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Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation

a travel blog by RHarrison6


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Dubrovnik, Croatia

Rick and I just got home from our after dinner drinks and found grandma and Lily still awake and Lily was giving grandma a tutorial on her extras on her ipod. Lily was teaching her how to use solitare and her pedometer on her ipod. We are heading out of the old town in Dubrovnik tomorrow and will spend the next two days in Cavtat. I actually thought we were staying in Cavtat all along but apparently I booked the Old Town of Dubrovnik with Jelka our travel agent. Not to worry we are taking a boat tomorrow am to Cavtat to get in some beach time and relaxation. The old town in Dubrovnik was very cool and the beauty is breathtaking. The Adriatic is so blue and the old town and its walls are something to be seen but I have to admit though it didn't feel very authentic to me. I get that some of it had to be restored after several earthquakes and a war but there were so many people and I kinda felt like we were at the Venetian in Vegas because everything was so touristy and dumbed down. Hoping Cavtat has a more traditional feel to it. Off to bed now, hoping to not wake up at 4am!
Rox

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on June 30, 2011 from Dubrovnik, Croatia
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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The Walled City

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Today was our frist full day in Dubrovnik,Croatia. Instead of waking up around 8:00 like we thought we would we all woke uo arounf 11:30 am! I guess we were all pretty exhausted! When we finally got out of our apartment it was already 12:30! Elaine decided that she would do her own thing today, (I guess she got sick of us!) so she left Rick,Roxanne, Lily and I to have lunch by ourselves. After lunch my parents sister and I walked around the wall of the old city. On top of the wall we could see everything! The water, old city and an Island off the coast. It was amazing view!

After our walk along the wall it was time to explore Dubrovnik more. Since Dubrovnik is so much more tuoristy everything costs money! To get into a historical building or walk the all you had to buy a ticket! The tickets are cheap but still...
my parents, Lily and I bought ice cream, went shopping and checked out the beach. We then met up with Elaine again and shopped a little bit more. My dad and I bought shoes my grandma and sister bought bags and my mom bought a ring. Then we came back to the room chilled out a bit, my mom listen to her podcast my dad and I worked on the blog a little and my sister and grandma read their books. Elaine had a very interesting wayt of reading her book, since her room has no light in it she has to read while holding a lamp.
Then we went to dinner, got more ice cream and came back to the room. Our first day in Dubrovnik was very nice. Tomorrow we are moving apartments because of location problems but I will let my mom explain that in another blog!

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on June 30, 2011 from Dubrovnik, Croatia
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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First day of Cavtat

Cavtat, Croatia

This morning we woke up around 8:00, packed our bags and went to breakfast. We were going to take a 10:00 boat ride to Cavtat, where we are staying for the next two days. Anyways…so we got up, eat a very European breakfast and rolled our bas down the many stairs towards the dock. Our boat was small but there were only nine people on board so it didn’t need to be big. It was about a forty five minute boat ride to Cavtat. The ride was very pretty and the water was so blue!
When we were getting close enough to the dock to see Cavtat we were all in awe! It was beautiful! Our driver docked the boat helped us unload our bags and then we walked to our hotel which is right on the water. After changing into our swim suites we all walked down to the water. Elaine was not going to swim so she decided to go for a walk and explore this tiny town. Lily my dad and I warmed up on the chairs and then jumped into the water while my mom sun bathed. The first time I jumped into the water it was freezing at first but then I warmed up and it was very nice. After a little sun bathing my mom decided it was time to take a dip in the water. She agreed that the water was cold, but nice.
After lunch at Café Cavtat my sister dad and I jumped back in the water and had a blast! We dove in from a stone walkway jetting into the water, swam to a buoy, and splashed each other with the saltiest water my sister and I had ever tasted! It was a lot different than the Pacific Ocean we usually swim in. When we were all tired and a little chilled we went back to the hotel cleaned ourselves us and took a walk. We then met up with Elaine to watch some tennis at a restaurant. We are now about to go out to dinner.

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 2, 2011 from Cavtat, Croatia
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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Rain, rain go away

Cavtat, Croatia

Waking up this morning the weather was looking gloomy. Clouds covered the sun and the sky was gray, not the best swimming weather. Roxanne was sure that the clouds would clear up and it would become as hot as yesterday. The weather wouldn’t get in our way though. We all got our swim suites on and jumped in the water. I admit that the water was cold and our swim was short but by 1:00 the clouds had cleared and Roxanne’s prediction was correct. It was hot!
We swam some more and then walked to the market for a lunch of fruit, cheese and salami. We brought back the peaches, grapes, apricots, cherries, watermelon, cantaloupe, cheese and salami back to our lounge chairs by the water. After lunch, Lily and Roxanne played a game of crazy eights before Roxanne left to watch the Women’s tennis singles at a bar with Elaine. Lily and I played a game of solitaire together and won! After cards, Rick, Lily and I dove into the water and went for another swim. After our swim Rick, Lily and walked to the bar where Roxanne and Elaine were. Lily and I went back to the hotel to shower while Roxanne, Rick and Elaine continued to watch the tennis. After our showers Lily and I played solitaire again, and again, and again. We then walked back down to the bar where our parents were. Elaine had gone back to her room to rest. We walked back to the bar where my parents were. They were ready to go so we walked around town and shopped a little. They bought me a shirt and Lily some Russian dolls that get smaller and smaller as you take each one out.
After shopping, we went back to the hotel and we all played cards outside. It started to rain so we had to go inside. By that time we were all getting a bit hungry so we walked to a restaurant. Lily, Rick, Roxanne and I ordered pizza and Elaine had spaghetti. After dinner we stayed at our table and played hearts for a while. We could hear the rain on the plastic cover we had over our table. After cards we walked back to the hotel in the rain.


permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 3, 2011 from Cavtat, Croatia
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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Next stop Venice

Venice, Italy

it is time to leave beautiful Cavtat sadley. Lily and Roxanne went for one last swim in the Adriatic Sea while Rick and I worked on the blog we are getting ready for our flight ro Venice, italy now!

