Croatia May 2025

Last day here. It has been a long and very active vacation.  We got up pretty early and were showered and out of our room by 7:30 am. We went to the Kennington station and boarded the Tube. We are headed to Tower Bridge for our first stop. The weather was cool and cloudy, very unlike Croatia. We found a place along the way and got some breakfast and coffee. Everything we have bought here is very good. And there are so many people out that it is completely mind boggling. The streets are filled with people all headed to work. We toured the Bridge and bought tickets so we could go up to the top level and of course, explore the engine room. Matt loved this room and spent some time there. I like seeing him fascinated by all the things that pique his interest. It isn't terribly fascinating to me but I love sharing it with him.  After the Tower, we started walking and seeing all the sights along the way. We stopped at a very old church called the All Hallows Church - it is the oldest...

We got up at our normal 6:30 am hour and got packed. Went downstairs for one last breakfast and all I ate was yogurt and coffee. I didn't even do any bread this morning. I'm kind of done with all this overeating. We caught our Uber to the airport at 9:00 am. Got there in plenty of time and the check in went smoothly. Ran in to some other members of our group at the airport and chatted a bit. Matt bought me one more coffee. I know spending money is painful for him but he spoils me anyway.  The plane was a bit late but we were finally on our way. Arriving in London, we figured out the train we needed to catch for our Air BnB. Bought tickets and off we went. We had to change trains once but everything went as Google said it should. We got off at Vauxhall and walked about .6 miles to our place, rolling our suitcases along the rough streets. I was glad to finally get to our place. We didn't stay there long. Matt wanted to do as much as we could with what was left of the day. So ...

 We enjoyed another of the incredible breakfasts this hotel offers this morning. I love the coffee here. It reminds me of Italy. Very smooth and not very strong. You don't even need sugar.  After breakfast, we all boarded the bus for Old Town Dubrovnik. This incredible fortress was built - or at least started - in the 12 century. It is very old. We started our time here with a city tour. Tamara is a wealth of information and gave us a lot of Croatian history as we walked through the Old Town. After the tour, we opted to walk along the top of the city walls. This walk is close to two miles and the views are spectacular from every direction. After our walk along the city walls, we had lunch together in the Old Town.  Just all wonderful experiences. The people are great and having the opportunity to be here is incredible. And in spite of so much heartache in my life, being with Matt never ceases to be enjoyable. We are so well matched in every way. His desire to never spend ...

 We had an early start this morning. Had to be ready for the bus by 7:45.  Headed down at 7 for the hotel breakfast and what a spread. Good grief. I can't even think about all that food. I just headed to the yogurt and had my typical. And of course, I added the half chocolate croissant. I've got to get back to some sort of my normal eating. I've had so much sugar here. Eating dessert regularly and not just a bite! Eating the whole thing several times a day. But that is a plan for forward, not for what has already happened. We drove a short distance and disembarked for our hike. It is a beautiful warm day. We hiked over rocky trails and through the mountain side until we arrived at Cilipi, about 4 miles. We watched a folk dance presentation here which was enjoyable. The music and dance displayed was the traditional Croatian. Afterward, we viewed all the local wares for sale and went through the local museum. Back on the bus, we headed for lunch in the town of Cavtat.  Lunc...

 Today we traveled from Makarska to Dubrovnik.  After the hotel breakfast - which for me was the same every day - yogurt with granola and coffee followed by a chocolate croissant - we boarded the bus, all packed up and ready to leave for the next fun thing. The drive along the coast line was beautiful. Croatia never disappoints with beauty around every turn. We stopped in the town of Narona for a museum tour. Narona is built on old Roman ruins from that date B.C. The museum has some incredible statues and a temple that have been unearthed. The tour took about an hour and a half and as usual, this is not my favorite thing. I have such a hard time being curious and interested about this stuff. But I endured and Matt enjoyed it.  After the tour, we crossed the street and boarded some old wood boats for a tour on the Narona River. It was beautiful and serene. It was mostly just entertainment for us with a different type of experience. After the river ride, we had lunch. I lov...

 I finally slept well last night. Fell asleep easily and slept through the night. No Ativan. Woke up with a headache and feeling a little rough but it passed.  After breakfast at the hotel, we took a short ride to the town of Makur. Our hike for today started here. The first part of the hike was rocky and steep but not too bad. We went almost two miles and stopped at the Kotisina Museum. This was an old restored Fort. Very old. It had five floors and each floor was very small. It was interesting but I started feeling pretty claustrophic and was glad to get out after a while.  Our hike continued to the town of Tucepi - about another 2.5 miles. It was a beautiful hike through the mountains with the Spanish Broom in bloom everywhere. The smell permeated the whole hillside. In Tucepi, we had lunch. The restaurant opened just for us. The food was fabulous. I enjoyed it as much as anything I've eaten here. After lunch, we headed back to Makarska. The rest of the afternoon is ou...

