Day 5 – Twisp River

I took it easy today. Instead of starting the ride at our inn, I drove to Twisp and began there. This cut out 20 miles. I got some teasing for doing this, but I needed a shorter ride to rest my legs.

Today’s ride was an out-and-back along the Twisp River. I rode out with Gary (we had on our matching Valley Spokesmen jerseys) and back with Gary and Jon. The temperature going out was nice and cool. It was warmer coming back but it was downhill so it didn’t matter. We started out riding past farmland and eventually through wooded Forest Service land. The turnaround was where the pavement ended. The three of us hammered going back because it was mostly downhill.

Several of us had lunch in Twisp at the Twisp River Pub. I had fish tacos and a forgettable IPA.

I lazed around the rest of the afternoon. I made a trip into Winthrop to get a coffee malt. While there, I watched a parade of vintage cars.It was an old fogies weekend in the Methow Valley.

Terry hosted our Happy Hour at her house. It was a nice informal atmosphere for our last night together. I met Tessa her English Lab and Samantha, a Lab mix who is spending several days with her. It’s comforting that this small community cares for and looks after its friends.

Leona, Gary, Loren, Chris, Linda, Terry, Michael and I shared pizza and mud pies at the East 20 Pizza restaurant. It was a really fun evening.

Here is today’s ride:

Day 4 – Andrews Crick (Creek) Out And Back

This might be my shortest blog ever.

We had a beautiful ride along the Chewuch River through valleys and forests out to Andrews Creek where the road ended. The weather was perfect – cool on the way up and warm on the way down. I rode most of the ride with Terry, Linda, Gary and Jon.

Back in town, I had a chocolate malt at the popular ice cream stand. I had a veggie sandwich to compensate for all of the evil things in my shake.

Dinner was at the Sun Mountain Lodge. I had risotto with fresh vegetables.

Here is today’s ride:

Day 3 – Washington Pass

This was our epic ride day. We rode to the summit of Washington Pass. Then we turned around and rode back. A lot of our group started in Mazama which cut 28 miles from the ride. I, of course,  started at the inn. No 28 miles will stop me even if the temperature is in the 80s.

It was a nice ride, though. The weather was mostly cool. It heated up as I got nearer to Winthrop on the way back. The pass is as spectacular as ever. It’s one of my favorites. I stopped a couple of times on the way up for snacks. The last stop was where Terry was camped out at Lone Fir campground. She had cookies for us. The peanut butter  helped push me to the top.

At the summit, I walked out to the observation area. That’s where my photo was taken by a Canadian with my iPhone. After the appropriate amount of time there, I got on my bicycle and screamed down the road to the campground where Terry had sandwiches and more cookies waiting for us. This was around 1:00.

After eating and resting, I coasted back down the hill and pedaled back to Winthrop. It was still nice and cool in the trees. But when the trees disappeared near Mazama, it heated up.

I had visions of stopping at the Old Schoolhouse for a pint when I reached Winthrop, but I was too tired. So I went directly to our inn.

At Happy Hour, Terry invited the woman who owns the local bicycle shop. She was very friendly and knowledgeable and answered all of our questions about bicycles and components. Apparently her shop is very well-known with people from both Eastern and Western Washington using it.

As on my ride today, I was a solo at dinner at Three Fingered Jacks. I had pasta and porter.

Here is today’s ride:

Twisp-Carlton Semi Loop

I was going to write something clever about today’s ride but it is too late, I am tired and it is bed time. So here is a recap:

I left Winthrop sometime after 9:00 and rode down the East County Road, past the smoke jumper headquarters and then on to Twisp. The weather was warming up already. I passed a few of our group along the way. I saw several dead deer on the side of the road.

At Twisp, I turned onto the Twisp Carlton Road and pedaled onward until I reached the end. I met most of our group there. We took a group photo. My camera was back at Lake Wenatchee so I have no shots to show.

This was the turnaround spot. I teamed up with Terry, Loren and Chris. We headed up the main road, took a turn at Lower Beaver Creek, had a screaming downhill on Hwy 20 and finally arrived back at Twisp for lunch. I recommend Cinnamon Twisp for a meal. It has wonderful milkshakes, sandwiches and cinnamon rolls.

After lunch I rode solo back on East County Rd to our lodge.

Our Social Hour was at a BAC member’s house in the hills above Winthrop. It was a real challenge to find, but we eventually got there and had a very good time socializing and looking at the killer view.

I had dinner at the Old Schoolhouse again. This time I was joined by Jon, Cindy and Michael. My yummy IPA was accompanied by a wrangler burger and salad.

Here is the details of today’s ride:

Lost River

We left the Mazama store after lunch. It was around noon.  Because the light on the road was flat, I almost missed it. But at the last moment I saw the trail of blood. It was on the shoulder of Highway 20 next to the guardrail near the ranch of one on Terry’s friends. It was a thin trial, no wider than a bicycle tread. It extended for 10 feet. When we reached the end we expected to see the bear lying dead at the side of the road. Being a perfect day, we were glad that it was gone. Probably butchered and in one of the local’s freezer. That was the excitement from today’s ride in the Methow Valley.

I left our hotel shortly after 9:00. Some other riders were also getting ready to ride. I followed a tandem out of our parking lot and through downtown Winthrop until I felt confident that I could find my way by myself. I accelerated past my new friends and pedaled up Highway 20 and turned on Goat Creek Rd. At the Mazama store, the road became Lost River Rd. I continued along this road past Beyond Lost until the road turned to dirt. Then I turned around and retraced my route.

