tripgirl

tower,

what a story!

Slojan: Yes I know theat Prague and Ljubljana had the same architect, but the cities feel completely different to me, but both are great in their own right.

tcreath

laartista, DH and I are going to Croatia in November, so we will be experiencing Croatia in the winter. Look for my trip report when we get back for detailed info. I do want to say that we had a few problems with hotels shutting down for the winter. We originally planned on staying in Hvar for a night or two but couldn't find a hotel, or apartment for that matter, that was open in November. That being said, hotels that are open are usually much better prices.

tripgirl, thank you so much for writing this. I'm really enjoying it! Now if only November would hurry up and get here so I can be on my way!

Tracy

laartista

Thanks Tcreath and Tripgirl. Tc I'll definitely look for your report. I'm thinking January, 1 week Croatia, 1 week Portugal and 1 week France. can't decide so I figure I'll do all 3.

Travelbug13

Thanks so much for the trip report. I'll be going next year for sure, and already looking into it!

ckwald

Tripgirl,

What a beautifully written, affectionate trip report! I've been checking in every night looking forward to each new installment & enjoying each one thoroughly.

We're headed to Dubrovnik, Split & Hvar in October so of course I've made lots of notes. And I LOVE calamari, & see nothing at all excessive about having it every day at least once . . .

Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us. It was a joy to read.

tripgirl

ckwald,

How very kind of you; thank you so very much.

I wish you a beautiful beautiful trip; Oct should be lovely.

What will be some of your plans?

Syl

Tripgirl,
Thanks for your articulate & honest report. You have a way with words. I salivate with envy listening to your descriptions of the 5 * luxury creme de la creme voyage of the lives of the rich & famous.Instead of collecting hotels, my middle class affordability allows me to collect memories of nature's beauty & be thankful that my hubby & I are well enough to travel.So, as we climb the 300 steps to our Dubrovnik Ploce sobe, I'll make it a point to stop, catch my breath & look down below at the Hotel Argentina.

tripgirl

Syl,

YOU have a way with words. Hey, memories are not such a bad thing, heh???

Are you getting excited about your trip?

So many fodorites will be there in Sept!

bardo1

tripgirl,

Thanks for taking the time to post this evocative, informative, and alluring report. I think I need to rethink/broaden my travel plans...

tripgirl

bardo1:

Who ever thought I would sound alluring...??!!!

Thanks loads.

Are you too going to Croatia soon??

bardo1

tripgirl,

Truthfully, I hadn't given it much thought until your report. We didn't start European travel until our kids were grown so we have a lot of cathing up to do. As a result, there are quite a few places we still want to discover. Russia and Portugal were on the "short list" - Slovinia and (especially) Croatia have now joined them.

tripgirl

If you have more time, you could also see Croatia/Italy as a trip if you feel you need to "catch up" ( tho I do not know if you have been to Italy yet)

Croatia is a nice springboard to some other destinations in Europe.

Hope it all works out.....

Barb

tripgirl: Thank you so much for such a great report. I hated to see it end. I am going to Croatia 10/4 - 10/10, flying from Paris to Dubrovnik. I will spend my last day/night in Trogir before flying to Rome for 9 days. Although my budget is definitely different than yours, I really loved reading about all the restaurants you enjoyed and your obvious love of the country ... I am hoping I can beat your record for eating calamari!

tripgirl

Barb,

Thanks for your kind words.

Now there is something to shoot for... beating Tripgirls calamari eating record....hmmmmm.....

Have a ball really; what are some of your detailed plans?

Images2

Thanks so much for such a fun trip report tripgirl! You know we share your love of Croatia and I hope that everyone planning on going will know that it's spectacular , whether you stay in the 4-5* hotels as you do, or stay in the sobes as we did.

You captured the beauty of this country in a special way. Thank you.

We also dined at Le Cinq Mars in Paris 2 years ago. It is fairly new and we discovered it on eGullet.com. This is a great site for finding the new dining spots in Paris. We go often and always stay up to date with the great information on that site!

Hope you keep posting your very interesting trip reports in the future!

Barb

tripgirl: I really don't have any specific itinerary planned for Dubrovnik other than walking the wall, day trip to Montenegro, going to Cavtat, maybe a boat trip to nearby islands. I mainly just want to take it easy, soak up the atmosphere, eat lots of good food and just be there. I hope I can find the "cold drinks" place as I plan on spending lots of time there.

Lolo12

I join with everyone else here in complimenting Tripgirl for the wonderful and insightful descriptions of a spectacular trip. As a result of your comments, I have changed my hotel in Dubrovnik from the Stari Grad to the Argentina. I'm sure I won't regret it.
My trip is in a little over 6 weeks from now and I am eagerly looking forward to it.

tripgirl

Images2: how very kind of you; yes indeedy; I think you can have a 5 star experience or a sobe one and its all great in Croatia.

Wasn't Le Cinq Mars terrific; a sure one on my list!

Barb: The cold drink place is easy find; you'll love it!!! Get a seat on
the railing so you can dangle your feet over as I did!
There is just drinks there, no food, so don't plan on being hungry.

Lolo12:
WOW!

I did not know I had such influence to have you change your hotels!!!!!
Such pressure on me, heh??!!

Really, I think you will love the Argentina, just make sure you get a good room; part of my raving had alot to do with the room; although the rest of the hotel is as I said, superb.

In any event, I think the Stari Grad was a good choice and I don't think you would have been dissapointed. Just know with the Argentina, you will have to walk into the Old Town, albeit, it is not far.

If you want to be right in the center of the town, do think twice about switching hotels; the Stari Grad is RIGHT there. And the Stari Grad is much more personal with only 8 rooms; the Argentina is a full service hotel. Make sure that is what you want.

Either way, just enjoy, enjoy enjoy!!!

ckwald

tripgirl,

We're going to spend a week based in Dubrovnik in an apartment in the old town, Casa Izabela, head to Split & overnight at the Peristyl, then next day mid-day or early afternoon ferry to Hvar, where we're staying for a week at an apartment on the water, not far from the Hotel Amfora. We figure to rent a car there to explore the island at our leisure.

Aside from knowing that we will spend a day touring Montenegro, preferably with a private guide, and visiting Cavtat, we haven't got any plans. We'd rather just do whatever we feel like doing and go where we want to as the mood takes us, and we figure that in October, we will have plenty of flexibility for last minute plans. I've been reading Fodors posts for many months, and I've got lists of more options than we can possible take!

We love history and architecture, but also want to chill out when we feel like it -- so I especially enjoyed reading about the times you guys did that too. We're long past the time when we felt that we were somehow remiss if we didn't spend every moment on a trip rushing from one sight, or site, to the next.

And then there's food -- oh yes!

xyz99

tripgirl, thanks for a wonderful trip report. We’ll be in Croatia in Sept and we are very excited about this already. We’ll be there for 14 days, so hopefully more than 5 times calamari (or was it 6?).
In Dubrovnik, we’ll stay at Villa Adriatica (unfortunately, Villa Argentina’s prices are way too high for us). I know it’s close to Argentina, did you happen to see it?
I’ll have a trip report when we get back, but until the, I enjoyed yours tremendously. Thanks!