Operation: “The World” is a Go

(8/1 - 8/31)

Reading and learning about Dubrovnik is what inspired us to come to Croatia in the first place and now we are finally here at our “home sweet home” for the month of August. Our apartment is named “Apartment Leona” and is about a 10 min scooter ride from Old Town situated on a hill between two neighborhoods, Lapad and Gruz. Mira, who owns the apartment, was on vacation when we arrived so were graciously picked up by one of her friends who gave us a ride to our new place. The apartment is spectacular with a small kitchen, living and dining room, bedroom, and a bathroom with our favorite a washing machine! (no more hand-washing our clothes)

After walking all the way to old town, we decided that having a scooter would be nice. So, we rented a Vespa for the month. It has been great for exploring the town and helps with carrying groceries as well.

We have felt so much at home here that we slacked off a little and did not do a very good job of journaling every day. So we thought we would do this post a little differently and list some “Random Thought and Observations” that we have made during our stay and expand with stories of where they came from.

Randomness….

1. We have made home-made chocolate chip cookies at least three times, which is more than we made at home all last year.

**Buying the ingredients in Croatia and not having a proper measuring cup lead to some very interesting yet tasty cookies. We are glad to report though that they all were edible and the third batch was by far the best batch. We even brought some to our neighbors. We thought it was a good American gesture.

2. Fortunately and unfortunately, our apt has a TV. Surprisingly, Croatia TV plays American movies steadily and our favorite sitcoms/dramas. CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, and Full house  to name a few.

3. If your scooter falls over, turn it off before you pick it up.

**You will have to inquire personally for further explanation.

4. In Croatia, scooters “Rule the Roads”.

5. You can find a connection with someone anywhere in the world.

**We went on a boat cruise of the Elaphiti Island the second week we were here. Coincidently, we ended up sitting next to two Norwegian ladies from the Bergen area. After hearing the words Minnesota and Wisconsin, Sarah decided to strike up a conversation with them. We found out that one of them had a son who graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield in 1999. She came to visit him and stayed with a professor from the school. Her son married a girl from Wisconsin so she has been all around MN, WI, and even Iowa. It was fun to talk with her about home.

6. Our best meal of the trip included a fish with its head still on!

**Again on the Elaphiti Island boat cruise… we had an awesome lunch! It was grilled fish that was seasoned perfectly and tasted a hundred times better than it actually looked. Cucumber and tomato salad accompanied the fish. Sarah loved it but Brian decided to leave it untouched. This in turn suggested to the skipper of the boat that he was still hungry and he made him his own personal smoked ham and pork sandwich. We saw several jealous stares coming from the other boaters.

7. When in doubt drink some grappa!

**On the boat cruise we were sitting across from a couple who was from Slovenia and a father and daughter from Russia. In attempt to make new friends and socialize the couple from Slovenia kept offering us some of the grappa that was served on the boat. Since we could not speak Slovenian or Russian the easiest thing for us to do was agree and join in on the fun. We had a great time and made some new friends. We met up with Julia, who speaks English very well, and her father a couple times after the boat cruise for drinks and to socialize. We hope that someday we can take them up on their offer to visit them in Moscow, Russia.

8. Croatia is like Disneyland for Italians.

9. Fresh figs are tasty!

**We were invited by Mira to join her and her family for lunch. We had grilled fish, potato and green bean mixture, tomatoes filled with cheese, all sorts of fruits and apple dessert. They picked grapes from the vines above us and gave us fresh figs which were a first for both of us.

10. Terraces are a must!

11. Sarah’s favorite place is “Fresh”.

**They serve smoothies and wraps which are a “fresh” alternative to our usual pizza or pasta meals. They also have a book exchange which has come in handy since she’s gone through at least ten books on the trip thus far.

12. No matter how little stuff you have, it’s still easy for it to make a mess.

13. Everyday is a beach day in Croatia.

14. There is still nothing better than a home cooked meal, especially on by our moms! mmm….mmm… can’t wait till October!

15. The Old Town of Dubrovnik is not all the area has to offer.

**We decided to take a side trip to a town called Cavtat near Dubrovnik. Instead of the bus, we though it would be fun to take the scooter.

The town was gorgeous. It looked like what would think a small town in the Italian or French Riviera looks like. We stayed the entire afternoon exploring the small peninsula it sits on. It is a very nice, well-kept secret in Croatia.

In all, Dubrovnik was a wonderful place that we will always have a connection to. Our only hope is that Croatia and Dubrovnik retain the warmth and heritage we were able to experience.

(7/28 - 8/1)

Each place is getting better and better as Korčula is our favorite so far. The island seems to be a little more laid back (if that’s possible) and a little more cultural. Many say it’s like a mini Dubrovnik since the old town (Stari Grad) is a small walled city as well. Old town holds the house of Marco Polo.

We found a super cheap private room in an apartment that we share with a Slovenian family. It is in the center of old town, has a kitchen, two beautiful terraces, and wireless internet. YAY!

We keep hearing Croatia is good for diving and snorkeling so we decided to book a snorkeling trip through an adventure travel company.

We boarded the boat around 9am with five other people and ventured out to some very small island to snorkel around. Snorkeling was fun but it didn’t really live up to the reputation we had heard as there wasn’t much to see, but Brian did find an octopus! We met two girls on the boat who were teachers from London on their summer holiday. Their names were Emily, originally from Chicago, and Virginia (sorry hun, if we spelt it wrong), originally from France. They were great! Afterwards, we went out for drinks and dinner and had a blast.

Korčula has a millennia old tradition called Moreška, where local dancers come to reproduce the story of the White Prince and Black Prince fighting over a kidnapped princess. The real (not touristy) one was on July 29^th while we were there. They did not sell tickets to the tourists but it took place outside and we were able to watch it over the heads of other onlookers. A very cool tradition! We wish we had our video camera with us at the time. We have seemed to notice that we only have it when we are doing boring things. We will have to get better at that. Come to think of it we didn’t really get any pictures from Korčula either! Oops! On to our next paradise spot, Dubrovnik!