I have finally uploaded all the photos from my girlie trip to Croatia and Italy, plus many of my photos from the Baltic states and Poland.
Here are the Croatia/Italy ones
And here are some of my Eastern Europe ones
Enjoy!
Monday, November 28, 2005
Friday, November 25, 2005
Girlie roadtrip
As promised, here is an update on the rest of my girlie roadtrip, which I promise, will make you giggle, yearn, and feel educated. Not a bad reward for reading all I have to write, eh?!
Croatian ramparts and picnics
I love the word 'ramparts'. Its funnier the more times you say it, plus I love the imagery that it conjures: castles, ancient cities, knights defending their people, etc. So it was with excited expectations that Kath, Melli and I prepared for our rampart walk in Dubrovnik. Apparently it was the most celebrated attraction in Dubrovnik, and we were blessed with a summer-perfect blinding-blue-skied day to traverse the walls. As you can see from these photos, it was a rather spectacular day...
It was an especially special day, for many reasons: firstly, it was Melli's first time in a European city, and it was a joy to see her awe at the stunning harbour, old monuments, and mediterranean ambience. Secondly, for all of us, it was the first time in a very long time we had been in warm weather, and boy, did we relish it!
And lastly, it was the first sunny day of our trip, and it was filled with the excitement and anticipation of many more days together.
Two amazing things happened that day. Firstly, we had the perfect picnic: we bought delicious snacks, including capsicum paste and olive tapenade, tuna, crackers, brie, and wine, and sat down to dine on a deserted pebble beach in the late afternoon sun.
Words were not only unnecessary, but incompetent, to describe the glorious sensation of that golden afternoon. Here are some photos which capture some of the magic:
The other amazing thing was that we discovered the best way to cover all we wanted to see wasn't on a bus, but in our own car. In the space of a few hours, we had planned an itinerary, taken our car, and hit the road on the way to Hvar. The drive up was spectacular: coastal scenery, sunset, and filled with songs and games.
Our weekend
We caught a car ferry to Hvar, and found ourselves in the picturesque but very very quiet island town. It did, however, give us one of the best meals on the trip, a seafood platter bursting with freshness.
We then caught another car ferry, this time to Split in the north of Croatia, purely (this is rather sad in retrospect) because we had heard there was excellent clubbing to be had there. It was a Saturday night, and after experiencing the ghost towns that were Dubrovnik and Hvar at night, we were desperate for some excitement and city pulse. We were so ramped up for a big night out, that we spent four hours getting ready... showers, hair, dress-ups, accessorising, pre-party drinks, i-pod dancing in our hotel... it was tremendous fun, and we were in very high spirits for our destined night out.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. Oh yes, there was a pulse and some very busy nightclubs (we went to three), but they all without exception played Croatian polka music. We stood in awe and watched hundreds of beautifully attired Croatians squeal and dance wildly to music that we just didn't get. We tried, but we just couldn't find muster enthusiasum for music that we just didn't get. With dejected sighs, we returned, fruitless, to our hotel and went to bed.
Bosnian surprise
The next day contained one of the hardest yet most rewarding days of driving we had experienced.
It was a seven hour drive from Split to Sarajevo, and with the sun setting at this time of year at 5pm, it meant that we drove for several hours in the dark. And despite my usually impeccable map reading skills, I unfortunately managed to get us lost a few times, which added much time (and a little stress) to our journey. But oh my, was it beautiful... Bosnia was a totally unexpected joy. Sweeping mountains, lush valleys, breathtaking lakes, and most moving of all, house after house riddled with recent bullets and shells. We had been warned by our guidebook not to walk off paved roads, as the threat of landmines is still very real. This combination of beauty and peril seared Bosnia into all our hearts.
Sarajevo was very much worth a seven hour drive to reach. Not only is it a very pretty bustling city, but it oozes history. On this bridge, Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was shot, which was the event that triggered World War 1. You can visit the Holiday Inn, which was the centre of world journalisn during the recent war, and its particularly scary to visit, as you have to walk down a highway that was dubbed 'Sniper Alley' during the war, due to the number of deaths by Serbian snipers shooting from the nearby hills. Its so eerie to walk down a street that 10 years ago saw so much violence and brutality. We gawked at the number of bullet-ridden buildings, it was actually a shock to see one that wasn't damaged. We became so fascinated by this recent history that we all bought books on the history and politics of the war, and read furiously for days about the psychology, rationale (what little there was), and effect of the war.