I stopped at the Mazama Store for a sandwich, chips and iced coffee. It was here that I met up with Terry our ride leader and long-time resident of Winthrop. And it was just past here that we looked for the bear that was road kill from the day before.

Terry and I road back to Winthrop together. She is a superb source of local history. This is partly because she has created some of its history. She is defiantly a town leader, and icon of the Methow Valley.

When we reach the outskirts of Winthrop, we stopped at the excellent local bicycle shop. Terry introduced me to the staff and all of the people who walked in. I was looking to a route sheet clip that I forgot to bring with me. They didn’t have one so I am going to improvise tomorrow.

I got back to the Chewuch Inn around 1:30. After cleaning up, I lounged for a while then walked into town for ice cream. The next time I go there, I will order only one scoop. My double scoop of home made coffee and pumpkin was too large, even after a good day’s ride.

I had fish and chips with a good IPA at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery tonight. It was a good dinner.

Here is today’s ride:

July 8 - Dubrovnik

Ann's swimming beach in Lapad - Uvala Sumratin

There is not much to write about today. We spent the day close to our hotel. We saw what we wanted to see in the old town and did not want to fight the crowds and heat on our last day here. So we layed back.

Ann went swimming in the Adriatic after breakfast. We then took a walk partly around Babin Kuk - the peninsula that were are on. We saw lots of fancy hotels and several swimming spots. The walkway we were on ended at a huge hotel, Dubrovnik President, where we turned around and headed back. There were hundreds of people there on its large beach basking in the sun.

After a short cooling off period, we walked up to Pizzeria Nemo Problemo where we had sandwiches and beer. The sandwich bread was made with pizza dough. They were good but way too large. We completed a circle walking back to our hotel.

We lazed the afternoon in our hotel napping and reading in preparation for our very early departure tomorrow. For dinner, we walked and down our street (it is a promenade) looking at menus outside of various restaurants. We settled on our hotel's restaurant both having our last Adriatic fish.

So it is nearing 9:00. We are aiming for bed at 10:00 with our alarm set for 4:00.

July 7 - Dubrovnik

The old port from Mount Srd

Our Rick Steves tour was over this morning. Ann and I decided to stay for two more days in Dubrovnik to make sure that we have seen everything. The first thing that we did was change hotels. We are now in Hotel Perla which is very close to our old hotel. We spent some time in our new room and then had lunch in its outdoor restaurant. The temperature was still hot, but it eased off slightly. We waited until early afternoon before we went exploring.

We caught the 2:00 #5 bus and rode it to the cable car that took us up Mount Srd. This is the sight of a fortress that Napoleon started to build but never completed. Today it is a tourist destination for scenic views of Dubrovnik and surrounding hills. The ride was very smooth. There was a breeze at the top. That plus a slight haze made it feel cooler. I took lots of photos but the haze dimmed them a little. I was trying to get a classical photo of the old town, but the angle was not good.

We spent a little more time on the mountain by investigating Napolean's fort. It is a museum now with displays of the "Homeland War". There was an entry fee which we decided to forego. We have seen enough and heard enough of the ethnic cleansing to last for a long time. So we got back onto the cable car, rode it to the bottom of the mountain and walked into the old town via the Buza Gate.

Our next adventure was a walk on the scenic 1 1/2 mile town walls. We started near the old harbor and went in a counter clockwise direction. This is the only direction allowed. Apparently the walkway gets pretty crowded when cruise ships are in the harbor and some of the narrow parts of the walk would be dangerous with people jostling each other. We encountered very few people along the way partly because of the heat and partly because there were a lot fewer people in the city than the precious two days.

The walk was spectacular. To our left we could see the entire old town. The new red-tiles roofs reminded us that the city was under siege during the "Homeland War". (At the entry gates there are posters showing where buildings were bombed and burned. Hardly any were spared). To the right, we could see the surrounding hills and the Adriatic. We completed the walk in 1 1/2 hours. The temperature was in the high 80s, but a breeze from the Adriatic cooled us a little.

We immediately headed over to an ice cream shop and cooled off even more. Then we visited a Dominican Monastery that contains many of Dubrovnik's art treasures. Killing time before dinner, we sat on the steps of a church watching the world go by including a couple of weddings.

We the town Bella rang at 6:30, we headed over to an outdoor restaurant called Veritas. We ate there two days ago and liked it. This time Ann had vegetarian spaghetti while I had grilled squid. Yummy!

We caught the #6 bus back to Lapad and walked down to our hotel. Along the way, we stopped and chatted with some of our tour members who were also spending extra time here. Bedtime was a little past 10:00, one of our earliest.

July 6 - Dubrovnik

Stradun - the main promenade of Dubrovnik at night.

We decided to start our city tour early this morning in order to beat the heat and to avoid most of the other tourists. We left our hotel at 7:50 and caught the #6 bus. Roberto, our city guide, was waiting near the Pile Gate. Although he was very knowledgeable, talked about history and culture and showed us all of the important sites, I have to admit that my attention wandered. This was my fault. I have trouble concentrating after so many other previous city tours. Nevertheless, I was able to pick up some of his spiel while trying to stay in the shade and take photos.

