Home to Jacks Coffee Lounge

We have missed the coffee in NZ. The watery cappucinos we have been served up in Italy and Croatia aren't a patch on a Jack's flat white. It must be time to come home.

With only 3 days in the UK before we leave we decided to take it easy.

We took the train out to Chippenham (scene of our year here in 1987) and visited our friends Peter & Jackie Mitchell and their children. We enjoyed a mostly familiar walk around the old haunts of Chppenham but the town has grown 50% since we were there so a lot has changed.

Here is the house we rented in Wood Lane in 1987. A nice little "two up - two down".

Hasn't changed much in the last 21 years.

Back in London it was great to see Tracy, Ethan and the girls who had arrived home from Switzerland the night we were away in Chippenham. It had been over a week since we had seen them and we received an excited arm and leg-waving welcome from the twins - they remembered us!

And Hannah helped us pack.

No visit to London is complete without a curry and our last London supper was at a superb Indian restaurant called Paradise.

It was a very sad farewell to Tracy, Ethan and their lovely girls. Unbelievably they may be back in NZ next year. Who knows, they may need some help to get home again!

Picturesque Plitvice

We spent all day exploring the many kilometers of board walks providing access to the wonderful waterfalls and lakes of the Park. Truly a highlight of the trip. Each bend offered increasingly magnificent views. The pictures tell the story.

The next day we had half a day up our sleeve before flying out of Zagreb so got out the maps and decided Karlovac fitted the bill. The first rain of our trip, going around in circles and a lack of attractions meant we pushed on to Sarobon for a late lunch. This detour went through a grape growing region on the hillside which was very attractive. Samobor, while a pretty village, was closed for lunch but open for beer and cake. Not exactly what we had in mind.
The last leg to the airport involved a circumnavigation of Zagreb while we tried to decipher the signs to the airport. This unintentionally gave us another view of the city.
We have both really enjoyed our short time in Croatia. No problems with our travel arrangements and our accommodation choices have been excellent. All places had generous tourist-sized breakfasts and comfy beds. Just about everyone spoke English. Tim and Dawn have kept us constantly entertained with their many travel and family stories... but London calls.

Dubrovnik to Plitvice

Left Dubrovnik feeling we got very good value from the long drive south to get there, a concern in the trip planning stages. Set off early on the return trip North.

Dawn had spotted the gateway to the Krka National Park earlier so we stopped for a look at the impressive viaduct and park entrance to break up the day's very long drive.


Lunch was spent at Sibenik and included a visit to St. James Cathedral which is built enirely from stone. Pre-cast construction invented in the 15th century.
Finally arrived at our accommodation, House Tina, (8 hours later) just north of the our destination for tomorrow - Plitvice National Park. This was the original inspiration for our Croatian trip so we were looking forward to seeing this Unesco World Heritage site.

A Day in Dubrovnik

George Bernard Shaw called Dubrovnik "paradise on earth". We drove a very long way on some dodgy roads to get here and I wondered whether it would be worth it.
It really does live up to its reputation though. It is unbelievable to think it was so heavily shelled in the war in 1991. It has been restored beautifully to its former glory.
The black marks on the map show the extent of the shelling; 68% of the buildings in the old city were struck by shells.

We took a 2km stroll along the walls this morning sharing it with a couple of aged tour parties who struggled gallantly with the cobbled contours and steps. Some of the towers were described as optional by their guides.
The views from the walls were spectacular. Looking in we peered down narrow alleys and looking out we viewed the picturesque Adriatic coastline.










Behind the old city is a very large hill with a Napoleonic fort on top that proved irresistible to these daft Kiwis and after struggling over very rough rock studded ground we nabbed some great photos of the city. No tramping boots so feet a bit sore.

Dubrovnik

Great game last night - Liverpool vs Chelsea. We have heard a lot of Croatians talking about it today including the host of our accommodation in Dubrovnik.

