Grahame and Gretchen Benvie

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Travel Blog Posts


The Tour of Ulcinj,Montenegro

Publishing: May 22nd 2013Europe » Montenegro » Ulcinj
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May 19th 2013

Gelato flavour of the day – Kiwi (this one not particularly true to its flavour but the right colour) For some reason we thought we had forgotten we had purchased items for our lunch today and as we needed fresh bread we planned a walk ‘down the easy road ‘to a pekara (local lingo for bakery) after breakfast. The rangy young cat that has walked by a couple of times and also last night got a couple of pieces of chicken from our dinner was back again this morning and this time with a female friend who was either his sister or mother as she had almost identical markings, a ginger head and tail with a white body except she also had a couple of ginger bits on her side. They looked well fed, in relation ... read more



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May 18th 2013

No gelato today but a local(yes they do make wine in Montenegro)charronday in a café overlooking the beach We knew that it would happen eventually and this morning the sun returned from a cloudless sky making the view from the terrace outside our apartment of the Adriatic just that much more beautiful.While the sky here doesn't have the bright blue we experience at home the sea is a lovely blue colour.The large swell from last night and the storm of the previous day had died away completely and we could see just gentle waves lapping onto the small beach at the bottom of the town. Our neighbours from the next door apartment who we had had a long chat to last night while enjoying a beer,had left for home in Paris early this morning.He was Welsh ... read more



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May 17th 2013

We did something today we haven't ever done in 41 years of marriage and travel together................we decided to share a suitcase!Now you probably don't think that this was a MAJOR decision but think about it,male stuff in with female stuff!However,we hope that the need for our winter clothes has passed with the prospect of fine ,warm weather ahead as the adventure takes us further south and there is not much point at carting in and storing those clothes as we change our accommodation.So combining the packing cells with the winter stuff into one suitcase and leaving it in the boot of the car was the obvious answer.As it turned out we were pretty much on a 50/50 basis when it came down to the space the summer clothes in their packing cells took up.So we shall ... read more



Tivat and the Bay of Kotor

Published: May 18th 2013Europe » Montenegro » Kotor » Kotor
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May 16th 2013

After the walk up the mountainside yesterday we were happy to do a little less exercise today and as the weather had turned on us and was overcast and drizzly at times we had a good lie in and didn't emerge for breakfast until 9am,very late for us. Lunchtime seemed to arrive very quickly after relaxing with the kindle and catching up on banking,blog and all the other admin things that have to continue while we are away. The weather by now had cleared to partly cloudy and we needed to get out and stretch our legs so we headed off to Tivat about 5km down the road towards one of the numerous inlets of the Bay of Kotor. Our apartment is on the flight path to Tivat airport which we discovered is served by small ... read more



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May 15th 2013

Today dawned gloriously fine and sunny which should make the trip into Kotor and a look around easy to do. In the absence of egg cups Gretchen adapted an egg carton by cutting off the individual egg holders and putting them inside one of the small coffee cups to make 'egg cups'.We had tired of scambled egg and it was time for boiled eggs for a change.The 'cups'should last and not need to be washed!With the toaster we purchased during our Niksic shopping expedition(the one we bought in Naples works but only if you hold it down and we weren't able to trade it in at the Auchan store we tried at)we can now make hot toast again which is something we were missing. We headed into Kotor about 10km away and found a parking area ... read more



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May 14th 2013

The prospects for the grey,overcast conditions clearing took a turn for the better this morning and as we walked to the restaurant for breakfast the sun was trying its best to break through.While we waited for the waiter to bring our breakfast Gretchen pointed to the lady sweeping the ground in the outside area of the restaurant using a broom made of thin twigs of the sort you might see a 'witch' in a movie or play use.She said she had noticed this just about everywhere we have been including Italy and how effective they were on the hard surfaces.Just shows how a male doesn't recognise home cleaning 'equipment'!! After another yummy omelette we packed up the car and readied ourselves for the driven into the 'unknown'. However before we w ere able to head away ... read more



A Day in Sarajevo

Published: May 15th 2013Europe » Bosnia & Herzegovina » East » Sarajevo
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May 13th 2013

We hadn’t intended to stay more than a night in Sarajevo as we had been to the city in 2009 and we thought we had seen all we had wanted to then.However, when we were looking at accommodation between here and our first stop in Montenegro there wasn’t a lot to choose from on the websites and what there was, was too expensive for the BBA V2.So we opted for another night in Sarajevo to break the journey. As it turned out there were other things and places for us to see and do and basically fill the day in. The weather was still grey and overcast this morning but at least there was no rain. We dressed for a daytime high of 10C which at home would have meant thick jerseys and hats if you ... read more



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May 12th 2013

We had hoped the showery weather from yesterday might have cleared this morning to give us a day of travel in dry conditions but we weren’t in luck. The cloud was still low over the hills and although the heavier rain that had fallen through the night wasn’t happening there was still a light misty drizzle. We paid our hostess for the stay and got into conversation about her time in the local area and were surprised to some degree that the area had seen Serbian occupation during the part of the Balkan War that involved battles between Serbia and Croatia when the latter wanted to cecede, as Slovenia had done, from the old Yugoslavia after the fall of communism. The area around the Plitvice Lakes had been divided between Serbs and Croats generally living in ... read more



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May 11th 2013

Well,todays blog won't take long to read 'cos we didn't do a lot because it rained! We did need to go to the market in the next town about 8km away as we didn't have anything for dinner so we gave Cindy a short run in the countryside.The villages on SS1 which runs north towards Zagreb are all just a few houses,a market about the size of a 4 Square store at home and a restaurant if they are lucky. After last nights delicious tuna salad and in the light of nothing else in tins we could understand or any edible looking fresh meat we opted again for tuna!You can't go wrong with a tin of tuna in Croatia because the word is spelt the same in Croatian as it is in English or at least ... read more



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May 10th 2013

We had hoped for a fine,sunny day to visit the lakes area of the National Park and we got it.Tomorrow the forecast is not so good so we will make the most of it today. We had the option of driving the car to the entrance of the Lakes,a UNESCO World Heritage site, and parking at K7 per hour but the BBA V2 avoids parking fees if it can.....so we walked the 2km to the entrance telling ourselves as we went that we were warming up our limbs for the days walking in the park.We weren't quite sure what we would be telling ourselves to will us on our way home after what we expect will be several more kilometres around the lakes but that was for the future and we always support each other so ... read more






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