The tour ended around lunch time, although it was early. Ann and I stopped at an outdoor restaurant that was recommended by Rick Steves. I had an octopus salad while Ann settled on a garden salad. They were both good. The tall bottle of fizzy water was also good and very much needed. The temperature was slightly lower than the previous few days, but it still was hot.

After lunch we did some shopping and then took the bus back to the hotel. Ann went swimming in the Adriatic while I blogged while watching the Tour de France. Don't worry, we have two more days here to see everything we missed today.

I hung out at the hotel for most of the hot afternoon taking advantage of our cool room and the live TV covergae of the Tour de France (in Italian). Ann went swimming in the Adriatic with Jane and Jon. We made a brief trip to a grocery store for bananas after she got back.

We had our final tour dinner at Hotel More Restaurant. It is a classy restaurant sitting high on a cliff overlooking the small cove in the Lapad district near our hotel. The anchovy appetizer was outstanding while the fish fillet was very good. Crepes for dessert topped off the meal. We toasted our tour leaders and said our good-byes. Starting tomorrow, we are on our own.

July 5 - Mostar to Dubrovnik

The Old Bridge in Mostar

We had some free time this morning. Some went into town after breakfast while others, including me, stayed at the hotel to catch up on things. Ann went to the museum primarily to watch a film about the destruction of the Old Bridge during the war in 1993 and rebuilding it after the war. The bridge was built in the 16th century as a link between the east and the west. It stood until the Croats decided to destroy it to cut off the Bosniak controlled strip on the west bank from Bosniak forces on the east. The reconstruction of the bridge symbolized reconciliation of the opposing forces during the war. In Mostar, we had a sense that life had settled down and that ethnic conflicts had stopped.

On the other hand, we sensed that ethnic struggles were still happening in the rural areas of Bosnia although not to the extent that armed conflicts were going to occur. This was evident in Stolac where we made our first stop on our daily bus ride. We had a very young and very idealistic local guide in Stolac. As we walked through his town, he pointed out several wLocations where many buildings were damaged or destroyed. He and his friends are trying to rebuild some of the buildings and the town's clock tower. They have raised private funds to do so. The building pictured in the photo on the left was rebuilt by them. It is complete except for electrical service. The mayor who is of a different ethnic group will not allow electricity to be connected. There are other examples of similar obstructions in Stolac. The group doing the recontruction are undaunted, though. They hope that they will defeat the mayor in the next election.

We had a good buffet lunch in Stolac. There were several local dishes including excellent soup. (It was surprisingly refreshing in close to 100 degree temperature). The meal was topped off by home made baclava.

Back on the bus, we had a short nap and then stopped at the Tvrdos Monastery. A modern-dressed monk lead us inside its orthodox church and told us the history of it and the monastery.

Stopping at the Bosnia/Croatia border, the Bosnian border guards were very happy to get some beer to drink with their lunch. The Croat guards were not as lucky.

We finally arrived in Dubrovnik, unloaded all of our bags and said good-bye to Alesh, our bus driver. After cleaning up and taking some personal time, we met Saso and Amir at 7:15 for an orientation tour. Saso passed out 24-hour bus passes and led us into the old town of Dubrovnik on the #6 bus. (Our hotel is a couple of miles from the old town). The bus was packed as was the old town. Forget the Ottoman Empire, the tourists have invaded and conquered Dubrovnik. We occupied a bar on the rocks overlooking the Adriatic for a drink and then went to a terrace restaurant for dinner. Ann and I both had fish fillet with spinach and potatoes. It was prepared perfectly.

The bus ride back to our hotel was much less crowded. We got in after 10:00.

June 29 - July 4 - Croatia and Bosnia

June 29 - Opatija and Plitvice
We walked down the hill from our hotel in Motovun and road the local bus to our real bus and left for our next destination. On the way we stopped in Opatija to see where the rich people from the Habsburg Empire spent their vacation. Opatija is a beach town with dozens of elegant old baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau villas which have been turned into hotels with appealing names - the more exotic, the more popular. Ann and I spent our time searching for a place to eat and finally settled on a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the sea. We both had salads which were OK. The restaurant was affiliated with others in Croatia with Hemingway in their titles.

Our next stop was in Senj. This was a bus driver required stop. Drivers by law must have a rest after two hours. Senj is known for its pirate. He is an ice cream vendor who turns his cost per scoop sign to a more expensive one when he sees tourists coming. We didn't spend much time there. 

We went a little farther to a gas station/rest area to wait for one of our tour members who had to visit an opthomologist for a potential eye problem. He caught up to us there after we all had some refshments.

Continuing on, we arrived at our next hotel in Plitvice National Park. Before dinner, we had a potluck happy hour where everyone brought snacks or drinks to share. Our contribution was salted peanuts. Dinner was in the hotel's dining room. Our entree was chicken breast with a cream sauce and rice.

June 30 - Plitvice National Park and Split

We loaded our luggage onto the bus this morning and then walked down the hill to a tram which took us into the depths of the park. Then we began a nature walk through the forest along streams and lakes past refreshing waterfalls. It was refreshing to walk in the shade and to stretch our legs. Halfway through the walk, we got onto a boat and motored across a small lake. On the opposite shore, there were several restaurants and snack shops. We bypassed them and continued our stroll through the park. It was getting much hotter and more crowded as we went onward. Most of the crowd was going in the opposite direction from us. By design, we were heading for the main entrance.

