Posted on

From Sarajevo to the Plitvicka Jezera National Park 11th August 2019

Just one of those driving, driving sort of days, getting snippy and driving on. Out of Sarajevo and heading towards Jajce once again. Break in Jajce to view the waterfalls and then on again. Over the border from Bosnia and back to Croatia.

We finally found our accommodation, one of many Guest Houses around the National Park. They were efficient, the accommodation was nice but they didn’t go out of their way to be helpful. Not to worry. Off we went to find a drink at a hotel in some Ethno Village. We enjoyed sitting and unwinding.  Chris’ bite from last night is very swollen so we got some ice to put on it as we sat there. I made the mistake of asking the waiter if he’d take Bosnian Marks…Hammy would have been on to me in a flash…”what” said the waiter…would they take Kuna…have you asked them??? We might be only a few kilometres away but words to the effect that there is no love lost!!!

Chris got some good information about ‘what to do in the park’ given that we have one night only. Anyway, its up early, off for a ferry ride and walk around the Lake…about 3 hrs in total before we head off for Trieste.

Having made these decisions, made sure we were solvent with the ATM, then off to another place for a meal. Nice meal outside…trout again for me. We started chatting to a woman from Texas who might not have been too pro Trump but wasn’t agin him either. Chris nearly burst a boiler but it was quite interesting talking to her.

Now to bed to prepare for a big day tomorrow. Remember Trieste = no WiFi so less efficient communication. I’m back on Roaming in Croatia but reception ain’t great!!

Posted on

Back to Italy

Yesterday we set off heading for Trieste but not before a final explore of Croatia. But not before we bolted back to our favourite coffee place for one last coffee. We had to wait for our landlord to come and get the key from us but of course we were up and packed and ready to go by 8. So we decided to go and get on a tram into the centre and have a coffee. Marko was late so it was 10.30 before we were able to set off.

We got onto the Autostrada and headed straight down to the Istrian Peninsula to Opatija, then on to the tiny, gorgeous seaside village of Volosko. We were expecting the hoards but were so pleasantly surprised. Apparently everyone goes to the Adriatic side of the Peninsula leaving the East side to lead an altogether quieter life. So we found Volosko to be beautiful. Sort of like Portofino without the tourists.

We had an Istrian Guide from last time we were here and so went to a lovely recommended restaurant overlooking the boat harbour. We had a great lunch over a couple of hours, wandered the town, back in the car and off to find our way to Trieste which wasn’t that easy!!

The traffic on the main roads was horrendous and we couldn’t find our way onto the road we wanted, at least not without joining a daunting queue. So we made a few wrong turns and had to find our way onto the right road…bit tense I must say!! However it was no big deal and before very long at all we were across the border, into Euro-land again, passing briefly through Slovenia and on into Trieste. Phew!!

There was a complicated business to get the key to the house which entailed going to the house of Chris’ friend Patrizia, to get the key in Trieste. She and her family, including grandchildren, were also coming down here to stay in the house we stayed in 2 years ago. We have the house of the owners (of the 2 houses) next door.

We got here needless to say and the saga of getting our cases and paraphernalia down the hill was the same, remembering that getting it all down is not half as bad as getting it up will be!! But it is a challenge!!

But here we are ensconced once again by the sea. The house is really quite eccentric. It is delightfully cluttered and full to the brim with Sicilian pottery from the handbasin to the stairs and everything in between. It has a few weird aspects such as the very stylised photos of the woman all over her bedroom walls. She looks at me from every angle!!

The bad thing is that there is no WiFi so I am off the air for 2 weeks which, of course, spooks me. Having said that, Chris and I are going in to town to find a WiFi cafe which we will try to do regularly. I’m writing this in Word and will cut and paste when I get to WiFi. But remember if anyone should really need to make contact (heaven forbid), I do have my Italian phone.

Bye for now, I get even more homesick when I’m not in touch.

