A new season, a new love

Autumn in London is officially my favourite time of year. I have never experienced a real Autumn like this. The leaves are turning golden and falling like giant snowflakes.  The ground is covered everywhere in old leaves.   There is a long way to go and I cant wait for everything to be yellow and orange.  The air is crisp and I'm looking forward to rugging up (despite the fact that we are having a beautiful "Indian Summer" in September).

I cant help but think how symbolic Autumn is....out with the old and (soon) in with the new.  As the year draws to a close (only 3 months to go), the old leaves make way for the new fresh leaves.  A new year is around the corner and there is anticipation for those new leaves that will sprout green after the depths of winter.

I love how seasonal Europe is.  Every season brings something unique and totally different.  How can you ever get bored in a place that experiences four true seasons!!!

E xoxo

Sailing the Adriatic - The Finale

So that you aren't overwhelmed by words, we thought it would be a good idea to do this in three parts.  Here is the third and final instalment:

Korcula to Vela Luka

Our day of sailing between Korcula and Vela Luka was probably one of the most memorable.  We stopped in a private cove for hours and floated in some of the clearest blue water we saw on the whole trip.  The water temperature was amazing and we grabbed those daybeds and floated aimlessly.  It was heaven.

When we arrived in Vela Luka we headed straight for Havana Bar - a bar right on the water's edge with relaxing daybeds and delicious Pina Coladas.  We sat in the most perfect temperature looking at the gorgeous clear water and the little town that sprawled its way up a hill with white bricks and red roofs.

Vela Luka was on the same island as Korcula but at an opposite end and was a very local area.  We were some of the only tourists there!

For dinner we went to a local restaurant where E had a whole plate of fresh grilled calamari and S had traditional Croatian pizza.  We then had a Pirate Party and danced the night away at the towns only club.

It was a very memorable day.

Vela Luka to Hvar

Hvar was by far one of the best places we visited in Croatia.  It is a very impressive and attractive port town.  It is also party central.  Beyonce had been there the week before us and Prince Harry regularly parties at the club we visited that night.  This is where wealthy celebrities holiday (judging by the yachts parked in the port) and it reminded me of a typical cosmopolitan Mediterranean port town.

Hvar is home to farms of lavender so E couldn't help herself and bought some of it dried in a little pouch.  We decided to hike to a fortress at the top of the hill with a very impressive view.  It didn't disappoint but the walk up was exhausting in the heat.  Lucky there were those typical little Croatian lane ways made of marble to cool us down at the bottom of the hill.

That afternoon we went to the famous Hula Hula Bar.  This is by far one of the best beach side bars we have ever visited.  It had daybeds on the rocks and a gorgeous deck with the most perfect view of the sunset.  One thing we loved most about Croatia was its radiant sunsets over the water...something we had never experienced at home.

We all got very intoxicated on frozen daiquiris that afternoon but had the best time doing it.  In fact, I recall a certain Mr Hyde taking his kit off and diving stark naked into the ocean as the sun set!!!

That night, we went to two clubs and had a relatively calm night (the hangovers from the afternoon of drinking hit us early).

This was one of the busiest places we visited and our boat was the eighth boat docked at the port.  This meant that we had to walk through 7 other boats in complete darkness before we found ours!  We had to do this for the first time drunk as skunks after being at the Hula Hula Bar.

Hvar to Split

Our last day was fairly low key and we shared a nice traditional Croatian dinner together.  There were some pretty impressive grilled fish going on.

S and I thought it would be nice to have a romantic night in a classy hotel so we stayed on for one more day in the Split Raddison Blu.  We had such a relaxing day sitting and reading by the pool.  We also had the most amazing dinner at one of the hotel restaurants, high on the hill, watching the sun set on our holiday for a final time. 

What an amazing holiday.  We will never forget the time the Sexy Six spent together in Croatia.  Full of laughter, reminiscing and good old fashioned fun.

E&S
xoxo

 The clearest water we have ever seen!

 In heaven right now!

 The private cove near Vela Luka with some amazing properties.