In summary - if you are interested (I didn't know any of this beforehand, its so fascinating!): Bosnia has always been a very multicultural country, accommodating Christian Croats, Orthodox Serbs, Muslim Bosnians, plus other national groups like Albanians and Montenegrans. Generally they lived quite harmoniously, operating within the concept of 'merhamet', a muslim term meaning unity, forgiveness, tolerance. However, during World War II, nationalist feelings were stirred, and there were horrific atrocities incurred upon millions by fellow Slavs, ie. Croats killing Bosnians, Serbs killing Croats, etc. Almost everyone lost a family member during this war. Once peace was declared, what should have happened was that the people should have had the space to mourn their loss and deal with the underlying issues that caused the civil violence. However, what actually happened was Communism was declared by President Tito, and for 40 years, no other narrative was permitted to describe history other than what his government permitted, that is, that the War was a partisan victory that created this great Yugoslavia. Anyone that even hinted at believing any other history was executed or imprisoned, in typical Communist crowd-control style. So for 40 years, everything was bottled up, and there was a forced peace amongst the national groups.
This all lasted until Tito died. Then Nationalist groups reformed in an attempt to gain control of Yugoslavia, and in their political machinations, used the unresolved anger and hatred from 40 years ago to stir emotions. This was done particularly well by the Serbian government, who used a platform of paranoia and supremacy to make all Serbians, plus Serbs living in Croatia and Bosnia, feel they should unite and defend themselves against possible attack by other Slavs. Much of this hysteria was kept secret, so that when their (as they saw it) pre-emptive attack on Bosnia began, it was a complete surprise. In the space of a month, everything changed: one day you have a neighbour who invites you to dinner, or a best man at your wedding; in a few weeks, he is now arresting and torturing you. It was literally that swift, and that betraying. I won't go into detail as to the atrocities that were committed, but both Melli and I were repeatedly sickened while reading our books, to discover what humans could inflict not only upon other humans, but most disturbingly, on their former friends, colleagues, neighbours.
The United Nations didn't step in til very late in the war, and then initially all they did was evacuate women and children from the supposed 'UN Safe Zone', leaving 20,000 men to be summarily slaughtered by the Serbs in one day. Sarajevo was a city under seige: surrounded on 3 sides by Serbs, and on one side by the United Nations who were deliberately not getting involved as part of their deal with the Serbs. The only way they could get weapons or food was by a secret tunnet they built under the airport. We actually visited this tunnel, now called the Tunnel Museum, under a non-descript house at the end of a non-descript country alley (it took us AGES to find, as it was all so necessarily non-descript). We talked with the ex-soldier who lives in the house, and to my dying days I'll remember his face when he answered my question of "What was it like living here during the war?" with "You could never understand, and if you could understand, you would never forget." After reading about some of the atrocities committed in the concentration camps, I began to understand, and sure enough, its burnt into my mind forever, making me a little older, a little more jaded.
End of roadtrip
We eventually drove back to Dubrovnik via a little Bosnian village called Mostar, famous for its bridge that was demolished in the war, and recently rebuilt, a sign of rebirth and hope in a torn country. Back in Dubrovnik, we finished off the girlie roadtrip with a bit of a midnight dip in the cold Croatian ocean, with very little on! ;-) Very fun!
So there you go: did I live up to my promise? Have you smiled a little, yearned a little, and educated you a little? Its what we all got out of our adventure!
Croatian ramparts and picnicsI love the word 'ramparts'. Its funnier the more times you say it, plus I love the imagery that it conjures: castles, ancient cities, knights defending their people, etc. So it was with excited expectations that Kath, Melli and I prepared for our rampart walk in Dubrovnik. Apparently it was the most celebrated attraction in Dubrovnik, and we were blessed with a summer-perfect blinding-blue-skied day to traverse the walls. As you can see from these photos, it was a rather spectacular day...
It was an especially special day, for many reasons: firstly, it was Melli's first time in a European city, and it was a joy to see her awe at the stunning harbour, old monuments, and mediterranean ambience. Secondly, for all of us, it was the first time in a very long time we had been in warm weather, and boy, did we relish it!
