Our Croatia adventure started off in Split. A town which is the hub for the ferry system on the coast. We just stayed a night as a stop over on our way out to Korčula Island. The city had a neat little old center which is actually built in the ruins of a castle which was fun.
Our little B&B had an awesome location with a killer view!! (however the drunk people who we could hear late into the night walking along the boardwalk was not ideal, I really need to invest in some earplugs that will actually stay in my ears..)
Our evening entertainment, this bar had cushions set around the square and live music being performed outside! Lovin it, had a nice glass of wine and enjoyed the ambiance!!
The next day before our ferry we took a hike up the hill to overlook Split, was a great hike when it is not too hot out!
Korčula Island. So cute! I loved it here! Such a cute little town, and we had it all to ourselves. There were just a couple restaurants open, but the one right next to our place was really good so felt like our own little place. We spent the days wandering up and down the little streets (I was secret garden hunting, and Nate was trying to disprove every little magic nook I found. ha)
Marco Polo's old abode when he lived on the island, he is their main claim to fame.
The 'old town' from afar. We stayed right in the heart.
See magic secret garden behind the wall... I am sure of it :-)
Little stone patios, do not seem the safest... didn't actually see anyone standing on one, so maybe they are all for looks. All the decorative accents were beautiful.
Next stop Dubrovnik we stayed in 'old town' again, overall I would say this was my favorite in Croatia because of the town wall that surrounded the whole old town area. We spent a whole morning walking it and soaking it all in. There is just something pretty special about this place, and reading about the history makes it more interesting. It is amazing that the place was under siege 15 years ago, and the damage is very minimal. They have done such a good job of repairing their magic little city. Everyone was so genuinely nice too, I think that says a lot about a culture. So many of these people were in the middle of that battle, and yet they are still so open and kind.
Our street...
Fort outside of old town.
Little bit of ruins remain.
Peek-a-boo Nate.
Later in the afternoon we came back to this seaside bar. Sat in the sun and read our books and had some wine. Very nice little relaxing place, freaking expensive but that's what you get for the location I guess.
View back at old town from the fort.
We took a pretty intense hike up the side of the hill to the fort at the top of the hill the next day. So though we at this point had not been good about keeping up our running regime, we still were getting lots of hiking in. Good exercise still. And very pretty view from the top, with an interesting museum about the conflict in Dubrovnik. Sad stories to see all that unrest.
Breakfast on the main drag, I love it when you have tables lining the cobblestone streets and there are no cars! Such a nice change!
After Nate and I went for a run in the morning we had some relaxation time on the beach for some reading before we had to catch our flight to Zagreb (we did Slovenia in the middle of our trip, rented a car in Zagreb and drove into Ljubljana). Was a very peaceful spot in the comfortable weather (though not even close to tempting to actually get into the water)
After Lake Bled in Slovenia we headed back to Croatia to Plitvice Lakes, an national park with a bunch of lakes and waterfalls. Is so well maintained and the little built walkways everywhere make it very picturesque. The sunshine sure was a nice bonus, made for a beautiful day of wandering around the lakes. We ended up walking / hiking for around 6 hours. Needless to say we were pretty spent by the end of the day... but I would do it all again, nice to get back to nature, and to smell that clean / fresh nature scent again... ahhhh, I miss that.
My favorite falls during the day :-)
Though it was very nice outside you could still see the icicles around from the previous days cool temperatures. Added another special touch to the ambiance.
The big falls.
Nate washing his hair
Rainbow in the mist!
Our final stop Zadar and Pag, after all our hiking around we took our last couple days to a spa type hotel and relaxed. Nate got a massage, and I got a mani/pedi and just lived it up. Very nice place, we were the youngest ones there for sure, but we don't mind that. We relaxed by the pool one of the days when it was really beautiful out and read our books! I love the adventures, but I think it is perfect to pair that with relaxing time just reading... perfect.
Our pool
Warm outside... WATER FREEZING!!!
Our final adventure was to go to this little winery out on Pag Island and have a little tasting. We set up a time and had our own personal wine tasting, very fun! These were some of their olive trees for their fresh olive oil, and in the background are some of their vines. Being so early in the season the grape vines were just starting to grow little green sprouts :-)
What an awesome two weeks!!!! We had a blast! Weather could have been a bit warmer, but we still managed just fine. We actually lucked out with not getting rained on as hard as I was thinking we were going to be. I love vacation!!! Have been back at work for 2 weeks, catching up with everyone, and getting ready for my next adventure. Off to meet the family in the UK on Saturday!!! I can't wait!
