The Isle of Capri

Dinner in the hotel was nice and so was breakfast, but a bit basic. our driver arrived to pick us up at 9am and there about 8 of us off to Sorrennto to meet the hydrofoil for our trip to the isle of Capri.

When we arrived in Sorento we met out guide Lavinia. she is a local from Capri, and was a realy good guide for our day on the Island.

the hydrofoils trip was pretty quick and then we transferred to a smaller boat with about 18 people most of whom were familiar to us either from the day before in Pompei or those we had met at the Hotel.

so we motored for about 15 minutes to the east of the island to the grotto. we started to figure out that we were in a que of boats waiting to enter the blue grotto. from here what happens is you are transferred to a small row boat with 4 or 5 poeple and then you rowed over to join the entrance to the grotto. it was difficult to tell which boat was next but the skippers all seemed to know and just like of other things in Italy like passing traffic and crossing the road it all seemed to work out.

any way after about an hour, which we were told was pretty good for waiting at the grotto, we manouvred into a small boat and were told to keep our hands inside and our heads down as we entered thru  a 2m diameter hole in the rock into the dark cave to view the shining blue water inside the grotto. even the guys in charge of the small row boats had to pull themselves through and duck under a steel chain to get inside, in time with the rise and fall of the water.

we were only inside for about a minute or two and it was quite unique to see the glowing blue water underneath. but it was a lot like a Disney ride with the experience heightened by the actual effort to get in and safely out, then back onto a real boat.

Next we retuned to the marina and transferred to.small buses for the drive up the narrow and winding road to the main shopping area of Capri, about 10 minute ride. Once there we had some free time to shop and get cold drink. It has been really hot and by this time it was about 12 noon.

Next stop was Ana Capri on the top of the island, another 10 minutes of narrow winding road and this time Ves could not look down. It was very steep and not a lot of barrier protection along the edge of the road.

We had our lunch stop here and a bit more free time for shopping, but nothing much on offer that we had not seen before. Back to the hydrofoil and then back to the hotel just in time for late swim in the pool before dinner.

The view from our room was great and as the sun set at about 9pm the twinkling lights of Naples added the scene from our vantage point high above town on the upper slopes of Sorento. We even had fireworks at 11pm that went for about 20 minutes. A lovely show and topped off a couple of great days in Sorento.

Tomorrow we are off to Amalfi.

We are in Sorrento

It was an early check out from Hotel Regno but we will be back for one more night.

we were picked up by the mini bus at 6.50 am and circled Rome picking up a few more people and meeting the big bus for our 5 day tour to Naples Sorrento, isle of Capri and Amalfi.

About a 3 hour drive to Naples with a pit stop along the way. our guide Guiseppe, Pepo for short, was fun and fluent in Italian, English and German. The local guide in Naples Wilma was very good and it was a quick 1 hour tour in the heat and we got to see part of the port and the industrial area on the way in and out. Then we were off to Pompei for lunch and a tour of old Pompei with views through the haze of Mt Vesuvius along the way. Lunch was pretty good and then we met up with Wilma again and she would be our guide through Pompei as well.

Pompei was amazing and I could not believe how intact part of it was and the mosaics and artwork, considering the town was buried in ash since 79AD. This was a great 2 hours and although it was really hot it was worth it and Ves and I learnt so much.

After that it was goodbye to Pepo as he was heading back to Rome with half the bus load and the rest of us were going on to Sorrento. We drove along the winding road around the Bay of Naples with sheer cliffs on one side and vistas of the small townships and blue waters of the Mediterranean to our next stop and 2 nights in Sorrento.

We made friends with Sandra and Robert from the Bay of islands and Scott and Belinda from Mornington Vic. We ended up travelling with them to Amalfi, but more of that later.

Our hotel, Grand Vesuvius in Sorrento was nice and we had meals included which was a real bonus. The hotel was a bit out of town on the upper slopes with magnificent views of the bay of Naples and Mount Vesuvio, even through the haze, caused by the high summer temps and high humidity. The night lights were also really nice as we could see some fireworks and the twinkling city lights of Sorrento and along the edge of the distant shores of Napoli on the othe side of the bay.

Tomorrow we are off to Capri and the blue grotto where the sun shines in to a cave in the side of the rock escarpment of the Isle of Capri.

Here we are in Rome

This is the last leg of the family holiday and Rome has been great.

A bit hot but as Ves and I remember it. The food is great the people have been nice and the sights are spectacular with another church or statue around every corner. I forgot to mention the crazy drivers. Crossing the road can be a real challenge at first.

