Touring Along the Adriatric Sea

Jewels of the Adriatic

October 2018

Croatia has been on our travel to-do list since an earlier European trip (Bavaria in 2006) when in the airport on the way home we chatted with other travelers who raved about Croatia. Marjorie’s cousin Jim and wife Susan also raved about their trip to Croatia last Fall, adding further impetus. Gate1, with whom we’ve happily traveled a number of times, has an “11 Day Affordable Croatia & Slovenia” tour that looks just right. One unhappy note: friend Kay, a companion on the Bavaria and some other trips, is unable to join us. But Una (who had traveled with us in Andalucia) and her friend Nancy will be joining us. Well, “joining us” turned out to be a bit uncertain when they booked a night in Venice at the end. Una tried to arrange “Bus Unity” for the 4 of us to be on the same tour bus, but discovered their Venice add-on put them into a different group (and bus). We’ll share some but not all of the hotels; don’t know how much we’ll be touring together. I’d vouched for Gate 1, so I hope things go well and that we’ll have plenty of time together. Una seems to have forgiven me for being picked to join the Doug Ward family on a Viking Ocean cruise “Into the Midnight Sun” this summer; she was the next choice, but “blood” won out. We learned another friend, Beth, will be on a tour to Croatia with a friend that begins the same day as ours, but with a different company. Will we cross paths?

This region has become a popular tourist destination, with spectacular scenery from seacoasts to mountains. It also has a complex and violent history. I’ll attempt a brief (and probably oversimplified) recent summary: After WWII Yugoslavia was an uneasy federation of 6 republics, including 4 we’ll visit (Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Bosnia). Tensions among the various ethnic groups were suppressed by Tito until his death in 1980, when calls for autonomy escalated. Croatia & Slovenia declared independence in 1991 and were attacked by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army. The Balkan Wars of the 1990s entailed allegations of “ethnic cleansing” and war crimes. NATO bombings (“Operation Deliberate Force”) were followed by a US-brokered peace agreement. Montenegro declared independence in 2006. Croatia and Slovenia are members of NATO and the European Union; Montenegro joined NATO most recently (2017) and is a candidate to join the EU. Bosnia (and Herzegovina) declared independence in 1992, and is also a candidate to join the EU. But the varying status of these countries creates different situations for crossing borders. It also means some juggling among different currencies: Croatian  kuna ($.16), euros ($1.16), Bosnian convertible marks ($.59).

Andalucia, Spain

Tales of Andalucia

October 2015

 Andalucia has been on my travel to-do list, but wider-ranging tours I’ve seen had not enough time there. Then I found a British-based company (www.tourandelucia.co.uk) focused on the region: staying in a centrally located hotel w/ small van tours radiating out to different cities each day. Sounded just perfect. 

And if we put together our own group of 6-8 we’d have our own tour plus a nice discount. So we put together our Grupo de Siete: my brother Doug (unfortunately, sister-in-law Ann couldn’t join us  ̶  we’ll miss her), their friend Una from a previous trip to Iceland (where we also traveled in March, and small world experience: Una’s a high-school friend of one of my colleagues!), Marjorie’s cousin Jim & wife Susan, & Susan’s sister Ann. I’ve acted as “Principle Guest” in arranging details and payments (& calculating exchange rates between British pounds & dollars) with Gary Montagu, aka Gary the Tour Guy, who has been very responsive to our wishes. AAA agent Donna helped arrange our flights.
One regret: I’ll be missing my 50^th (!!!) high school reunion  ̶  it was thoughtlessly moved from Sept. to early October after we’d made arrangements for this trip. But Marjorie made it to hers in August, and we’ve had some interesting activities leading up to the trip. M had her most successful sales at the big 64^th Annual Schenectady Stockade Art Show a couple of weeks ago  ̶  and we’re partly dug out from the artistic disorder at home. Last weekend we returned to the historic Stockade for the annual “walkabout” to tour some of the old homes & gardens. 

And Sunday (9/27) we saw the rare “super blood moon” eclipse; i.e., during a full moon when its orbit is closest to the earth, last seen in 1982 (full disclosure: left photo is mine, right is from the internet). This makes for a trifecta of heavenly events, combining with clear skies for peak Northern Lights in Iceland in March & for July 4^th fireworks viewing from the East River in NYC.

Lisbon

LISBON

May 2005

 

          Our trip to Lisbon used a variety of planning sources.  Basic hotel/air arrangements thru go-today.com, a reprise of London.  The old standby Frommer’s book for basic tourist stuff.  We added info from friends who’d made recent trips to Lisbon; met an old Portuguese market owner in Providence while visiting friends; and I read Journey to Portugal by Portuguese Nobel-winner José Saramago.  So, following the style of Saramago, “the travelers” feel ready to experience Portugal.  But first a few other matters.  Marjorie spends several days beforehand with grandson William in Queens while Matt & Anthea have busy schedules.  She comes back with strep throat, but our “Dr. Dan” fixes her up quickly.  Then a filling repair the day before we leave  ̶  we’ll owe the dentist a Lisbon thank-you.  And M’s ready to test drive her new Mother’s Day digital camera, following tutorials from Matt & friend Alice.  [I’m still relying on my SLR for slides, haven’t overcome my reluctance to go digital.]

