From Brač back to the mainland

Pooch on board - Bol

Thursday 19th June -
We took a ferry trip from Brač to the nearby island of Hvar - a small bay town surrounded by 13th century walls and an important base for commanding trade up and down the Adriatic across to Italy and throughout the wider Adriatic. According to the Lonely Planet, it apparently appeals to 'well-heeled' guests, so it was nice for a day visit... but even nicer to get back to Bol. We're feeling quite at home in our wee seaside village, full of stone houses and winding streets.

 

View of Hvar from the fortress         

Hvar

Friday 20th June -
Awoke to sun.
Finally were able to enjoy some time on the ole Zlatni Rat - filled with smooth white peebles and other tourists. The sea was refreshing after being kissed by the sun.











Everywhere we go, there is the constant backdrop of the mainland -  this almighty craggy mountain range that tumbles down to the coast which is pierced with white stone buildings and orange tiled roofs.
It's pretty breathtaking.
And the freedom of a car = awesome.
By late afternoon we headed to the other side of the island, back to my nanas village of Postira to meet more rellies - Pavo (Paul) and Evelyn. I see Pavo has our bad sense of humour. But he made us a home cooked dinner and Evelyn supplied us with maps and info galore, they have both travelled Croatia so was great to get some tips. They also travel abroad a lot these two. Come to NZ I said. Too far they replied...
I guess we kiwis are used to going far - because we kinda have to if we want to go anywhere... far... you know what I mean...

Pavo and Evelyn

On route to dinner in Postira - this is our trusty wagon! And an olive tree!

Markarska

Markarska

Saturday 20th June -
So it's goodbye to Bol, Postira, Donji Humac, family roots, the island of Brač.


We downed our strong coffees, stocked up on a bit of the local olive oil and drove to Sumartin to catch a ferry back to the mainland.





This time we docked at the pretty port town of Markarska - a spot favoured by tourists from neighbouring Bosnia and Hercegovina, and more importantly Jays rellies home town.

A wedding in the old city of Dubrovnik

Desert. Note the smurf.

About a 2/12 hour picturesque drive south along the coast saw us arrive at Dubrovnik - the most prosperous, elegant and expensive city in Croatia.
Greeted with a couple of huge cruise liners heaving with tourists, belting out the theme to the Love Boat :)

We are staying just outside of the tourist-jammed old city in a place called Lapad - but hot diggidty dam, we have never laid eyes on a more gloriously god dam gorgeous old city than this.
We joke how ugly it is here, as we walk around in wide eyed, open mouthed awe - caught each other doing so, so amped it up a notch. Or three.

And as ya do when you're in an old city on the other side of the world, bumped into someone from work, ha!

We saw an angel in the old city

Sunday 22nd June -
The old city walls and forts, built between the 13th and 16th centuries, are Dubrovniks main claim to fame. We hit them early (hit the wall one could say) so as to avoid A) the heat of the day and B) the hordes the hordes. Can only imagine how bonkers it gets here in July- Sept - word is they may even have to limit visitor numbers to the town during the peak season as the main thoroughfares can get impossibly crowded.

The 2km walk of the city walls offers stunning views over the town and sea. I clogged my camera with photos of roofs for crying out loud. Ridiculously enticing angles and views everywhere you look.
And an overflow of stray kitty cats.

 Neats has been getting her fill of Ston oysters, (cultivated in the bay of Mali Ston, whose sea is considered to be the cleanest and clearest in the wooooooorld) because they are ridiculously cheap compared to back home.
I'm on the look-out for cake.
No surprises there.

And hello! Theres that colleague from work again. How small is this city?! Of all the cities...

A somewhat sobering yet powerful visit to an exhibition down in the city at the War Photo museum. It declares its intention to 'expose the myth of war...on how war inflicts injustices on innocents and combatants alike'. Achieved. Tissues required even.
Theres a permanent exhibition on the war in former Yugoslavia, and a current intense exhibition on the Syrian war.

Up on the old city walls - Dubrovnik. Game of Throoooooooooones dun dun duuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Dubrovnik 

With Evelyn and Pavo - dads cuzzie wuzzie

As you can imagine theres still a bit to see and do of this country. We head off again in a few days time - a bit of an island hop and then north to sample the delights up that way - we are on the hunt for lobster and truffles because when in Croatia...and its our birthdays soon after all :)

Hope all is well and happy back home

Love us

xxx

Our evolving schedule to date x

Donji Humac

The Adriatic - Bol

The place we are staying at in Bol is owned by a guy named Marinko. Ha!

Zuke, Neats and I met with more of the Marinkovich family in the village our grandfather grew up in - which is one of the oldest settlements on Brač, Donji Humac.

Zuke, Dario, Don, Jakša

Unfortunately I completely forgot to take a pic or copy of Zukes family tree, but we met the brothers Jakša and Dario from Antes side of the family is that right dad? Jakša speaksa da english (he and wife Ingrid and kids lived in Oz for a while), and they live in the old house. He's all over the family history of the area so it was a crash course in Marinkovich ancestry - aided by the petrol strong walnut liquor Jakša makes and poured for us to sample. Please, nobody breathe around any naked flames.

Marinkydinkys represent

After Jakšas fairly convincing and lengthy discussion on the superior taste of Brač lamb - it's killed younger, cooks better in small pieces, not so strong etc etc, a call was placed to the local restaurant Konoba Kopacina to ensure our meal was ready when we turned up.



It's literally a 1 minute walk from the house, and on the way we stopped to listen to the dulcet tones of the local choir (klapa) practicing -  in silence we stood on the stairs as the sound of angels floated down to meet us. They sing the traditional folk songs which have always been an integral part of the lives of the Dalmatian people. Anita and I joked they could always come and serenade us at dinner, that'd be nice cheers.

So with Marinkdinky hill in the distance, surrounded by grape vines and locals, we walked in to the restaurant (which once housed the old school our papa went to), passing our lamb sizzling on the spit.

We shared the most delicious rustic meal of lamb cutlets (Jakša was right), crispy jacket potatoes smothered in the local olive oil, crunched on whole spring onions dally styles, and a fresh green salad. And wine, this time mixed with a dash of water which just loosened it up perfectly.

And guess what. The klapa group turned up. They sat down at the table next to us, a group of 6 local boys in their 20's sat down and sang. It will forever be one of our most memorable evenings.

Not sure if this wee sample of klapa will work

When we stood outside the church on our way home, the bells rang out.
This is one very special place

The bells are ringing!

And just incase you're wondering...
'Hey Neats are you bored with all this Marinkydinky stuff?'
'Oh God no. It's been awesome, I'm enjoying it.'

After all she's been around dallys all her life. Not to mention married to one, aye Jay. X

Zagreb - Brac

Zagreb

After our wander around the city, which included a memorable visit to the Museum of Broken Relationships - it was great to have an evening sip in Zagreb with Vlatka, a friend of a friend and native Zagrebian (I just made that awesome word up) who has lived briefly in NZ.

Neats, Don, Vlatka

Don, lovely Zagrebian girl, Neat

So we picked the poor girls brains about this and that and as luck would have it, she is an actual tour guide in the city so we had our own private commentary as we wandered through the upper part of the old town. 

Paris it is not - any country that comes directly after a visit to Paris has big boots to fill - and the short time we spent in the capital reflected a real mish mash of buildings and textures - almost like it had been around the block a few times and needed a bit of TLC. As Vlatka said, she knows its not the most beautiful of cities but she loves it for what it is, and it definately has a unique charm, in a laid back friendly kind of way. Like it may look a bit rough around the edges, but at the end of the day looks aren't all that important anyway. War war is stupid.

And the people seem really open and friendly which definitely shapes your opinion about a place.

With Neats at the helm of our trusty rental, we eventually zoomed off towards the coast, headed for the port town of Split - towards the promise of sea and sunshine. We have christened our GPS Gloria. It's kinda funnily annoying hearing her trying to pronounce the street names in her robotic english accent - 'turn left onto Zlatkavenski Proviunchi Ulca'.

She struggles as much as we do. Turn left onto yadda yadda dukka dukka.

But she got us to the port at Split and finally we were headed to the island of my Grandparents, Brac.

I had to take a moment on the water heading towards it - it is pretty awesome and very special indeed to finally be here.

They went such a long way from this island home to get make a new home in NZ.

Postira

So here we are, staying in a beautiful harbourside town called Bol on the south side of Brac - renowned for one of the most stunning beaches ever (apparently) called Zlatni Rat. 

I say apparently because the sun has yet to shine so the beach is on hold for now.

Enjoyed a delicious dinner our first evening here by the water - pillow-soft gnocchi and crab. And local house wine. Again, delicious - but we forgot to do as the locals do and mix a bit of water in with it to dilute the strength. A rookie mistake, not to be repeated.

Zuke, Gita, Marie (Dads Cousin), Moi

We spent yesterday reuniting with my little (big) cuz Zuke jnr - its been 9 years since we last saw each other, but as it can be with the bond of family, it felt like no time at all had passed.

