Dubrovnik

Next stop on our Croatian tour: Dubrovnik. It's hard not to be completely enchanted with the fortressed city, but first, we had to get there. After ferrying from Hvar to Split, we learned that most of the bus tickets for the day had already been sold. Cal and I spent five hours wandering around the city and planning out life, then finally boarded our bus for the four hour bus ride to Dubrovnik.

More Split

The bus ride was seriously stunning--the entire ride is either along the craggy coast or through idyllic farmland. I do wish we had kept the rental car for this part of our journey, because I would have loved to have stopped a few times (and I get bus sick). Cal and I experienced a travel scare when we got to the Bosnian border (you have to cross through Bosnia for about 20 miles to get to Dubrovnik) when Cal couldn't find his passport. Oddly enough, although border patrol boarded the bus and checked all passports, they didn't care that Cal had nothing. Thankfully, the passport was in Cal's luggage under the bus, so we did not have to make emergency plans to get to the embassy.

Typical Scene from the Bus

Now, Dubrovnik. I highly recommend staying in Dubrovnik for a few days. The town is flooded with cruise shippers during the day, but in the early morning, late afternoon and evening, the town is magical.

Highlights:
* Lokrum Island
* Buza Bar, a tiny bar carved into the outside wall of Dubrovnik
* Hiking around the city walls
* Fort Lovrijenac
* Lots of ice cream cones (the sun beats down on the white stone streets)

Lokrum Island (beware of the nude beaches)

Rampart Walk

Buza Bar

The Fort

We stayed at the Grand Villa Argentina.  Four stars, outstanding views of Dubrovnik, a five minute walk from the old city, cool swimming pool that leads into the ocean, reasonably priced. Highly recommend.

View from the Hotel

View from the Pool

We loved Croatia!

Hvar

Cal and I both loved Hvar, an island an hour or so from Split. From the ferry ride across the sapphire Adriatic Sea to dinners on the slanted, narrow cobblestone sidewalks, Hvar was my version of European perfection.

Favorite activities: 
* Cycling along clear aquamarine shores around the island
* Our half-day sail (I would have loved to have visited Vis, but it was a full-day sail away)
* Hiking to the monastery at the highest point on Hvar
* Seafood pastas under the twinkly restaurant courtyard lights
* Gelato(s) while we watched sunsets from the dock
* Checking out the many yachts in the harbor (apparently Hvar is an island for the rich and famous)
* Enjoying the very loud, very drunk Croatian folksong singing on the ferry deck

We stayed at the Amfora Hvar Grand Beach Hotel. It was very reasonably priced, clean, nice views, but a 7-minute walk along cobblestones to the main part of the town. 

Our arrival in Hvar

Overlooking Hvar from the monastery 

Best bike ride of 2013

The second-best sail of 2013

Sailing in Croatia is sublime

Scoping out sailboats and yachts

Beautiful Hvar

Split

After lots of getting lost, Cal and I zipped down the Croatian coast to Split, one of the country's largest cities. We stopped off in Sibenik and reveled in the picture-perfectness of the seaside historic town (and got lost yet again trying to find Krka National Park, which should have been impossible to miss). We spent a day bumming around the pool at Le Meridien Split Lav (along with Leonard from Big Bang Theory--Cal and I like to vacation with the stars), which ended up being one of our favorite days of the trip. The ocean's water is crystal clear with varying shades of impossible blue and green, and the weather was pretty perfect. 

After turning in our rental car, we spent our second evening in Split strolling through the Diocletian Palace maze. The Diocletian Palace was constructed by the Romans in 305 AD, and now it houses cobblestone sidewalk restaurants (with lots of surprisingly expensive but undeniably delicious seafood) and our lovely hotel, the Hotel Vestibul Palace. The entire city consists of white stone buildings and walkways that are lined with kelly green-shuttered windows. Not bad for a port city.

St. James Cathedral in Sibenik

Podstrana, Croatia

While the water is super beautiful, the sea floor is pretty rocky

Infinity pools are generally a good idea

The Hotel Vestibul Palace, smack in the middle of the Diocletian Palace

Plitvice Lakes

We jetted from Istanbul to Zagreb, Croatia on Turkish Airlines (which is an awesome airline--fresh-squeezed orange juice, a full meal, and free full-length features for a two-hour flight), rented a car, and headed south to Plitvice. Plitvice is a national park wedged in between Croatia's karst mountains, and is comprised of a series of ultra-green lakes and dozens of waterfalls. When Cal and I were deciding where to travel, pictures of Plitvice were the deciding factor in determining our travel destination. And it was so beautiful. 

The real highlight, of course, was the park. We explored the pathways that wind around the lakes, and we hiked to the top of the park and took in the equally spectacular views from afar. We arrived in the late afternoon and felt a bit squashed by the crush of tourists, so the next morning, we woke up early and traipsed around shortly after the sun rose. We had the park to ourselves, and it was one of those truly great life moments. My only regret for this portion of the trip is that I wished we had left ourselves at least 7-8 hours to fully explore both the upper and lower lakes. 

We stayed at the Ethno Houses Plitvica Selo, which is a new lodge perched on top of the national park. We got hopelessly lost trying to find the lodge--it was not near anything. Except, as it turns out, a huge waterfall with a pathway down to the park (which we realized after we paid $30 each to get in through the tourist entrance). The Ethno Houses were mostly great--piney smell, rustic, quiet, peaceful, delicious (but expensive) local food, ceramic farmhouse-style appliances. Like ritzy lodging. I wish we had stayed a couple days.

Even the rest stops in northern Croatia are beautiful!

Hiking near our hotel 

Not often that I wish I had my fly rod with me . . .

Early morning hike

This picture doesn't look scary, but trust me, I'm about 3 feet away from a drastic cliff. Of course Cal strutted right up to the edge and gave me a heart attack.

The moment we realized that our lodge was right next to the park, and we had paid $60 we didn't have to. (Minus one for our hotel, which should have told us about our proximity to the waterfalls.)

Cherry mousse goodness.

Waterfalls!!!!!