The Road to Dubrovnik

Posted on July 22, 2013 by TED

A couple of posts behind…

Several days ago we left Spilt for Dubrovnik. The ride, longer than we expected was made more interesting by our driver Frank who is Dubrovnik born and raised. Very proud of his city and its history as Republic of Ragusa he made sure we had our facts straight including:

Dubrovnik is in an more loose association with Croatia like the Vatican is with Italy. Not quite as independent but close.
Croatia was once a larger, rounder country. Centuries ago the Ottoman Empire invaded trying to get to other parts of Europe but they were stopped (proudly) by the Croats but it left the country with the wedge shape it has today.
Croatia is in two pieces, the larger part north and a smaller section south where Dubrovnik is. The break happen when a part of the country was sold to the Ottomans as protection for Dubrovnik so in case the Venetians invaded they would have to go through the Ottoman Empire as well to get to Dubrovnik.
When we passed thru Bosnia and Herzegovina we were going to be in the Herzegovina section of the country.
Montenegro men from the countries interior are lazy, so much so that there are jokes about them: A Montenegrin man was lounging beneath a tree when he called out to his wife to bring the antidote for a snake bite. When she asked had he been bitten he responded “No, but I will be.”

After several hours of driving we stopped near the city of Ston for an Oyster and Mussel lunch. Sydney loves Oysters, Kim loves Mussels and waters in this area are exceptionally clean and have many oyster farms and got more than we wanted.We were hosted by an Oyster farmer who’s family has been doing this for several generations. He took us on a boat tour of his farm then cooks us a lunch on his private island. A very nice afternoon lunch!

On the road to Dubrovnik

A nice bay along the road.

Entering Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Some selective editing in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Oyster farms near Ston, Croatia.

Syd on the boat during the oyster farm tour.

The oyster farmer showing us our fresh lunch on the way to the kitchen.

Entering Dubrovnik.

Split

Posted on July 19, 2013 by TED

Today we toured and relaxed in Split. In the morning we caught up with Rada, a local guide who showed us around the old town. The Roman Emperor Diocletian was born near here and said he would build a palace here if he gained power, a promise he fulfilled. After he died the palace was abandoned and slowly became a town with buildings slowly filling in the grounds as the local population grew. Over the years many other empires occupies this land, Venice, Austria-Hungary to name a few gave this city an eclectic collection of buildings and as in other places some of the original ‘pagan’ temples became churches so the original buildings were preserved and can be seen in detail today. Great tour Rada, thanks!

After resting in the late afternoon we went out for dinner in the vibrant Friday evening crowd, lots of energy here. There was a hair band playing on the promenade giving the party crowd who had too little money to get into the clubs something to do. Nice vibe here, we will come back.

Part of the central square in Split.

Outside one of the original walls now located in central Split.

Once a temple to Jupiter, now a church.

Rada and Sydney

Split habor.

Split from up high.

Sydney and Dad up high.

Vertigo anyone?

The promenade in Split.

An interesting fountain.

The Hair Band in action.

Across The Adriatic

Posted on July 19, 2013 by TED

Sigh. Time to move on. Although we loved Rome in some ways we were ready to go. Rome is quite the busy place and although I like to visit it and it has one of my favorite buildings in the world (Pantheon) I burn out on the city quicker than other locations in Europe. Adding on was while our hotel (Grand Hotel de la Minerve) was in a great location and had a great staff, the more 21st century oriented facilities were lacking and after 4 days we had enough.

One last lunch at our favorite restaurant by the Pantheon it was time to hop across the Adriatic to Split, Croatia and a beautiful and hopping Thursday night. Our hotel, the Hotel Luxe gave is a warm welcome that included cake and Prosecco, the room has a great view of Split harbor and the ferries that are coming and going to the nearby islands and the vibe in the air for this sea-side town is driving Sydney crazy. Again. At least when she travels in the future I know where I have to worry when she travels…

Now we are watching a red, red moon setting on some of the smoothest water we have seen in a while. Nice.