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 3, 2011 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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A Day in Venice

Venice, Italy

Our flight to Venice was quick and easy. The airport is not right in Venice but a little while away. When we landed we took a water bus (boat/bus) to Venice.

Venice Bridge
We were then greeted by a man named Christian who walked us to our apartment. Our apartment was amazing! The floors were the original flooring from when it was first built, all marble, the rooms were spacious and it looked like the kitchen had just been remodeled. Christian was very helpful and showed us how to use everything I the House. He told us what a good restaurant was and gave us a map.

Venice Bridge
Looking at the map we all knew it would be easy to get lost all of the tiny alley ways, canals, Bridges and roads it looked very confusing. We went out to dinner after getting situated, playing a few rounds of Solitaire and Roxanne plugging in the hair drying only to get electrocuted, we went out to dinner. But she was fine, only a little shocked (no pun intended.) We went to the restaurant Christian had recommended. The food was great! After dinner we visited the San Marco Plaza

Piazza San Marco
and walked along the pretty, but polluted Grand Canal.

Venice View
Then we headed back to our apartment to get some sleep.

The Girls in Venice

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 4, 2011 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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Other Venice Stuff

Venice, Italy

We had been indulging in the espresso of Europe since Belgrade, but now we are in Italy and it is time for some real espresso drinking. A Double Caffe Macchiato was our drink of choice. By the time this trip was done, Rick was drinking single shots just to get to sleep!

Espresso!

In fact, we have already ordered an decided to buy an espresso maker once we are back home.

There is no doubt that Venice is not an easy place to navigate. It takes about half a day just to get a feel for the place with the narrow paths between buildings and of course the canals. We had high hopes to see two or three things on our day in Venice, but before we knew it half the morning was gone and we were still trying to find our first stop. So we gave up and decided to take a Gondola ride through the canals to take a break from all the caotic map reading


Gondolier

Gondola Tour
.

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 4, 2011 from Venice, Italy
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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Food in Rome

Rome, Italy

Food was a big part of our trip to Rome. All kinds of great pasta and pizza. One night we bought some olives, cheese, and salamie at a local market to enjoy back at the apartment. Lily was amazed by the size of the mortadella behind the counter, so we had to buy some.

Huge Mortadella

Lily was convinced that the mortadella was as big as her head... pretty close!


Mortadella as Big as Your Head

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 5, 2011 from Rome, Italy
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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First Evening in Rome

Rome, Italy

After we arrived in Rome and got settled in, we went out for a walk to get some dinner. We walked down one street and turned left and we found The Colosseum just around the courner!

Colosseum



permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 5, 2011 from Rome, Italy
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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Off to Rome we go

Rome, Italy

Rome was fantastic! We arrived to the bustle of a big city and wheeled our suitcases to the next apartment which would be our home for the next 3 days and nights. After we had been duly spoiled with our Venice apartment we were a little let down with our Rome accommodation but in the end it worked out just fine. Nothing wrong with having some lovely olives and wine off the end of Lily's bed after all.
We got to the Colloseum early and jumped into a tour which turned out to be a great idea. It was just awe inspiring to walk the ground that had been walked by the great emporers and gladiators. You could really get a sense of what it would have been like to be there in the stands watching a gruesome duel. After the Colloseum we headed to another tour of the Forum led by a chap from Birmingham England who spoke just like Robin Leach. This tour was also a must because we would have missed out on so much information about the importance of Palantine Hill and the Forum.
After lunch my mom headed back to the apartment for some rest and we went out to do a little shopping. That evening we headed to the banks of the Tiber River and had dinner. The next day we decided to visit the Pantheon which was a Pagan temple prior to becoming a church. Of course it would have been destroyed if it hadn't been turned into a church. The dome and oculus were the inspiration for the Basilica in Venice and St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
After a quick walk around Novona Piazza we went for a gelato and ended up running into another family from Santa Cruz.
It was then time to head to the Vatican. We decided again to participate in a tour so we could avoid the lines and have someone help us maneuver through this city. Our guide was incrediably knowledgeable and she seemed to know everything about the Vatican. After 3 hours I felt like I was in the information overload stage and we all staggered out of there ready to sit down to a glass of wine. I am still not sure what to make of the Vatican. Every single inch of the Vatican is magnificent. Every tapestry, painting, sculpture, mosaic and map is pure work of art. It was hard to wrap your head around the fact that everything here belonged to the Vatican. It was so opulent and lavish and it felt strange to have so much wealth and opulance in a place that was suppose to be a place of worship. I am still not sure how to verbalize the feelings I am left with. That evening we went out for some wonderful carbonara and after dinner walked around enjoying Rome's magnificence one last evening.

permalink written by  RHarrison6 on July 7, 2011 from Rome, Italy
from the travel blog: Serbian Croatian Roman Vacation
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