Tuesday 4 September 2007

Croatia, summer 2007









We chose Croatia as none of us had been there, except me, to Dubrovnik as a four year old, which hardly counts! We wanted sun and beaches, and got sun, rocky outlets, pebbly beaches and some huge thunderstorms....
Trogir is where we stayed, not far from Split on the Dalmatian Coast (and yes we saw two dalmatian dogs!) It is a delightful place on an island, the buildings are made of stone http://www.croatiainfo.net/e_Ciovo.html with cool narrow streets, beautiful churches and an impressive fort. Our villa was in fact three separate apartments on three different floors. The boys stayed in the top one, Hannah and Emily in the middle one and John and I on the ground floor. We used the middle flat for meals and family gatherings. We cooked some meals and one night did a great barbie with fresh whole fish and local lamb and sausage. On the whole the food was great. Lots of red meat and fish, very simple salads, tomato, cucumber, lettuce etc and potatoes. The wine was not bad either.
The Adriatic was cold, clear and the kids loved it. They played for hours and dived off the rocks into the depths. We took a ferry to Split one day, also on the World Heritage List. The girls and I enjoyed the ruins of the Diocletian's Palace while the boys shopped. One afternoon, John the girls and I drove into the hills, but were thwarted by long traffic jams both leaving and driving back into Trogir. Being a protected area, and an island with only one access bridge, every vehicle going or coming from the town must cross the bridge. The traffic is gridlocked for hours sometimes. The heat, the hilly terrain and the distance from the villa to town meant that walking was not an option. Within a week John had learnt every back alley, side road and short cut. Our land lady was very impressed. Plans are to build a new bridge, but until then, be prepared. It is a delightful place, but one should not be in a hurry to get anywhere!
Sorry about the photo layout, not yet a mastered art!

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