We arrive on the fast train from Venice at about 3.30 and were picked up at the station and taken to our hotel, the Hotel Regno in the centre of town near the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. A great location about a 15minute ride from the station. Ves and Jess went off to find Zara and how lucky, there are two with 200mm of the hotel. Dylan and I went off for a walk and had a beer and slice of pizza at a nearby bar.

Ves and I met back at the Hotel at 5pm as we had planned to walk to the Spanish Steps, its actually the Spanish Square as the steps have nothing to do with Spain its just a nickname. It was about 10 minute walk to see if we could join the free tour of Rome, that was was supposed to go for about 2 hours. After that we would meet Jess and Dylan somewhere for dinner.

I met Ves at 5pm and she was a bit flustered as she had run out of time with Zara and raced back to meet me. Anyway we met the tour and the guide was great and there were about 20 people, including us following him around for a couple of hours ending up back at the Trevi Fountain. We went past the parliament, various churches, including the Pantheon, monuments and fountains and Bernini's house.

Its a fun tour full of information but by the end of it Ves was about to faint as there is no food at Zaras. So we called Jess and Dylan and they met us at the Trevi Fountain and we had a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant. After a slow start with the service and Ves threatening to walk out, the food turned out to be really good and we were all happy. Gelato on the way back to the hotel and an early night for a big day in Rome tomorrow.

We did the Colosseum and Roman Forum on Wednesday, our Scarvi Necropolis tour on Thursday was great and today we did the Sistine Chapel, The Vatican Museum and St Peter Basilica and the catacombs.

It has all been great so far.

Have to sign off as Jess and Dylan are heading to the airport and talking the lap top with them.

More photos and interesting stuff when we return in a week or so.

In Venice

It was an early start at 7am as this was our last day with the car, which we had to drop off in Venice Mestre. All was going well until Navvie sent us on detour through some narrow streets and winding roads and when we hit the Italian border Navvie started going hay wire as she was not set up for Italy only Croatia.

Anyway we made to the drop off point and our rent a car guy was waiting and that all went well and then we dragged our bags over the train station for the one stop to Venice St Lucia. We bought tickets for the Vappareto public ferry for the ride along the Grand Canal to San Marco where, as per our map, we had a short walk to our hotel, Hotel Del Campo. Our manager at the hotel was Mateus. He was very nice and helpful and later booked a restaurant for us.

The crowds were just crazy in San Marco Square and it was hot, very hot, but it was exciting and a bit smelly.

We checked in and the kids were tired and they had a nap while Ves and I went exploring. We found some great shops including and amazing mask shop and the owner let us try on the masks and take photos. 

We also found a restaurant for dinner that night. The restaurant was a bit out of the way but it also had a gluten free menu, which Ves was excited about. We booked a table in the garden at the back.  

The food was nice but my Cuttle fish venetian style, cooked in its own ink, was interesting and I have to admit a little bit hard going down.

Day 2 we decided to have our own free time, shopping and exploring and Ves and I booked a small boat tour of the Grand Canal for 4.45pm. The plan was to meet back at the hotel after that at about 6.30pm and then decide what to do for dinner and maybe even a gondola ride if we had time.

Well we ended up missing the tour because the Vaparetto took so long getting back to San Marco and we had to sprint to the meeting place and being 10minutes late they had already left. Atleast I got in some exercise and then Ves and I found a bar and had a cold drink as it was so hot and we had been running to try and catch our tour. Oh well as Ves said, if that the worst thing to happen its not too bad.  

We caught up with Jess and Dylan around 6pm and decided to go out for dinner at 7.30. They were sad to hear about us missing our tour.

We went in search of a restaurant and found one near San Marco Square. Jess and Dylan paid the bill and then we walked to the Grand Canal, took photos of the full moon and bought our Vaparetto tickets to the railway station, for the following mornings trip on the fast train to Rome.

In Zagreb

We made it to Zagreb at about 4pm. We got to the hotel and Ves and Dylan went straight to bed where they stayed until morning. Jess and I went out to explore the town and get our first dose of MacDonald’s on the whole trip

In the morning we got up early for our drive to the Plitvica Lakes. We picked up Antonia and drove about 2.5hrs south the Plitvica national park. We chose the 3-4 hours walk through the park as Ves and Dylan were still not up to a long trek.

It was very beautiful with waterfalls and cascades and crystal clear blue water, and abundance of fish of various sizes. Words and pictures cannot describe it.

