Xti02

By Christi We started the day with a wonderful breakfast spread of bread, local honey, cream cheese, prosciutto and fresh cherries. It was Nicola's turn to drive and after breakfast we headed south on the highway. The highways are a bit easier to manage than the small village roads, as long as you remember that the fast lane is on the left, and can manage to stop close enough to the ticket machine at the highway onramp to reach the button to collect your toll gate ticket! Our first stop was the small town of Rovinj, on the coast. The old town area used to be an island, but it was connected to the mainland in 1763 and now it is a peninsula. The Italian influence is obvious, with most signs written in both Croatian and ... read more

By Christi We started the morning with coffee in bed - it's Nicola's birthday! And after everything we saw of Plitvice yesterday, it seems to be the perfect place to spend a special day. We went in at Entrance 2 again, but instead of taking the ferry all the way to the far end of the lake like yesterday, we only crossed the first bit of the lake and then got off to explore the upper lakes section. These were some of the same paths we walked on yesterday afternoon, but the morning light was much better and we were awed by the lakes and waterfalls and all the shades of emerald and aquamarine and turquoise imaginable. Plitvice Lakes Park is one of Croatia's main tourist attractions, but it wasn't always as peaceful and accessible as ... read more

By Nicola Bags packed, the boat trip has come to an end. We had a last breakfast on board the boat before walking over to the car hire office to collect our car for the next part of our trip: Plitvice lakes and Istria. Christi and I were to be the drivers for the week and we had been waiting for this moment with some trepidation! After sorting out the admin part, loading our bags and making sure of which side the driver sits, we were ready! I was the first driver with Christi on navigation duty, Riana watching out for pedestrians and Louise making sure I stayed on the right hand side of the road! There were a few near misses with the pavement as I adjusted to the new position of the car around ... read more

By Riana The church of St Anthony is perched on top of St Anthony's Hill, just south of Korčula's Old Town and our harbour. We got up bright and early and started our day with a climb up this hill in time for a sunrise view from the church's grounds. On our way back to the harbour we walked past a few houses, and admired the amount of fruit trees that we saw. Apple, quince, citrus, fig, loquat, olive trees and grape vines were the ones we saw on our short walk. We sailed to the island of Brač, but as we were only allowed into the harbour at around 5pm, we had a lazy day on the boat with lots of reading, sunbathing and a swim break close to the southern end of Hvar island. ... read more

By Christi This day has finally arrived: our long awaited visit to Dubrovnik! And what an amazing day it was. Dubrovnik's history started in the 7th century, when residents were attacked by Slavs and fled to this rocky islet. Walls were built and fortified over the centuries, and withstood numerous attacks and sieges by several enemies. Due to its fantastic geographical location, great seamanship, clever trading skills and canny diplomacy which maintained good relationships with all other nations, the Republic of Dubrovnik flourished. Unfortunately it didn't always go so well: the city was hit by a massive earthquake in 1667, and many buildings were destroyed; Napoleon seized the city in 1808 and declared the end of the republic; and shelling during the homeland war in 1991 caused considerable damage. Now, everything has been rebuilt, repaired and ... read more