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Europe with Trisha 2023

elokuuta - lokakuuta 2023
Our trip in 2020 needed to be postponed but is now going to happen! Lue lisää
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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    11
    Päivä 31

    Day 30 Croatia

    29. syyskuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    Today was the earliest that we have got up for a while, 5.30am! That was so we could get ready, drive for an hour, fill car up with petrol and catch a bus at 8.05. That all went well, dropped Trish and bags off at the bus station, went and dropped the car off and were all ready around 7.45. Shame the bus wasn’t! We had a great bus ride with flixbus the other day but today we became acquainted with the rude drivers that I had read reviews about. The bus was actually there, and the driver was on it. Lots of people tried to ask him about the bus but he wouldn’t answer. Then a new bus turned up and we all through we could get on that, but it was a no go. Finally about 40 mins later a bus turned up. Then when we crossed the border 3 guys got pulled aside and their bag checked so we all got off the bus again for a while and finally arrived in Zagreb way later than expected. Our car pick up went fine though, we bought a few things from the supermarket and then hit the road. Hmmmm then a few traffic jams, roads being fixed from the dreadful floods here a few weeks ago made for a rather slow trip. But the roads were quite a bit wider than in Slovenia and doing 130kph on the motorway helped.

    On our way we stopped in Rastoke which is a lovely little town with many waterfalls. I had stopped here 6 years ago, but they have built 2 more bridges since then and you couldn’t walk freely around the waterfalls quite the same, it was still beautiful though.

    Then to our final destination today - Hotel Marko right next to entrance one of Plitvice National Park. I have stayed in this place before, and it was so cheap that we booked a room each for 2 nights. Not such a bad thing for me as Trish seems to be developing a cold. Hopefully the early night will kick that for touch.

    After we had unpacked, we walked across the road to the entrance. So 6 years ago you could just walk in but be fined if you were there without a ticket. Now it seems that it is more restricted. We bought our tickets for tomorrow a few days ago as it would be unfortunate to have this brilliant accommodation but no reason to be here.

    We went to the local restaurant for dinner and had a lamb bundle which was pretty awesome. Lamb and veges cooked together in a pouch. It was very tender and the waiter was very helpful and quite funny.

    Back at our rooms I was rather surprised to find the tv has Netflix. So I have settled down for a bit more English tv while Trish is having her early night.

    11,730 steps and once again it has been 25 degrees.    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    11
    Päivä 33

    Day 31 Plitvice National Park

    1. lokakuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We had booked our tickets a few days ago for 9am, so that’s when we were at the entrance and ready to go. We had decided to take the shuttle to the top of the park and work our way down so it was a 1km walk to the first shuttle, and we were at the top at around 10am. People do recommend starting from the bottom, but then we would have needed to walk up hill a lot more, and Trisha is still not well so doesn’t have maximum energy levels and I am just a bit slack lol.

    I have been to the park before and had my first day in brilliant sunshine, and the 2nd day in the thickest falling snow I have ever been in, so it was a memorable experience. Today was a bit different with the autumn colours and was a lovely fine day though a bit cool in the morning. We had a great time taking pics and looking at the amazing views. The lakes were very still so the reflections were lovely and there were many many waterfalls. For the first few hours we didn’thave that many people around which was lovely. We did come across a tour guide at a popular point and he said during the summer he hated going to that part because sometimes had to wait for about a hour for 200 people to take many photos.

    We took a boat to P2 around midday and had a lovely burger and chips for lunch. Then took another boat to P3 which was a very serene experience across the quiet lake. We could see people walking the truck on either side. With these lakes you can walk down both sides, and there are a few boardwalks which cross the various lakes so you can change sides. There are a huge number of boardwalks which are about 1.2m wide and so 2 people can’t pass without taking care. When we were near the bottom and the number of people increased there were quite a few selfish people just walking in the middle, or couples that just needed to keep holding hands. I did very well to resist the urge for a sideways nudge, I wonder how many people fall into the lakes? There were some young children and older people which needed support and that was just fine. It was the ones aged around 20 that seemed to be inconsiderate, and that age would have recovered fine from a quick swim!

    So after our walk to the big waterfall, where I tested my confidence with my selfie stick held out horizontally to the cliff, we then had a big hill to climb up and reached the top around 4pm.

    We could have gone back into the park at any time that day, and sort of considered it, but after both lying down for a couple hours watching Netflix, the desire waned. We went back to the same restaurant and Trish had the pasta and I had a really nice grilled chicken dish with roasted veges. Then it was time for more lying down lol.