Wed., May 18:

          Down to Queens in the AM, a stroll with Matt & William to neighborhood deli Andrew & Frank’s for lunch stuff.  Matt can’t drive us to the airport  ̶  he promised some of his 4^th & 5^th grade students he’d come to their school performance; but he arranges a nearby car service to JFK.  Thru self-check-in we’re able to get better seats.  A mob next to us of Iberia passengers waiting for their crew, stuck in traffic on the way to the airport!  We don’t get bumped to business class for our British Airways flight (like an earlier trip), but we’re treated well: a little packet w/ socks, toothbrush, mask for sleeping; free wine with dinner; and pretty good food (!).  Flight departs on time at 6:30pm.

Italy

ITALY

October 1998

           Marjorie had 1^st choice for a European trip (Ireland), so to be fair I get the next choice. Italy in the Fall works out because I’m on sabbatical this semester. This is my most complicated trip so far, mostly on my own (w/ some help from AAA) patching together flights, hotels (mostly found via a website, a new experience for our travels), trains, rental cars, etc. I’d originally thought to do an escorted tour, but our friend Karen insisted we would have more fun on our own  ̶  and that we could manage OK even w/ the language difference. Whew, lots to do, but even the planning is lots of fun!

Thursday, 10/1:

          A drive to JFK in the morning, car into long-term parking (guard towers, barbed wire, and security patrols, so it should be safe).  Burger King lunch with son Matt, then takeoff on Delta at about 6:30, sun setting over NYC & Long Island.  Screen periodically shows our position, speed, altitude, etc..  In-flight movie is “The Truman Show” (Jim Carrey).

Friday, 10/2:

          A pretty sunrise over Europe, arrive Rome about 8:30.  A quick “wave” through Customs, exchange money, catch a train to Termini Stazione in downtown Rome.  We pass our 1st ruins on the way, but Marjorie is taking a little nap.  5 blocks thru an Upper-East-Side-type neighborhood to the Hotel Romae.  Very friendly owners speak several languages (including English, thankfully).  A nice room and big key, which seems typical of hotels in Rome.  Like Ireland, bathrooms lack washcloths and sometimes limited pressure in the showers (which have emergency pull cords); different towels, not the fluffy ones we’re used to.  After settling in briefly, we head out to see Italy!  Despite forecasts of rain for the next few days, it’s a nice sunny PM, even a bit steamy.  A few language struggles in a bank, but I finally figure out how to use an ATM here, and buy a book of “Metrebus” tickets. 

Barcelona

Barcelona

May 2010

 We’ve been asked, Why Barcelona?  Some of our travels have covered regional areas, even several countries, but we’ve also enjoyed settling in and getting to know a particular city and its environs.  Barcelona seemed an intriguing place to explore and “hang out”  ̶  interesting art, architecture, culture, food, etc.  ̶  much like our trip to Lisbon.  Our conductor friend Francisco loves Barcelona; too bad he won’t be there to show us around, especially the nightlife and tapas bars of which he speaks so fondly.  Air/hotel package is thru Gate1travel.com; we used them for a trip to Greece and were very pleased with the arrangements.  Flights on Iberia; it’s good we’re not on British Air; we met some folks in Barcelona whose trip was disrupted by a BA strike.  A month ago ash in the upper atmosphere from a volcanic eruption in Iceland closed many airports in Europe, but that seems to have subsided (fingers crossed).  There’s financial turmoil in Europe, but that’s to our benefit in bringing down the euro’s value.  We’ll see how much of my high school Spanish I remember: I think I have the basics-- Hola, Buenos dias, and Donde está el baño (“where’s the bathroom”).  One complication: Catalan is a prevalent dialect in Barcelona (Catalunya region), so maybe I should use On és el lavabo.  We have our trusty Frommer’s guide.  My brother Doug is joining us: wife Ann & daughter Katie are doing their own trip to Montreal.  When we’ve travelled w/ friend Kay she’s kept a detailed ledger (“Kay owes” & “Wards owe”) to keep track of joint expenses.  Doug’s an accountant: does that make him more or less trustworthy for this task?  As on past trips w/ my bro there will be dueling diaries as we both write up our accounts, not to mention elbowing each other for the best photo angles.  The game is on!

Greece

 GREECE

May 2007

 

            Any travel to Greece is divinely inspired, of course, but we’ve also been inspired by mortal muses.  The Jessops (Russ’ mother & stepfather) traveled widely thru Greece and their writings guide later explorers.  Daughter-in-law Anthea, whose father has traveled among the Greek isles, has a yen for Greece and contributed a book of info, supplemented by our usual Frommer’s book.  Albany Symphony violinist Katrin, a regular guest, has family on Kos and provided vocabulary tips and inscrutable recipe books in Greek.  Efcharisto (thank you) to our contributors.  We used a “Gate 1” package for travel and lodging  ̶  and subsequently found our dates/hotel choices listed as 1 of “40 Best Trips” in Budget Travel magazine. 

  This trip began thru discussions with Santa Fe (formerly Wisconsin) friends Diane & Jerry.  Couldn’t coordinate our schedules (they’ve booked a trip in the fall), but Wisconsin friend Kay, a companion on several happy trips, is joining us.  She arrives Saturday armed with a book on Greek religion, heavily footnoted and she says too complicated to remember much; but she manages to toss out tidbits of info here and there.  Marjorie & Kay rent “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” to get in the mood.  I’m eager to flex new digital photo & editing skills.  I’ve overcome my reluctance to leave the world of slide photography, took some Photoshop classes, & Marjorie arranged for me to get some digital tutoring from professional photographer friend Larry.  My motto: WWLP (What Would Larry Photograph?).