Slovenia and England: Rovinj, Lake Bled, Ljubljana, London

Split for Rovinj after Vis. Pretty town on the Istrian coast with colorful buildings evocative of Venice. Caught some World Cup fever and watched Croatia lose to Brazil. Climbed to the old church on top of the town. Went for bike ride along the coast where I broke into a water slide. I was excited until about halfway down when I realized the water wasn't running fast enough to carry me down. Sucks to be stuck halfway down a water slide. But I made it with some arm power. Anyhow, hiked along the rocks and enjoyed the view. Went on a fish picnic (quickly redubbed "fishnic") boat cruise to a meager pirate cave. Ate grilled sardines along the way and went swimming.

From there it was off to Slovenia. First stop, Lake Bled. Touristy but pretty resort area around a lake that has an island with an old church and a nearby castle on a hill. Very picturesque but too many vacationers made it seem a bit Disneyish. Went hiking in the woods and took a daytrip to a tiny town with a beekeeping museum that was surprisingly interesting. Last Slovenian stop was Ljubljana (pronounced like lube-on-ya), the capital. Small city but very pretty with lots of nice architecture, cafes on the street, castle on a hill, etc.

Last leg of trip was London for a few days. Stayed at Chelsea Arts Club, swanky old private club with lots of character. Put up there by Patrick Hughes, great artist, and we got to visit his studio while in town too. Did a lot of walking through parks and the hop on-off bus trip which was actually a great way to see the city. City is so damn expensive so we mostly stuck to free museums: great Egyptian stuff at the British Museum, modern art at Tate Modern, bad Natural History Museum, interesting National Portrait Gallery, etc. Got to see a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theater which was neat. Stood in front with the rest of the "groundlings." Btw, Titus Andronicus = lots of blood and guts. Last day we saw England win it's 2nd round World Cup match at a pub while eating fish and chips. Doesn't get more British than that.

6/28/2006 | Permalink | 

Croatia: Split, Hvar, and Vis

Halfway point of trip. So far in Croatia: Split, Hvar, and Vis. Castle walls, fortress, palace, narrow cobblestone streets, nooks and crannies, weathered colors/faces. Hvar and Vis beautiful islands with cafes lining the dock area where yachts are parked. Rented scooter in Hvar and jetted around the island to barely there towns nestled in the hillsides. Gorgeous views descending on Stari Grad, tiny town with pretty homes, laundry blowing in the breeze, and a nifty port. In Vis, hiked to secluded coves and went swimming in the Adriatic after lounging on the rocks. Crystal blue water with lots of fishies. Weather has been a bit rainy at times but mostly it has been perfect. I guess these islands fill up w tourists in July and August but for now it feels like we own the place. Tough to find this kind of beauty without a crush of foreigners there to spoil it. This place does a bang up job on the atmosphere/tourist ratio.

Been eating scrumptious seafood...mussels, shrimp, squid, mackerel, etc. But some of the best food has been our home prepped stuff. Buy fresh bread, olive oil, cheese, and veggies from the farmers who come to town to sell their goods. All super fresh and unpesticidey. Then go home and whip up meals that are simple yet great (my specialty = pasta primavera, H makes a mean breaded zucchini/eggplant grilled cheese sandwich). Bought wine from some guy down at the docks. He sets up in a little garage area with a huge vat of wine with a tap and fills up plastic bottles with the stuff. 15 kunas for 1.5 liters which is around $3US. And it is delicious. As H said, "I have never tasted anything like that in my life."

Went on a quixotic search for pagoca de srdele (anchovy paste) that our guide book said is a Vis specialty. The market said to check at the cafe. The cafe said not today, maybe tomorrow. The next day they said maybe in Komica. We went to Komica. The cafe there said to try a restaurant down at the other end of town. Finally got to that restaurant and got a table with a ridic gorgeous view sitting on top of the sea. The paste was ok but maybe the chase (and that table) was the point.

Taking lots of good pics, especially of overturned fishing boats here in Vis. Human paint jobs combine with the rusty mark of nature to create some Rothko'esque patterns and colors that are right on.

Read "The Teachings of Don Juan" by Castaneda while here. One of the lessons was how to know if you are on the right path. The answer? If the path you are on has heart, then you are on the right path. Dig it.

Next: Catch a ferry and head north to Istria. Then Slovenia and London.

6/11/2006 | Permalink |