dubrovnik, pearl of the adriatic.

We ended the Croatian part of our trip in the city of Dubrovnik, a place with an old town right on the water, surrounded by tall city walls and filled with narrow well lit streets. If you're going to ever go to Croatia, go to Dubrovnik. In fact if you're ever going to Eastern Europe in general, make the effort to stop by this city.
The old town in Dubrovnik is very busy, even is later September, but for a reason. After a day of swimming off secluded rocks into the crystal Adriatic Sea, we would make our way from our hostel (which had a great view of the city and sea) down a long set of marble steps with walled houses on either side. We would reach the "old pile", which is the stunning gate to the old town, and enter the marbled streets with tall buildings on either side and narrow entries which shot off from the Main Street down quiet alleys. With plenty and lanterns and well lit churches + monasteries, in a way it felt a little like walking through Disneyland, we joked.
Our long stay (5 nights) allowed us to thoroughly explore the place and gain energy for our next leg (making the long trek to Istanbul, Turkey). I feel like we're slowly gaining more travel experience and I in particular feel like I'm learning the contradictions of travelling. Like how the idea of travelling is something grand and romantic but when you are backpacking, it can be exhausting and challenging. It's hard to constantly be moving spots, and not getting much sleep, and having to always plan your day. It can be humbling to be a foreigner in a new country where no matter how hard you try to communicate and plan, some things just end up out of your control. I was charged a ridiculous extra for asking for Parmesan at a restaurant (yeah it's funny) but I was told off for asking how much beer was at a different place. When you arrive in a new city, exciting and interesting and full of possible adventures, it can be very tempting to just sit in your hostel all day long to catch up on rest. Travelling is hard work, but at the end of the day, when you're watching the sun set over the Adriatic while sitting on rocks by the ocean outside of tall castle walls- it's nice to feel that moment when you realize the joy of being alive in this world-even if it's gone in the morning when the bus to your trip out of the city never comes and you have to run down a hundred steps to catch an expensive taxi to a coach bus that leaves in 10 minutes.

The city walls.

Our spot on the rocks, outside the city walls.

The view from our hostel.

Cliff jumping and sun tanning.

zadar, tales by the sea.

I think I'd like to learn to sail eventually and get myself a boat and just live on the sea for a year or so. Seeing all of the boats from all different places at the marina gave me a very strong urge to just sail out into the middle of the ocean and see where the currents took me.
There isn't much to do is Zadar aside from walking the old city's marble streets or sitting in a café or on a beach. And after a first night of almost being ripped off by a taxi driver, being offered drugs by someone heading to the airport, and being left by our bus driver while we sat and watched- it seemed like walking, sitting and eating were the perfect activities for the next three days. So that's what we did.

During the day, it got very hot and it felt like the middle of summer in our shorts and t-shirts. We would go out to the sea wall where there are long stairs leading to the water and we would sit and listen to the "Organo Marino"-a sea organ that works by water rushing air through pipes. The waves would create different melodies and to sit on the stairs watching the sea and listening to the sea organ was a very peaceful experience.

Every night we would grab a few beers (which are cheaper than pop or juice), go find a spot on the beach, and watch what Alfred Hitchcock called "the world's best sunset". Sometimes we would just watch, other times we would talk, and once we shared music with each other from iPods until it was dark and time to head back. Somehow we would always miss the actual moment of the sun dipping below the horizon, so our last night we left very early and waited but realized that the day's overcast skies would mean no visible sunset for that night. Instead, we watched a local football (soccer) match on a concrete field and when it was dark we saw "Il Saluto al Sole"-a giant solar powered disc on the sea walkway that lights up at night in random wave patterns.

On one particularly hot day, we went out and searched for a sandy beach (rocky beaches are more common in Croatia). After some walking, we finally found a small section with not too many people and so we laid in the sun and swam in the clear water. A perfect way to spend the day in a lazy city.

plitvice, we love you.