And lastly, it was the first sunny day of our trip, and it was filled with the excitement and anticipation of many more days together.Two amazing things happened that day. Firstly, we had the perfect picnic: we bought delicious snacks, including capsicum paste and olive tapenade, tuna, crackers, brie, and wine, and sat down to dine on a deserted pebble beach in the late afternoon sun.
Words were not only unnecessary, but incompetent, to describe the glorious sensation of that golden afternoon. Here are some photos which capture some of the magic:
The other amazing thing was that we discovered the best way to cover all we wanted to see wasn't on a bus, but in our own car. In the space of a few hours, we had planned an itinerary, taken our car, and hit the road on the way to Hvar. The drive up was spectacular: coastal scenery, sunset, and filled with songs and games.
Our weekendWe caught a car ferry to Hvar, and found ourselves in the picturesque but very very quiet island town. It did, however, give us one of the best meals on the trip, a seafood platter bursting with freshness.
We then caught another car ferry, this time to Split in the north of Croatia, purely (this is rather sad in retrospect) because we had heard there was excellent clubbing to be had there. It was a Saturday night, and after experiencing the ghost towns that were Dubrovnik and Hvar at night, we were desperate for some excitement and city pulse. We were so ramped up for a big night out, that we spent four hours getting ready... showers, hair, dress-ups, accessorising, pre-party drinks, i-pod dancing in our hotel... it was tremendous fun, and we were in very high spirits for our destined night out.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. Oh yes, there was a pulse and some very busy nightclubs (we went to three), but they all without exception played Croatian polka music. We stood in awe and watched hundreds of beautifully attired Croatians squeal and dance wildly to music that we just didn't get. We tried, but we just couldn't find muster enthusiasum for music that we just didn't get. With dejected sighs, we returned, fruitless, to our hotel and went to bed.
Bosnian surprise
The next day contained one of the hardest yet most rewarding days of driving we had experienced.
It was a seven hour drive from Split to Sarajevo, and with the sun setting at this time of year at 5pm, it meant that we drove for several hours in the dark. And despite my usually impeccable map reading skills, I unfortunately managed to get us lost a few times, which added much time (and a little stress) to our journey. But oh my, was it beautiful... Bosnia was a totally unexpected joy. Sweeping mountains, lush valleys, breathtaking lakes, and most moving of all, house after house riddled with recent bullets and shells. We had been warned by our guidebook not to walk off paved roads, as the threat of landmines is still very real. This combination of beauty and peril seared Bosnia into all our hearts.Sarajevo was very much worth a seven hour drive to reach. Not only is it a very pretty bustling city, but it oozes history. On this bridge, Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand was shot, which was the event that triggered World War 1. You can visit the Holiday Inn, which was the centre of world journalisn during the recent war, and its particularly scary to visit, as you have to walk down a highway that was dubbed 'Sniper Alley' during the war, due to the number of deaths by Serbian snipers shooting from the nearby hills. Its so eerie to walk down a street that 10 years ago saw so much violence and brutality. We gawked at the number of bullet-ridden buildings, it was actually a shock to see one that wasn't damaged. We became so fascinated by this recent history that we all bought books on the history and politics of the war, and read furiously for days about the psychology, rationale (what little there was), and effect of the war.
In summary - if you are interested (I didn't know any of this beforehand, its so fascinating!): Bosnia has always been a very multicultural country, accommodating Christian Croats, Orthodox Serbs, Muslim Bosnians, plus other national groups like Albanians and Montenegrans. Generally they lived quite harmoniously, operating within the concept of 'merhamet', a muslim term meaning unity, forgiveness, tolerance. However, during World War II, nationalist feelings were stirred, and there were horrific atrocities incurred upon millions by fellow Slavs, ie. Croats killing Bosnians, Serbs killing Croats, etc. Almost everyone lost a family member during this war. Once peace was declared, what should have happened was that the people should have had the space to mourn their loss and deal with the underlying issues that caused the civil violence. However, what actually happened was Communism was declared by President Tito, and for 40 years, no other narrative was permitted to describe history other than what his government permitted, that is, that the War was a partisan victory that created this great Yugoslavia. Anyone that even hinted at believing any other history was executed or imprisoned, in typical Communist crowd-control style. So for 40 years, everything was bottled up, and there was a forced peace amongst the national groups.