Posted on

A day in the forest surrounding Zagreb followed by a final day in Zagreb

Yesterday was another scorcher so we headed for the hills outside Zagreb. But not before we stopped for a coffee on the way out of town. Then we set off for Medvednica National Park. It is the mountains/hills not far out of Zagreb. Chris had done her research (something she is very good at!!). The park is full of huts/ restaurants that cater for the numerous walkers in the summer and the skiers in the winter. So we got there in time for our first aperitif at 11.30 in a gorgeous forrest setting at the top of the mountain in a restaurant called “Puntijarka”. Then we set off for a “little” walk up the mountain in an attempt to get to the top but it was a 20min one way walk up a formidably steep slope in 38 deg heat so I gave up and Chris followed suit.

We’d had our little walk which was part of the Marian Pilgrim’s Path that goes for 800 km through Croatia, Slovenia and further through the Balkan states. Then we retreated back to “Puntjarka” Restaurant to indulge in been soup and sausages, apple and cheese strudels and wine and beer. We drove some more through the mountains and then returned to Zagreb. We came home for a bit of respite but Chris wanted to go to the Ethnographic Museum to see some exhibition about animals so off she went and an hour later I walked up into town and met her. We went on and had our aperitivo at the State Theatre and then walked on to a Fish Restaurant “Korcula Restrain” that had been recommended. We had a full Sea Bass between us and it was totally delicious…divine!! A great meal, some wine and then we got the tram back home for a nightcap and off to bed.

That brings us to today. We set off this morning a bit later than usual and went to this coffee shop we’d been to a couple of days before that had great coffee. I sat and had 2 coffees and Chris wanted to go off to buy some stuff at the market so I wandered on up to the upper city via the Funicular and waited for Chris at the top. At 12 md a cannon gets fired from the top of the tower and everyone was standing around waiting for it to go off but I was in my own little world when there was this HUGE bang. I nearly jumped out of my skin!! Chris and I met up and then there was this really quirky, extremely popular Museum that had been haunting me for days as we walked past it multiple time, so I decided to go into the “Museum of Broken Relationships”. Chris decided to have a beer in the bar instead so I was on my own. It was the fullest museum I’ve been into…full of young gorgeous tourists. It was a quirky, fascinating museum where people had contributed memorabilia and their stories. Most were intense short lived relationships with graphic descriptions of heartbreak!! I was sweating so much I was almost sliding along the floor…so was everyone else and it was packed. I eventually emerged to desperately grab a glass of wine when I found Chris relaxed and quoffing her beer in the bar….I mean FFS!!!

We then went back to a place we’d been the day before last and had a great soup for lunch with (of course) a glass of wine. Off again…..SO hot!! Chris fancied one Museum the Museum of Zagreb and I another The Croatian History Museum so we went to different Museums and then met back again. We came back, got the car and went off to find the river which is actually very strange because it is a river that flows a long way from the centre of town and along the river are massive apartment blocks of the communist era. It reminded me of areas of East Berlin with all the awful Communist era concrete.

Then back into the city and we found a lovely piazza to have our aperitvo. Then it was home to eat the produce Chris had bought this morning at the market. Delicious cheese, prosciutto and bread and of course wine.

Now we’ve packed up and are preparing ourselves to move on in the morning. We’ll head for the Croatian Coast and then back into Italy for our first night in Trieste. Its been great being in Slovenia and Croatia. Its been new territory and I’ve loved it but I have to say I always look forward to getting back into Italy just because it feels so comfortable.

Posted on

A day in Zagreb

Heating up again after a day or 2 of respite. Antibiotics finished… that is a milestone and hopefully all will be well.

Yesterday we set off for the main square, working out how to use the tram at the same time. We sat in the square for a coffee and watched the world go by. We went to the tourist office for maps etc and headed for the upper old town via the cathedral which unfortunately had been destroyed by earthquake in 1880 and rebuilt…but very nicely I must say with lovely stained glass windows.

