JFK After my wonderful First Class flight experience, I found myself in JFK, an airport I had previously felt could go either way. Tonight, it went south, fast. Our flight was delayed about 40 minutes, which gave me just over an hour to get my luggage (already checked to Rochester), reload it at baggage check, check in for my flight and get to my gate for the last flight of the night. I was a little nervous after the last time I had to wait for luggage at JFK - same thing. 40 minutes!!!! This gave me a half hour. I loaded everything up myself and tried to find where to check through. When I finally found the Emirates counter, three employees were standing around gabbing and seemed very reluctant to help me. "Oh, well those ... read more

I am going to have to start this with a disclaimer. This was the last leg of an almost month-long journey, I got a bad cold from my Croatian friend, and it rained the entire time…. but I was sadly not impressed with Budapest. I know, I really wanted to like it too. Let me just say - the city itself is absolutely beautiful and I loved the architecture. I love the history of Hungary and I made sure that I got my fill of it. But for a city that seems to pride itself on tourism, I felt like the local people themselves resented tourists. They were not mean exactly, just not friendly and often annoyed. But let's go back to the start… We pulled into the train station and I said good bye to ... read more

We got into Marina Kastela on Saturday afternoon, after detouring once for a quick final swim. At this point, people prepared to go separate ways. First things first - SHOWER. None of us could wait five minutes once we tied up to take a real shower, with hot water, in a big room, without swimsuits (if so desired). Going to a real bathroom. Brushing our teeth. I stood in the shower for a good twenty minutes. It shut off after about 30 seconds, but it was still hot and allowed me to thoroughly wash my hair multiples times, shave, and just clean all the salt, sweat and dirt off my body. After this, Marko prepared to go to his grandmother's for the evening, dropping Fay and Christoff and I at Split. Luka and Ivana were having ... read more

Our next destination was Hvar Island, also kind of known as a party island. I'm not much of a partier, but the island definitely had more atmosphere. First we stopped in a cove across from the main island, where there was also a beach lounge called Carpe Diem. At 2am, this "lounge" turns into a rave basically. But it was a beautiful stop, where we could get a nice view of Hvar across the way. There was also a super hot ship captain nearby in a speedo; I am not much for speedos, but Fay and I were drooling. Then we anchored near Hvar and went to shore for dinner. There is a very nice square where most of the action takes place, with many outdoor cafes and restaurants set up, the main clock, and lots ... read more

I was so happy to see one of the items on my bucket list. On our way from Zagreb to Split, our friends took us to this beautiful national park with the stepped lakes and waterfalls, crystal clear blue waters, and stunning scenery. I was so excited for this. It is not a direct route, so we had taken the long way through the countryside. Fay and I were able to get to know the 8th member of our party, Marko. He is definitely talkative and the life of the party. He recommended a stop for lunch at this cute little spot near the park, Rastoke, where he said they had the best fish. The fish did not disappoint. I was still full from our brunch, but I tried it - when in Rome, right? Who ... read more