This all lasted until Tito died. Then Nationalist groups reformed in an attempt to gain control of Yugoslavia, and in their political machinations, used the unresolved anger and hatred from 40 years ago to stir emotions. This was done particularly well by the Serbian government, who used a platform of paranoia and supremacy to make all Serbians, plus Serbs living in Croatia and Bosnia, feel they should unite and defend themselves against possible attack by other Slavs. Much of this hysteria was kept secret, so that when their (as they saw it) pre-emptive attack on Bosnia began, it was a complete surprise. In the space of a month, everything changed: one day you have a neighbour who invites you to dinner, or a best man at your wedding; in a few weeks, he is now arresting and torturing you. It was literally that swift, and that betraying. I won't go into detail as to the atrocities that were committed, but both Melli and I were repeatedly sickened while reading our books, to discover what humans could inflict not only upon other humans, but most disturbingly, on their former friends, colleagues, neighbours.
The United Nations didn't step in til very late in the war, and then initially all they did was evacuate women and children from the supposed 'UN Safe Zone', leaving 20,000 men to be summarily slaughtered by the Serbs in one day. Sarajevo was a city under seige: surrounded on 3 sides by Serbs, and on one side by the United Nations who were deliberately not getting involved as part of their deal with the Serbs. The only way they could get weapons or food was by a secret tunnet they built under the airport. We actually visited this tunnel, now called the Tunnel Museum, under a non-descript house at the end of a non-descript country alley (it took us AGES to find, as it was all so necessarily non-descript). We talked with the ex-soldier who lives in the house, and to my dying days I'll remember his face when he answered my question of "What was it like living here during the war?" with "You could never understand, and if you could understand, you would never forget." After reading about some of the atrocities committed in the concentration camps, I began to understand, and sure enough, its burnt into my mind forever, making me a little older, a little more jaded.
End of roadtrip
We eventually drove back to Dubrovnik via a little Bosnian village called Mostar, famous for its bridge that was demolished in the war, and recently rebuilt, a sign of rebirth and hope in a torn country. Back in Dubrovnik, we finished off the girlie roadtrip with a bit of a midnight dip in the cold Croatian ocean, with very little on! ;-) Very fun!
So there you go: did I live up to my promise? Have you smiled a little, yearned a little, and educated you a little? Its what we all got out of our adventure!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
"Why are you here now?!"
Apologies, I am seriously delayed in my blog writing, to the point now where to avoid being scared off the duty of updating everything appropriately, I will have to update some things mediocrely.
Summary
To summarise the last 13 days briefly, I flew on three flights to get from Krakow to Dubrovnik (insane, I know), to meet my best friend Mellissa and her other best friend Kathleen for our long awaited girlie holiday. The plan was to spend 8 days in Croatia, then two weeks in southern Italy. But plans, thankfully, tend to act only as a basis for changing things around, as after two nights in Dubrovnik, we decided to have a bit of a roadtrip.
I love nothing better than a roadtrip. Me, a map, and the winding Slavic roads. There is nothing like it.
We began driving up the coast from Dubrovnik towards a town from which we supposedly could catch a car ferry to an island called Hvar. It was a completely delightful drive up the Dalmatian coast, with a sunset-painted glittering sea and huge jutting islands always to our left. Kathleen proved to be an incredible driver, despite it being her first time driving on the right-hand side of the road. We girls sang songs, played word games, told stories... it was everything you would imagine a girlie roadtrip to be, and it was fabulous.
Our Guardian Angel
Earlier that day I had made a rather strange purchase of, and I kid you not, a Christmas decoration in the shape of an angel made entirely out of different kinds of gold-painted pasta. It seemed quirky and it took my fancy. We christened her Gabrielle, and she became our mascot. We hung her in the position normally commanded by fluffy dice - off the rear view mirror - and we asked for her blessings often. She didn't let us down.
We made it to the town with the car ferry 30 minutes before the last ferry of the night was to leave, Gabrielle clearly helping us out there. As we were waiting in the dodgy tiny port bar, the song 'Needing You' came on the radio, which until that time - and for all the time afterwards - was playing cheesy Croatian classics... Very unexpected, and made all the more spooky by the fact that its Melli's all time favourite dance song, and has incredible memories associated it involving us dancing together when we were younger. We had a bit of a dance in the dodgy bar, I don't think the ancient men sitting in the corner had ever seen such activity in that bar! This got us talking about what song would affect the rest of us equally, and I of course said my song was 'Silence' by Delerium.... hold that thought...