Travel down here was a mixture of the very fast on the brand new A1 toll-road and the very slow on small and lumpy minor roads when the motorway ran out. Its under construction all the way to Dubrovnik. Took a detour over the hills so we could get a vista of the Adriatic at Malacka. Turns out there was a war memorial there to all the locals who died in the recent conflict.

We have chalked up Bosnia - Hertzegovina on our world travels now - a short stretch of road 9.3km long, only stopping to flash Tim's passport.
Dubrovnik is very beautiful. Our Villa Busovina is on the hillside overlooking the old city with no vehicular access so very quiet.

We have completed a circuit of the old walled city in preparation for a big day of sightseeing tomorrow. Once again we are thankful we are here in the off season as we hear the main street of the old town is the busiest street in Croatia in the Summer.

Sunny in Split

New country new blog editor - Linda asleep after a hard day on the tourist trail.

We both enjoyed the sleeper train trip through Austria (dark & night-time to) & Slovenia and then finally Croatia. Dawn & Tim met us at Zagreb Station and apart from a return trip to get Dawn's accommodation and directions travel folder (panic) we were on our way south in the rental car. Learnt how to say "hello - four beers please" in Croatian on the way.

First stop was Zadar on the coast and a walking tour of the old city parts of which date back to the 9th century. Good start but we didn't feel we needed more time there so traveled on to Trogir for the night. Our accommodation is in a converted palace, the Villa Moretti, right on the harbour. Lovely room and an unsecured wireless connection to boot - woohoo! Dinner last night was a rather grander affair than planned comprising a huge platter of several fish (whole), squid and shellfish. It was accompanied by a bill to match! Have agreed to a more modest pasta and pint meal next time to balance the budget.

Started today with a short trip down the E65 to the Dalmatian coast city of Split, site of the roman emperor Diocletian's summer pad (AD245- 313). He got a bit stressed running the empire so did the unheard of and retired to the sticks. Very impressive pile that has been"saved" by various occupants adding the latest essential features (e.g. cathedrals, tat shops) and not pulling the whole thing down. The tour of the basement (recently excavated) gave us some idea of the immense size of it. Very interesting and totally worth the hype. Pic is of Gregorious of Nin outside the Golden (North) gate to the walled palace. Yes, Linda is giving him a toe rub - supposed to bring good luck.

Returned back to Trogir visiting Solin (Salona) on the way which is among the hillside vineyards (but also industrial sites) north-east of Split. The roman city ruins are the most important archelogical site in Croatia. Pic is of Emperor Tim V (AD1955-) inspecting the troops while slave Dawn peels another grape for him. The amphitheatre (AD200) accommodated 18,000 before being destroyed by the Venetians in the 17th century. Bloody vandals! - not that we can talk mind you.

We pack up and leave tomorrow and move on to Dubrovnik - "the pearl of the Adriatic" (Byron). Dawn and Tim share the driving while Linda & I do the last minute swot with the travel guides in the back seat. Arrangement is working well. Time to go and find the reasonably obligatory pivo (beer) and hopefully a big screen as Tim wants to watch a football match.

Till the moro - wifi permitting.

Flims Farewell

Our time in Flims has come to an end and it feels far too soon. Its such a pretty Swiss village and of course the ski field is fantastic. This is the view from our balcony.





As you can see from the picture the apartments are very comfortable. The apartment we have been staying in is the 3rd floor balcony on the left and Tracy and Ethan are in the one on the right. The two apartments are very spacious and well appointed.





Yesterday we walked to a lovely lake called Cauma. Its about an hours walk from Flims and in the summer is a picnic and swimming spot. The colour of the water is a surprising blue.
It was a long walk at the end of a day's skiing but well worth it.





And here is the crew we are farewelling. It has been fun and will feel very quiet next week.

Tonight we are boarding an overnight train to Zagreb. Who knows what sort of access we will have to the Internet when we get there!