 Sailing in to Vela Luka.

 Havana Bar - Vela Luka.

 Lovers <3

 Vela Luka Town

 Arriving in Hvar after the water taxi ride from our boat.

 Hvar Town

 The main square in Hvar

At the top of the fortress in Hvar 

 Hula Hula Bar, Hvar - Ohhhh yeah!

 Who ordered the look-a-like Cuban Drug Lord

 Sunsets in Hvar

The Radisson Blu - Split

Sailing the Adriatic - Part Two

Are you ready for Part 2 of Croatia...well here goes:

Mljet Island to Dubrovnik

This was E's favourite day of sailing by far. The scenery was superb and the air was so fresh.  Coming in to Dubrovnik was breath taking.  Historically, Dubrovnik was a very powerful port town and arriving by boat was definitely the best way to experience its gravity. 

Dubrovnik is surrounded by a massive wall which was intended to protect the town (it's rival was the great Venetian empire).  Apparently its positioning made it quite vulnerable to attacks.

S and I were a little under the weather so instead of walking the wall in 30 something degree heat, we opted for the Buza Bar.  Buza Bar was located on the cliffs of Dubrovnik, just under the town walls and the view was incredible.  The cliffs had landings off which people were jumping off.  One of them was apparently 27 meters high (E had to hold her breath a few times and was urging S not to participate).

After relaxing in the sun we decided to have a walk around the Old Town (which is classified as a UNESCO world heritage site).  The architecture was stunning and is mainly renaissance in style.  The town has a definite Italian influence with shiny marble roads and alley ways.  It was by far one of the most attractive towns on the coast.   S drank out of the Great Fountain of Onofrio which according to legend brings luck to anyone who drinks from it (it has brought fresh water to the town since 1444).

Before dinner, we all jumped in a little boat and had a sunset cruise around Dubrovnik.  We are certain that the little boat was overcrowded and about to tip but the sunset was amazing.  We had Pizza yet again then went to a bar which served cocktails in a sand bucket!!

Dubrovnik to Korcula

After our obligatory swim stop, we arrived at Korcula Town.  A very gorgeous settlement that juts out from a mountain and which has (surprise surprise) medieval walls surrounding it.  The town operated on a tight grid system with little alleyways and its claim to fame is that Marco Polo (the famous explorer) was born in this town. 

We enjoyed an afternoon of aimlessly wandering the streets and eating ice cream, followed by sitting on the town walls chatting in the sun.

For dinner and drinks we went to an open air bar (with gorgeous fairy lights) and an amazing view of the sunset.  The atmosphere was lovely and the live music was great.  However, there was a lot to be desired for the service.  How can we ever forget the time when Erin waited 3.5 hours for a bowl of spaghetti hehe.

Up next, the finale.  Lots of photos below.  E couldnt help herself.

E&S
xoxo



Stradun - The artery of Dubrovnik (in other words the main street)



The view from Buza Bar.



The Walls of Dubrovnik above Buza Bar.



The narrow alleys of Dubrovnik.

Sunset Cruise

The Sexy Six!

The Walls of Dubrovnik

Sailing in to Korcula

Swimming in a cove near Korcula

Korcula Markets

Our Boat - Ciresco

Erin and Liz on the walls at Korcula

The open air bar at Korcula

Sailing the Adriatic - Part One

S and I just returned from an amazing holiday in Croatia with our good friends from Australia - Erin, Chris, Liz and Megan.  We were so lucky to be able to meet up with our friends who arrived from both Australia and Saudi Arabia and that we hadn't seen for months.

This was a long awaited holiday.  We had been talking about it since mid way through last year.  It finally happened...we sailed the Dalmatian Coast and the Adriatic Sea in Croatia!!!

Our journey began very early a few Fridays ago when we arrived in the very tropical port town of Split.  Split is the second largest city in Croatia and the people of Split think of themselves as very trend conscious and glam.  E had been incredibly sick the week before so we took it easy on Friday strolling around the Old Town.  Believe it or not, Split was founded by the Roman emperor Diocletian in AD295.  It had a very Italian and roman feel.  The most impressive site was Diocletian's Palace which is now made up of cafes and shops.  We also found the giant statute of Gregory of Nin (a 10th century bishop).  Tradition claims that if you rub the statues toe, a wish will be granted. 