    We are off to Opatija tomorrow. This is the first night that even though we are moving tomorrow, we don’t have any time restrictions as all we have to do is pop our stuff into the car and drive off. That is sooo nice as opposed to planning to get to a bus or train stop and hour or so before we are due to leave. That certainly has become a bit wearying.

    So 22,305 steps and once again it was 25 degrees.    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Päivä 33

    Day 32 Opatija

    1. lokakuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ 🌙 17 °C

    We had a nice leisurely start to the day and were on the road by 9am. First stop was to be Senj which is a lovely little seaside town, but first we re- traced my steps when I was driving in the snow 6 years ago. At that time google maps was sending me off to the right and I declined the offer as it looked like I would be going off into the hills and thought I would have needed chains for that. Well today I found out that my instincts were correct and indeed I would have been going over a very high hill with few opportunities to turn around. Nice to have that confirmed some time later.

    It was an interesting drive, we chose not to take the highway and it was a bit like driving through nz though the buildings were a bit different. We stopped in Senj but not for very long. As it is Sunday there was not a lot of things open though we did find some sort of gaming lounge with a toilet. The rest of our drive was around the coast and very pretty though the visibility was not clear out miles to sea but was rather a bit misty.

    We got to our hotel at 1.30 and were too early to check in. So we drove off to the one supermarket that was open on a Sunday about 4 kms away. That again was a lovely drive around the coast and we found the most amazing thing there - a lovely roast chicken. This is the first supermarket that we have seen one at and it was a perfect option for lunch with bread and salad which we had once we could check in. We have paid for a parking spot for our car which is around 200m away from the hotel. Parking is at a premium here, and it is good to have a spot available.

    This must be a flash hotel as there is a clothesline above the bath. I have been expecting to see more of these, but this was the first one for this trip. Trish did her washing and then felt a bit knackered so chose to have a lie down while I went out for a walk.

    Opatija is such a beautiful wee town. There is a 12 km walkway which I knew about, but hadn’t expected it to go past lots of swimming spots, restaurants, beach mattresses etc. There were lots of people swimming and the water seemed to be very warm from my quick testing.

    I had my nz t shirt on, and a lady asked me if I was from NZ. Turned out that she was a kiwi but had lived in Dublin for a number of years. She then walked with me for quite a way and we had a nice yak about lots of things. She showed me where the dog beach was and that is simply amazing, it is a fenced off area in a prime location with excellent access to a beach. When we walked back there was an Irish water spaniel there who apparently loves to swim but only when his owners go in. They had just arrived so weren’t ready for a swim just yet.

    Then Trish messaged me and she was ready for a walk so I waited at a spot, my new friend departed and Trish arrived, we walked around this amazing bar and restaurant that had a great water front view and the front of it must have been about 100m in a slightly circular area.

    8,109 steps today for Trish, but I did a few more. And yes once again the temperature was 25. Meant to be a bit hotter tomorrow.    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Päivä 34

    Day 33 Krk Island

    2. lokakuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Trish is doing much better today, but wanted to be able to come back to the hotel if she needed to, so I took off in our Volkswagen car for an explore of Krk island. I didn’t know much about this island except that it had some beaches and a Krk town. So I headed for there after going over the massive bridge that was constructed in response to the tourism demand.

    Krk town was really pretty. I went to an info centre and got a map of the island and then realised that there were many little towns on the coast line and they were all a bit different from each other. I would love to spend a week on the island in a camper van sometime!

    Initially I paid for a park for 90 minutes, walked around the marina and through the town checking out the castle. Then I thought I needed to get back to the car, so did that and drive through the town and saw the perfect park. What was a girl to do? Yep, paid 2 euros and got 2 hours, so plenty of time to find a gelato and buy myself a cute wee momento. I also bought a towel which could be handy over the next few days.

    Then on the road to Baska which is the southernmost town of the island. I had to stop a couple of times to check out the view which was just stunning. There were many marinas along the way. I also found a Roadside fruit stall and bought some green mandarins which were ripe and the most massive pomegranates which were 5 for 8 euro, and I was not able to buy just one. When I opened it later, it was more than a cupful of seeds, to those 5 are going to go a long way.