We got to sleep in today! Our meeting time was 9 am. Very pleasant not to rush. I didn't sleep great. Still struggling to get to sleep and we had party boats playing music with booming bass way into the night. But I finally got to sleep and got about six hours. Today, we are touring the island of Brac. After breakfast, we walked to the ferry, about ten minutes from the hotel and boarded the boat. It was a gorgeous day, as they all have been. How lucky can you be? After reaching Brac, we boarded the buses and headed to the stonecutter's school in Brac. This is a public school with a high school curriculum that teaches the stones the art of stone cutting. We heard from one of the students about his experience. It was quite interesting. We roamed the town for a bit after touring the school. Matt and I wandered the streets a bit and I had the proverbial latte.  Our next stop was an olive tasting and lunch. This was really fascinating. The family doing the tour had restored an old h...

Another hiking day! Got up at our regular 6:30 am, showered and had breakfast. On the bus by 8:00 am. Today we headed to Cetina Canyon. It was about 40 min on the bus and then our hike began. The beginning of the hike was through thick underbrush with some uphill. About 2.5 miles in to the hike we began the serious descent into the canyon. The view of the Cetina River winding through the canyon was spectacular. I was suprised that our group of 20, all people in their 60's, 70's and 80's, got down without injury. It was a bit challenging. But we did! At the bottom of the canyon, we were picked up by a boat and headed up the river. Such a beautiful canyon and the river was wonderful. We stayed on the boat until we arrived at Omis, a small village. We spent some time there exploring the village. Matt and I hiked to the top of the hill where we could see more views. Of course, we had some gelato.  Boarding the bus again, we drove a short distance to a local home where we would ...

 Today we are hiking the Red and Blue Lakes. Of course, every day starts with the buffet breakfast at the hotel and the awful coffee. But I've found yogurt and am enjoying that for breakfast at least.  We headed to our hike and stopped at a local market along the way. I woke up feeling like absolute hell. A migraine headache and low grade nausea and just nightmarish. I think I'm going through estrogen withdrawal from taking off my patch. But took ibuprofen and kept going.  The market didn't do much for me but it was interesting to see. Local fare flea market fare. We were there for a short while and headed on to hike. We drove past the Green Lake on our way. Astounding color.  Started our hike and came to the Red Lake first. The Red Lake is in a sink hole with red walls. Doesn't really look red but has that name because of the red walls which I guess can make the water look red from the reflection. Just absolutely incredible. It is about 800 feet deep and the walls o...

  Today we are hiking the huge mountain overlooking our hotel. It is located in Biokovo Natural Forest. Of course, we got up early, showered, and went down for the hotel breakfast that we have had every day. I do not love these breakfasts. I do not love this coffee. But I am making the best of it.  After eating breakfast, we boarded the bus and made our way towards where our hike would begin. It was a lot of driving on a very windy road. Our first stop was at one of those plexiglass walkways that goes out into the canyon. I loved it. The views are amazing. We had a few in our group that are not fond of heights and they would not go on the walkway.  But I loved it. Spent a few minutes here and got back into the bus and drove all the way to the top. Took a long time to get there and the road was brutal. When we got to the top, we walked a little loop and enjoyed the incredibly expansive 360 degree views. It was gorgeous. Back in the bus, we drove down to our trailhead. And ...

Leaving Trogir today. Loved our stay here. In the bus at 8:00 after a somewhat unimpressive breakfast. Not loving the food here at this hotel.  Our first stop was the ruins of Salona, just outside Split. Lots of history here and yours truly has a hard time paying attention. But there was an archaeologist who was instrumental in digging up all the ruins. There were a lot of coffins including his own, which he designed before died and required it to be placed at the site of the ruins.   After Salona, we drove on to Split. We toured the old part of the town including the palace. Very fascinating. The ground floor of the palace can be toured but the other levels have all been turned into apartments and places for people to live. At one point, the ground floor was full of rubbish that had been thrown there from the floors above. Most of it has been dug out now and it is impressive. Our next stop was lunch at a local restaurant. I ordered beef and gnocchi and once again, just h...