Dubrovnik - Day 26

May 15, 2018 by Patricia Farmar

Our last day in Dubrovnik - we better make the most of it. I got up early and decided to get my morning cappuccino and croissant and stroll through the Old Town and enjoy it before the cruise ships and mass of people arrived. Early in the morning it’s empty - just me and the cats. And there are lots of cats! But you only see them early or late when the crowds are gone. The first night we arrived and were walking through Old Town late there were like 10 cats sitting in front of one of the churches - a little creepy! So there are either lots of mice in Dubrovnik OR none at all.

Saw these 3 immediately when I got into town - and more that ran away!

I was on a bit of a mission - to find the entrance to Buza I and Buza II. If you go back to my post about the walk on top the historic Old Town Wall I posted pictures of the two bars that are actually on the outside of the wall hanging over the sea. I had done some research about how to find them and I’m happy to report I was successful! They weren’t open yet of course but the plan was to come back in the afternoon and experience having a drink there. I don’t think I would have found them without a few clues. Head past the cathedral and toward the outer wall. Look for the sign that says “Cold Drinks With The Most Beautiful View” and then the tricky part. Neither bar has a sign outside so you just have to look inside every door you pass.

Top left is the entrance to Buza I. Inside the wall it says No Topless No Nudist. Buza II is inside the gate middle right picture. We’re definitely coming back!

Walking through the Old Town when it’s so quiet and peaceful you can really enjoy all the nooks and crannies, the statues and alleys, the tiny gardens and even the flapping laundry. Being inside the beautiful walls built in the 1300’s when it’s just you (and the cats!) is a special feeling.

Time to pick up a coffee and croissant for Julie and head back up the stairs to our apartment. Kayaking on the Adriatic is on our agenda!

Just one of the 3 sets of stairs to climb to get to our great place.

From our balcony overlooking the sea we had seen groups of kayakers multiple times of day setting out on what looked like an awesome way to get a different perspective on Dubrovnik. So weather permitting we were doing it - and the weather was perfect!

We were with a guide and a group of about 14 people for a 3 hour adventure. I have only been in a kayak a few times but Julie was a great teacher and soon we were a good team. Since I was in the front I still think there were times I was doing all the work, but she disagrees. We got to make two stops, one in a beautiful huge cave with a beach where you could get out and swim and snorkel. Then we made another stop on the back side of the large island directly across from Dubrovnik where there was a huge rock you could climb to the top of and jump off. The rock was 35 to 40 feet high so basically 3 and a half to 4 stories above the sea, too high for me! But not for Julie! She worked up her courage and made the tough climb to the top and jumped! Yeah! I’m not super comfortable in large bodies of water so just being in the kayak was brave enough for me.

We had a blast and then headed to the Buza Bars to celebrate. We didn’t bring much cash with us since we were going to be on the water so only had enough for one drink each, so picked Buza II since it’s the bar where people jump off the rocks. The waiter took pity on us and gave us free peanuts. Julie was trying to figure out who she could Venmo money to in the bar so we could have another drink - she’s creative!

Not great pictures but it’s a little place. Bottom right is looking through the netting onto the rocks where people are swimming and jumping in.

I haven’t posted much about the food we ate in Dubrovnik or even Croatia, and that’s not because it wasn’t good. One reason is that we didn’t eat much - at least not as much as we were eating in Italy. Julie was happy, Patti was sad. Actually we were really on the go so it was eat or do things and we picked do things. I don’t regret that decision. The food we did eat was very good and really healthy. Every night was pretty much the same just at a different restaurant. Lots of fresh fish available - yeah!

Examples of our usual meal - pick your fish that was caught that day. Then they roast or grill it and serve it with amazing roasted or grilled vegetables. Lots of delicious sea bass - the best I’ve ever had!

They serve it to you intact but after you ooh and aah over it they filet it for you - thank God! They ask you if you want to eat the head - no thanks.

The fileting process. Loved this sweet waitress. Her family moved to Dubrovnik from Bosnia after the war and made a better life for themselves.

