Croatia: Part 2

Halfway through our Croatian exploration trip and we were having a blast. The challenge of driving was taking its toll but because public transport doesn't really exist we didn't have many options. Our love/hate relationship with the GPS continued on our journey to our Split apartment. Once we finally arrived our visit to Split was short and sweet, we ventured into the old town for the evening and wandered around followed by a delicious meal in one of the local squares.

 

The following morning started our trek to Plitivice National Parks, I was looking forward to the Parks since seeing the pictures of all the amazing waterfalls online. The signage was confusing and we struggled a little to figure out were we where but once we parked and had lunch we choose a trail. You could either go to the right and see the big waterfall and a couple others or go to the left and see multiple smaller waterfalls. After talking with some staff the larger waterfall route was deemed more kid friendly and we were off.  Of course right when we start it starts pouring down rain, worst of the whole trip and we all get drenched! Lucky for us the rain passed and it was a gorgeous hike through the park. The waterfalls were amazing and the path was just build right through the waterfalls at some points, water flowing right over where you are supposed to walk. Not like any park we’ve visited in the US. After getting a little turned around (possibly my fault) we headed back to the parking lot and drove to Rovinj.

 

 

 The next morning bright and early we ventured into the picturesque old town Rovinj. We headed to Red Island for a relaxing afternoon at the beach. I had already learned my lesson about the rock beaches so decided to lay out and relax. We saw tons of jelly fish and finally ended up illegally hanging out in the hotel pool (SHHH don’t tell!) We spent the evening wandering the town and shopping for things we can’t get in Saudi. For dinner we had the best Mexican food, something we have been missing terribly!! 

We decided to spend the following day in Slovenia, it was our first experience driving across a border and we had to cross into Bosnia and then into Slovenia which pissed the GPS off to no end. Slovenia was similar to Croatia in being very hilly with tons of green. It was so quaint. We started at Lake Bled with a lunch in Bled Castle with great views and traditional food. Next we found a place to bottle our own win in the castle and a small museum. Our plans to go luging and paddle to the island were thwarted by a large rain storm. Instead we decided to head to the capital of Ljubljana and explore. I have to say this is an area I’ve noticed the biggest personal change is my ability to be more flexible, expat life has done me good. It was still a rainy day but we had found such a gem in the town. Walked around the square and enjoyed some local market food along with getting some awesome photos. Maddy even got to play some little kids basketball, even though she couldn’t speak the language she did well. Finished our day with dinner back in Rovinj at a local restaurant where we had seen a pig roasting all day, it was delicious!

The following day we headed 45min south to Pula which is the sight of ancient Roman ruins. The colosseum here was built around the same time as the one in Rome and is one of the best preserved ones in all the world. We walked into the town and saw the Roman forum and busy square. At this point Maddy had a rare “3 year old moment”, we made a very hasty exit to the car. Not before she pee’d on Trey on purpose and tried to run in the street with us running after her screaming. Not any of our finest moments but thankfully nothing a long afternoon nap couldn’t fix.

That evening we decided to be brave and venture out again, we headed to the hilltop town of Motovun. You have to park and climb the mountain but thankfully since we got there so late we could drive up over half the way and park. We walked the city walls and enjoy the tiny community inside the walls. We got to experience truffles for the first time (Amazing!!) and wild asparagus pasta. Absolute food-gasm!  

Our final full day in Croatia we woke up and had our final family breakfast with Jay and Beth before all heading to Zagreb and our final apartment. In Zagreb I wish I could say we continued our adventure but we were so exhausted that we just spent the afternoon and evening laying on our couch and resting. We bid farewell to Jay, Beth and the girls as they headed back to the states while we went on to Budapest.

Croatia: part 1

We are venturing to Eastern Europe for this trip which is an area that was so off my radar before I came to Saudi. Our first stop is Croatia with Jay and family and then we are heading on to Budapest alone. Planning this trip was more difficult because the information wasn't as stream lined as other places throughout Europe we've been in the past. Plus, I knew nothing about the country so it took a bunch of back research too. From a trip to the US we didn't take we had a United voucher that was due to expire so we used it to go Croatia. Our flight wasn't great but for United it was okay, 4 stops which is as many as we've ever had. 

