so the postcard features the vatican. sorry but there are a couple of reasons behind this. a) there are no pictures of croatia, b) beth forgot the wire which enables us to upload our own photos and c) that photo is probablly the closest we will get to the vatican on this trip given our, ahem, tactical change of course. well these things happen when you travel, don't they!? so after much traditional hungarian bathing in budapest, we set off on our longest journey yet totalling 27 hours including a lunch break. this mammoth journey took us firstly to zagreb the capital of croatia, nice enough place, had not one but two topshops, and some nice buildings. also some lovely restaurantrs where we spent most of our five hour stay there. then it was the treacherous night train. being night train virgins we were a little wary to say the least. of course our reserved seats ( yes, thats right, despite everyone's beliefs, beth and I are capable of forward planning in some cases!) were located snugly fitted between the snoring, mardy, old and dribbly croat granny and two young croat philosophers who despite being complete strangers managed to sustain an in-depth conversation across everyone else for 8 of the 9 hours. still the journey was not at its end, no no, we had the bus leg to go. so at six we scrabbled on the bus bleary-eyed for the four hour trip to dubrovnik. why is she writing mundane trivia such as this you may well ask, well thats because the bus trip actually had a surpruise highlight. yes, we actually went into bosnia, despite the fact that we were completely unaware this would be the case beforehand. however not too muhc can be claimed from this experience, not even a stamp or any ruins to note...disappointing really. so finally we reach dubrovnik, by the way congrats to those still reading, you really don't have much to do huh? anyway, dubrovnik. landed on our feet really here, well more than that, more like landed on a soft fluffy lavender scented cushion. yes unfiortunately the small room we had booked had been double booked and the only option was for a friend of the owners to take us instead, to stay in her spare apartment, complete with ensuite, kitchen, dishwasher, tv, dvd and air con... and for cheaper than before... how chuffed we were. city of dubrovnik is amazing, all walled, marble streets, crystal clear sea, cute little pebble beaches, naturally we sampled them all. friday, we caught the bus at nine, literally just caught, waking only at eight thirty, it was more than a close shave. still three hours and aferry ride later we arrived in korcula, a beautiful little island. although short our stay was perfectly relaxing. we happened to get a room in the old town, right by the sea and watched a stunning sunset with cocktails on top of a turret... after twenty minutes of beth photographing every stage of the sunset i rather feel we need never look any further for such shots...one thing forgot to mention about dubrovnik, the walk of the city walls. amazing views but for your sanity do not ask either of us for photos of it, if we had got any more carried away with taking photos of it, we would have flown off the walls themselves!!! the half hour long slideshow would probably bore both us and most definitely you guys rigid. currently in hvar, which is tres swanky, croatia's answer to st tropez, i believe is the most apt description. the yachts/ motorboats here are truly amazing. sea and pebbles beaches are good here too, and from here both beth and >I have achieved new heights. mine being i have actually got a tan that doesn't stop at the knees and elbows and beth, well not sure if hers is an acheivement or not, interpret as you will, well beth seems to be suffering from some kind of all over body rash. so we are now experimenting with types of cream...running short of ideas though, so any suggestions please feel free! in a couple of days we are headed to ancona in italy and then straight onto greece for some more sun...oh and culture...i knew there was something we were forgetting. as we like to see it, the best way to experience a place is to do as the locals do, and well thats sunbathe. its a hard life. so you are probably all bored sitff, and most likely physically stiff if you have read this til the end, but we send our love and hope all is well at home with everyone. charlie and beth xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx