Back in London

Hi family, after a long journey we are back in London. We've just had lunch w/ Alex and Clare, we're currently in a Starbucks using the free wifi to check in to air Canada. Then we're off to the neighboring town of Kingston to look for another bag or small case to check in and then we'll meet Alex and Clare there for dinner. 
Tomorrow we have a car picking us up for the airport at noon. And then our flight home is 330pm via Montreal. Should be in Vancouver tmr night. 
It's hot and sunny in London, apparently was not like this before. We'll be walking around kingston around the water. 

Xxo Helen 

Sent from my iPhone

Hello from Bol

i family... Again... Writingto you now fromthe town of Bol, which is on the island of Brac. I don't know how ppl keep writing journals ... This is so time consuming, but i know you all enjoy it and I gess it's good for me to keep a record of it... Plus farhan is making me relax!! We are sitting on the villa's terrace, drinking lemonade, tea and coffee. The weather has been a little big mixed. The day we arrived it looked like a storm was still at korcula, and we were just ahead of it. Clouds were in the sky, but we never got rained on and when we arrived in Bol the sky had cleared up overhead so it was and sunny. We arrived at the villa by 1030am, but had to wait b/c our room want ready. We had arrived to the north of the island at Supetar, where the ferry dock is, and then took a taxi from there to south of the island to Bol. The taxi ride was scay fast, but whatever we got here quick and safely. The villa is amazing, I think a German women owns and runs it. It's all so clean, bathrooms sooo nice and our room faces the sea. The windows have these green shutters, not or sow, they actually work, but remind me of italian sea town architecture. I think Bol might look more like an Italian sea town than the other places we've been to. Has very narrow streets only one car fits and it's hilly, but Bol is quite small. You can walk along one length of the centre for alut 5-10 mins. Along the seaside are random small pebbly beaches, a monetary of sorts and generally this area is just very quiet. The famous part of Bol is this beach area called Zlatni Rat. If you google it, it should look like a s golden horn from up above. It's a strip of beach that has waves pushing st it left and right so it constantly makes this born shape, sometimes curled at the tip left or right.
So our first day on Bol, the day we arrived, we got settled in, got food, farhan took a nap, i took a short walk, and then we went walking looking for a place we could put our towels down and go for a swim. We decided to save Zlatni rat for another day b/c we knew it was already so busy from ppl being ferried over from neighboring islands like Hvar and korcula. We saw ppl walking endlessly towards the beach and in the distant on the water you can see all these tourist boats that look like pirate boats bringing ppl over. We eventually found a small pebbly beach beyond the monestary. It was busy, but we could still out our towels down. We played there for about an hour before going back to the villa to change and go for dinner. Nothing exciting, had some food, and then bed time. 

Today, we woke up, the villa provides breakfast. Just something simple like fresh fruit, coffee, tea, juice, and some type of eggs combo. It's nice b/c you sit on the terrace outside. Apparently it had rained overnight b/c where we hang our beach tiles outside, had been moved under some shade. We were thinking of going to Hvar on this exclusion boat. But you can see the clouds moving and apparently in the distance you can see rain or some moisture coming Down. Thought maybe a boat ride may not be so goodie case we couldn't get back on the boat back to Bol! Luckily, the weather looked a little clear,so we decided to go to the Zlatni rat beach. It's a 30 min walk, any to get to b/c the ground was paved (other times we walk to places in Croatia it's been a dirt path) oh ya the architecture here is built on limestone or shale, so buildins are white and grounds are limestone like. We got there early, around 10am, before the other tourist boats arrived w/ ppl from other islands. It was ssooooooooo niceeeee!!! The view is pretty cool from up a one, b/c you see it from above first before the ground slopes down towars the beach. The "sand" is small pebbly rocks, formed by the water moving over it. Oh ya side note, on the beach, you can hear the water rush over the pebbles, as it recedes and washes over the shore, it ,ales this high pitch sound, very interesting. Something I'll remember about this coastline. So when we got to the beach, it's quite large and there are beach chairs and umbrellas set up left and right of this pointy shape horn. Of course have to pay for chairs and u,Bella, which we did, but we were stupid, b/c it ended up cloudy and windy and w didn't even need umbrella although the chairs were nice b/c the ground is all pebbly. We took some photos, put down our towels and then got into the water. B/c the sun was out when we first got there, the water felt so warm and calm... Not a Lot of ppl were there yet. I remember floating backward, on my back in the water feeling very calm and peaceful...such a great sensation, just floating. We swam around, farhan went looking for dish, he has goggles and oh ya tons of small fish here, while I floated around. Eventually more ppl arrived, the weather started changing, the sky clouded over and eventually we left. Good thing we did b/c it started spitting rain nd eventually full on rain while we walked back into the main centre. On our walk we had passed a resort hotel, which I guess is where a lot of ppl are staying b/c we noticed at night a lot of ppl around, it during the day this place is really calm... Anyway, on this walk also saw a Tennis centre!!!! It had a lot of clay courts, I went into the players office to inquire about lessons. Unfortunately I did not. Ring my shoes /c I thought oh I won't play and shoes take up so much room... Ya I am wrong, pre vacation thinking so different than on vacation thinking!! Farhan says next time he'll just bring my stuff regardless of what I say haha so sweet. Newsy they don't do shoe rentals only racquet so no playing tennis on red clay courts for me. It's ok, tomorrow will be all Day on the water, as it's out last full day here. We saw bicycle water boats that have built In mini slides on These things so we might paddle out into the water and play on that. After our morning on beach we just took it easy, and relaxed on the terrace, and the beach side lounge bars.

Ok I go now. Tomorrow is our last day. Will be all about playing in the water!!!
Haha I can hear the cats meow....
Love you all,
Helen

Goodbye from Korcula pt 2

Hi family, I'm writing this to you on our 2nd to last day in Bol, but it'll be about our last day on korcula island. on this day, we went to another prt of the Korcula island called Lumbarda, just south of where we were staying which is old town korcula. We were going to rent and ride a bicycle there,about 6km, but then we got lazy, so then we were going to take the local bus, but we got lazy, ad then we found a water taxi, which was only 2 bucks more than bus so we decided to take water taxi, same idea as the aqua bus for Granville island or star ferry on hong kong, but it's driven by an old sea man and it fits only bout 20 ppl. There are a lot of little islands on around korcula, so it was nice to see the landscape. The weather was not so sunny, and not as hot as the previous day when we were just dying from the heat. I think was a storm coming for the night. Lumbarda was originally founded or named by Venetians who are from Italy, so when they discovered the land they brought wine grapes with the, and so Lumbarda has vineyards in a lot of the area. After we walked up 200m of upward stairs, omg so humid and difficult, we came upon the view of vineyards!!! Different than Germany's vineyards, I think they were not as high and had red and white grapes alternating and, more wide space. We wanted to go to Lumbarda to do wine tasting so we eventually kept walking along this car road and found a small tourist info office who gave us directions to a local vineyard that does it. After 30 mins of walking, not difficult walking, but it was on the same road as cars as they don't have side walks, you just walk along the coast and beside cars, we found the street of the winery. There were lots of fruits and vegetables growing. I saw... Eggplant! Tomatoes, what I think re persimmons but I'm not sure. It I know I've seen them at T&T before, white peppers, and grapes. The drive or neighborhood street that lead to this winery was very very quiet, like nobody around, not sure if ppl lived in those stone houses or what, but eventually we found a sign to this winery, Bire. We looked around, nobody on sight, and eventually found a door that said "open." so we walked in and realized it was a dark chamber with benches, a bar and it was air conditioned!!! We saw a German couple drinking and chatting w/ the owner and the owner's son led us to the bar and that's where we did a wine tasting. The grapes we originally saw when we walked over those steps is their grape vineyard! And where we were having the wine tasting is their production office. They have 2 local wines, white called GRK, and a red I forgot the name. They were both very tasty,good quality wines. We eventually sat down on the long tales to have a full glass of red wine. We made sure to hydrate w/ water b/c we were so hot from walking outside. Apparently the next day, this winery was going to start harvesting all their grapes! The guy was saying they start at 5am and end around 11am b/c it gets so hot and they have to start the production right away b/c once the grapes are plucked they only have x time to get the best out of the grapes. They product about 10k bottles each season, and only for the local use and for korcula island. We were thinking of buying a bottle, but it would be a pain to pack it and we would still have to go thru the split to Gatwick airport md the Heathrow to Vancouver airport. I didn't want to deal w/ any potential security and customs issues. Ppl can be douchebags about it. After the German couple left it was just me and farhan and after we left it looked like they had closed up shop. Good thing w got there when we did or maybe it wouldn't have been open which would've sucked b/c that's why we wanted to go there. It was very very quiet there, I think their tourist season has ended or the big boats don't bother visiting this area. Actually old town korcula was a little quiet too, just depends which ferry and cruise boats are there. We returned to korcula town via bus b/c we didn't feel like waiting for the taxi boat guy, and when we got. Ack we went for a swim in the sea area right outside our flat. After that we went to buy our tix to get to Brac island via Split. Tix office only open for 1 hr each day. They work on island time here.... There ws a storm or run predicted so the ferry was docked on a diff side than usual, it was ok, we could still walk to it from the flat. Otherwise a pretty uneventual day for us, we've definitely slowed down on the activities and are just happy to get a swim in, in the sea. Like I said, we had to wake up at 430am, to catch the 6am ferry. Took us quicker than expected to walk our heavy suitcases to the boat, b/c we got there by 515 and the captain wouldn't let us on yet. Tis ferry boat is fast, faster than the big ferry boat that went from Dubrovnik to Korcula. This one is called a catamaran, but not the catamaran you're thinking of, it's like a speed. It goes so fast, took 3 hrs to get to split, had stopped at Hvar island first. We were thinking of going to Hvar island from Korcula on that full day at Korcula, which meant catching th 6am catamaran, but after our early morning journey to get to Korcula, thought no way, too tired which is why we went to Lumbarda instead.plus to do 2 6am ferry departures In a row, that is brutal. Oh well. You see one island you see them all...? At least that's what I'm telling myself haha. Even if we did go to Hvar, we would've gotten there by 730am and nothing's open! And the 6am ferry to Hvar from korcula was the ONLY time option. Ok that's it from Korcula. It was a beautiful is and, water, again, awesome, and glad we saw it. Love you, Helen

Good Morning from Bol, Brac, Croatia

But it feels more like good afternoon b/c we've been awake since 4am!!!! And now it's 11am. We caught our 6am ferry out of Korcula and it took 3 hrs to sail to Split which is a main hub for all departure points. So even though geographically Brac island is closets Korcula, we have to sail pass it To go to Split and from Split by another ferry tix to get to Brac island which only took 50 mins. But we had a 20 min window from the time the ferry arrived in Split to the time the Brac ferry departed. So we Made sure we were right at the front to get off and then we hustled down the dock to the tiny ferry office and then hustle to another dock to find the Brac ferry. Very amazing race style b/c if we missed that 9am ferry to Brac we would've had to wait until 11am. 
The taxi ride from the Brac ferry terminal took about 30-40 mins, maybe quicker b/c the driver was BOLTING down the windy roads. The ferry terminal is in stueptar and Bol is across the island and the roads that cut across the island are hilly and next to the coast. I don't think Farhan felt that comfortable w/ the speed haha I was just thinking ok well this young man seems to feel very confident about knowing the road hazards haha. 
Right now we're sitting on the terrace of this villa while we wait for our rooms to be ready. We're staying at a hotel which is a nice change from the rented apartments. We have someone catering to us! And someone to help being up the luggage. Attached is a photo of me sitting at a table drinking fresh lemonade! How nice.
We got lucky w/ the weather b/c overnight from Korcula you can see the clouds were looking stormy and when we arrives on Brac, it looked cloudy, but here in Bol on this villa it's sunny. The villa also has some plump cats! Well fed and a little lazy too. I'll send photos.
Xoxo Helen 

Goodbye from Korcula

Hi family, so tonight is our last night in Korcula. We've been here a day and a half. We sailed here from dubrovik on a larger size ferry. It took 4 hrs. It felt like a long time b/c there's only so much one can do to entertain themselves. The ferry has lots of open spaces outside and inside. We sat inside in a booth In a sitting room. It was air conditioned which was. I've, but soon felt like a refrigerator. The outside was also nice b/c you feel the sea breeze and it's Rey warm so if you can sit in the shady side of the boat it's excellent. I would side outside a few times enjoying the sea air, it was so lovely, weather so warm and you get to see the rocky shoreline of Croatia and some islands in the distant. There's also th back of the boat, which is a deck outin the open. Some ppl sat there and sunbathed or they laid down on their towels, like a cruise ship environment. A lot of ppl were sleeping on the benches or just on the outside ground, like full on body laid out, had to watch where you're stepping do you don't step on someone!! Ppl were sleeping b/c it was an early ferry, about 830am, although our ferry tomorrow to leave korcula is at 6am, so THAT'S early. The ferry also had a canteen and bar so you could get drinks and coffee. The ferry was a smooth and steady. When we got close to korcula, the view was again, breathtaking. Anywhere you go, along the Dalmatian coast, the view is breathtaking, but it's never boring to see it over and over again. We saw the old town of korcula first, so you see fat fortress turrets and the walls and the orangey/salmon clay tile roofs, the aqua gradient waters, so clear, like paradise. Oh ya when you get on the ferry, you have to climb up these narrow metal stairs, all the way near the top. Not like a cruise ship where the gangway is lowered. So I had to carry my heavy suitcase up these narrow stairs and there were ppl right behind me coming up the stairs. There were ferrymen to help carry cases, but all 3 were busy helping others by the time I got to the stairs. So to get off the ferry, again had to walk down the metal narrow stairs with my case and had to be careful I wouldn't fall forward down! Hah. Waiti g at the ferry terminal are all these ppl, like arrivals area at an airport, ready to escortppl to their rented apartments. We were lucky, we found our lady, well she found me, b/c she said she was looking out for my long black hair haha. We were a little apprehensive ahead of time, b/c I didn't know what she looked like and during correspondence she was saying it'll be fine, I'll find you, don't worry etc. I don't like it when strangers tell me not to worry! Although,I have found here security is pretty laxed, it's like the "old days" before ppl wanted to break into places and be bad!! Ppl here are trusting... I am not use to that being from our "big city." so 'marina, lady who rented her apartment to us, greeted us and away we went I to her car. She drove about 2 mins and then we were at her place, it's down the road from the ferry terminal and away from old town, but her flat is on the ground floor, in front of the door is the small road and In front of that is THE SEA!!! It's like 10 ft away from us, and we can jump in whenever we want!! Which we have!! Less sea urchins this time, at least we can walk out into the water and not have to worry they are b/c they were too deep for me to stand on them. So after we got settled in, we walked the 5 mins into old town and looked for food. I had black squid ink risotto and squid or octopus salad. So yummy! After that we walked around to digest and then went back to the apartment tqo change to get into the water. Oh it was sooooooo hot when we walked around. Around 35c plus humidity. I was sweating so much that by the time I got into the water the cold temperature didn't bother me, so refreshing. Nothing much after this, we swam, relaxed on the apartment's patio, farhan took a nap and then we went to old town for dinner and walked around more! I forgot that the stones absorb all the heat from the day so even at night it was hot, veryyyy humid and muggy, everywhere I walked I was sweating eem st night and korcula's old town is made up of very tall stone walls and narrow alleyways. It reminds me of the skeleton of a cuttlefish. Round, a spine down the middle, and a bunch of lones perpendicular to the"spine" and the outer ring is circular so you can't get lost really.

Ok I have to end this here, we have to wake up at430am to get to our boat that will take us to our next destination, Brac Island, but we have to go from Korcula to Split first, and from Split purchase another tix to Brac and then take a taxi to our hotel in the town called Bol. Our boat leaves korcula at 6, ferry dock not far away at all, but w/ heavy suitcases and luggage it will take us double the time if not longer. Ok I have to sleep now. Ihae another day of korcula to tell you, will do that later.

Love you all,
Helen

Goodbye from Dubvornik pt 2

Hi family, 

Ok so I'll continue where I had left off which was our last full day in Dubrovnik on an island called kolocep. Btw we arrived at our next main island today, korcula. We are here 2 nights. Tis is where I'm emailing you at the moment. 
Kolocep is another island about 30 min ferry ride from Dubrovnik. It sails from the main port where all the cruise ships dock at so it's opposite direction of old town. It's a beautiful island. Natural, lots of trees and p
Ants and dotted along the hillside are ppl's permanent or vacation homes. Ppl who live here sell their harvested jams, oils etc. simple island life. Actually any island we've seen, as soon as you get to the coastline it looks incredible b/v the water looks sooooo clear, aqua and sunlight simmering thru the water. You can see Dow. To the rocks, the ground of the sea and lots of small fish are around. Kolocep is "famous" for a small sandy beach that they have, but it was pretty busy w/ kids and families and it's not very big do we decided to take this trail that lead to a "swimming icon" but little did we know, this trail was going uphill!! And it was very not, I can't even tell you how hot, maybe 30+. The road we walked on ...

Oh wait forgot to tell you an interesting observation, you know how I said that the ferry we took was from the main port? Well I think it's b/c there are a lot of goods that need to be transported to the island. I saw lots of beverages, suitcases, cement mix and clay roof tiles! And when they unloaded the ship/ferry, there were young boys riding these wagon like cars that's motorized and it pulls a wagon behind them, so ppl were loading things onto these diff wagons and you'd see them be driven off to various places to deliver the goods like restaurants, homes etc. very interesting...

Ok so the road we walked on lead up to ppl's houses and it's very quiet. Once in awhile there would be someo e driving that wagon delivery car up the road. Looks like a lot of ppl are building vacation homes. It was HOOOTTT and when we were walking we had to double back and retrace our steps. Finally found this elusive swimming icon location thru some unsaved path and into a rocky clearing....ok so swimming icon says you can swim, doesn't mean it's a beach or even a place you can really stretch out on rocks to sunbathe. It's shallow enough to walk into the water and swim out, but that's it. We didn't stay there long, just went into the water to cool off. Where we put down our towels I saw ants and wanted to leave. Lots of llittle bugs and creatures in Croatia... No pesticides sprayed into the air and forests so that's why I say everything is so "natural." So then we walked back down the hill to try to find more of a common swim area, we were trying to find what we had the day before in Lokrum, but this island's geography was a bit different. We ended up walking back down to the dock where the ferry left us, and along the water. We passed by homes that didn't look like anybody was there or maybe the window shutters were closed b/c it was so hot! Eventually we found a secluded spot upon some rough rocks and pebbly ground. The rocks here are perforated. Meaning there are a lot of little holes in them. The water in kolocep has A LOT of sea urchins!! S we had to find a place where we could at least walk into the water without running into a sea urchin. It was like a little colony of sea urchins, big and small ones. Cool to see, but not good for getting I to the water. Eventually we found a clearing where we could at least walk out and swim a little. Farhan had bought goggles so he did a little sea urchin scout mission before I would keep swimming out. I ended up floating or standing around an area that didn't have any, but I didn't dare venture out further b/c I like to stand if treading water gets too tiring and I'm worried where I stand out too far or even sink down a little I might run into sea urchins. They say sea urchins are good b/c that means they only exist i. The clearest of waters. I had sent you some photos yesterday of some of them that's had taken on my hone camera. Could you make out the black circley things? Anyway we were there for a few hours. There were quite a few ppl who have their own boats or Yachts that theyve moored into the water so a lot of ppl take the attached dinghy and race round the water. When Farhan and I were waiting for our return ferry by the outdoor cafe and bar I saw m older couple get into their dinghy and sail off after they had finished their drinks. What a life indeed! When we got back into Dubrovnik we went into old town to look for that cafe that is carved out of the walls, where ppl can also go rock jumping into the water. We thought it would be hard, like hidden and amazing race hard, it it turns out they have some very clear signs so it's not THAT hard to find. When we got there we were able to get a tale. Imagine... Rock cliffs that extend out of a fortress wall, facing the sea, and small little round tables set up w/ chairs and everybody has some type of beverage at their table. You can only drink there no food. You're literally just facing the sea and if you're lucky to sit at a table at the "front row" ( there were 2 on each "ledge") then your feet would rest on the security bars and below you is a straight cliff. It was so cool and relaxing. We eventually were able to move from the back row tables to the front so we got to enjoy that view a little bit before we had to leave to find dinner. There were all sorts of ppl there, from students to young and old couples, to LV purse wearing yacht ladies, to ppl from around the world. It was a nice experience and the drinks weren't overly expensive. We eventually found a restaurant for dinner. We had mussels, that were just ok, so small and not the best tasting and then we had a shared seafood platter, that looked amazing, but the lobster was over cooked, tough and chewy, too bad b/c it was a large piece and pretty. Also only 2 scampis. It also had 2 medium size pieces of fish, more mussels and some squid/octopus. I find their octopus or squid here is Very yummy!! Their speciality in Croatia is squid salad, it's cold, lemony and yummy. I will miss this when I get home. After our just ok dinner, we went to find ice cream. It's only $2!! I think it's gelato, but I can't tell. I said good bye to dubrovik that night and then we had to go back home to pack b/c we had a 830am ferry to korcula, which is where I am now. 
Ok farhan woke up for his nap, we are going for dinner now. Will tell you about korcula later, btw we have THE SEA as our front yard!! It is 10 ft away from our doorstep so we have already jumped into the water and swam around. 

Love you all,
Helen

Goodbye from Dubvornik

Hello family, It's our last night in Dubrovnik ad we are all packed and ready for our next adventure in the island of Korcula, Croatia. Yesterday and today we did the same activities. We visited some small islands near Dubrovnik, swam jn the Adriatic sea, sun bathe in the rocks and walked around the islands. And then for dinner we went into old town Dubrovnik and walked around after dinner. Yesterday we visited the island, Lokrum. It's a 15 min ferry rode away. Very easy to get to and you can see it from any water point out of old town Dubrovnik. The ferries are shuttled by guys who own a boat. The pier is full of ppl on high tables trying to get you to buy their expedition or boat tour. There are tours to other islands and sea adventures like sea kayaking which I don't think I'd ever do b/c we've seen kayakers out into the sea around dinner time and it doesn't look so easy or fun. Anyway, the tix cost to Lokrum was 100 kuna for 2 of us and it includes the return. So about 20 for each of us, exchange rate about 5.4. Lokrum is pretty wild, not a lot of paved roads; just some paths that you can take around the island to walk around. The geographical levels range from sea level to higher up cliffs. Lots of trees and there's a monestary somewhere. Oh and a small sandwich and drink bar where ppl can sit outside in a patio area sipping drinks. Best part, there are PEACOCKS!! The island is protected so ppl are not allowed to touch the peacocks it keep them as pets! I saw SOOOO many. Well as many as I'll ever see in my life. There were mummy peacocks and their kids. And boy peacocks who are very colorful and pretty! After we got off the ferry we immediately walked along the path that's closest to the water b/c we saw there were already ppl who were sun bathing or swimming in the water. The beach isn't a sandy beach. In fact it's more like a rocky edge line that happens to have large flat rocks large enough that you can lay down a towel. Fortunately there were stair rails attached to the side so you could climb down into the water, otherwise you have to be careful, stepping down onto the rocks which can be slippery b/c of the moss and stuff growing on it. It's all very natural, no garbage floating around, no man made anything. I was scared at first. Of the water b/c I could see the bottom and see the rocks on the bottom and the coral and moss and scared I'd kill something. Also wasn't sure I'd there we're sea urchins. And there was a gentle wave.... Definitely not like going swimming In a swimming pool!!! Farhan had to coddle me in and eventually I got use to the water and the floating sensation. By the way I was acting you'd think I didn't know how to swim or something, I was making so much noise and paddling around like a dog until I realized there was nothing to be scared of. We alternated sun bathing and swimming throughout the day. At one point we went walking around looking for this "dead sea" pool that sounded cool, but it was just am enclosed pool of salt water and a lot of kids and families were there so we decided to go back to our rugged little rocky spot. We saw some boats and yachts that were docked. Ppl drive them into the bay and they just jump off their boats and into the water to play. We also saw a nudist beach, but we didn't stay there. Lots of older ppl there too, swimming or sun bathing. The water is crystal clear and b/c it's the sea it's very salty too, but it feels very refreshing too. Oh ya, despite how hot it is, the water is always cool almost cold. No matter how hot and sweaty I am, as soon as I get I to the water I instantly cool off and forget about the heat. we saw an old man carry a fish net and throw it into the water, near our rock spot, and he came up w/ a bunch of fish!! Like medium size fish! It I didn't see any when swimming. So we were on Lokrum until 3, went back to Dubrovnik and got ready for dinner. We ate in old town at this restaurant, called lady pi pi, that we read about on trip advisor. We had to wak up 150 steps b/c it's a rooftop terrace, the food and view was worth it. Unbelievable view. We shared squid salad, cuttlefish risotto which is squid ink risotto so it's black, and then I had tuna steak while farhan had Sea bass.. Food wasn't cheap, but wasn't over priced and it was REALLLY GOOD. I don't even like to eat lots of fish and I thought it was yummy. The portions were also very big, my tunas steaks were big and there were 2 of them. This restaurant also has an outdoor charcoal grill so it grills all the meat...so delicious. We ate so much we didnt even have room for dessert, ice cream! Ok I'm getting very tired and I still have to tell you about today, where we went to am island called kolocep. I'll leave that for later, have to sleep and wake up early for ferry. Lasting thoughts: ppl here are very nice, there are tons of Italian tourists, food and taxis and ferry trips take up the most $$, it always seems hotter at night, WATCH OUT FOR SEA URCHINS!!! Im very happy I have my water shoes, I'm Glad farhan is more logical when I am impatient and just wanna gogogo, and dubrovik in general is very $, our next place should be cheaper. Not sure about Internet situation on korcula. Will write when I can b/c I still have to write about today. Love you all, Helen Sent from my iPhone

Hello from Dubrovnik Croatia!!!!!

Hello family!!!! I LOVE DUBROVNIK!!!! Omg it is so spectacular here. The waters are SOOOOclear you can see to the bottom, and it's aqua blue. Even at night you can see to the bottom b/c we even saw small schools of fish, a big fish and child, and I'm pretty sure we also saw sea urchins. This was just tonight when we sat on the pier after sunset. Unfortunately the skies are hazy. Almost white b/c next door is Bosnia and they have lots of forest fires or as our cabbie said "they have problems." and by next door I mean Bosnia is just over the mountains which is right over there "my arm reaching out to the side."

Ok so I'll rewind about how we got here...

We woke up at ... 6am!!! In st goar germany this morning! We had to get to our train station to make a 2 separate train connections just to get to the airport to make our flight on time,1135 for Dubrovnik on germanwings. We gave ourselves plenty of time and I didn't even need all that time in the mornin to get ready since I had packed the night before and only needed to throw on my clothes. Urgh. So tired this morning. So everything was fine from getting our luggage out of the hotel to the train station in st goar as the platform was 100metres away and behind the hotel. We had to change in a town called Boppard and then change in Cologne and then buy a tix to take us to the airport called koln-Bonn flughaven or something like that. BEFORE. When we arrived at Boppard we realized the train for cologne was delayed 9 mins. When we got on it it soon started to slow down and stop!! Oh no! So at first we kept cool ad thought ok well we still have plenty of time... Time goes on... Lots of German announcements... We found someone, nun, who spoke English and she said there is a technical problem and they have to fix it ... Hopefully..  And then another announcement after saying we're going to Bonn, a town before cologne and not on the trip planner, and we all have to get off there to get to our destinations. Crap. Ok so by the time we get to Bonn we had 1.5 hrs before flight leaves. We look around the train schedules to see what we can do, if we can get to the airport faster than having to go thru cologne, but it didn't look so promising. So we ended up in the platform w/ everybody to go to cologne via train. Once we got to Cologne, BIG train station, we ran around looking for the tix machines and how to get to the airport. By theyime wegot to cologne it was after 10... We found an option that took 10 mins via train, but then we had to find out which platform it was so then we had to run back to find the train schedules. Side note: funny, the train schedules are printed on giant yellow pieces of paper and behind glass board so I guess each morning someone has to print and change... Seems old fashion for a modern city. Anyway, we had NINE mins to find out which platform to the airport was at and after getting some nice and helpful info from an old German guy, we found it. I find when I'm really under a time budget or stress to make something I somehow find the will to drag my suitcase up the stairs... BUT so much better and faster that farhan can carry it. He's so strong!!
So we made the train by 30 seconds b/c it just pulled up when we got up the stairs. Once on the train we must've looked super confused b/c another local who was walking by on the platform stopped and asked us what info we needed. We find that Germans either really love to stare at us or are super helpful and friendly... Haha
So once we FINALLY get to the airport we have to still find the right terminal... Omg stress b/c it's like after 1030 and flight leaves 1130... Ahhh running... Speed walking... We made it!!!! What a relief, weight off the shoulders...
And THEN.... The flight was DELAYED!!!!! Lol how funny. Delayed for about 15-20 mins. Oh the irony... All that rushing and sweating...
Hah on the plane, in front of us was a baby, behind us was a screaaaaaming baby and beside me was a very overweight, smelly man who needed an extension seat belt .... Luckily flight was only 2 hrs and the worse was the baby screaming behind us. It actually hurt my ears b/c the volume was so piercing.

So after all that amazing race style running around we finally made it to Dubrovnik!! When we got off the plane we walked down stairs to outside, and then we had passport control b/c Croatia is not part of the EU. Remember those mountains I talked about? They are right next to the airport. We had a prearranged pick up from the airport by the lady who's apartment we're renting from. That was easy b/c he had my name on a sign.  The drive from the airport to the apartment was from top of a mountain down to a valley and the roads are narrow like the pacific coast highway, do you remember that? Water and cliff on one side, mountain on the other side. Despite the haze and white sky from the Bosnian fires, the view down to old town Dubrovnik, which is what everybody sees in photos and postcards, was amazing. Truely like a vista. Clear water, boats, yachts, small islands, orangey clay roofs of old buildings. Sort of like an Italian town on the coast, but larger. The old town is also surrounded by old fortress walls that use to keep out Invaders.

Once we arrived at our apartment the lady showed us all the necessities like bus stop, grocery, etc and then we were left to ourselves! The apartment is nice, lived in, but neat and tidy and clean. It has a balcony where we can eat our breakfast on. View of the street and beyond, but no water which is fine. Best part, this place has air conditioning!!!  Both on the top and ground floor! We are so lucky b/c it's Sooo hot and muggy here. The smoke doesn't help, it traps the heat in too. So even at night it is warm. Once we sorted ourselves out we walked to the grocery store, got breakfast items, dropped it off at home and then we took a bus down to old town. Holy moly it is busy and it's near the end of tourist season too. Can't imagine what it's like in July... By the time we got to old town it was about 430ish so we walked around. The main street was of course very busy so we just meandered Ito the side streets which was very nice b/c they're narrow and it feels very... Cute. Like exploring something new. Also LOTS of places to eat in these small streets. Tables and chairs are set up outside on the street, almost no one eats inside or sometimes there isn't even any space for inside dining. We found a pizza place... Btw b/c this area is influenced by Italy, lots d pizza and Italian style restaurants. So when I say pizza, it's the true Italian style, in cut, thin crust and delicious. So we found this pizza place where I emailed you earlier w/ the photo of us. We had a glass of wine, also comparatively cheaper than Vancouver, and sparkling water or "with gas" as they say. Btw we LOVE sparkling water. So refreshing and also so common here. After we quickly ate we went to find the entrance to walk the fortress walls in time for the sun to set. The fortress walls are tall, stone and protected the city do the view up there is amazing. You see all into old town and beyond out to the Adriatic sea. It's a LOT of walking and sometimes very slippery too. Lots of stairs up and down, all on smooth Marbley stone. Not old ppl friendly at all. I had trouble w/ it too, but also b/c I could be out of shape haha. Oh also it was very hot still so even Farhan was sweating lots and he doesn't usually... You can imagine how soaked I was but that's ok... The view made up for it and I took several hundred photos haha btw Ive already taken 3000 photos so far on this trip... Click click click. So easy...
Anyway, it's the sunset walk so it's supposedly cooler than doing this during the day omg can you imagine how hot it would be up there during noon hour?!?
So after we walked the fortress walls, the sun had set, we saw it go down, very romantic... Also Lots of exercise... We walked around old town some more b/c we wanted to just sit in a small street, drink cheap wine, sparkling water and rest our feet. We hunted for the best deal b/c so many places overcharged and since we were comparing it to the pizza place we knew there had to be better prices. We ended up sitting outside this Italian restaurant. It was nice. We just sat, pol watched and watched the waiters from the diff restaurants all socialize w/ each other. You'd have one restaurant on one corner w/ tables and chairs out and then 2 feet away another restaurant. Reminds me of...brussels, but narrower streets.  We ended up having wine, water and tiramisu. It also looked like we had beat the dinner crowd b/c it soon filled up w/ ppl, who looked like they've showered and redressed b/c earlier I noticed everybody wears their bikinis or swim trunks during the day... You never know when you'll jump off rocks and into the sea... WHICH WE SAW!!! During our walk around the fortress walls we saw "hidden" cafes that are built below into the walls and if you're lucky to find the way you can go sit on rocks w/ your drinks or go jump Into the water over and over again...no exaggeration. I have photos for proof. We want to find that cafe so we can sit and relax, their website has instructions so we might do that tomorrow.
After we sat around we went walking around some more, souvenir shops are everywhere and eventually we walked to the pier where small and big boats are docked and where we saw the small fish in the clear water, so clear even at night you can see to the bottom.
Ok night time. Tomorrow we go to the island of lokrum where there are beaches and peacocks. Yes,.. Peacocks apparently are there!
Oh ya also lots of cats here in Dubrovnik... Meow!

Love you all,
Helen


Sent from my iPhone

Quick Hello from Dubrovnik

Hi family. Really quickly, we arrived in Dubrovnik, I am emailing from free wifi from a restaurant we found in the "old town." this city is influenced by Italy so tons of pizza and pasta places. Actually the town looks like a Tuscan town, but larger. We are eating now b/c we barely had breakfast and no lunch. It was insane trying to get out of Germany. Almost missed flight b:c of trains. Will go into detail tonight. We have to eat quickly so we can walk around the old city gate walls at sunset. 

Love you, Helen 

PS it is HOOTTTTTT 

Goodbye from the Rhine

Hello family. Tomorrow we are leaving the Rhine valley in Germany and will make our way to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We have to catch a 735 am train and make a few changes in some towns before reaching the airport in cologne. We arrived in st goar, Rhine valley, Germany two days ago. We got in on a late train so we didn't get to our hotel until 930pm and didn't get to go eat until after 10. Unfortunately this town, and apparently this entire area, does not cater to anyone pass 9pm!! The Rhine valley seems to be a place where old, white German tourists come and visit and they only arrive in the towns after 10am and all start to leave around 3pm so by 5-530 you already see ppl sit down and eat dinner. Then the towns shut down by like ...8pm. So the night we arrived from Paris we were searching along the one main street hoping to find anything opened. We were the only ppl on the street and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Eventually we found this place called Asia Kim and they do Vietnam, Chinese, phillipeno style food. How horrible. I refused to eat there b/c I wasn't even that hungry and would rather just wait for morning breakfast than to eat that. Farhan bought a takeout of chicken and rice in case we couldn't find anything else. When we walked back to our hotel we realized a hotel restaurant still had customers so i asked the waitress if they still served food. After waiting what we seemed like forever she came back out and said yes!! Yay!! So I had pork schnitzel w/ onions on top and potatoes. Farhan had spaghetti bolognese. When I say the main street is empty I mean it seriously there was nobody there, no sounds coming out of anywhere. The street is the length of like... 2 lynnwood drives. That is basically the size of the town we sleep at. The other towns are a little larger, but not by much. I think only tourists sleep there and workers sleep somewhere else... Our first full day we had hotel breakfast which was cold meats, cheeses, bread, eggs, fruit etc. European style continental breakfast. Then we took the train to the other to river called the Mosel river and the area is called the Mosel valley. That's where all the german Riesling wines are produced. When you had wine here ppl ask you dry, semi sweet or sweet and whatever you choose they bring so you don't even have to look at the menu and the wines are from the local region. So whatever town you are in the wine you are drinking is from that local town. Oh ya also the side of the valleys are COVERED in vineyards. Maybe 75-80% are vineyards. It's incredible also so pretty. So we got to this town in the mosel valley called cochem, rented bikes and off and away we went. It's a good thing I had written down the name of bicycle and bicycle rental in German b/c we had to walk around and ask where it is. Wow everybody cycles there and you know how I said old, German ppl vacation in this area? They also cycle!!! Some were super old and some medium old, but still impressive. You don't see old adults and elderly cycle in Vancouver. We cycled for about 6 km, not very far, but we stopped in b/w towns and vineyard to take photos and to eat. It was weird, each town we stopped at nobody was there. Like locals and tourists maybe only saw 10 ppl... Luckily we found a restaurant opened so we could eat. There were also lots of places hat have signs that say wine tasting or wine something, but nobody there, doors closed. And it felt like we were stepping on ppl's driveways when we would try to look around. We think it's a long holiday, end of tourist season, EVERYBODY away on vacation at the same time or b/c the river boat timing doesn't have ppl visiting these towns at certain hrs of the day and therefore no need to go to work. Either way, it's not like farhan and I were the only ppl on the bike trail. We saw tons of ppl biking. So the side of the valley is covered in vineyards and sometimes you can go right up to the vines b/c there no blockade or it's flat enough. Oh ya the vineyards are usually grown on VERY steep hills, almost vertical, crazy to think how ppl pluck the grapes. The grapes are white and small. When we started off biking the sun was out but bY the time we got to our last town it was spitting rain off and on, but it was still warm. We biked down one side of the model river and at this town called poltersheim, you can take a "ferry" w/ your bike across the water to "beilsheim" and either bike back or take a river boat back to where we started. By "ferry" I mean this thing was a barge w/ rails. That's it. Just a piece of wood that floats. We decided to take the river ferry back to cochem thinking it would be faster.... But we were so very wrong. The ferry was SOOOOO slow, that we saw bikers along the side of the river cycling faster than our boat!! If this was an amazing leg race we would've chosen the wrong type of transportation and come in last!! I think it was slow b/c there's a canal where two rivers meet and we have to wait for these boats to go thru the canal, have the water level drop and then we can move forward again. Anyway, it took us a long time to get back to cochem and finally back to st goar, where we were sleeping. That night I had spatzel w/ pork and mushrooms. Spatzel is a German noodle. Looks like udon noodles. They will an fry it or boil it. Wine and food here is super cheap. Like wine is 2.5 euro for .2 liter and that's usually about $10-12 glass I. Vancouver for less than .2 liter.... In other words I get more volume for a ceap price here than in Vancouver where they over charge on liquor. Entree meal is around 6.5 euro up to12-14 dependi g what you get. Transportation is what's most expensive. Train tax can be 10 euro, Rhine river boat was 20 euro.... So that was day 1... Day 2 is today and we took the boat that runs along the Rhine called KD boat down south of the Rhine. We find that you can't really go hop around towns easily b/c of the boat schedule so you have to pick which town to explore, also if you get to a town after it's "peak" you could find out that there's no on there and places may have closed by 3pm!! It's really weird... Also, we are the only minority we saw during these 2 days.... Oh wait, I saw one Asian couple and then it looked like a Japanese/Chinese tour group was around. Otherwise these 2 days, only German elderly....young ppl don't come to Rhine valley I guess. We stopped at this town called Rudesheim, it was very busy, and looked to be very lively, catered well to tourists, giving the stereotype small German town feel. We only had an hr there and we were so hungry b/c the boat from st goar to Rudesheim was about 3 hrs so we had no choice but to find a restaurant, early quickly and to get back on the boat b/c it was the only time we could get on it to go back up the river to a different town. Like I said, the timetable for the KD boat is not super flexible. So we liked the vibe of Rudesheim and was sad to leave it without really seeing any of it. The reason we left for our next town was b/c we were told Bacharach was super. Ice, better than Rudesheim... I realize now it ,sy be b/c it's a lot quieter and architecturally white old German town cute... BUT again... WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!?! We get there and it feels like a ghost town. A few stores are open, butt b/c it's so quiet you're not even sure if they really are or if you're intruding on someone's space. We stopped and ate some cake, which look amazing in the bakeries, and then just aimlessly strolled around. All in all it was a very quiet day and quiet 2 days in the Rhine. Oh we saw a lot of castles when we sailed down the Rhine, lots of castles!! So cool, like a ferry tale. Also saw LOTS of trains, maybe 1 every 5-10 mins. Ok farhan and I are all packed and ready to get to Croatia!! Looking forward to the warm weather and the clear waters to swim in. We're staying in rental apartments there so not sure what the wifi situation will be like so don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me. Love you all, Helen PS- I typed this super long email o Farhan's iPad. ... Impressed?!? My forefingers hurt.... :)

Hello from somewhere b/w Paris and Cologne

Hi family. Farhan and I just left Paris and on our way to Cologne via Brussels. We're on the train now. That means today we would've been in 4 diff countries!! England, France, Belgium and Germany. We had our plan mapped out in Paris including directions of where to leave our luggage in the storage lockers at gare du nord. It was like an amazing race leg. I think we won. We were pretty efficient with locking our bags, getting to the metro and knowing here to go. It took us 30 mins to go from gare du nord to ecole militaire metro stop and that included goig thru baggage security, figuring out how to lock the lockers and 2 metro transfers. Ecole militaire is close to the Eiffel tower but also near places that sell sandwiches and picnic items. Unfortunately today is a bank holiday, in the UK and France, so most of the stores were closed. We picked up some cheeses and then at the Eiffel tower park we found an overpriced baguette vendor. It's ok. We needed water and food ASAP. It's very hot in Paris, about 25 and sunny but w/ a breeze. We ate under the shade on a bench and then it was time for picture taking!!!! I did my usual jumping shot and then I made Farhan look like an Eiffel tower, by putting his hands in air together. So he looked like a triangle. Where we stopped to admire the view was on this late rectangular lawn. It wasn't very busy which was nice and there was a breeze so it didn't feel as hot as it should've been. We sat and relaxed a little bit and then we walked to underneath the tower b/c we were already so close. They're doing construction, adding another lower level for observation. I don't know when that'll be done. After that we walked back towards our metro stop, stopping along the way to look for macarons... We were in Paris, the original home of macarons so we had to at least try to find some. I find my basic French comes right back especially since I need to use it. Nobody volunteeringly speaks English even though it's quite obvious Farhan and I don't look French. I managed ok and nobody defaulted to English so I really had to remember my high school French. Like "I would like..." "how much is it..."
We got back to Back to gare du nord fine, picked up our bags and then waited for 10 mins before our train had a platform. We were in coach 23!!! That is a loonnggg walk. The platform felt like it would never end and i was sweating so much. I'm glad i have my hello kitty towel and hand fan! We bought "1st comfort" seats which is sort of like first class. We get meal service and comfy seats, I think it was only 10 euros more for it so Farhan thought we should do it since it's a 3 hr train ride to Cologne, Germany. On the train, I am drinking tea and eating a fruit that's similar to a plum, but is small like a grape and a golden color. And there is a lemon tart, but I think it's too sweet. Farhan is drinking a beer and eating some of the tart. I'm bored, my kindle is locked up in my suitcase and I still have 2 hrs to go. Oh my gosh, my suitcase is SOOOOO heavy and i dont even know why b/c i left some things at Alex ad Clare's house. Ok I'm going to try to take a nap. I find i get kind of car sick on trains which is why I'm drinking the tea. 
Oh, Dad!! I got you a box of some type of Sardines and a box of something else i don't know what it is b/c it's in French, BUT the packaging is nice so I hope it tastes nice too :) actually I hope the box that says sardines IS sardines b/c you just never know... :)

