CROATIA, SLOVINIA, TOO RELAXED TO WRITE

Today we have a new guest writer on the blog. The Griffo's Old took the reins of the blog as "rent" for staying in Cal.


We are all agreed that Croatia is now our favourite country. The scenery is breathtaking, Croatia is covered in woods and forests, with steep rugged grey mountains running the length of the coast. The food is very tasty and inexpensive, coffee is as good as we have had anywhere and the weather has been sunny. Leaving Italy we caught an overnight ferry from Ancona to Split and the Adriatic Sea was as smooth as a millpond. Split was a treat with it old historic centre and great vegetable and flower markets. We did some great shopping, bought Italian leather sandals and a Genuine Panama hat for Frank. On to Hvar the next day catching a ferry from a small town on the coast over to the Island of Hvar. The drive to the main town from the ferry port was 75 klm and the road was very narrow, twisting and turning and no guard rails and about a thousand foot drop to our death. We got to the main town and all decided there was no way we were going to drive that road again so caught the ferry from the town of Hvar on to Dubrovnik. A six hour ferry ride which was very relaxing and a restaurant that served the best steak we have all eaten in a long time. Dubrovnik lived up to its reputation of one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia, we climbed about a million steps in Dubrovnik and walked the wall which surrounded the town. We all felt really great the next day and surprised that we had no ill effects from the workout on the steps, however, the next day a couple of us felt like we had been hit by a bus - everything ached.

A big drive from Dubrovnik to Sibenik just north of Split. A fantastic campground/resort, named Solaris Sibernik. Situated on the coast in natural surroundings covering 7.5 ha. After a big drive we decided to stay 2 nights, J & A ran into Amy and Mat, a young couple they had met in Paris. We all sat around at the bar and watched the sunset. Also gave the restaurants a good workout – yum!

On to Slovinia. Quite a climb to get onto the motorway (Cal is doing an awesome job ) and another big day for Andrew driving. We arrived in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovinia. After a great dinner last night at the restaurant at the campground 6 km from the city centre we had a few laughs trying to all get ready for bed at the same time and still keep some semblance of dignity and modesty. It was really cold last night and nobody was prepared to brave the cold whilst the other got their jammies on so it was a free for all. As I said lots of laughs, just as well we are all family. We have spent the morning walking through the old city, had breakfast in town at a cafebar. It had the most beautiful cakes I have ever seen but we resisted the urge and had toasted ham, cheese, egg and lettuce rolls and coffee instead. We had heard it was a beautiful city and it is. Very easy to walk around this town it is really pedestrian friendly. There are designated bike tracks all the way into the city from the outer areas and they are well used. I have never seen so many cafes in a city, the river which runs through the city has cafes all the way along each side. We are just arriving in Bled so must be away, more later.

Love from all of us.

J & A and F & A