He's been staying and working a bit in Nanas home town of Postira., yet another village but this time on the northern coast. Home products are olive oil and local wine, and there is a sardine canning factory on the hill. 

Zuke is basically being a bit of a legend. Knocking on doors to meet the family, sorting out the somewhat complicated family tree, diligently taking his notebook around to jot down all the names that get thrown at him, and even learning the lingo - which to complicate matters has different dialects for the various regions. Considering Neat and I are still struggling to remember how to say 'cheers', Zuke is making awesome progress. I'm really proud of him, and can't say enough how great it is that we all happen to be here at the same time. He's been great on the history and introductions so we also got up to Donji Humac where the Marinkovichs hail from. And finally, after all those years of looking at that painting, we visited THE house from the painting!

Our family goes to this church at Donji Humac

Northern port village of Postira - Nanas home town.

Postira

The house from the painting! Used to be a butchers shop. Now Jarksa, Ingrid and kids live here.

A delicious and much anticipated seafood meal back by the water in Supetar rounded off a pretty special day.

The land on this island is rugged and hardy, dominated by a limestone relief and covered in olive trees. The towns are picturesque and quaint, with narrow cobblestones streets and quiet ports lined up with fishing boats. And the sea is crystalline and changes colour. Its pretty stunning and we both feel really lucky to be here.

Love x

Bog blog!

LET THEM EAT CAKE!

It was hard to choose, so we had to go back for seconds....thirds maybe...

                                      Another couple of Paris must-do's ticked off the list

A sliver of Versailles

A ha! So thats how they do it!

A short train trip south saw us spend most of Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles - where eventually ole King Louis X1V installed the Court and Seat of Government in 1682. They sure knew how to do things on a grand, over the top scale back then. A bit mind boggling.

Humans aye. How times of travel have changed in many respects. A lesson in patience and deep breathing when you are swept up in a sea of people from all sorts of different backgrounds rammed into a room trying to absorb the experience - which for some means push front and centre, ipad out, 360 panoramic, close up, selfie - and then move on to the next one. Its a man eat man world when it comes to sightseeing I tell ya.

Speaking of selfies....

A peek of the canal




But that period of history is intriguing so it was amazing to see it in all of its sumptuous glory, and as with the interior, the exterior is huge and sprawling, so what better way to experience it than hiring a bike to get around. We spent a perfect sunny day peddling around the ridiculously large Grand Canal and were just buzzed to soak up the surroundings.

Our bedroom

A visit to the Louvre Thursday was equally as great - culture coming out the ears.

I was there before the 9am opening so the queue wasn't too bad. I did pace it to see Mona Lisa before the masses of hordes.... and how amusing she was - so much hype for a wee painting behind bullet proof glass, people shoving themselves to the front to get a picture taken. Does it take away the moment? Yep, it does a bit.

My view of Mona Lisa

But what a huge space - room after room filled to the brim with loads of other incredible art history, and as Neat and I agreed later that day over our debrief glasses of wine - you just get such a buzz out of seeing the real thing after studying it from a book all those years ago in a school classroom - in Whanagrei no less.

Ingres

Last lunch with the Harres at Cosi

Savoured our last proper Parisian pastry and coffee this morning and then we met the kiwi Harres again for a delicious lunch at Cosi, Dave then insisting we check out the hotel where Oscar Wilde died... then check out St Germain...

And low and behold a few hours later we now find ourselves in a country where 'Bog' is 'Hello' and the streets are dark and narrow and the rain is falling. Thinking lots of my nana.

And I must mention, Neats drove our wee car on the right hand side of the road like a pro. Yo.

And a midnight blog would not be complete without just mentioning that we both noticed our loo paper here in Zagreb has colourful football players on it...must be world cup time...?
Ahhh, Brazil vs Croatia.
Is that wrong to wipe ones a**e on that?

Sorry. Its been a loooong day :)
Love from us x

Jacques Louis

Happy Bellys

Great start to a wet and rainy day at Fondation Cafe 75003 - had good coffees, avocado on toast, and finished it all off with a delectably silky piece of chocolate tart, tinged with tequila and chilli. GOOD MORNING!

Fondation

A stroll under our brollies around Saint Germain - its still all so picturesque even in a downpour :)

Rain in Saint Germain

Holybelly holy yum

A really tasty lunch at Holybelly 75010 (Kimmy have you tried? It'll be in your hood, you'll love it) and then we have dinner tonight with some of Miros family who happen to over here too, at Fish La Boissonnerie on rue de Sienne 75006.

Gelato anyone?

Did I mention Neats found a great pizza place just around the corner too......

Needless to say, we aint starving. X