Ann and I made a detour to visit the park's main waterfall. Inadvertently, Ann decided to leave her iPhone frustrations behind somewhere along the trail. No problems, though. We were able to lock the phone via the Internet.

After climbing up the switchbacks to get out of the park, we bought some forgettable sandwiches to tie us over until we could get some real food.

We arrived in Split during late afternoon. Our hotel was located just outside of the old part of town. After cleaning up, our group marched into old town for dinner at Sperun Restaurant. We were seated inside in a room that was just large enough to fit our group. It had an Old World ambiance with the exception of being air conditioned. This was absolutely necessary because of the high heat. We had grilled fish which was simply prepared with olive oilq, tomatoes and no other seasoning. It was accompanied with very fresh zucchini - a very well-prepared meal.

After dinner we strolled along the Riva. This is a very wide pedestrian walkway along the harbor. There are dozens of outdoor cafes along the Riva and every one of them was filled with hundreds of people drinking, snacking and smoking. When Ann and I broke away from our group, we took an indirect route through the old town back to our hotel. We wandered through very narrow streets past dozens of tourist shops. Occasionally we came upon small piazzas which were surrounded by more restaurants filled with customers. Split seems to have a good economy based on tourists and local bar hoppers.

July 1 - Split

Our tour this morning by a local guide took us through the old town. Most of the old town used to be a huge palace built by Diocletian, a Roman emperor, during the late third century. The palace was partly a villa for the emperor and partly a Roman town. In succeeding years, its wide streets were chopped up into very narrow ones and its buildings we're carved up into small housing units. Today it is a warren that is easy for a visitor to get lost in.

Our tour took most of the morning. It started on the streets and ended in the underground part of the palace. This was timed to be in the coolest part of the tour at the hottest part of the morning. 

After the tour, Ann and I looked for a lunch place. After being turned away from a fully booked restaurant, we settled on a cafe associated with a youth hostel. I had a tasteless hamburger with fries while Ann had a forgettable salad.

After that, we braved the heat and tried to take a bus to a museum and swimming beach. We missed the bus so we hiked to a different beach. This family beach was very shallow, so shallow that Ann couldn't get far enough out to swim laps. I sat in a cafe to wait for her and to guard her backpack. When this ordeal was finished, we managed to walk for a mile or so back to our hotel and collapse in our air conditioned room. 

Dinner was on our own. We went to Apetit where Ann had lamb and I had amberjack. We enjoyed our meal, especially the grilled vegetables with a sesame seed sauce. My amberjack had a tomato sauce with bacan and olives - very tasty. Afterwards we sat on a bench on the Riva to watch the world go by and then stopped for gelato at Hajduk which was named after the local soccer team. The ice cream was very good and the scoops were large.

July 2 - Dalmation Island Hopping
After loading our luggage, our bus drove us to the docks in Split where we boarded a ferry for Hvar. The bus drove on to meet us later. The ferry ride took us about two hours. I spent most of the time inside where it was air conditioned. When we arrived, we took shuttles across the island the the main town. Our driver was out of the American west. He had on a cowboy hat and a big belt buckle. He was playing 60s American music on his CD player, or was it a cassette player?

Saso gave us a brief orientation tour of Hvar. It couldn't have been longer because the town is very small. We went as a group to the Benedictine convent where the nuns never go outside. Instead, they pray and make lace all day long. Ann and I then did a short tour on our own mainly to kill time until lunchtime. We scouted a couple of restaurants but they were not open for lunch. We settled on Konoba Menego, a Rick Steves recommended restaurant. It was worth the climb to it up very steep and very hot steps. We had the fishermen's platter, a cold mixture of squid salad and two kinds of sardine-like fish. The half liter of home made wine gave us the motivation for our next adventure.

Continuing up the steep steps and along a gravel path with several switchbacks, we reached the 13th century Hvar fortress. The main feature of the fortress is its view of the harbor and surrounding countryside. On the way back down, we questioned our sanity for making the trek in such high heat. 

Back at sea level, we walked over to the swimming area where we killed time and cooled off by wading in the water. Then we went back to the docks and caught a high-speed catamaran for Korcula. This was a much shorter ferry ride but Ann and I took advantage of the time by napping the whole way.

When we got to Korcula, our bus was waiting for us and took us across the island to the town with the same name. This is a small, walled town that has maintained its Venetian character. After checking into out hotel, Saso led us into the old town for a good dinner at a fish restaurant. I had the #1 fish and Ann had squid. They were both better than average.

July 3 - Korcula

We were on our own today, a vacation within a vacation. Ann took a swim in the hotel's pool before breakfast. After she ate, we walked into the old town for some sight seeing. We wandered through the narrow streets trying to stay in the shade as much as possible. I took lots of photos and we bought a couple of t-shirts. We got some snacks at the supermarket and then wandered back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped at a streetside cafe for lunch. I had an octopus salad while Ann had a tuna salad. We also discovered the best beer in Croatia.

At the hotel, we took refuge from the blistering heat. Ann went for a swim while I got caught up with my blog while watching the Tour de France.

June 29 - Opatija and Plitvice
We walked down the hill from our hotel in Motovun and road the local bus to our real bus and left for our next destination. On the way we stopped in Opatija to see where the rich people from the Habsburg Empire spent their vacation. Opatija is a beach town with dozens of elegant old baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau villas which have been turned into hotels with appealing names - the more exotic, the more popular. Ann and I spent our time searching for a place to eat and finally settled on a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the sea. We both had salads which were OK. The restaurant was affiliated with others in Croatia with Hemingway in their titles.