    When I got to Baska town, there were more parking charges and a walk down to the town and it was really hot so I thought I’d try and find the nudist beach figuring that no one knows me here, and would save getting more clothes wet. Well I didn’t quite get to it and realised there was a long walk from any parking down a hill so I lost my enthusiasm. So then thought I would drive to the Baska beach lookout. The beach is 1.8km long and one of the best beaches in Croatia. I found myself driving past a spare park rather close to the beach so had to stop. Nek minit I am swimming out to a pontoon a fair way out because the water was pretty warm and just so calm. I swam for a while, then got out and just marvelled at the view. Then thought I need to do some sort of selfie - me in my black undies and a sports top was not going to make it on any public page, hence the feet pic.

    I then resumed my drive to the lookout and got a park even closer to the beach but only used it to walk down the path and found the dog swimming part. Croatia is very dog friendly. Earlier in the day I found a water fountain for me to fill up my bottle, and there was also a dog water bowl. All the restaurants provide water bowls for the dogs.

    Then it was one more town for me to stop at, and I chose Malinska as the beach was supposed to be great. In reality I drove down the hill, through the town and back up the hill again. It was getting later and I couldn’t see how it could have been better than what I had done.

    So headed for home, though stopping at a supermarket on the way to get another roast chicken. Yesterday was the first time we had found one at a supermarket and it was amazing tasty. Todays was rather nice as well.

    We have had a quiet evening as Trish had a big day here with lots of walking and a big swim as well.

    She did 18,404 steps. And we had an increase to 27 degrees today. I did a reasonable amount of walking too, all in my crocs which continue to be invaluable!    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Päivä 35

    Day 34 Pula

    3. lokakuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    Trish is feeling much better and was out swimming at 7.30 while I had a much more relaxed morning. We went for a quick walk to see some of the local shops before retrieving our car and making our way to Pula.

    On our way into Pula we saw a decathlon sign, and had to have a visit. Trish bought a nice backpack at the start of our trip which I really liked, my pack has needed some repairs as it has made a number of overseas trips, and I found the same one as hers. I also bought some sox. I brought 3 short pairs and 3 pairs of longer woollen which have not been needed at all except for when the others have needed a wash. Right next door was a Harvey Norman store which I was pretty surprised to see.

    We couldn’t check in until 2pm so went for a bit of a drive around and found a dog beach. In fact it was a lot of lovely little beaches all together so we chose one and went for a swim. It wasn’t as calm as yesterday but the water was very warm so we went in a couple of times. There were little changing booths around which were quite handy.

    We don’t have a car parking spot where we are, but found a parking area not far away but up a hill so I dropped the bags and Trisha off, and tried to make my way back while going the wrong way, meeting up with a concrete mixer, realising how many one way streets there are, and finally getting there and realising I didn’t have any money or cards as my bag was with Trish, duh! So round the block I went again. The parking app was slightly confusing as I had to pay for parking on my phone but luckily a parking inspector walked past and I asked him to check it.

    We are up 2 flights of stairs here, but have a really lovely little room with access to a kitchen as well. Bit of a shame we are only here for one night. Also has a large tv, so we watched a bit more Netflix before going for a walk. Trish went to the amphitheatre which is a bit like the Rome Colosseum while I went for a walk on the waterfront. We then got burgers and chips for dinner and back to our room.

    10,998 steps and 27 degrees.    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Päivä 36

    Day 35 Porec

    4. lokakuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We both woke up pretty early today so were out the door on the way to our car at around 8.30. Then spied a laundromat near the car so thought we would dry our wet washing. Well 20 mins later it wasn’t much drier so we headed on our way to Porec which is 50 kms north on the coast.

    We got there around 10.30 and could leave our car at the hotel but the room wasn’t ready. So we went for a walk beside the sea and saw so many more swimming bays. Also had our second visit to a supermarket for the day where I found some chicken nibbles for lunch and a really nice broccoli savoury.

    Our room was ready by then and is a bit more flash with a balcony, a pool and a whirlpool. We had a rest for a bit, then Trish went out for a walk, and I hired a bike for 3 hours and had fun checking out the coastline. It definitely is not that busy here, and all the resorts are pretty empty so I stopped at one for a couple of swims and their outdoor showers. I talked to a guy from a dive shop who said the water temperature in October is normally well under 20 degrees but today was 22. Apparently they had an awful summer with lots of rain and wind and lots of cancellations. For September and so far for October the weather has been great, but all the people have gone.

    While I was biking, Trish walked around the old town and then had her own swim before taking it easy in the hotel. We chose to have the buffet meal here tonight which was ok, but nothing flash. Best bit was not having to go anywhere for it. We are such party animals!