We had a lunch at the midway point that Antonia’s mum had prepared for us.

It was a quite a hot day and we worked up a sweat on the return leg back to the starting point. We got back to the hotel at about 5pm then a quick shower and change then off to Mladen and Jadranka’s house for dinner.

It was the first time in 15 years that Mladen had left work early to be home in time to greet us and to prepare a bar b que.

They have a lovely home in the hills about 15 minutes from Zagreb centre with views of the Smljet mountain. They have a small veggie patch and grape vines front and back and Mladen has a man cave at the back with barb que smokehouse and storage for his tools and cooking utensils. He likes his cooking.

Dylan, Vesna, Jadranka, Iva, Antonia, and me.

We had a lovely dinner and evening with them. Too much food and Dylan and Jess went out with Antonia and Iva and Ves and I went back to the hotel, it was another late night.

Iva, Jess and Antonia

The next day Ves and I went for a quick shop for some gifts as we were due back at Mladens at 11am as he had planned for me to help him cook something.  It was a goulash type dish in large pot suspended over a gas burner and supported on a tripod. It took about 2 hours to cook and was delicious. Jadranka must have been up since dawn cooking for us, as the meal she prepared included roast duck assorted vegetables and salads and a baked pasta dish and a cheese pita. I could not eat another morsel.

After lunch we went and watched their home movies including holidays at the beach in Omis and the family celebrations and the snowfall from last winter.

We said our goodbyes to Mladen and Jadranka and went back to the hotel at about 5pm.  I had to have a nap as I was not feeling well and Jess and Ves and Dylan went on a little tour of Zagreb with Antonia and Iva. Later that night jess and Dylan went out with Antonia and Iva for a few drinks.

Visiting Relatives in Djakovo and Drenje

Off to Dakovo and Drenje on Tuesday morning and Antonia had already sent us a message on Monday to say that we were expected for lunch at Teta Justas place in Drenje, a village about 12 kms out of Djakavo, the main town with its spectacular Cathedral.

We had trouble contacting them to let them know when we would arrive and we got there at about 1pm and Teta Justa was just so glad to see us. We also got to finally meet Antonia the daughter of Mladen, Ves’s cousin from Zagreb. She speaks very good English and she was so helpful and great company for the rest of the week. She is studying law at University in Zagreb.

Teta Justa is Ves mum’s sister. She had three children Mladen the eldest who lives in Zagreb, married to Jadranka and daughters Antonia and Iva.

Anita, who lives with her in Drenje, and Ivana married to Martija (husband) and they have 3 beautiful children, Maria (11) Lucia (8), and Ivan (5) who live in Dakovo.

Teta Justa had prepared a welcome lunch for us with soup and schnitzel and cold meats and cheese that she had cured and salads from her garden. She has a large house and sheds and a large garden at the back, a mini farm she looks after herself with the help of Anita as well. She grows blackberries, blueberrys, and has walnut trees, chestnut trees, apple and every vegetable you could name. I forgot to mention home made wine as well and chooks. Anita popped in on her lunch break. She works at the local farm supplies in Drenje. It was great to see her and she was so happy to see us too.

Teta Justa and Anita.

Martija and the children arrived at about 2pm and joined us for lunch. They do not speak any English although the kids know a few words. They were a bit shy at first but were taken with Jess and Dylan straight away.

Jess, Antonija, Maria, Lucia, Martija and Ivan

Later we checked into our hotel in Dakovo and Martija came by at about 6pm and we followed him over to his house in Dakovo town. We met up with Ivana who had been working and we had wine, coffee and chatted and then she brought out a platter of meats and cheeses and cakes and they ordered pizza for the kids. Tired but definitely not hungry we drove back to the hotel and Martija was meeting us at 10am to give a tour of Dakovo, before lunch at 2pm with Ves’s other cousin Bozidar the son of Ves Mum’s late sister Ankica.

Martija and the kids met us at the Hotel promptly at 10am and we followed them into town. We visited the Cathedral and then had coffee and then walked around the town. We visited the stallion horses that Dakovo is famous for and had a guided tour of the stud farm. Then we drove out to another farm on the outskirts of town where the mares and young foals are kept. This was a more informal tour and the kids were able to pat the horses, it was very nice.

Lunch at Bozidars and Kayas place was another feast of soup and schnitzels and potatoes and salad and lots of beer and wine. We also met daugthers Tanya, married to Robert with and 18 month old boy Carlo and Anna and her boyfriend Marco.

Teta Justa, Kaya abd Vesna.





