Croatia - The Finale

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Well after 6 monhs of winter and hardly any sun in London, and from next month on another winter down in NZ we were seriously looking for some sun and sea before our departure back to NZ. We were lucky enough to be invited to our friends, Jacques & Catherine's wedding in Croatia so we decided to spend a couple of weeks travelling through this beautiful country before arriving in Dubrovnik for the big wedding.

So having moved out of our flat and finished up at our work we flew to Croatia ready for some time out and hoping desperately for some sun, we were not dissapointed. We started in the noth of Croatia in Zagreb but that was for a few hours only as we jumped onto a bus to the Plitvice lakes. This is one of the national parks in Croatia with I think 20 odd lakes and over 100 waterfalls. This place was amazing and it's natural beauty reminded us of NZ. We spent 6 hours walking through the park and enjoying the views. Anyone heading to Croatia must get to this place. If was then time for the sun so we headed to the coast. Another bus trip to Split and then onto a ferry to the island of Brac. We spent a couple of nights in a town called Supetar and then over to Bol for 4 nights. This was so chilled and our days consisted of food and laying on the beach. It was amazing and just what the doctor ordered. We also managed to get to Hvar Island which was also fantastic. It was a little more busy than Brac but such a beautiful Island.

We then decide to head back to the mainland and travel down the coast. The good thing about May is you still get the hot weather but it is not peak season so at times we were sitting on the beach with only a handful of others. We found a town called Brela about an hour south of Split and this was very gucci. Amazing little town with a great coastline and therefore great beaches. We spent a few days here doing much of the same, 6 hours a day at the beach and then up for fresh fish for dinner. Yes it was a hard few days!! By this time Anna was rather brown and I was trying my best to keep up. From Brela we went into Makarska where Anna manged to catch up with a friend she worked with in NZ and then down the coast to Dubrovnik. Most of our friends were invited to Jacques & Catherine's wedding so this was going to be a great last few days with all our friends before heading back to NZ. Our time with them all was so great. Everyone was in high spirits and very relaxed, as you are when you get out of London anh have a few champagnes. The wedding was amazing. It was held on an Island just off Dubrovnik in a beautiful garden setting with the sea behind us. After the ceremony we headed back to the Old Town for the reception where we were right on the waters edge looking back to the town. A great day and so special to be at the weding with so many of the people who have meant so much to us over here in London.

The next day we all chilled at the beach and finished with a big dinner. The reality of us heading to NZ in only a few days started to sink in as we had to start saying goodbyes so that was hard but at the same time we are both so thankful to have so many awesome people in our lifes over here.

So we are now back in London for a couple of days and yes we have had rain all ready. We love this city but we will not miss the weather. It is incredible to think we have been here 2 and a half years and I don't think we ever expected to feel sad when it came time to leave London. Still we can't wait to get back to NZ and open the door on the next chapter of our life. So to all of you in NZ, can't wait to see you and hopefully we will catch up with you all in the coming weeks. To those on this side of the world, thanks for making the last 2 and a half years so special for us. We will miss you but hope to see you all again in the very near future.

Take care and love to you all

James and Anna

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