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Well as the dawn breaks, it's time to pack the bags one last time and head for home after another remarkable and memorable holiday; cancelled buses, strained hamstrings, attacks by swarms of bees, insect bites of unknown origin that lasted for 2 weeks and hikes into the stratosphere all notwithstanding.
Italy. Always a show stopper with surprises around every corner. Treviso was the perfect place to recharge after the flight over with beautiful walks along the river, uncrowded streets and not a souvenir shop to be seen. The side trips to the Cannaregio district of Venice with its almost deserted streets and piazzas when compared to the frenetic pace of the main tourist trail. Seeing where Sarah spent some time in Conegliano was special, as was our day in Feltre where we spent the afternoon being given the history of Italy from the time of the Romans to the present day by a local celebrity who had some affinity with Australians, in a tucked away cafe over coffee. Trieste with its strong Austrian influence on show in every building and piazza, great food and leisurely pedestrian pace was another great find. Over the water to Muggia for the day provided yet another face of Italy. A small fishing village with yet another must see castle on a hill, that was thankfully closed, and instead found a table and umbrella in a tiny piazza and had lunch with some locals.
Slovenia was a huge surprise, although we didn't really have any idea what to expect. Ljubljana just seems to be alive from dawn to dusk and beyond, with people seemingly eating and drinking all day. The bike ride out through the Ljubljana marshes and lunch in a local Gostilna or inn, rounded out another perfect day. Lake Bled was a standout. It was hard to pick between the fantastic hotel and it's food or the daily bike rides out through fields, pine forests, alpine meadows and hills, lots of hills. A really special country and on the list for a return visit.
Finally Croatia. Zagreb at first sight was somewhat bland with its endless array of soviet style high rise apartment blocks but this soon gave way to a modern, bustling and very up market city centre. The " old town" was equally surprising with more impressive Austrian influences as well as the medieval centre. Then it was down to the Plitvice Lakes and despite being caught in the only rain in the trip between the bus stop and the hotel, our time here spent walking from one end of the lakes to the other was worth every aching muscle.
Our journey continued to Split, where the 6 flights of stairs to our apartment combined with some very helpful tips from our hosts, equipped us to make some very serious inroads into eating and living like a local. The ferry ride over to Trogia for the day was another gem, even if most of it was spent waiting for Jean to haggle the price of dresses and other sundry clothing items to below cost before buying.
Another great apartment tucked up a back street in Dubrovnik provided a welcome retreat from the heat and crowds as did the time spent perched on a rocky ledge overlooking the Adriatic in the Buza Bar with an ice cold beer. The drive to Mostar in Bosnia revealed a country in complete contrast to the affluence of coastal Croatia. The legacy of the war was everywhere. But not even the abandoned houses, burnt out villages and untended fields could take away the majesty of the landscape. Row upon row of huge mountain ridges with the remnants of stone fences and terrace embankments some, we were told dating back to a time when the Greeks were in residence. And in the middle of Mostar, with its narrow cobblestone streets packed with tour groups all heading for a selfie on the famous bridge that divides the city, was the serenity of the mosque and it's surrounds, like an oasis in the desert.
Helping to draw all of this to a close was the week spent cruising the islands between Dubrovnik and Split. With each day merging into the next, it seemed as if we were on the water for a month.
Possibly one of the more interesting bits of trivia that we picked up was in the town of Korcula, on an island of the same name. It appears that the Venetians when building the town specified that no two buildings that face each other could have windows that are directly opposite, or floors that are on the same level, thereby providing some privacy to the occupants. They also specified that the ground floor was for shops, warehouses etc, the second floor for living and the top floor for the kitchens. Given the narrow streets and the density of the houses, the cooking smells and smoke would not linger in the street or at the living level. Perhaps we could think along the same lines when building all of these high rise apartments.
And finally the curtain closed in Cavtat. Unhurried, picturesque and waterfront restaurants made this the perfect place to end our holiday. But not before a couple of epic hikes and a day trip to Kotor in Montenegro.
So much more could be said but it's time to head home and start planning for the the next great adventure.
We hope you have enjoyed our blogs as much as we have enjoyed having the experiences to write about.
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