Bozidar and Vesna





Bozidar just loved Dylan.

Bozidar arrived a little late as he had been at work. He was the life of the party and could speak quite good English. Later Ljubica, sister of Bozidar, arrived with Jelimir (husband) and daughters Vesna (27) and Josipa (24). It was a bit emotional reunion for Ves, and was a bit overwhelming and there were tears of joy at meeting all of he relatives again after 27 years. The girls were charming and Josipa looked after me and later gave me some medication to help my cold.  

Jess, Vesna and Josipa

                                        Kaya, Lubiza and Vesna

After lunch Josipa came with us in the car to the cemetary and we got some flowers and visited the graves of Ves uncle and aunty, Bosco and Ankica, and also their late daughter Marica, (sister of Bozidar and Lubica) who we had met as well 27 years ago. It was very emotional and there were more tears, but it was nice to be there.

After that we went to Ljubica and Jelimir house in town, for coffee. Then we went back to Teta Justas place in Drenje to spend more time with Anita.

We had planned to meet at Teta Justas at 11am to say our final goodbyes and to pick up Antonia as we were giving her a lift home to Zagreb. A bit of a squeeze in the Astra Wagon but not a problem. 

Ves and Dylan were not too good. Bad tummies that we put down to the water in Dakovo. Jelemir had said it was only good for frogs. We were running late as usual and didn’t finally get to Justas until about 12 noon. Teta Justa was waiting out the front, and it reminded us of Ves’s Mum who often waits at the front of the house if we are running late to go to her place.

Visiting relatives in Bosnia

We picked the hire car in Dubrovnik at 8am on Sunday morning and with not too much trouble Jess sorted out the Nav Girl (Navvie) and we drove back to the Hotel Lero to collect Ves and Dylan for the start of our road trip through Bosnia and Croatia.

The first stop is Zenica, Ves home city and birthplace. Its about 70kms north of Sarajevo in central Bosnia, we had calculated about 6-7hours including stops.

We will be visiting Vesna's aunty Delfa, her Dad's sister and her family, daughter Diana and her daughter Anja (8 or 9), and Ves's cousin Miro, his wife Milica and their son Sandro (22).

The drive went pretty well. We drove through Trebinje which was the recommended route of the local taxi driver as it only involved one border check, rather than 6 if you take the coast road, and they can cost you time waiting in line for passport checks.

The mountain drive was very nice and Jess and Dylan were very excited about meeting their Bosnian family.

Navvie only sent us on one wrong turn on, at the top of the mountain and sent us down a narrow road that gradually deteriorated until it actually came to a dead end. We reversed out and Ves asked some local bee keepers for some directions. We were certainly going to rely on Ves language skills in Bosnia and Croatia and so far she had been quite impressive.

We have had an interesting and emotional week in Bosnia and Croatia visiting Ves’s birthplace and meeting her lovely family.

I have not been 100% having come down with the flu and have coughed and spluttered my way through the past week, but we are now in Venice and I am feeling a lot better. Hence the blog has suffered a bit. I am sitting here now in Venice in the lounge of our hotel.

It was a hectic pace visiting Zenica, Djakovo and Drenje and finally Zagreb with early morning starts and lots of eating and drinking until late at night.

We have enjoyed it and especially Jess and Dylan who have been smiling from ear to ear. They have loved meeting the children especially, and Ves has been under a little pressure as most of the conversation has been through her, but we are very proud of her language skills and she has been able to communicate well with everyone. Thankfully some of her cousins also speak English so it has not been all one way and even though I cannot put a sentence together I can understand a lot of words.

Dylan has 3 favourite words. Pivo, rakia and cevapceci.

We went for a walk through the town and had a nice dinner at the restaurant in the hotel Dubrovnik.

On Monday morning we met up with Miro after breakfast at Teta Delfas flat and we had coffee with her before we drove off to a little town to visit an ethnic village where we had coffee and then on to a town called Travnik, where Miro got me lost in the narrow winding streets and I had to do three about turns in the narrowest of places to get back to the parking area we were trying to find. We made it and then caught up with Militza, Ves, Diana and Anja at a local cevapceci restaurant. Miro had said it was the best cevaps in the area and he was right. I had 10, Dylan had 16 and even little Anja was able to eat 5.

 

On the way back from Travnik we bought some flowers and candles and visited the cemetery and the grave of Ves’s Grandmother and grandfather and uncle. It was very emotional but we glad that we went to pay our respects.