We loved Dubrovnik and hopefully from what I’ve shared you can easily see why. Back to Rome tomorrow and then home. It’s gone too fast!

Bosnia-Herzegovina Day 25

May 13, 2018 by Patricia Farmar

If you would have asked me even 6 months ago if I would ever visit Bosnia I would have said unlikely, but that’s one of the many great things about life’s journey. Be open to the possibility and interesting things can happen. So on Day 25 of our 4 week adventure Julie and I found ourselves getting picked up at 7:15 AM for a day trip to Medjugorje and Mostar. Never say never!

We booked the day trip through Viator.com which is a great online resource for lots of day trips around the world. If you don’t want to rent a car or can’t for some reason it gives you a great option to get somewhere with a fairly small group and a tour guide. I’ve had good luck in the past and while I wouldn’t say this was my best experience we made the most of it. The guide wasn’t very informative and a little hard to understand and the trip wasn’t exactly as described, but we accomplished our main goal which was to get to Medjugorje.

If you’ve never heard of Medjugorje here are the Cliff notes. Medjugorje is a very small village in Bosnia that became quite famous in religious circles in 1981 when 6 teenagers claimed to have seen The Blessed Mother up in the hills behind the village and she spoke to them. They told their village priest about it and about her message. She appeared to them a number of times and while this apparition has not been certified by the Catholic Church millions of believers come from all over the world to visit the site. Similar in many respects to the apparition of The Blessed Mother at Lourdes and Fatima.

In looking at a map and seeing how close we would be to Medjugorje while in Dubrovnik we decided to take a day and visit. The trip was described on Viator as a two hour stop in Medjugorje and then on to Mostar where we would spend an additional couple of hours. In actuality we only got one hour in Medjugorje so the amazing race for Julie and I to actually make it up to apparition hill was begun.

The terrain of Bosnia is quite a bit different from Croatia. My pictures were taken while moving from the van and didn’t come out very well but suffice it to say it is mountainous and very rocky. We drove through tunnels that seemed miles long because they were cut through the mountains, and the homes we saw seemed to be mostly made from cement blocks. There just seemed to be huge boulders everywhere and in the valleys farmland. Coming from the US we didn’t need any special Visa’s to get in, but did have to go through a couple of passport checks.

We arrived to Medjugorje and the guide informs us we have an hour there so Julie and I are determined to find Apparition Hill. The driver brought us to the church which was built before the apparition occurred so not really in close proximity to the hill. You would think someplace that brings millions of people to the town would be easy to find but that was not the case. I had read that you had to walk a mile up a steep and very rocky hill to get there, but we had no idea how far we had to walk to get to the one mile mark, so we started asking directions and couldn’t get an answer out of anyone - are you kidding me? Finally someone point us in the direction and we took off - almost running because time was flying by. To make a long story short we walked/ran about 2 miles asking for directions along the way when we could find anyone and finally found the start of the hill. There were literally no signs and it was I believe divine intervention that got us there. To say the hill is rocky is an understatement. I have no idea how old or unsteady people get up there, as they have purposely done nothing to make the climb easier. It’s supposed to be a pilgrimage and a sacrifice so the climb is challenging. We expected big crowds which would have made our climb harder but by another miracle there was hardly anyone there - even though at the church there had been tons of buses and people everywhere. We started running up the hill and passed a couple of older people who had walking sticks and canes. I had read that some people do it barefoot - ouch!! It had taken us at least a half hour to get to the start of the climb so I was nervous that we wouldn’t even make it to the site before we needed to be back at the bus, but Julie was adamant that we were getting there no matter what so we kept running. There was no way I was leaving her and it had been the main purpose of our trip so up we went. We made it to the sacred site and gave ourselves time to say prayers for our family’s, friends and other intentions, but we wished we could have stayed longer. There were people sitting off to the sides under shade treees and you just knew they were going to spend most of the day there. I can’t imagine how it is with crowds of people, it was so peaceful when we were there.