    So today was our last day by the Adriatic Sea. I never expected to have been swimming so many times. And who knew that crocs made such good buoyancy aids? I wear them into the sea as the bottom is pretty rocky, but then take them off and put my hands in them and just float.

    And tomorrow is feeling like we are starting to head home as we will be leaving Europe the day after.

    14,883 steps for Trish. I did a fair few, biked for a couple of hours and also swum a bit. Temperature 27 degrees    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Päivä 37

    Day 36 Zagreb

    5. lokakuuta 2023, Kroatia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today we had our first hotel breakfast and it was great. Haven't had eggs for a long time so had them boiled and in an omelette. We were on the road as planned before 8 as we had a 3.5 hour drive to Zagreb. Our car was a Volkswagen Tijuana and it was great on cruise control as it automatically would adjust to the speed limit applicable at the time. So sometimes it would brake suddenly to go from 130kph to 60kph and I had to be ready to hold the steering wheel for the quick acceleration back to 130 so that was a bit of fun. After that I dropped Trisha off at our hotel then took the rental car back. When I called a Uber, I ended up in a Tesla which was rather fancy with a screen with a visual of everything around the car including pedestrians.

    We chilled out for a bit, then went out for a walk around the old town. The street with bars and food was quite different to what we have seen for a long time with various street food available. We ended up sharing kotthu which was Sri Lankan and was rather yummy. Then we walked up a hill and Trish went to the Museum of broken relationships, and we caught a furnicular down the hill - would have been good if we had noticed that going up!

    Had a final gelato in Europe on our way back to the hotel, and the spent our evening packing and getting rid of stuff that we have accumulated along the way all ready for our flight to Dubai tomorrow.

    12,819 steps and it was a bit chilly today only reaching 22 degrees. My trackies have come out again!    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    1
    Päivä 39

    Day 37 Travel day

    7. lokakuuta 2023, Yhdistyneet Arabiemiirikunnat ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Well it didn’t need to be just a travel day but that’s what it turned into. We went out and got some goodies for breakfast, watched more Netflix, packed our bags including our extra bag Jony who has joined us to cope with some of our purchases. We packed stuff we cared about less in him in case he got lost.

    A Uber to the airport, I am getting quite hooked on Uber! And we were there at 11.30. When was our flight departing at 3.10, so lots of time. Then got notification that it was delayed and it eventually left at 5pm. So that was 5 hours sitting at the airport and then a 5 hour flight. We went through security early so were limited to some rather uncomfortable seats and limited food options.

    When on the flight I had my fingers crossed as we both had aisle seats and there were singles next to the window. So I was lucky and Trisha was not. But my single by the window didn’t like having to ask me to get up so she could go to the toilet so she left mid flight and sat in the reserved seats at the back. So then Trisha joined me on my side.

    We got to Dubai about midnight and had a long bus ride from the plane to the terminal. Jony had arrived safely so then it was out into the heat and madhouse that was the taxi line, sooo many people and sooo many taxis.

    We are staying in the Swisshotel Al Murooj and it is pretty swanky. We had porters collecting our luggage from the taxi, a nice checkin process seeing as it was nearly 2am by then, and a lovely room with 2 king single beds. We also found that our reservation included breakfast. We booked flights with Flight Centre and the agent suggested this place and booked it for us. We could check in and out late and early and it was only $170 per night and is walking distance to the Dubai Mall.

    So we basically kicked off our clothes and fell into bed!

    9,668 steps, and a nice 22 degrees in Zagreb and an exhausting heatwave of 30 degrees at midnight in Dubai.    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Päivä 39

    Day 38 Dubai

    7. lokakuuta 2023, Yhdistyneet Arabiemiirikunnat ⋅ 🌙 31 °C

    We were both feeling a bit average this morning after the very late night last night but perked up a bit when we saw out amazing buffet breakfast. We both had an omelette made for us on the spot, fruit, I had mini pancakes, and we both had turmeric shots.

    We had to have a wee rest to recover after that and then headed off to the Dubai mall which is supposedly 650m away but felt a lot further when we didn’t know where we were going and it was around 36 degrees by then. We finally made it and loved being in the cool aircon.

    We saw the aquarium, the ice skating rink, the amazing Chinatown where we had yummy stuff for lunch, Trish finally found her self heating eye masks that she started looking for as soon as we started our trip. And she was so impressed with the price that we went to another Mumuso shop and bought 2 more boxes. I went to a croc shop and was very tempted by another version, which still might end up fitting in Jony. I also have been searching for another cell phone cover so saw a few of those. There was also an amazing sweet shop where you could make your own stuffed toys and they had a little train going round with sweets that you could choose, sort of like the sushi shop idea.