On Sunday morning we left Zagreb in the early hours on a bus headed to Plitvice Lakes National Park which was a planned day stop on our way to Zadar on the coast.
We left the city and started heading up the mountains, weaving through twisty roads with perilous drops beside us, and the beautiful views brought comparisons of our own beloved Rocky Mountains.
Arriving in Plitvice was a little disappointing at first because once again, even though the weather forecast predicted hot temperatures, it was cold and overcast. It seemed that bad weather was following us wherever we went. The mountain air was crisp and refreshing however, and we were layered up, like good backpackers should (right Mom?), so we pressed on to see what this national park had to offer.
Even with the weather and a frustratingly amount of other visitors, Plitvice was absolutely beautiful. Rough wooden pathways and trails through forests took us around bright tourqouise and incredibly clear pools of water that seemed to flow everywhere. In some places the water would drop off numerous waterfalls and collect in a bubbling pool below.
As the day progressed, we hiked along many trails that lead us through the park and in the afternoon, the sun finally came out and for once we found ourselves in our t-shirts.
We left Plitvice with sore feet, our skin slightly less pale, and our spirits up as we were now heading to the coast. We drove down from the mountains and I was amazed by how quickly the terrain could change here. The road was now flat as the trees thinned out and the mountains on either side of us were downgraded into hills. Under these hills we drove through tunnels that seemed like they could go on forever until we finally burst out into a new landscape of pale rocks and barren trees. As the bus drove, the sun set in a cloudless sky, casting warm golden hues over everything. It seemed that our bad weather streak was finally coming to an end.
There's nothing quite like that first glimpse of the sea.

iPod cameras are bad at capturing the full beauty of Plitvice. 

The sun sets on our way to Zadar. 

zagreb, not so sunny croatia.

The first leg of our trip begins in Zagreb, the captial of Croatia, which is an old city with cobbled streets and old buildings but a vibrant culture of arts and festivals.
We left York Wednesday morning on a train to London, and with our Canadian marked back packs and Canadian flag backed playing cards, we might have stood out as being "from the colonies". (We had already been made fun of for our accents-"has anybody told you guys that you talk like wankers?"). We spent the day in London wandering the usual spots-Trafalgar Square, West Minster Abby, and the Parliament Buildings, and we looked wearily at the London Eye and roller coasters and wished we had the money to go on them. After giving in to the McDonald's signs for a cheap lunch and with denying our temptations to go on the overpriced tourist attractions, we figured we could treat ourselves to a nice dinner and had beers and burgers at a great London pub.
It was our first day of freedom from my parents, which really meant no meals made for us, no meals paid for us and no nice beds to sleep in (which we obviously would miss very quickly). We took the train to Gatwick airport where we would be staying the night because we had an early flight and hey, free accommodation! Unfortunately we made the mistake of arriving after midnight and so literally every spare row of chairs or couchs were taken by other travelers who were already sleeping. After searching every space and being kicked out of an area for disabled people (it was 1 in the morning and empty?), we decided we would sleep on the floor in a corner. After some semi sleeping hours, going through security at 3, and then sleeping some more, we left to Croatia at 6.
When we arrived in Zagreb (which we read was hot in september), it was raining and after getting to our place we crashed after our late night in the airport. After sleeping through most of the afternoon we forced ourselves to go out for a walk and it was incredibly gloomy and rainy and dark and we were exhausted and Zagreb seemed like a dreary communist city in Russia.
Today, however, our views of Zagreb were refreshed by going into the city centre and seeing the beautiful old buildings, cobble stone city squares, and busy cafés. And even though it was overcast, I think we all agree that Zagreb is a pretty interesting and striking city. Crotia, we look forward to seeing more of you.

A great hilarious and fascinating museum with items from past relationships with the stories behind them. 

Rain, rain, go away

a&m

Moving to a new country can be lonely at first so I was very excited when these two finally arrived. These are my travel companions for the next six weeks as we make our way through Eastern Europe, with not much of a plan and even less money.

something new.

My new home for the next while, York, is easy to fall in love with. The old buildings and mix of urban and rural make it a beautiful place to explore and that's whats taken up my time since I've arrived.
Oh, and the beer is fantastic.