2015 Vacation - Day 14

The bus was suppose to leave at 12:30am. It was midnight and we were getting anxious about Davor's whereabouts, so we decided to get on foot which, in case he did not show up, would take us maybe 15-20 minutes. As soon as we got close to the Boulevard, he showed up and took us to the station. Bus came on time, but it was weird: it was some kind of a small bus, full of people and, to our disappointment reservations did not matter, you sit wherever you can. We were lucky enough to get two seats at the very end of it, cramped next to a couple of 6'6" guys. It was very uncomfortable ride and, besides, I still do not understand why the driver did not take the highway right away instead of going through Obrovac and Gracac and then catching the highway after almost two hours. Arrived to Zagreb on time, took a taxi to the airport where check in was already in progress only to find out that our flight is being delayed due to bad weather in Dubrovnik (where our plane was arriving from). This was a bit scary because we did not have much layover time in Frankfurt but ultimately and with a lot of fast walking through Frankfurt airport we managed to get in just in time. Flight to Newark was very comfortable. Arrived on time, no problems with customs. Ras picked us up at the airport and as soon as we got back home I wanted to take a little nap. It was maybe 3pm. When Janet finally woke me up it was well past 10. What a vacation it was. 

2015 Vacation - Day 13

Since we had to return the car by 9am, Davor came to us, then we followed him to the car rental place. It was raining heavy all night long and it was still very humid and wet outside. The return itself was routine and quick, so we went on to search for a place to have breakfast. Pretty soon we realized it was Sunday and pretty much everything was closed. The only thing we were able to do was to go to the supermarket and get some fish for "gradele". Davor did not want to hear me paying for it; this actually happened once before at Chief's and I did not quite understand, but decided to let him be. Bozo wanted to get busy cleaning the fish, but Davor would not trust anyone operate the grill. It felt nice just chit-chatting with them around the grill and drinking home made brandy. The meal was delicious, home made wine even better, but the best part was just being there with them. Bozo, for his 85 years is holding on as good as anyone in their sixties. Ivanka fell in love with Janet and asked me at the end to make sure not to "...screw this one up".
It was already mid afternoon when we finished with our lunch, so we decided to go back home and start packing for the trip back. Davor was going to come by to help us to the bus station and to say goodbye.

2015 Vacation - Day 12

The night before we agreed with Davor to spend the day in Split, so we got up early and went to his place to pick him up. This was the first time we saw his mother who was in church the first time we went there. Good old Ivanka was all happy to see us and made us a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs with, of course, Bozo's accompaniment of home made brandy (for breakfast, none the less). Goooood stuff. For some reason I always thought Split was much closer, but it really took us good two hours to get there. Dioclecian's palace was our main and only point of interest, so we parked at nearby ferry loading parking spot by kind permission of a local attendant with twenty kuna under the table. Palace itself was impressive. Janet, I thought was speechless. The day was very hot and was wearing us down walking around, taking pictures and finally leaving full of impressions. Upon arrival back to Zadar we stopped at a car wash to beautify our trusty Renault before the final return scheduled for the first thing Sunday morning. Dropped Davor at his home and went for a little nap. In the evening we picked him up again and all three went for a dinner at Niko's in Borik. Really classy place by the water. And, again, final coffee round at Chief's place.

2015 Vacation - Day 11

Finally a beach day! Got up earlier, before the sun gets too hot because I can't get exposed for too long, and went down to Kolovare. Adriatic was as blue as ever. Still fairly warm and salty. I really enjoyed it for couple of hours, while Janet sat on the beach doing her thing (the excuse was she forgot her bathing suite). At midday we went to nearby coffee shop for lunch where I enjoyed pretty darn good Dalmatian style cevapi. The place was nice, high above the beach with nice view of the sea and nearby islands. From there we went back home for a nap but made sure we came back later in the afternoon for another round of swimming. In the evening we went back to the old town to visit some more of many interesting sites. The very first thing, and a total discovery, was this little park on a hill right next to 'Pet bunara'. Really beautiful. Walked up and down the town checking 'The sun thingie' at full display, ate at Pet bunara and finished the day by Chief's with all the regulars.

2015 Vacation - Day 10

Buffet breakfast was included in our stay at Villa Eugenia. And the breakfast it was. Plenty in both choices and quantity. Our next stop is Pula and Here started the trip by taking us on another adventure. She took us straight up the Ucka mountain which rises as a backdrop of Lovran and all of the little towns around. Road was very curvy and getting narrower as we got closer to the top. Our car almost stalled at one point due to the incline; it was so steep I had to downshift to first in order to continue. At the end it was about one car width, we were concerned if someone comes from the opposite direction.  And as soon as we cleared the last curve we came across two young people standing there waiting for the cops after they collided (at the widest part of the road). They were both ok, minor fender bender. The focal point of visiting Pula was the Arena. And it did not failed to impress. It is magnificent in its size and beauty. Here it was that we learned that the 'thumbs up, thumbs down' was a Hollywood invention. After thoroughly checking it, getting some souvenirs and refreshments we made a dart for Porec to see my old friend Zdenjek. He was at work but managed to take and hour to show us around and have a cup of coffee at the end. It was nice seeing him again. It was already mid afternoon when we decided to head back to Zadar. This time I was not going to let Here dictate the route. I wanted to show Janet the beauty of the Adriatic coastline along the old Magistrala. And I don't think I failed. At times a bit scary with it's twists, turns and heights, but ultimately beautiful. We made a stop at Selce, a place where I had spent part of my military training some forty years ago. It's still pretty much the same, camping and the beach. When we arrived to Zadar it was already pretty late, we were hungry so we just walked to the nearby bakery and got some burek and went to bed.