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Our car full!
From left: Me, Deitrich, Kelsey, and Elise Ever wonder where Western Europeans go on holidays to get away from the flocks of North American tourists that descend upon them each summer?
Enter the small, yet stunningly beautiful eastern European nation of Croatia. Complete with towering mountains that look out over phenomenal beaches and a gorgeous island-dotted coastline, historical and cultural cities not yet totally overrun by high-end commercial stores maintaining their old "European" charm, and and some of the warmest, most kind-hearted and beautiful people there are, Croatia is by far an excellent destination for all types of travellers.
Our road trip started out driving down the beautiful Istrian Peninsula to Pula. We didn't spend much time in the city, but moved quickly to a nearby beach that was probably the most fun and fabulous place I've been in a while. After a quick dip in the Mediterranean, we sat on the white rock beach drinking champagne and watching the tide slowly creep in. But it gets better! Just above us, completely hidden amongst bushes and palm trees, we discovered a fantastic self-serve bar, complete with private natural "booths" to sit and enjoy a beer in, and the best playground I think I've ever been
to! After a few rounds of ping-pong, we all took our turn on the swings. Not just ordinary swings though. When you get going, every time you swing forward, you glide above the brush into the most amazing view of the sea, bringing on the most high-on-life, euphoric state of being I've ever felt. All of us were just beaming - laughing and grinning from ear to ear for a long time after that experience!
That night, we stayed in a campground just outside of Pula. I slept outside on the beach, which was wonderful, except for being woken up a few times with ants crawling in my sleeping bag! In the morning, the wind picked up, which made me really glad for my borrowed mummy-bag, and also brought out a huge group of wind and kite surfers giving a great morning show.
That day, we hung out in Pula for a bit, hitting up the market for a morning coffee and some travel food, and then left on our way to the historical Roman town of Split. Unfortunately, we arrived there late and had to leave early the next day for the ferry, so we didn't have
much time to enjoy the city. What we did see though was the old, walled in city, built over many different periods and under many different Roman, Croatian, Venetian, French and Austrian leaders, beginning as an ancient roman palace and eventually transformed to become the centre of the city. Its a bit of an architectural hodge-podge that comes together in a fascinating way. There is also what would be a fantastic promenade by the seaside, however it was unfortunately torn up for construction getting ready for summer tourists when we arrived.
Next we were off to the island of Brac, and the stunning beachs of Bol. Although there was definitly one too many full-serve resorts there, it was a beautiful little vacation spot. The main beach,
ZlatniRat, is a small cone of a peninsula that juts out into the sea, curling at the peak to look almost as the fin of a whale or dolphin. It was our luck that we arrived there on the holiday, so nothing was open, but we found a great little appartment to stay the night in, and the lady at the restaurant next door openned for us.
The next morning, I got
up early and longboarded along the 2km walkway to the beach (the only time I really got to use my space-taking-in-tiny-car longboard, but it was nice to have!), and went for a quick swim before going back and getting the others up so we could be on our way to Dubrovnik...
At some point in your life, whether you enjoy travelling or not, make sure your travels take you to Dubrovnik. I really can't even describe the frighteningly awesome beauty of this city. Just... go there. That's all...
We arrived late to Dubrovnik, and with no place to stay at 10pm, quickly found ourselves knocking on doors up and down one of the many streets dotted with "rooms/zimmer/apartment to rent" signs. Finally we found a room in the home of an elderly lady - she rented us her living room, complete with a hide-a-bed, couch, and mattress on the floor for about 10 euros each. It was strange, but it was a little home, and it had a big balcony with a phenomenal view over dubrovnik, which was fantastic to wake up to the next morning, even if it was pouring rain! We went out to the city
late that night, arriving just in time to meet a large group of Polish twenty-somethings who had all just hitch-hiked from the North of Poland, in a competition to see who could arrive in Dubrovnik first! So crazy!! I talked to one girl, and she said it had taken her 55 hours to get there. That's pretty good time coming from the North of Poland!! We partied with them for a while, before wandering a bit in the old town until around 2am.
The next morning, my last day of holidays, I got up early again to get out and see the city. Dubrovnik is... well, like I already said, I can't describe it. Writing here about walking on top of and below forty foot high ancient city walls, wandering tiny, colorful and potted-plant filled cobble-stone streets, hiking up and down thousands of time-worn stairs to see the many nooks and crannies of the city - all of this just can not do it justice, and neither can the pictures I have here. Just go... that's all I can say!
Well, that's about it... I left the rest of the group to come back to Ljubljana and get
some homework done before the holiday is totally over, and while that hasn't happened, it was nice to come home and get organized a bit before classes start up again! Only 3 weeks left... joj!
Love you all,
Mel.
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Nancy
non-member comment
Hi
Great photos again. Brought back memories.....Dubrovnik is one of my favourite places, too!