to Trogir, lose our luggage and have to buy new clothes in Rome! Darn!
We had a nice lunch in Trogir at Top Baloon and enjoyed strolling around Trogir for the remainder of the day. Trogir was a bonus. We thought we wouldn?t get to go there since we stayed in Hvar an extra day, but it?s proximity to the airport in Split made it easy.
Arrived at the airport in Split for our one hour flight to Rome. We got tickets from Europebyair (THANKS TO ALOHA ANN WHO SAVED OUR LIVES) and had to remember to get there a bit early and stand in one line to pay the airport tax and then another to check in. They seemed to be very picky about the baggage weight-were making people pay extra if their bags weighed over and once again we were happy about being light packers.
Tomorrow I will wrap this up with three days in Rome.
Hvar
The Bura came and blew us out of Dubrovnik. We arrived at the ferry station way too early since the lady at Atlas told us to be there at 6am. We spent the time drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes in at a little café next door until the ship came in. All the passengers disembarked but we couldn?t figure out where we were supposed to go to queue up for boarding. By the way those sobe ladies in Dubrovnik are fierce! We asked three different people in the terminal and were told three different things about where/how to get on the boat. Finally we just went outside and stood where the cars were lined up and at 7:20 they started letting the cars on. Several other people who were also lost came over to us and we all decided this auto queue was the only way on so we collectively proceeded. We guessed right-queue with the cars! Up a pretty steep set of stairs to the ship, many people struggling with luggage, baby strollers, etc. No one there to help with luggage. We helped many elderly persons with their suitcases and were once again thankful we are such light packers.
It was certainly cheap (92k per person) and once I got on board I knew why. There were no seats available; we had to stand and or sit on the wooden deck if you wanted fresh air or sit in the café if you wanted heated second hand smoke filled air. We moved back and forth between the two. I went downstairs to see if we could upgrade our tickets to a cabin so we would have somewhere to park it for 8 hours and after I saw the cabins I decided that would be even worse. They are like little crypts. Had we to do it over again, we would have flown and saved the day. The scenery was lovely but the last 6 hours is a repeat of the first 2. I wasn?t expecting the ferry to be a luxury liner but I wasn?t expecting a refugee barge either. That?s what it felt like. They do serve food on board but after trying it, I was glad we had brought along some fruit from the market.
We arrived in StariGrad right on time and decided to opt for the super expensive taxi into Hvar rather than get on the bus with the other refugees. The taxi driver was very nice and we used him again later in the stay. He let us know we had come just in time as 15,000 Italians had just vacated the island. We heard about the noisy Italians more than once while we were there from exhausted wait staff and bartenders. We stayed at the Villa Adriatic because every other hotel in town was booked for the weekend. Couldn?t figure it out until we saw the huge stage being set up in the main square. Apparently Miss Universe was in town and there was a concert being put on. That night we were serenaded into the wee hours with the loudest music I?ve ever heard. I have always been a big fan on Italian pop so Euro Trash pop music does not bother me and it?s a good thing since we heard it all night long.
The Villa Adriatic windows open up to one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It really was dramatic and more than made up for the ?ok? room. Breakfast at this hotel was also ?ok? with a nice terrace outside in the front. But dang it was LOUD. The all-night revelers sounded like they were in the bed with us. Anyone who needs their sleep would be advised to stay further out of town.
The first night we dined at Juniors and had the mandatory mussels and grilled fish. This was the best I had so far and we returned there a couple of other times after also trying Bounty, Pape and Macondo. At Juniors they also had the most wonderful white wine I?ve ever had ?Zavala? a local wine with heavy herbal undertones and the most wonderful straw color. I am a red wine drinker and couldn?t believe how much we loved this wine.
First thing in the morning we made the hike up to the Spanish castle for a nice tour and spectacular views of Hvar and the islands beyond. It was a very clear day and beautiful up there. Something I appreciated about Croatia is that the admission prices to the sites are very inexpensive so you tend to go in and see just about everything. On the way back down, we strolled through the market and got more of those good figs which we enjoyed on our taxi ride to Jelsa where we rented some 1940?s model bikes and took the shady lane that hugs the coast over to Vrboska. Vrboska is a cute little town with a canal that runs through and little bridges crossing over. There is a 15th century church with an engraving on the floor which translates to ?You won?t be different my friend-me today, you tomorrow?, which was directed to the Turks who came here and slaughtered everyone. In Vrobska we had hoped to find a restaurant called Konoba Kod Komina and we asked 2 or 3 people but we got no info so we assumed either I had written it down wrong, a guide book is incorrect or we were just asking the wrong people. But as luck would have it we had the best pizza of the whole trip in Vrboska. Riding our bikes back to Jelsa, we stopped a couple of times for a quick swim and to dry on the rocks. The road is about 5 feet from the water. There was no one around. It was just so relaxing. In Jelsa there is a lovely town square with an ice cream place that made the most decadent ice cream treats I?ve ever had. After the long afternoon of biking and swimming, we indulged.