Our next stop was in Senj. This was a bus driver required stop. Drivers by law must have a rest after two hours. Senj is known for its pirate. He is an ice cream vendor who turns his cost per scoop sign to a more expensive one when he sees tourists coming. We didn't spend much time there. 

We went a little farther to a gas station/rest area to wait for one of our tour members who had to visit an opthomologist for a potential eye problem. He caught up to us there after we all had some refshments.

Continuing on, we arrived at our next hotel in Plitvice National Park. Before dinner, we had a potluck happy hour where everyone brought snacks or drinks to share. Our contribution was salted peanuts. Dinner was in the hotel's dining room. Our entree was chicken breast with a cream sauce and rice.

June 30 - Plitvice National Park and Split

We loaded our luggage onto the bus this morning and then walked down the hill to a tram which took us into the depths of the park. Then we began a nature walk through the forest along streams and lakes past refreshing waterfalls. It was refreshing to walk in the shade and to stretch our legs. Halfway through the walk, we got onto a boat and motored across a small lake. On the opposite shore, there were several restaurants and snack shops. We bypassed them and continued our stroll through the park. It was getting much hotter and more crowded as we went onward. Most of the crowd was going in the opposite direction from us. By design, we were heading for the main entrance.

Ann and I made a detour to visit the park's main waterfall. Inadvertently, Ann decided to leave her iPhone frustrations behind somewhere along the trail. No problems, though. We were able to lock the phone via the Internet.

After climbing up the switchbacks to get out of the park, we bought some forgettable sandwiches to tie us over until we could get some real food.

We arrived in Split during late afternoon. Our hotel was located just outside of the old part of town. After cleaning up, our group marched into old town for dinner at Sperun Restaurant. We were seated inside in a room that was just large enough to fit our group. It had an Old World ambiance with the exception of being air conditioned. This was absolutely necessary because of the high heat. We had grilled fish which was simply prepared with olive oilq, tomatoes and no other seasoning. It was accompanied with very fresh zucchini - a very well-prepared meal.

After dinner we strolled along the Riva. This is a very wide pedestrian walkway along the harbor. There are dozens of outdoor cafes along the Riva and every one of them was filled with hundreds of people drinking, snacking and smoking. When Ann and I broke away from our group, we took an indirect route through the old town back to our hotel. We wandered through very narrow streets past dozens of tourist shops. Occasionally we came upon small piazzas which were surrounded by more restaurants filled with customers. Split seems to have a good economy based on tourists and local bar hoppers.

July 1 - Split

Our tour this morning by a local guide took us through the old town. Most of the old town used to be a huge palace built by Diocletian, a Roman emperor, during the late third century. The palace was partly a villa for the emperor and partly a Roman town. In succeeding years, its wide streets were chopped up into very narrow ones and its buildings we're carved up into small housing units. Today it is a warren that is easy for a visitor to get lost in.

Our tour took most of the morning. It started on the streets and ended in the underground part of the palace. This was timed to be in the coolest part of the tour at the hottest part of the morning. 

After the tour, Ann and I looked for a lunch place. After being turned away from a fully booked restaurant, we settled on a cafe associated with a youth hostel. I had a tasteless hamburger with fries while Ann had a forgettable salad.

After that, we braved the heat and tried to take a bus to a museum and swimming beach. We missed the bus so we hiked to a different beach. This family beach was very shallow, so shallow that Ann couldn't get far enough out to swim laps. I sat in a cafe to wait for her and to guard her backpack. When this ordeal was finished, we managed to walk for a mile or so back to our hotel and collapse in our air conditioned room. 

Dinner was on our own. We went to Apetit where Ann had lamb and I had amberjack. We enjoyed our meal, especially the grilled vegetables with a sesame seed sauce. My amberjack had a tomato sauce with bacan and olives - very tasty. Afterwards we sat on a bench on the Riva to watch the world go by and then stopped for gelato at Hajduk which was named after the local soccer team. The ice cream was very good and the scoops were large.

July 2 - Dalmation Island Hopping
After loading our luggage, our bus drove us to the docks in Split where we boarded a ferry for Hvar. The bus drove on to meet us later. The ferry ride took us about two hours. I spent most of the time inside where it was air conditioned. When we arrived, we took shuttles across the island the the main town. Our driver was out of the American west. He had on a cowboy hat and a big belt buckle. He was playing 60s American music on his CD player, or was it a cassette player?

Saso gave us a brief orientation tour of Hvar. It couldn't have been longer because the town is very small. We went as a group to the Benedictine convent where the nuns never go outside. Instead, they pray and make lace all day long. Ann and I then did a short tour on our own mainly to kill time until lunchtime. We scouted a couple of restaurants but they were not open for lunch. We settled on Konoba Menego, a Rick Steves recommended restaurant. It was worth the climb to it up very steep and very hot steps. We had the fishermen's platter, a cold mixture of squid salad and two kinds of sardine-like fish. The half liter of home made wine gave us the motivation for our next adventure.

Continuing up the steep steps and along a gravel path with several switchbacks, we reached the 13th century Hvar fortress. The main feature of the fortress is its view of the harbor and surrounding countryside. On the way back down, we questioned our sanity for making the trek in such high heat. 