Later that evening we cough up with Miro and Dianna and went to a local restaurant. We also met Miros son Sandro who had just returned from a singing engagement in Hvar. He is part of accapella group.

Hvar Town the Island of Hvar

Hvar

After the markets in Split it was back on the boat at 8am for breakfast and to depart for the next port of call the Town of Hvar on the Island of Hvar. The Provence of the Adriatic and the party town. Hvar is also the largest supplier of Lavender in the world.

We moored off the coast in the late morning in a pretty bay for our daily swim break. There were a number of other boats nearby. The water is about 23c and clean and clear especially closed to the shore.

Jessica spotted a friend of hers, Nathan on another boat and she swam over and joined them for a while. She ended knowing a few of the boys and couple of the girls on that boat, what a small world, and its not the first time they have met someone that they know.

Jessica's friend Nathan and some other friends were on this boat, nearby.

We were dropped off at the port of Hvar at 3.30pm and the ship left to anchor offshore as it was not allowed to dock until 6pm in order to let the public ferries in and out of the port. The first impressions were that this island was so clean and well maintained and there was a beautiful fortress high above the town on the ridgeline.

We did a walking tour of the town with a local guide Carmen and we learnt about the lavender industry,  and local history, and where to fine the best jewellery and dress shops. It truly is a beautiful town and so far for us the best so far for all round history, scenery, the atmosphere and of course shopping and dining, although all our meals are covered, so we are saving on not having to dine out.

There was a restaurant with a lamb on the spit cooking out the front and a found a really nice restaurant /bar with a beautiful garden and view of the harbour that I thought would be great place for Ves and I to have a drink later at night while Jess and Dylan went of the nightclubs.

I walked up to the fortress, lots of stairs and paths and Ves and Dylan went shopping. I bought a shell for 10Kuna from some local kids, and I had time for a quick swim at the local beach before meeting everyone back at the boat at about 6.30, to get ready for dinner.

We had a beautiful seafood dinner and I recognized the fish, which the Captain had purchased in the morning at the fish markets in Split.

This is definitely the party town and it was rocking after dinner, with live music and doof doof music blaring from the back of the boats lined up on row of eleven out from the dock. When the boats are docked like this, as we have been too, then you walk through the other boats until you get to the dock. Doors to the cabins are usually locked when inn port but not when we are sailing.

Ves and I went for a walk after dinner and we found a really nice restaurant bar with a garden and a view of the harbour, bit out of the way and quieter.

Jess and Dylan and a girl from our group Dianna 23, did not go out until about 11pm. We had heard about the party island where the water taxis take people over to a nearby island with DJ’s and live music and partying until dawn.

After exhausting the local nightclubs Dylan and Dianna went back to the boat and Jess caught up with her friends and went to the party island and did not get back until the early hours. She said it was on of the best nights of her life.

 Vela Luka

It was an early departure from Hvar at 6.30am to make way for the public ferries and we sailed for about two hours to the other side of the island of Korcula and the town of Vela Luka, which means big harbour.

We had a swim stop on the way before getting to Vela Luka just before lunch. We went for a short walk and then back on the boat for lunch.

After lunch we went on a tour of an olive oil factory and a traditional folk museum in the town of Blat, which means mud. Jess and Dylan skipped this one.

Back to the ship in time to get ready for dinner on the boat and a surprise that our cruise director Antonia had told us about, so we had to make sure we were all on the boat at 8pm.

The surprise turned out to be 5 male singers who entertained on the top deck of the boat. It was really good. After that we heard about a show that was occurring in the square in front of the church.

We went to have a look and we were entertained by traditional dancers and a procession of flags and men with swords acting out a battle scene. It was breathtaking, with beautiful costumes and singing and sparks flying from the sword fighting.

Pomena

Next we sailed on to the island of Mljet, pronounced meeyet and the town of Pomena.

This is one of the more vegetated of the islands and includes the Mljet National Park and to inland lakes that we were going to visit.

But first up we had a swim in a nice little beach adjacent to the marina and there was a lovely beachside bar just nearby.

This was a fairly small town with the main attraction being the national park. No shopping to speak of here.

After a swim it was back to the boat to get changed for the walk up to the national park and entry and the short walk to the smaller of the two lakes, and then we took a ferry ride to a small island with a monastery on the edge of the larger saltwater lake and we found a nice swimming spot. Dylan and I swam across to the mainland and found a rock for diving and after we headed back at about 4pm to have another swim near the ship and for a couple of drinks in the nearby bar.

Dinner on the boat a gain and afterwards at about 9pm Ves and I went out for a drink.