Julie and I at the statue. There is also a cross off to the side, and the bottom right is the view from the statue.

We took off running back down the hill and I believe all the hiking we had done previously prepared us for this feat. We got to the bottom and another miracle - a taxi waiting just for us! We jumped in and had him take us back to the church and we were less than 5 minutes late! We were also dripping with sweat and everyone else looked at us like we were crazy. I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would go to Medjugorje and not climb to Appartition Hill? A mystery yet to be solved but Julie and I were so happy that we got to be at such a sacred place.

Mostar was about 45 minutes away and is one of the more famous places to visit in Bosnia. It is the 5th largest city and it’s most recognized landmark is the Mostar Bridge originally built in the 16th century. In fact Mostar is named after the bridge keepers who guarded the bridge called mostari.

Bosnia as you probably know was involved in a terrible war in the early 1990’s and was almost destroyed in the process. Much of Mostar was bombed including the Old Bridge. In 1993 it was basically leveled, so what you see now is an exact replica of the original. They used the original blueprints and materials and the people love it dearly and still refer to it as the Old Bridge. We had a really good tour guide in Mostar that spent about an hour with us and showed us around. There are 3 religious groups that live there - Catholics, Muslims and Greek Orthodox. Prior to 1991 they all got along well but then started fighting over land and the war occurred. The guide said now they are all friends again. Seems crazy to me but who am I to judge. There are churches and mosques in abundance and 5 times a day over a loudspeaker the Muslims are called to prayer. I’ve never been to Turkey but from what I’ve read it’s very much like what we saw in Mostar.

A beautiful river runs through town and there are lots of stands and shops to buy intricate mosaics, fabrics and various other types of merchandise.

At this point the major thing I was interested in was food! I was starving since we had no time for breakfast or lunch and it was almost 2 PM. The tour guide left us at a restaurant that he said was good and had fair prices. Now what to order? I am not a super adventurous eater but I knew I wanted it to be cooked. The stuffed peppers were recommended so that’s what I thought I was ordering. Apparently not!

The round tan thing at the top was a stuffed pepper but not sure what the grape leaf roll and fried patty were. Also mashed potatoes.

I did eat the stuffed pepper and a few bites of the mashed potatoes but not enough courage to try the other items. Julie the big chicken just had 2 glasses of wine!! She said wine is always a safe bet.

I’m glad we got to see at least a bit of Bosnia and I learned so much. Like the people in Croatia I have a deep respect for how they have rebuilt and moved on after the war. It’s still very difficult for me to understand how war, death and destruction is a better option than diplomacy and compromise but it really makes me appreciate even more the country that I live in.

On our way back into Dubrovnik we made a quick stop to take pictures of the most famous and most expensive bridge in Croatia. It is called the Franjo Tubman Bridge and it’s right on the main highway into Dubrovnik. Quite striking especially at sunset. It was built in 2002 and took 4 years to complete. It was originally supposed to be built sooner but was postponed due to the war.

That was our day in Bosnia - Herzegovina so thanks for coming along. One more spectacular day in Dubrovnik to write about and then we’re on our way home!

Dubrovnik Croatia - Day 23 & 24

May 09, 2018 by Patricia Farmar

Sorry for the delay in posting about our days in Dubrovnik, but while our apartment has been fantastic, the internet connection has been weak at best not allowing me to successfully upload my pictures for the blog. Plus there is so much to do and see here even if the connection was better I’m not sure I would have had time to write about it. I’ve heard so many great things about Dubrovnik I am happy to add my positive comments to all the others. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan which I’m not, you will recognize so much of the area I am told. In fact we talked to a number of tourists that were signed up for the many different Game of Thrones tours you could go on, and there was no lack of merchandise to purchase. Dubrovnik deserves its nickname “The Pearl of the Adriatic” and it truly looks like a fairy tale.

The view of the Old Town from the balcony at our apartment.