Back at sea level, we walked over to the swimming area where we killed time and cooled off by wading in the water. Then we went back to the docks and caught a high-speed catamaran for Korcula. This was a much shorter ferry ride but Ann and I took advantage of the time by napping the whole way.

When we got to Korcula, our bus was waiting for us and took us across the island to the town with the same name. This is a small, walled town that has maintained its Venetian character. After checking into out hotel, Saso led us into the old town for a good dinner at a fish restaurant. I had the #1 fish and Ann had squid. They were both better than average.

July 3 - Korcula

We were on our own today, a vacation within a vacation. Ann took a swim in the hotel's pool before breakfast. After she ate, we walked into the old town for some sight seeing. We wandered through the narrow streets trying to stay in the shade as much as possible. I took lots of photos and we bought a couple of t-shirts. We got some snacks at the supermarket and then wandered back to the hotel. On the way, we stopped at a streetside cafe for lunch. I had an octopus salad while Ann had a tuna salad. We also discovered the best beer in Croatia.

At the hotel, we took refuge from the blistering heat. Ann went for a swim while I got caught up with my blog while watching the Tour de France.

Saso arranged for an evening happy hour cruise for us. We all boarded an old stinkpot and cruised the islands around Korcula while sipping wine, munching on snacks and taking photos. We also got to sing Happy Birthday to Veronica. The boat dropped us off in Korcula just as the sun had set and the full moon had risen. It was an excellent photo op.

Ann and I walked back to the hotel, stopping a sidewalk cafe for a platter of cheese and prosciutto. The cafe had a man playing a guitar and singing oldies.

Saso arranged for an evening happy hour cruise for us. We all boarded an old stinkpot and cruised the islands around Korcula while sipping wine, munching on snacks and taking photos. We also got to sing Happy Birthday to Veronica. The boat dropped us off in Korcula just as the sun had set and the full moon had risen. It was an excellent photo op.

Ann and I walked back to the hotel, stopping a sidewalk cafe for a platter of cheese and prosciutto. The cafe had a man playing a guitar and singing oldies.

July 4 - On to Bosnia

We got into our bus at 10:00 and drove to the ferry back to the mainland. For the 20-minute ride, we had to get out of the bus. I took advantage of the air conditioned cabin and had a real cup of coffee at the bar. The coffee that we have been drinking at our hotels has been OK, but it comes from a machine and is not custom brewed. This was the best coffee so far on my trip.

We stopped at Ston for a break. This is an interesting town very close to Dubrovnik. It is fortified by a great wall stretching into the hills being the town. Its purpose was to protect Dubrovnik from invaders that wanted to steal the salt trade.

We continued to the Bosnian border where we had an extra long wait while the officials checked the bus' papers and all of our passports.

Under way again, we went for a few kilometers and stopped for lunch at an outdoor restaurant. We sat under an awning under 100 degree temperatures and ate huge amounts of grilled meat. On the walk to and from the restaurant we bought small amounts of fresh fruit and dried fruit from ladies along the path.

We arrived in Mostar around 4:20 and checked into our hotel. Ann and I have a suite, half of which is air conditioned - the bedroom is not. We are hoping that the wall unit in the sitting room will eventually cool off our bedroom.

At 6:00 we set off on a town tour. The temperature was still hovering around 100 so we seeked as much shade as possible. Mostar was on the front line during the ethnic cleansing in the early 1990s. We saw many buildings that were battle scarred and totally destroyed. There are bullet holes in most of the other buildings. The old town is mostly rebuilt including the famous bridge. Tourists have discovered Mostar and the vendors are very happy. The old town is much more picturesque than I expected with ancient buildings and a blue/green river running through it.

We had dinner in the old town looking over the river. I won't comment on the food. We were still full from our meat pig-out from earlier.

June 27 - June 28

June 27 - Kobarid to Motovun

We started out the day by having a guided tour of the renown WWI museum in Kobarid. Our guide was very knowledgable and thorough in explaining all of the nuances of the fighting in the local area. There were lots of photos, displays of war equipment and topographical models of the countryside showing the positions of all of the armies.

We then got onto the bus a drove for a while until we stopped for lunch at winery where we had a tour, tasted several wines and ate lots of food. We started out with appetizers of cheese, prosciutto, olives, etc. Our main course was a thick soup made with beans and sourkraut along with grilled sausages. We were quite happy and full when we left.

Getting into the bus again, we drove the entire length of the coast of Slovenia before crossing over the border into Croatia. Our guide warned us to expect the unexpected at the border. It all went smoothly, though, and we successfully entered Croatia.

Our hotel in Motovun was at the top of the village. We had to exit our bus, get onto a local bus for a 2km ride up most of the hill and then walk the rest of the way on old cobblestone streets. Our luggage came behind us in the hotel's van. Our room was in a corner of the building with windows on two sides that gave us good ventilation. This was welcomed because of the high heat.

We had another wine tasting at Etnobutiga ča Motovun. While sitting on the terrace outside of the restaurant overlooking a beautiful panoramic view of the valley far below us, we tasted several wines while sampling little open faced sandwiches covered with various truffle spreads. This is truffle territory a you can see from the photo of this very large black truffle.

Dinner was on our own tonight, so Ann and I stayed at this restaurant and shared a table with Veronica. We all had pasta with truffles.