On Saturday, we boarded our boat for our week long sailing trip down the Dalmatian Coast.  We were lucky enough to only have 20 people on a boat with a capacity of 40.  We were also delighted to find that we had a double bed, private shower and toilet, a huge sun deck on which to laze and a bar with staff that made yummy cocktails (Sex on the Beach and Pina Colada were the best). 
Every day we would wake to find that we had left our last port and were sailing to our next unknown destination.  It was such a great feeling being in the middle of the sea not knowing exactly where you are or where you are going next.  It was also so peaceful - often we would not see another boat for hours.

We would sun bake on the top deck for hours, watching the amazing scenery go by, reading and chatting.  Captain would drop anchor in an isolated cove and we would swim and float in the most crystal clear water we have ever seen.  Then the crew would ring the bell to signal lunch.  Lunch comprised of three courses and the food was absolutely delicious.

After lunch we would arrive into a new port and spend the afternoons exploring the towns.  Each one was different but each had the same common calm and relaxed feel.

We would then have cocktails and delicious dinners followed by some serious partying and dancing.  The beach towns of Croatia are known to be heaven for the party animal. 

This was our typical day for seven days - what bliss.

There are a number of things which stood out for us about this country.  We didn't have too many expectations about Croatia itself but we were blown away.  Here are some things that we loved about Croatia:

1. The food.  The Croatians are serious about their food.  We ate so much fresh seafood.  Usually a whole grilled fish or fresh grilled calamari.  The food also had a rather Italian influence and the pastas and risottos were also great.  We also loved a Croatian desert which consisted of rolled crepes with marmalade in the middle - yum.
2. The crystal clear blue water.  The Dalmatian Coast has some of the clearest blue sea in the Mediterranean.  By clear we mean that you could see the bottom of the ocean.
3. The attractive towns and rich culture.  Croatia has an amazing history and a very turbulent one at that.  In fact, Croatia has only been a free state three times in its history. 

So what else did we do....

Split to Makarska

Our first stop was to go white water rafting in-land from the beach town of Makarska.  What an experience this was.  The river was fairly calm but we did experience some great white water runs (and some pretty narrow ones too).  Safety was definitely not a concern.  Teddy (our instructor) sat at the back of the raft directing us, telling us to row faster, while sipping on a tin of beer!  S failed to follow instruction down one particularly tight run and we ended up getting stuck on a rock - Teddy was not happy.  At one stage, we floated down the icy river looking at the cliffs on either side (outside of the raft).

That evening we had a beautiful dinner (grilled whole fish) and Teddy told us a little bit about the Yugoslav War.  Only 15 years ago, it is still very clear in the minds of the Croats.

After dinner we went to two bars.  One was inside a cave on the water front.

Makarska to Mljet

Day 2 saw us sailing past some beautiful scenery to Mljet.  At Mljet we visited the Mljet National Park which had two large lakes with aqua blue water.  The National Park was beautiful and relaxing.  It was clearly a place that the Croatians came to visit on the weekends.
That evening we had a party on deck as we watched the first of the amazing sunsets we would see that week.

As the sun was setting the boys decided that they would jump off the front of the boat we were moored next to (it was roughly 8 metres high).  S, not wanting to miss out, jumped but ended up standing on a sea urchin as he got out. At the time of writing this post, he still has 3 barbs stuck in his foot.  Apparently they make their own way out of your system...here's hoping!

Up next....Part 2 of Sailing the Adriatic.

Some photos of our first few days sailing Croatia below.

E&S
xoxo

Split - Old Town - Walls of Diocletians Palace

Setting sail from Split

First beers

  

Jumping off the boat

Mljet National Park

Mljet Port

Shaney jumping off the Liberty boat

Sunsets in Mljet

Cruising the Adriatic

Relaxing with a book - what a life!