The city of Dubrovnik was built in the 1300’s and the walls still stand intact today even after all its been through - most recently the war from 1991 to 1995. Our apartment was about a 5 minute walk from Old Town down AND up at least 150 steps. While the Old Town is awesome the whole area along the extremely long Croatian coastline is gorgeous. On one side the spectacular blue Adriatic Sea and the other a beautiful rocky mountainous mass that seems to go forever. The drive from Split on the bus was long but so pretty.

Old Town is traffic free and while not really very large it seems big because there are so many tiny alleyways, squares, churches, museums, shops and cafes. The enormous wall that surrounds the city actually has a walkway on top and that’s one of the main attractions to see and do. I had read that it was best to start the walk right when it opens at 8 AM to avoid as much of the crowd as possible and also the heat which can be stifling mid day. I dragged Julie out of bed so we could grab coffee and a croissant and get to it. She told me she hated me but she did get up and we accomplished our goal. By the time we finished people were pouring in as cruise ships dock and transport masses of people in for the day.

I won’t attempt to explain the war that Croatia was involved in from 1991 to 1995, but just say that being there and seeing how they have rebuilt the city in a relatively short period of time after the enormous amount of damage that was done is truly remarkable. I have a huge amount of respect for what they have been through and their spirit to fight for their country and maintain their independence. It is estimated that two thirds of the beautiful tile roofs in Old Town were destroyed in the war, so when you look out from the walls into the city you can easily see the new and the old. A constant reminder of what happened.

Julie and I are not trying to dress alike - just wearing the cleanest clothes we have left!

It takes at least an hour to walk the entire wall - longer if it’s crowded and you stop and take pictures, but awesome. There are three entry points where you can purchase tickets and your ticket is good for one time around the wall. We did the Rick Steve’s walking tour where he points out the major historical sites. As you can tell, I’m a big fan of Rick Steve’s!

Outside the city walls and up on the hill is the Fort of St Lawrence.

Lots of stairs! Part of the wall is built right into the rocky mountian along the sea.

There are a few places on the wall where you can get a cool drink or bite to eat so we stopped about halfway through and got these delicious fruit smoothies with 6 different fruits and veggies. And looking down from the wall on the sea side you see two amazing bars - Buza I and Buza II. So we added that to our list of things to do - if we could find them!

Top left is Buza II and people jump off the rocks right in front of it into the sea - and we saw them!

Another “must see” site is Mount Srd which sits high above the Old Town. This is a fortress that was built by Napoleon in 1810 and had a cable car added in the 20th century to take visitors to the top easily. When the war broke out in 1991 Mount Srd became crucial in the defense of Dubrovnik. It was the only high land the locals were able to hold, and was badly shelled and damaged and the cable car destroyed. The cable car has been rebuilt and 95% of people use it to get to the top. To see the site and also the spectacular view of Dubrovnik, but as usual we figure why take the easy way. There is a switchback trail that was used to supple the fortress during the war that’s pretty steep and shade less so not highly recommended. In fact when we inquired repeatedly as to how to find the trailhead we were told by no less than 10 people that it was a terrible trail and not to do it. So of course we were determined to do it! Finding the trailhead was really the hardest part. We had to walk up at least 200 stairs to get to the highway it was off of, and then walk along a busy highway and look for the entrance. Once we accomplished that we felt like we were home free. It took about an hour to get to the top and the view was spectacular. We also visited the museum inside the fortress and saw the special exhibit on the war and the destruction of the city. Having just been inside the beautiful city it was really chilling. There was a film showing with actual footage of the more than 3000 bombings along with commentary from the BBC. The sun was going down and we didn’t want to navigate the trail in the dark so headed down. It only took about 20 minutes to get down. We definitely accomplished our step goal for the day!

What a view! You can see the trail of switchbacks in front of the fortress.

Damage from the bombings on the fortress. At every turn on the way up the switchbacks are beautiful castings of the Stations of the Cross. Bottom right is the view of the mountains and valley behind the fortress.

We had some really great meals too, but I’ll post more on that later. Lots of fresh fish! Next post will be about our day trip into Bosnia so check back soon for that!