We then wandered around trying to find the market, succeeding after a few false starts. It’s a lovely market and Chris started buying cheeses, figs, corn and proscuitto, all of which I thought a little ill advised as we had to carry it all day but it I have to say it came in very handy when we had a lovely meal at home last night. We walked up and more up into the old town through the Stone Gate with the plaques for the dead lining the gate. We found a nice place to have a light lunch and a glass of wine. I must say our eating has settled down since leaving Slovenia and their massive meals behind. We walked up and around looking for a gallery we wanted to see, only to find it closed on a Monday!! Not to be daunted we went to the Museum of Naive Art which was really wonderful. We both loved the art. We got the funicular down from the heights and by then it was 4pm and I was tired and hot. I’m so wary of my leg so when Chris wanted to go out to some other gallery we parted company and I came home to get the leg up. Mind you parting company with Chris is an hourly phenomenon when I find myself looking around thinking where the hell has she gone now!!

As I said we had a lovely bottle of white in the fridge and the market food to pick at so this was a very relaxed evening at home which suited us both.

More after todays adventures.

Posted on

Its Sunday, this must be Croatia

Another lovely day today driving through the Serbian hills along the wine trail from Ptuj to Jeruzalem and Ozonom. Beautiful wines, gorgeous countryside and a nice (light) meal along the way. Then on to Zagreb and our Airbnb for the next 5 nights which is lovely but which is, unfortunately on the fucking 5th floor. Oh well fortunately I’ve made it up twice now and I guess it can only strengthen my legs for the massive hike down to the beach at Trieste. The apartment is good but the sense of how far things are is worse in Croatia than in Italy i.e. it is advertised and confirmed by our host that it is 500M from the main square when in fact it is 1.7 km. Our host said it was a 5-10 minute walk…well all I need to say about that is that he is a professional tennis player so he can probably do it in that time.

No complaints, it is much cooler today around 28 deg which is a huge relief in a town like Zagreb. We walked into town for a meal, got some stupid bloody Croatian crap money and walked home again. Its late, we’re tired and ready for bed.

Thanks for your email Rose, it is SO lovely to get an email from someone!! My leg…thank you for asking…it is holding up really well but the crunch is coming when the antibiotics finish tonight. I’m a bit scared of this moment but here’s hoping. It certainly looks good…scarred a browny colour but it has lost its hot redness so all should be well. I’ll take a photo in the morning and watch it closely. Starting to walk more and more so if all goes well i’ll be nearly normal.

Chris has changed your name in her address book Hammy!!! It is an old old entry into the address book. I haven’t even seen the photo she sent you.

Posted on

Mainly of Croatia

There is now absolutely no internet connection at all. No emails for days now. Being totally cut off is definitely one of my least favourite things. At least I’m busy adventuring to take my mind off it.
Briefly back to Sunday which was another heavenly day in Paradise spent sitting about and swimming in the morning, then out to lunch at our favourite seafood place for lunch. We were so inspired by their delicious Mussel dishes that we stopped and bought mussels on the way home and Chris made a delicious Mussel soup again for dinner at night.

Yesterday it had clouded over and we set out to explore the Istrian Peninsula. We crossed over into Croatia…a real border crossing, not like going back and forward into Slovenia. Here we explored beautiful small hilltop towns. It is ‘Tuscany in Croatia’ with beautiful towns perched on every hill, olive trees, vines and mountains. Could even top Tuscany with its slightly more rugged feel. Only pain in the neck was having to change money. You get so used to using the Euro everywhere.

Firstly we went to a lovely little town called Buzet, had a drink there to try the Croatian beer Favorit. Wandered about briefly then headed for a tiny, tiny nearby town called Salez.to find a stone, carved pillar called The Pillar of Shame where they used to chain people in the Middle Ages to shame them in front of the village if they’d done something wrong. Finding that was an adventure in itself. After many wrong turns and only by trusting in Jane our beautiful GPS, did we eventually find the town. It was absolutely straight out of medieval times, unchanged, in disrepair, cows stabled in the ancient stone buildings, potatoes piled up in another, and no one to be found as we walked through, but you could feel the eyes on you. This was definitely off the tourist trail. Eventually an old Croatian woman appeared. We showed her a picture of what we were looking for and she burst into a string of Croatian which left us none the wiser. To cut a long story short we found it by following another road and really purely by chance, when we had given up and were leaving.

