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!!!!!

Istanbul

We flew to Istanbul on April 28, 2013. I highly recommend visiting Istanbul in late April/early May--the weather was sunny and warm, and I was surprised by how green the city was. 

We were greeted by the Istanbul smell the second we left the international terminal (kind of a good thing, kind of not--like spices and sewage). Istanbul is an incredible city. And it's huge. We spent our time in Istanbul thoroughly lost--the city is 13 million strong, comprised of a maze of streets and alleys with names that were incomprehensible to me. But oh my. The spicy scent of roasted chestnuts, the call to prayer reverberating through the early mornings and heavy afternoons, the endless fruit stands and pudding shops, and always, always a crowd of Turkish vendors hawking a tour or rugs or socks or you name it. Unforgettable. Istanbul has the exotic feel of Morocco and Cairo, but it is much cleaner, the food is tastier, and it is a much easier travel experience overall.

As Istanbul was our homebase for this trip (the flights from SLC to Istanbul were comparatively cheap), we sandwiched Croatia in between two stops through the city. During the first, we stayed at the Hotel Amira, which was awesome.  The Hotel Amira is a small boutique hotel located in a quiet corner of Sultanahmet (the city's old town).  We had arranged for our hotel's shuttle to come pick us up (and I'm glad we did, as I found Istanbul a little bit overwhelming to navigate, especially in my jetlagged state).  Our room had about 10 windows, hardwood floors, a lovely balcony, and a view of the sea. I could have camped out long-term on the rooftop lounge. When we checked in, the receptionist sat down with us and spent 15 minutes explaining the basics of the city over glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice. 

During our second stop through Istanbul, we stayed at the White House Hotel. I didn't like it as much--it was too small, and the staff was almost overeager (trying a bit too hard to garner Tripadvisor ratings, as they expressly made clear when we checked out). It was clean and perfectly located, though, and we enjoyed breakfasts on the rooftop in the mornings.

In terms of activities, we spent most of our time bouncing through the Istanbul basics. Which were incredible. My favorites were touring Hagia Sophia and wandering through a lesser-known mosque at night. Cal and I were hesitant to enter the mosque, but  a kindly gentleman gestured for us to come in, and I'm so glad we did. I also recommend taking a boat tour of the Bosphorous. And our first glimpse of the Blue Mosque was breathtaking. More than anything, we enjoyed meandering through the shops and the parks. 

Istanbul's food was simply delicious. Kebabs (whether on the street, in a fancy restaurant, or in a casual cafe served with a dozen different side dishes), fresh-squeezed pomegranate and orange juice, pudding shops, and baklava stands (and I didn't even think I liked baklava) are all awesome. No specific restaurant recommendations--Cal and I got lost trying to find all specific restaurants we affirmatively tried to find, but honestly, we did not have a bad meal (or even a mediocre meal) while we were in Turkey. 

First glimpse of the Blue Mosque--we hiked up the stairs to a restaurant's rooftop terrace, and there it was. Whoa.

Hagia Sophia. Just as light-filled and awesome as I had hoped. Initially constructed around 600 A.D., Hagia Sophia was initially a cathedral, then a mosque, and is now a museum. Fascinating history, perfect space.

Basilica Cistern--cool (in both senses of the word) and creepy. There is a statue of upside down Medusa heads worth checking out at the back.

View of Sultanahmet from the Beyoglu side. I highly recommend spending some time on the other side of the Galata Bridge--the food is better, the shopkeepers less aggressive, and the tour groups sparse.

Reading my book and listening to the call to prayer from my balcony at the lovely Hotel Amira during our first afternoon in Istanbul

Fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice on many street corners is probably what will ensure my return to Turkey . . .

 . . . while the kebabs will ensure Cal's return.

Scenes from the Grand Bazaar

Our favorite mosque

Bosphorous cruise. We would have preferred to take the full-day cruise in order to enjoy some of the sights further upriver, but it was too rainy. Maybe next time.

Last shots of some of Istanbul's iconic scenes