Ok nap time. We get into St Goar around 9pm. Tomorrow we ride bicycles along the Rhine valley. I hope to see castles ad vineyards. 

Love you all, Helen 

Sent from my iPhone

PS: Oh to add... Getting to the 23 train coach did NOT feel like "1st comfort" should've had a porter service haul my luggage for me!! Humph. 

AND we had at least 2 hrs in the city of Paris so if we were really ambitious we could've done more than just visit the Eiffel tower. A lot of ppl were doubting our 4 hr stop in Paris would be too rushed, but b/c I was able to spot where the locker room was and the metro line and the metros are very fast I think that helped us w/ our time. So in order words, 4 hrs is sufficient time of you want to see 1 thing and you've done good research and planning! 

Helen

Sent from my iPhone

Goodbye from London

UPDATE:
Oh to add to this...
Even though st pancras is a relatively easy tube station to get to, it's kind of mah fan w/ luggage b/c my bag was so heavy... I think if it's the small carry on size it's fine, AND it's a bank holiday so a lot less ppl to maneuver around AND it's 7am in the morning so tourists aren't awake yet. But I am soooo glad Farhan has the foresight to hire a Mini cab to pick us up from heathrow airport to Alex's place when we first arrives in London b/c iF we had to take the public transit we would've had to train trains at 2 different tube stations and there are SOOO many stairs ... I am not young any more, lugging around suitcases is not very "travel cool." 

Helen

Sent from my iPhone

UPDATE:

Oh I just sent the below email now, while on a train from Paris to cologne via Brussels. The wifi in London cut out so I couldn't send the goodbye from London email until now.

Helen

Sent from my iPhone

Hi family, we're on the Eurostar train at st pancras in London waiting for it to depart for Paris. Farhan forgot his camera at Alex's place. He's very upset... I would be too. I hope he can still enjoy the rest of the trip. He still has his iphone4s so he can still take photos, but it's not the same. Yesterday we walked around regent park in London. It's a lot nicer than Hyde park. There are a lot of beautiful rose gardens everywhere and there's a lake where ppl can row boats or sit in bicycle paddle boats. Then we walked around the rest of the city. Lots of ppl everywhere, lots of walking. My feet hurt so much!! In some parts of London they have their flags hung like a streaming banner across the streets in rows down the street. So when you look down a street you can see rows of horizontal union jacks down the street. They also have Olympic banners hung the same way. The union jacks were from the jubilee and it remained there since then. It makes the city look much more festive and prettier. While walking around I found the patisserie shop I live called, Paul's patisserie. They sell the largest macarons you'll ever see, it's 4x the normal size. I got chocolate and pistachio. I ate the chocolate like a hamburger, holding it w/ two hands to bite into it, and shared the pistachio w/ Alex and clare.
Last night we had dinner w/ clare and alex at an indian restaurant in their town. It was good, but made us very sleepy.
Ok the train is about to leave and I won't have wifi.
Message you soon!!

Love you all,
Helen

Sent from my iPhone

Hello from London

Hi family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDDY!!!! found some Internet, but I'll be very quick. Our flight was good, felt very short. Our plane circled the sky twice for about 30 mins so I got very antsy towards the end. We had hired a mini cab taxi to pick us up and that was so much better than transferring thru two tube stations and a rail station, a lot less hassle and not stressful. When we arrived at my friend's Alex's house we sat and chatted for a little. It before going into the city. Farhan and I walked around. There were soooo many ppl everywhere. We walked along the thames, Piccadilly circus and covent gardens. Then we met up w/ Alex and Clare for dinner in the city. We had mussels and fries at a belgium place, but it wasn't very good, lacked taste and flavor, not enough seasoning. We didn't take any naps, but I wasn't tired at all. We did stop a few times that day to get some water and coffee. I think I had been awake for over 24 hrs by the time it was nightfall, I wasn't tired, but I slept well. Today we went to the city of Oxford. The famous university. It's made up of a bunch of different colleges based on subject, al the buildings are very gold looking, it must feel very cool to go to school there. We walked around the old part of the city, it rained on and off and so we would stop inside stores of coffee shops to wait for it to stop. We took a coach bus to Oxford that took about 100 minutes. It took us back to Victoria tube station in city London and then it took a other hr from Victoria tube station to get back to surbiton, where we're staying. Tomorrow, farhan and I will go back into city centre and walk around, visit some shops, and then go back to surbiton to meet Alex and Clare for dinner. We have to get up very early Monday morning to leave surbiton to get to st pancreas station to catch the euro rail train to Paris. It's a bank holiday on Monday so I hope it's not very busy. I'll be leaving some things at Alex's so my case is lighter.... Ok I go now. I love you all!!!!! Xoxox Helen

Dear family...

So most of these forthcoming posts of Euro 2012 will be detailed emails I had written my family. They were suppose to be just quick updates to let them know I'm still alive, but they've been so well documented of our days, I figured it'll just be easier to copy and paste them in here and edit if need be.
So.... Enjoy!!

LAMBCHOP AND F'S BIG EURO VACATIONNNNN 2012

Very excited. Since my last Euro trip post where much of my adventures have been solo or with my great friend, Alexxi, I have met my honey bunny whom I heart with all my heart. CHEESSSEEE, but true. and now I get to write about our big euro adventure.. itinerary will be TBD until I can figure out how to copy and paste Excel tables in here!!!
For now, it was ... London, (Paris for 4 hrs), Rhine Valley, Dalmatian Coast