June 28 - Istrian Peninsula

We walked part way down the cobblestones of Motovun this morning, caught the local bus and then got on our bus for a tour of the Istrian Peninsula. Our first stop was in Pula where we had a local guide who lead us through the city's 1st century Roman amphitheater. She then took us on a city walk where we explored the old part of town. She said goodbye at the city's golden gate (this seems to be what the Romans called their VIP gate). Most of us walked over to the nearby market and bought fruit to snack on later in the tour. Ann and I stopped at a little cafe and ate a sandwich for lunch.

Back on our bus, we drove to Rovinj. This is a picturesque city that has been discovered by tourists in a big way. The merchants have discovered the tourists in a big way too. Every spare doorway and sidewalk is either a shop or a cafe. There is an interesting church, though, that is a good viewpoint on the top of the town's only hill. Rumor has it that St Euphemia was tortured on the wheel by the Romans. When she was then thrown to the lions, they refused to eat her. That makes her holy.

Ann brought her swimming gear. While she was keeping cool with her new friends in the Adriatic, I was doing laps around the town in scorching heat. We finally got out of there after spending most of the afternoon.

Dinner was at a roadside restaurant on the way back to he hotel. We sat in the garden and ate several courses while drinking lots of wine. We started with cold cuts and cheese along with toasted bread. The we had two types of pasta - one with mushrooms and one with ragu. Next we had a tossed salad. Then we were served grilled meat with potatoes. Finally we had cherry sptreudel and a shot of grappa.

We were happy when we got back to our hotel.

June 27 - Where Are We

I am suspending blog posts for a few days. Our days are very full and they stretch too late into the evening to comfortably do blog postings. I will catch up later.

June 26 - Ljubjana to Lake Bled to Kobarid

Scene from Lake Bled.

We left Ljubjana on the bus just after 8:30. It was a short drive to Lake Bled. The weather was nice again - probably in the mid-70s. Our driver drove us around the lake for orientation. The views of the church on the island, the castle hanging off of the cliffside and the surrounding hills were breathtaking.

Our first stop at the lake was at the castle. We were told he history of it by Saso, our guide. Then we had free time to explore. It was a small castle with a chapel, an active wine cellar with a monk selling its produc, and ramparts which we could walk on and take photos of the surrounding countryside.

After the castle visit, we drove into the main village and were turned loose for three hours. Ann and Jane went swimming. The reported that the water was very warm and that big fish were lurking under the surface ready to take sample tastes of their toes. I wanted to take photos so I decided to walke around the lake on its very civilied walking path. It took me longer than expected but Ann was still waiting for me when I got back to the swimming area. We went directly to lunch. I was super hungry after my walk so I ordered the mixed grill. There was enough meat on it to feed Ann and me for a week back home. Ann was more conservative and had a salad. It was also very large.

By vote, our group decided to take the scenic route to our final destination. This included pausing by the house of "the inventor of Slovenian polka". It also included a stop at Saso's house. He lives on a narrow street in a quiet village. Nobody was home. The neighbors were surprised.

Back on the road, we headed for a twisty mountain pass. Our bus navigates up 24 switchbacks rising 800 meters in 12kms. We stopped along the way at a cafe for blueberry strudel. We also stop at a memorial to the Russion POWs who built this road after WW1. At the summit, we stopped so that Saso could give us all a taste of honey liquor and toast our successful mounting of the climb.

This area is known as the Julian Alps. It is not a spectacular as the other Alps, but the mountains are spectacular. Many of the peaks reminded me of the Dolomites.

Continuing on, our driver cautiously descended the 26 switchbacks on this narrow road stopping several times to maneuver around he corners and let cars pass. Switchback 44 was a particular challenge.

Our route continued down the Soča River Valley, a scenic drive into Kobarid where our hotel was located.

We got to our hotel later than expected. For that reason and for the slow Internet connection in our room delayed posting this blog until this morning. Our dinner lasted until 9:00. It was very good. We started with a small portion of carbonara followed by local trout. Our dessert was some kind of dumpling with vanilla ice cream. As an added touch, Saso give us a a dribble of pumpkin seed oil on our ice cream. It was amazingly good.

Please excuse my typos and incorrect iPad spelling changes. Being in a hurry, I didn't have a chance to proofread.

June 25 - Ljubjana

Ann in front of our hotel.

At 9:00 we met out local guide who took us on a two-hour city tour. Much of her focus was on Jože Plečnik , an architect that designed most of the best known buildings in Ljubjana. She also told us about the local history and culture. We visited the town hall and the main cathedral which had two amazing door which were created in the late 20th century. They looked much older.

We ended the tour at Prešeren Square which was named after the city's best known poet. There is a once controversial statue of him where he is standing under a semi-nude figure of a young woman.

Ann and I were a bit hungry and low on energy so we walked over to a vendor who sold crepes. She had a savory one while I had one with nutella. Then we walked a ways to an open grocery store. (This was a national holiday so most store were closed). We bought some supplies for our bus ride which starts tomorrow. We walked back to our hotel for a short rest.

There was a nice pizzeria/restaurant in the narrow street behind our hotel. When we were hungry again, we stopped there for a salad. I wish we would have discovered this place before. It was very good for lunch. After eating, Ann went to the hotel while I searched for an ATM.