Next day we got a water taxi (20k per person RT) and went first to Stipanska which is an island just off Hvar where there is a great outdoor restaurant serving, guess what? Grilled fish! Access to the water on this island is off some pretty sharp rocks, not the smooth flat kind so since we had no cushions this was not a good ?lounging on the water? island for us. We instead noticed some footpaths so we followed one and hiked to the other side of the island where there were some wonderful secluded rocky beaches as well as some small and very rustic cabins which I assume are for rent. This island is a great choice for someone who really wants to have their own beach but be sure to bring supplies. We had a nice hike?the island is covered with Pine trees. Caught another water taxi (they come every 20 minutes or so) to Jerolim, which is a FKK beach (nudist). Here the rocks were much smoother, which is a good thing when you?re running around nekked I guess. They also had chairs all around and a very nice outdoor restaurant with ice cold beer and great calamari. We liked Jerolim. Once you got used to all the naked grandmothers it was ok. PS Why do only old fat people run around naked? Where are all the hard bodies? But I digress.
We had origjnally intended to stay in Hvar 2 nights and then in Trogir one night, but we liked Hvar so well we sacrificed the night in Trogir and stayed.
3 days in Hvar and we still never made it over to StariGrad which I regret but I think if we?re ever back in this part of the world again, we shall.
We took a one hour ferry from Hvar to Split that left at 06:30. There is a 24 hour bakery next door to the Jadrolinja office so we got jacked up on nicotine and caffeine and climbed on board. At 07:30 we had arrived in Split and walked down to the bus station to check our luggage so we could have a look at Diocletian?s Palace. I had read lots of things about this place and still could not visually reconstruct it in my head. It is worth seeing however and I like the way life is sort of going on within it. It?s a living thing.
By lunch time we were done with the Palace and didn?t much care for the rest of Split. Maybe after being in Dubrovnik and Hvar, the urban-ness of Split was just too much. So we hired yet another painfully expensive cab (yes I know we could have taken the bus, but tick tock) and went over to Trogir. Now the cab driver worked us a deal to take us from Split to Trogir, leave us there a few hours and then come take us from Trogir to the airport. We were scared of this because of the luggage thing but we turned our radar all the way up and got a good vibe from him so we risked it. Besides, we thought the worst that can happen is we get a free ride to Trogir, lose our luggage and have to buy new clothes in Rome! Darn!
We had a nice lunch in Trogir at Top Baloon and enjoyed strolling around Trogir for the remainder of the day. Trogir was a bonus. We thought we wouldn?t get to go there since we stayed in Hvar an extra day, but it?s proximity to the airport in Split made it easy.
Arrived at the airport in Split for our one hour flight to Rome. We got tickets from Europebyair (THANKS TO ALOHA ANN WHO SAVED OUR LIVES) and had to remember to get there a bit early and stand in one line to pay the airport tax and then another to check in. They seemed to be very picky about the baggage weight-were making people pay extra if their bags weighed over and once again we were happy about being light packers.
Tomorrow I will wrap this up with three days in Rome.
Sep 20th, 2004, 12:30 PM
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Sorry about the punctuation faux pas in the above post. I hate that.
here is the link to the photos:
<http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i...amp;open=1>
here is the link to the photos:
<http://share.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i...amp;open=1>
Sep 20th, 2004, 01:13 PM
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Offwego:
We are planning our first joint trip to Croatia finishing up in Rome. Your report is great for it gives a great panorama of the area. We would travel in either early June or when you did -in 2005.When you wrote about the crumb with the reclining seat I exploded. How true!! We are seniors and may splurger on first class just to avoid the thoughtless boobs who do this.
I really look forward to your observations on Rome.
Anthony
We are planning our first joint trip to Croatia finishing up in Rome. Your report is great for it gives a great panorama of the area. We would travel in either early June or when you did -in 2005.When you wrote about the crumb with the reclining seat I exploded. How true!! We are seniors and may splurger on first class just to avoid the thoughtless boobs who do this.
I really look forward to your observations on Rome.
Anthony
Sep 20th, 2004, 01:23 PM
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I have to laugh at so many of your descriptions; the landladies! (a very aggressive gauntlet you walk when you get off the boat) the cabins on the boat! (I had to leave my light on at night... I felt like I was in a coffin) the naked grandmas (and grandpas!) hehehehe.
Beautiful pictures. Look a lot like my photos of Rovinj.
Beautiful pictures. Look a lot like my photos of Rovinj.
Sep 20th, 2004, 02:04 PM
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Grasshopper do you have your photos posted somewhere? I would love to see them.
And Powell I say anyone who CAN travel in first class SHOULD! Lord knows I look forward to the day!
And Powell I say anyone who CAN travel in first class SHOULD! Lord knows I look forward to the day!