    Our legs got pretty knackered with the walking, and there weren’t many seats for sitting down. A lot of the prices were really expensive, but it was nice to look. So back to the hotel we went and by golly it had got a lot hotter. Our room was very nice and cool though. That was around 4pm and time for a swim in the pool. Our room is so cool that even though there is a drying string in the shower, we don’t think our last batch of washing is going to dry very quickly, so took that to the pool with us as well. The pool was very refreshing and on the shady side of the building so wasn’t too hot.

    The first fountain show was at 6pm and we thought we’d would make the 6:30 but trying a different route did not serve us well but we were there by 7 about 3 rows from the front. That show was to Enrique Iglesias’s “Hero”. We then stayed half an hour for the next one and had front row possie to a song in some language other than English. I love watching the fountains, but it was still pretty hot outside and there were loads of people. So we headed off for the supermarket and dinner. I got some of my yummy grenadilla fruits which were expensive but the one I have just eaten was lovely, not like the one I tried in Frankfurt. And for dinner we had to go back to Chinatown because all the food was cooked from fresh and there was great variety, Trisha got dumplings and I had a spicy chicken with fried rice which came with a clear soup.

    So a pretty fun day was had, 11pm is high time for bed for Trish. I have just said that my first few nights at home will be very late nights for me, just cos I can lol.

    18,774 steps and a very hot 39 degrees where we nearly melted.    Lue lisää

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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    11
    Päivä 40

    Day 39 Dubai

    8. lokakuuta 2023, Yhdistyneet Arabiemiirikunnat ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    We did not set an alarm for this morning and didn’t wake up until 8am. So did pretty well being in the taxi by 9.30 and at the miracle gardens by 10. Omg the first thing we saw were the massive grassed horses, 2 of them facing each other just through the entrance. That set the scene for our visit. We walked all around the outside first before crisscrossing through the middle. There were several grass covered exhibits, the horses, 2 elephants, penguins, peacocks and a massive plane with the Emirates logo on the side. We were able to walk up steps to a castle like structure and view things from higher up. The Smurf town was a surprise but very cute with the Smurf music playing. Flowers were everywhere, with heart shaped archways that we walked through. There was a small water feature as well.

    We felt very prepared for our visit with our fans and umbrellas which look great in pics. My umbrella also got borrowed by someone to enhance their pic!

    The surprising thing was the number of vendors around the perimeter selling perfume, scarves, t shirts, roasted corn, fruit drinks, soft toys, games to win soft toys. Also had sideshow areas so well set up for kids. There were lots of places to sit in the shade with alcoves and tables. We did go into one shop for the aircon and had such a nice man not trying to hassle us to buy stuff so Trish ended up buying a scarf.

    We were pleased that we had gone early because it did get incredible hot. Was 39 but Google said it felt like 44 with the humidity and we weren’t disagreeing. So had a lovely ride back in a cool taxi and took cover in our room for a while.

    Then it was time for a swim again. We went earlier today so it was a bit hotter, but there is a huge waterfall feature in the pool which helps to cool all the surrounding area. There was a guy in the pool doing butterfly laps. It was funny when he was trying to tell a family of 5 that their position was impeding his self generated swimming lane. It is a pretty small pool and not really intended for a serious swim but he made the most of it.

    After another small rest in our room, which we love, with the king single beds, and the great aircon! The only tv we get is CNN or BBC and they are both pretty sobering with the crisis in Israel and the earthquake in Afghanistan.

    Then time for the mall. We wanted to get a restaurant table with a view of the fountains, and booked Joe’s Cafe for 6pm. Then there were 3 things I wanted to purchase which I had seen yesterday but decided on later. My crocs, a handheld fan and a phone case. The mall is really huge, but these 3 shops were sort of in a similar place. I was rather impressed that we left the cafe, bought the 3 things and were back within half an hour. Of course then the first show which should have been at 6 didn’t start. But we saw the next 3 shows and had an amazing dinner. Both chose a quinoa and avocado salad and had a dessert.

    It took around half an hour to get back to the hotel. It isn’t a long walk, but we need to go through several sets of lights at an intersection with lots of connecting roads so it takes while.

    15,807 steps and 40 degrees. I am writing this at 10 pm and it is 34 degrees.    Lue lisää

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