We had a long rest at the hotel which included dozing off from time to time. It started raining around 6:00. We monitored it closely to see when it would be the best time to leave for dinner. I checked the hotel's restaurant and it was closed. The rain let up at 7:00 so we walked a short distance across the Cobbler's Bridge to Marley and Me. There was no devil dog there and we had good meal. I had Slavenian sausage with vegetables and roasted potatoes. Ann had the house sandwich with roasted red peppers, zucchini, melted cheese and prosciutto. White wine for her and a beer for me. The presentation of the food was very creative. Ours and other customers' food was shaped so it came to a peak with the entree on top and the vegetables, etc. underneath. Because of the rain, the were very few people out or dinner. We hardly saw anyone on the walk over. There were only ten of us in the restaurant. That was good for us because it was a tiny place with one chef and one waiter. We got our food in a very timely manner.

We walked back to the hotel in light rain. It is after 9:00 and we have a busy travel day tomorrow. So it's and early bedtime tonight.

June 24 - Ljubjana

The Cobblers Bridge with shoes in the foreground.

There were lots more people competing for the scrambled eggs this morning. Also, the one-at-a-time niche where we get juice and coffee was backed up. This made for a leisurely breakfast. That was fine with us because we sat with a couple from Austrailia and had a pleasant discussion about travel. He was a native Slavenian and she was a native German. They both spoke English with an Austrailian accent.

Ann chose the town tour today. We started around 10:00 as it was starting to get hot. Our first stop was at Serbian Orthodox Church. We were in time for the Sunday service. This very ornate building was filled with worshipers as well as incense. It was a singing service where the priest would sing a phrase and the choir would answer. The choir was professional as very good. The harmony was beautiful.

I got too warm and left shortly before Ann did. I noticed a group of men chatting outside. I figured that they had already gone into the church to make their required visit and then came outside to gossip.

Leaving the church, we walked back toward the center of the old town and then out to the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum. Much to our delight, it was free Sunday - no charge to get in. Besides the permanent exhibit of Slovenian life, there was a floor Showing the life of Orinoco Indians of Venezuela. I always wanted to come to Slovenia and see how some South American Indians lived. We were two of maybe six people in the museum - not much of a crowd for a free day. We also went to an exhibit in another building of witches, sorceresses, healers, etc. The museum guard had to unlock the door for us and a local woman. There were about a dozen paintings to observe.

We had a sandwich and a fruit drink before we entered the museum. You know that I will not forget to write about our meals. When we were finished with the museum we walked back to town stopping to have ice cream at Cacao, a very good ice cream shop. We stopped there yesterday and ordered ice cream from the outside counter. This time we went inside and had a better selection. Ann had chocolate with rasberry. I had blueberry and mango. Yum.

On the way back to he hotel, we went by the Franciscan Church which is the pink church on the main square. A folk dancing troupe was entertaining a new bride and groom. Of couse I had to take some photos and a video. Then we went into the church. It was very ornate and very Catholic.

Back at the hotel we took a rest. At 5:00 we had our first meeting with our Rick Steve's travel group. This was our orientation to the tour where our guides explain all of the formalities and we I ntroduce ourselves. When that was over, we went to a group dinner at the River House Cafe. They served a pasta dish with mushrooms, pork with dumplings, carrots and brussel sprouts, and an apple tart with layers of filo dough and poppy seeds. Everything was very good.

So now it's closing in on 10:00. Ann has already faded. I am ready to go to sleep, too.

June 23 - Ljubjana

A typical scene along the river in the old town of Ljubjana.

Ann finally made it. At United Airlines expense, she spent an entertaining night in Frankfurt at an airport hotel. This morning she caught the bus to the airport, got on her plane and arrived in Ljubjana only an hour late. Much to her surprise, her luggage was waiting for her. She shared a taxi to our hotel and arrived around noon.

In the meantime, I had breakfast at the hotel. It had two surprises - scrambled eggs and Turkish coffee. Both are a rarity in European hotels. The eggs were good but the coffee was not. I switched to regular coffee.

I took a walk into the old part of town and wandered through the huge outdoor market. It puts to shame the farmers' markets in our area. There were flowers, fresh produce, clothes, artwork, meats, cheese and a whole lot of other things. I bought a shirt. One of the shirts that I brought was getting too stained to wear so I replaced it.

After that I meandered back to the hotel. The weather had cooled considerably from the last few days. It was overcast with a threat of sprinkles. It really felt good.

When Ann arrived, she got her things settled in our room. Partly to keep her awake, we decided to go exploring. We got as far as the market area and decided to have lunch. We ate in an outdoor area at Ribca, a fish restaurant under the colonnades near the Triple Bridge. It is next to the fish market, so we knew that the fish would be fresh. We split a huge plate of mixed fish - French fried minnows, sardines, white fish, larger white fish, squid, octopus, polenta and mixed chard and potatoes. It was very tasty, but we couldn't eat all of it.

To work off some of the calories, we decided to take a short hike up to the local castle. I wanted to get up high to take some photos of Ljubjana landmarks. It didn't work, though. There were too many trees in the way. Where was Pacific Lumber Company when we needed it? The castle was too "new" to really interest us, so we looked around the grounds and the inside terrace (which contained at least three restaurants). Then we got on the trail and walked back to town.

Our next mission was to find some good ice cream. Although the castle hike burned only a few calories, we needEd some sweets. So we walked a ways to go to a recommended ice cream shop and found that it was closed. We settled on another one on the walkway next to the river. It was good.

The we walked back to our hotel and rested.

Dinner was at one of the riverside restaurants. Ann had a salad while I had pasta. We did a short walk after eating. Ann was getting ditzy from lack of sleep so we went back to the hotel by 9:00.