#justsayyes

Hvar Croatia - Days 20, 21 & 22

May 04, 2018 by Patricia Farmar

We are on the island of Hvar off the coast of Croatia for a few days, and it’s the perfect place to take a vacation from our vacation. Hvar is in the Dalmatian Islands which are part of Croatia and there are lots of islands, some so small there is really nothing on them. Hvar is one of the bigger islands and considered to be the most upscale. We are here at what we think is the perfect time because most of the restaurants and shops are closed till May 1st, and from what I’ve read July and August are totally insane here. We rented an apartment that has a spectacular view of the Adriatic Sea, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time sitting on the deck enjoying the view.

Hvar is an island and the only way to get there is on a boat. You have a few options including a ferry if you have a car, but the quickest way is on a catamaran. During busy season the boats sell out fast so I went ahead and bought our tickets on the Internet in advance to assure we would get here at the time we wanted. The main company is Jadrolinija so that’s who we used. We didn’t want to take any chances so we went over to the docks the night before to check on the dock we needed to be at, so things went really smoothly. They start loading the boat 30 minutes in advance and when we got there about that time there was already a line. The boat holds a lot of people but it was packed. The ride takes about an hour and a half so I’m glad we got a seat.

Our boat and first look at the harbor in Hvar. That’s Julie lower right hauling her stuff. Remember we’re traveling pretty light. Just a carry on and a personal item. Good thing because you are on your own with luggage.

We decided that we would fully embrace Island time. That means no agenda, no schedule (so hard for me but I’m trying!) and really spend some time relaxing. That said we have done a lot of hiking which has been great. They have wonderful trails right along the water and today we walked down to two different beaches. The second beach called Robinson Beach was a bit of a nude beach 😳 To our surprise a totally naked man pulled himself out of the water onto the rocks and didn’t seem to care that we were standing right there. We didn’t feel compelled to join him but it was the cherry on the top of our walk😊

Hvar is really an old city. Parts of it date back to the 15th century and many of the buildings on the square are from the 16th and 17th century when they were ruled by Venice. I love to read about architecture and history when I am visiting somewhere and look for all the quirky uniqueness each city offers. I have subjected Julie to numerous details of things of interest to me that I am positive she will be on the edge of her seat to look for. She has been a trouper and always at least acts interested. Here are some of my favorites....

Top left - very narrow streets lined with cute bars, restaurants and shops. Top right - the tab with the hole was used to fly flags that told people what was happening in your home. A white flag for a birth and a black flag for a death. Medieval Fac… — Top left - very narrow streets lined with cute bars, restaurants and shops. Top right - the tab with the hole was used to fly flags that told people what was happening in your home. A white flag for a birth and a black flag for a death. Medieval Facebook! Bottom left - the many Venetian style windows everywhere and lastly a statue outside the Benedictine Convent where they make lace from agava. Cool!

There is a big old fortress that sits above the town so hiking to the top for a great view is a fun thing to do. So of course we did it! Easy compared to some of our other hikes. It dates back to the 13th century but not much left to see inside.

But the view is amazing and it was my favorite picture of the day!

Hvar harbor with views of a few of the tiny islands that are everywhere.

The weather was overcast one day so we took the opportunity when it appeared to clear a little to walk around the island in the other direction. While we were walking a squall blew in quickly and we had to “shelter in place.” That is a term Julie shared with me that I had never heard of. Luckily there was a wonderful seaside bar called Hula Hula Hvar that welcomed us in and insisted on giving us free wine while we sat out the rain. There was hardly anyone there as the season is just getting started but they told us soon they will have 700 people there during the day. They were awesome and took good care of us so I told them I would give them a shout out on the blog. We shared an awesome grilled chicken club sandwich and great fries.

Our super nice waiter and love the Hvar sign!

I have no other food pictures to post. We really haven’t eaten that much here - shocking I know. They do have good pizza - we’ve had some of that, and lots of fresh fish available. Tonight we are going to find fish for sure. The emphasis is much more about eating to live versus living to eat, and so hard to compare anything to the food they have in Italy. There is a good dessert place here I’ve had my eye on that might just happen tonight.