We then headed off to find another old frescoed church in Draguc. Another beautiful town, of the main trail with a tiny little old church sitting out overlooking the valley and a lake. Inside the church was completely frescoed and so beautiful. There were a group of Austrians also looking at it. They obviously belonged to a choir and they burst into song (sounds like Sound of Music!!) but actually it was rather magnificent…even though it sounds humourous as I write it.

There was a lovely little tavern place in this town where we got a plate of prosciutto and cheese, and of course the obligatory wine, and sat in a very unsophisticated little town square enjoying a little break.

On we went to another very small town, Beram, to see yet another frescoed church. This time we had to find a woman in the village and pay her to come in the car with us to open the church. That was also lovely but we agreed that Draguc was the gem.

We moved on to Motovun which is the real tourist town in the area. A beautiful village perched on a hilltop that looks spectacular as you approach it. But when we got there it was just teeming with Germans and Austrians so we decided not to go up into the town itself but to admire it from the distance. Instead we went on to Oprtalj (Portole) which is on a nearby hill surrounded by vines and olive trees and a magnificent view that included Motovun. I bought some Croatian wine there for us to try.

By this time it was getting late and I was keen to see the coast before we left the Peninsula so off we went to Novigrad, a beautiful little seaside port with little boats sitting in the harbour. We found an enoteca by the harbour and sat outside as the sun set with a glass of Muscate in hand (a bit sweet for both of us but very nice). A delightful end to a lovely day in Croatia.

Then we had to get back. In Slovenia you have to pre buy a pass for the freeways and our pass had run out so Jane had to get us back avoiding motorways and toll ways….no mean feat and the route was scary at times, mercy dark and very long. We got back at 10pm after a 12 hr day and not having had dinner, we put some scraps together and went to bed.

Then began the sound and light show of all time. I’m sleeping upstairs and the Lightning was so bright and the thunder so loud it was impossible to sleep but it was so amazing as I looked out the window and watched it all. Chris was downstairs and the rain was pounding in onto the terrace. This morning the sun is shining and warm and Chris is out having a swim as I write this.

It will it in the inbox for ages as I have not internet connection but when we go out i must find somewhere with wifi….it’s been too long.

We’ll both be sad to see this 2 weeks end tomorrow. It’s been magical.

Posted on

Return to London Town

It’s been a few days. I’ll start with our last day in Dubrovnik.

It was another glorious and sunny day and we had decided to go up the mountain behind Dubrovnik on the cable car. All good, off we went and up we went. Very pretty view from up there looking down on the old town. But the wind was picking up in a most determined way and from up there it was howling fiercely. We had some lunch up on the rooftop which was lovely but then we got the call that the cable car was going to descend one last time and then cease operation for the day. Not good news for me who is very trepid when it comes to heights at the best of times. I did float the idea of getting a taxi down but I think H&A thought I was joking!!! Anyway it was fine, we got down safely. We wandered for the last time through the old town and had a ‘not very satisfying’ last Negroni. But the town was closing up before our eyes. Nowhere left to even eat so we retreated to home base…the gorgeous Hilton. We decided to eat there that night…really the only viable option and even they had closed their main dining room. So we lived it up…cocktails in the bar. Then a meal which was lovely and really quite reasonably prices.

So next day was flight to London day. We were so relieved that the wind had died down because we had heard that planes can’t land at Dubrovnik in the wind. We didn’t think this would be a problem…at least not until we got to the airport. Planes ahead of us were being diverted to Split and the passengers had to get a bus to Split to get their flights. We waited and waited. Our flight was delayed due to strong winds, they didn’t know whether it would be able to land to take us. This went on and on. Rumours abounded and we just had to wait getting half hourly bulletins. More than 3 hrs later our plane landed to the cheers of the slightly mad English people waiting to board her. I’ve been whinging constantly about Russian Tourists among others but honestly the eccentric/ bordering on quite mad English tourists on this chaotic flight of ours take the cake. It was like being in a Monty Python film.