Newsflash: Four stops = too many, never again! It started out with a larger possibility of failure because we were all suffering through some sinus trouble thanks to the Saudi sand. Our flight was Thursday (Saudi start of the weekend) evening from Bahrain so to avoid unnecessary trouble on the causeway we went over early and had dinner. My lack of USDA meat in 9 months may have skewed my opinion but that was quite possibly the BEST burger I've ever had. From there it's pretty much a blur of too many airports and not enough sleep until we finally reach Dubrovnik. 

Another new adventure we are experiencing this trip is renting a car, we've always relied on public transport when traveling abroad but Croatia has no trains and the bus stops/stations were few and far between. With our lofty goal of traveling up the entire coast the only way it was possible was by car. Picking up the rental was painless and I spared myself the shame of having to ask how to turn it on thanks to a couple brain cells I reserved from travels, silly foreign cars. Driving in Croatia is not for the weak hearted! Although, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of directional signs and the condition of the road in/around Dubrovnik. Once we got settled into the gorgeous Villa Voga we crashed after too long of travel days. 

On our first full day in Dubrovnik we were joined by my Aunt and Uncle with their two daughters. Recovered from our exhaustive travels we could really appreciate the beauty of the area, we were greeted with breathtaking views and the sound of the Sea crashing on the rocks below. After we all got settled we decided to explore some of the smaller towns surrounding Dubrovnik. We drove to the closest town, Mlini and went on a lengthy search for parking, which may or may not have included driving on some pedestrian walkways. After multiple dirty looks from passersby, a couple tight uturns, and one complete restart from the highway we found the parking lot. A walkway of stairs led down into the city and we were finally off adventuring. Mlini is a cute little town with a pier, some restaurants and a couple pebble beaches. 

We stumbled upon a tour guy who offered to take us on to a private island in a speed boat for lunch. Why not? So ten minutes later we are swept away to an island for a fish lunch with a breathtaking view of the city and surrounding area. We hung out a while and explored the island a bit before returning to walk around some more. We wondered the pedestrian strand for a couple hours, sitting seaside for a glass of wine and letting the kids play in the rocks on the beach.

 

 For dinner we decided to head to another surrounding town named Cavtot. It was a little larger and was nice to wander in the evening lights.  

Day two we headed into Dubrovnik, the day started with a similar parking dilemma. Although all the frustrating driving around did lead us to another first: a ride in a car elevator in a fancy hotel parking garage. We took in the picturesque city and got our bearings before heading into the gate. 

I had gotten recommendations from a couple people to eat at Lady Pi Pi (pronounced pee-pee not pie-pie, thanks to a statue of a women peeing in front of the restaurant, designed by a man I'm sure) of course it was at the top of the city. 300 stairs later we arrived, really hopefully it was worthy of the climb. Verdict: Meh, interesting place, decent food but nothing to write home about.

 

 After lunch we walked back to ground level and went searching for the traditional jewelry of Dubrovnik. We found some gorgeous necklaces and a bracelet Maddy somehow conned out of a street vendor. After a quick gellato break it was time to meet our guide and start our tour of the city walls. Stefi was a wonderful tour guide, so informative about all things Croatia! She made Dubrovnik and the history of Croatia really come alive for us. Maddy was wonderful as we climbed countless stairs and the 2 miles of the city walls.  After the wall walk our guide walked us through the old town showing us some buildings and explaining the history. I was completely naive to how tied to Vince Croatia's past is or how recent their freedom from Yugoslavia. They only joined the European Union last year. She dropped us off at a delicious local restaurant that was the best we've had so far, Capon. 

The highlight of her afternoon was see her first "water train" aka a submarine and finding 'jails' to play in on the wall.

 

The following day we headed to the cable car station to take a ride up the Mount Srd. It has an aerial view of Dubrovnik along with a museum to the 1990 war. Although the Rick Steve's warning made it seem a little dangerous (stay on the paths because they don't know if they've found all the landmines) we decided to risk the journey. We found a cozy and close pizza place for lunch that served surprisingly good pizza with relatively lousy service, Tabasscos. After lunch we continued our journey along the city walls to find a beach for the kids to play. We found one and after trekking some more stairs arrived, it was short lived when I realized the error of my ways of thinking my 3 yr old would follow any rules without me in the water. And an important lesson about the pain of standing on pebbles for a long time. After a long, hot trek uphill back to the car we had hit our max for the day. We returned to Villa Voga, lounged in the bathtub and enjoyed the view. We finished the evening with wine, beer and some snacks on the patio. It was the perfect final day in a beautiful city.