Tomorrow we are leaving Hvar on the early boat back to Split. Just enough time for breakfast there and we’ll be on a bus to Dubrovnik. I have heard so many great things about it and can’t wait to see it and walk the wall. Check back in soon!

Croatia - Day 19

May 02, 2018 by Patricia Farmar

Today was a big travel day. We needed to get from Lake Bled Slovenia to Split Croatia and we made it! When researching how to make that happen I found out that as good as the trains are in Italy - they are equally bad in Croatia. Buses are far more common to get from city to city but that didn’t appear to be a great option either, as we would have had to take a bus to Zagreb and then at least one or two more to get to Split. Renting a car in Slovenia and dropping it off in Croatia would be really expensive as they have to put the car on a truck and send it back, so we hired a driver! It’s a service called On Day Trip, and while it was expensive it worked out great. The driver picked us up at 9 AM sharp and off we went. We were also able to add a side trip to Plitvice National Park which we were very excited about. Plitvice became the first National park in Croatia in 1949 and it’s filled with lakes, dams, waterfalls and miles of plank walks over and around the waterfalls. It would be easy to spend a full day or even two at the park, but we had only two hours so we covered as much ground as possible. So beautiful!

Waterfalls everywhere you look! And these really amazing plank walks often right across the waterfall.

The water is very clean and clear up close with lots of fish swimming in it, but no fishing allowed. From up above the water is the most amazing turquoise color and I had to find out why. Turns out Plitvice water coming off the mountains contains magnesium carbonate which gives it the beautiful color. Really incredible.

We wished we could have stayed longer as there was so much more to see, but we had to meet our driver and continue the drive to Split. We arrived to the hotel about 5:30 and headed to find dinner since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast. Our first impression driving into Split wasn’t great. Very industrial as it’s the second largest city in Croatia. But as we got closer to the water and the Old Town is got a lot prettier. Lots of huge boats and ferries which take people and cars out to the Dalmatian Islands. We found a cute restaurant with a good view of the harbor and had a great meal. Lots of wonderful very fresh fish here and that is exactly what sounded good to us. We shared the best Mediterranean salad ever and both had the sea bass with grilled vegetables. From sausage to sea bass in a single day!

Julie eagerly waiting for me to take the darn picture so she can eat!

We don’t even have a full day here before we head over to stay on the island of Hvar so we just took a walk through the main square after dinner. We came upon a very cool palace that has been repurposed into somewhat of a shopping, restaurant and hotel compound. It’s actually from about 313 AD and is the ancient Diocletian Palace. He was a Roman emperor originally from the area and had the palace built in Split for his retirement. The main building is open to the public and was lit up beautifully at night. There is a hotel and restaurant operating right off the courtyard and they had a man playing a guitar and singing. People were sitting on the stairs with a drink or gelato listening and it was definitely the coolest courtyard I have ever seen.

Croatia doesn’t use the Euro for currency. They have their own called the Kuna and it’s hard to get used to in my opinion. Now I'm juggling 3 currencies in my head. A little over 6 Kuna is equal to one US dollar so everything initially seems really expensive. I got a latte and a croissant this morning for breakfast (of course I did!) and it was 19.50 Kuna which seemed high. Then I realized it was like $3.50 US - cheap.

We have had some really interesting conversations with some of the locals in Slovenia and Croatia about what it was like when both countries were in Yugoslavia and under the dictatorship of Tito and others. Also what the war was like in Croatia with the Serbians, especially because the war in Croatia was relatively recent. Croatia is still recovering and you can see the damage in places from the bombings. I have so much respect for these people for how they persevered in very challenging times and a renewed appreciation for how lucky we are in the US. It’s not perfect but it’s pretty great.

We will only have the morning here tomorrow and then we take the boat to Hvar. Spending a few days on an island sounds great to me!

Here’s my favorite picture from today.....

Do videnija - goodbye!