Long story short after an enormous day we arrived home safely, got takeaway and went to bed!!

So back in London again. I do love London, there is no doubt about that and this time it is tinged with the sad realisation that without Ham and Az here who knows when or even if I will return so I take it all in rather sadly this time.

Yesterday I went to the Saatchi Gallery at Ariane’s suggestion and just LOVED the exhibition that was on there. It was East meets West PopArt and it really did blow me away, amazing, loved it. I then walked along King’s Road to Chelsea…so trendy, cooler than cool really and where you’d want to buy a house if you had zillions.

Last night we went to an Ethiopian restaurant with Wana and Mikey who have just returned from Australia. That was nice. They cam back to H&A’s for drinks after and as it was Christmas Tree pick up night we dismantled the Christmas tree and threw it downstairs out the window…that was a bit of a to do!!

Today I went to Tate Britain to see the Late Turner Exhibition which I also loved. Spent hours and got home after dark (not that that is hard i.e. 4.30pm). So one more day doing my own thing tomorrow, then Friday Hammy has taken the day off to spend with me which I am very excited about, then we are going down to Kent for the weekend for my birthday treat. That is exciting. And squashed in there is a meal at Ottolenghi tomorrow night. Then it’s all over Red Rover and I head to Prague on Monday.

More later. Bye for now

Posted on

Dubrovnik

Another day in this lovely city. Day started well with a chat to Ang followed by a leisurely Hilton breakfast to ensure we get as much value for money as possible. Then it was off to walk the wall. That was really great. I felt as if I got my exercise for the first time in ages. The sun shone, the temperature rose to about (i’m told) 14. I discarded the coat and just loved the walk. Lots of steps involved to get the old legs going again. Beautiful views over city and sea. Time to stop and lap up a bit of warmth…just perfect.

Light lunch, wander back to Hilton luxury. Get a decent cup of coffee and then downtime before figuring out what to do for dinner.

Very relaxed day all in all. What else to say??

Posted on

Ushering in 2015 in Montenegro and Dubrovnik

So yes, the restaurant we dined in for the night before NYE was special. It is obviously the best restaurant in Budva. Before the night was out they had offered us a table for NYE which was great.

So…NYE dawned as the 30th had ended. The wind howled all night, fiercely!! It was absolutely freezing. I went out in the morning and wandered around Budva for a while. Then I met Ham and Az and we went for lunch at the first place we’d booked for NYE. That was nice although only moderately good food. So after a leisurely meal we braved the elements once again only to find that the wind had stopped. It was fabulous…suddenly it was cold but fine so we did a bit more wandering before going back to the apartment to start drinking!! Our host gave us half a bottle of Rakja (or something like that) …i.e. a fierce local spirit and we had bought Prosecco and red wine. We sat about until it was time to go to dinner. We had a lovely meal and then hit the main square where it was ‘all happening’….it was full of people, a loud band and lots of good will. Only problem was that I mislaid Hammy and Ariane. I had a fine time, got lots of kisses from random strangers but I really upset Ham. No doubt he’ll fill you in on his senile old mother who makes life difficult!!!

Next day, hangover (Hammy) not withstanding we headed off to Lake Skadar. This was an adventure we were all looking forward to, staying in an Eco Resort no less. We headed odd to the Lake and had a drive around it…it really is gorgeous and so very pretty. Then off to the resort…fortunately we decided to get there early because we arrived to find it totally shut down. They not only took our booking but also sent reminders!! There we were in the middle of nowhere with nowhere to stay. Bugger!!
So we took a deep breath and headed for Dubrovnik directly. We had a booking at the Hilton for 3 nights and they had a room for us for the 4th night. This was my luxury treat for the end of our holiday that grew from 2 nights, to 3 nights, then 4 nights…but it is gorgeous, in a perfect position and definitely luxury. Amazing breakfast!!!

I’ve been out this morning exploring Dubrovnik while Ham returned the car. Now we’re off to forage for food.