We eventually got onto the car ferry, and onto Hvar. Hvar was described as being beautiful and chilled, so we were looking forward to seeing it. However, once off the ferry, it took us so long to get to the main town. The roads were narrow, windy, and it was dark. We couldn't see what was in the darkness off the edge of every hairpin curve, and perhaps that was a good thing... We all started to get car sick and dizzy with the drive, but eventually, by 10pm, we made it to the main town, and found a nice little B&B to stay in. Exhausted but hungry, we drove into the main square to find food, only to find everything shut by this time, and the town deserted. This was to be a common theme for the rest of our trip: if we were here in summer, it would be heaving, but in the off-season, everything shuts down. Dishearted, we returned to our hostel to eat leftover groceries, watching the TV as we ate. Imagine our shock when the movie we were watching suddenly played 'Silence' by Delerium... in the space of a few hours, both my and Melli's favourite songs ever were played in unexpected surroundings... we took this as a good sign!
Loads more lucky coincidences happened to us... buses that were unusually late meaning we were in time to catch it, the right person passing us at the right time to help us when we were lost, etc. We were constantly thanking Gabrielle for her divine blessings!
Empty or shut!
However, there were many areas we were not so blessed. The main one was our pursuit for a good ol' dance. We kept spending a few hours getting ready, doing our research, hitting the town, only to be thwarted each and every time. It has now become a bit of a joke. In Dubrovnik it was mid-week and off-season so everywhere was closed or empty. In Hvar, it was mid-week and off-season so it was a ghost town. In Split (where we went after Hvar purely to go out) it was a Friday night, but each place we went to (and we went to three) was either empty or playing hard-core Croatian polka music. In Bosnia it was busy but we were so tired after an 8 hour drive we were in bed by 9pm, despite it being a Saturday night. Back in Dubrovnik we found some people to go out with, but the bars were totally empty and they were playing easy-listening favourites to encourage people to leave. In Naples, everything was deserted. In Capri we tried three places as it was a Friday night - all shut for the season. We went back to Naples last night, convinced we would finally be lucky: it was a big city on a Saturday night, SURELY something must be happening!! Well, we did find a happening place: it was full, the music was ok, and excitedly we approached the bar to buy our first celebratory drink. I ordered two tequila shots, and the bargirl said it was 20 Euros. I thought I misheard, and asked again, but yes, she was saying it was 20 Euros... I gasped in disbelief, and told Melli. She gasped and asked me to make sure, so I asked a third time... and it turns out I was wrong, it was 20 Euros for one, that is, it was 40 Euros for two shots of tequila!! We must have had the funniest look of shock on our faces! We made our apologies and left the bar drinkless. Without a drink, the club lost its allure: it was overcrowded and full of rude jostling people, and the music had become folkish. So we left. Every place we tried afterwards was either similarly priced or empty. Finally we found a place that seemed to be playing good house music, and had people inside... so for 30 glorious minutes, we danced, until the club shut.
It was galling and frustrating to continually psyche ourselves up for a fun night, and to be consequently disappointed. Amusingly, the one thing we were constantly asked at each point in our quest by people we asked for help, was "Why are you here?"... They didn't seem to believe we would choose to come to Croatia and Italy in November for a holiday, and we began to understand why.
Anyway, enough rambling for now... still got loads more to cover, but you are probably all drifting to sleep now. Next entry I will describe the life-changing experience that was Sarajevo, the Italian pout, our exploration of Pompeii, and more!
Summary
To summarise the last 13 days briefly, I flew on three flights to get from Krakow to Dubrovnik (insane, I know), to meet my best friend Mellissa and her other best friend Kathleen for our long awaited girlie holiday. The plan was to spend 8 days in Croatia, then two weeks in southern Italy. But plans, thankfully, tend to act only as a basis for changing things around, as after two nights in Dubrovnik, we decided to have a bit of a roadtrip.
I love nothing better than a roadtrip. Me, a map, and the winding Slavic roads. There is nothing like it.
We began driving up the coast from Dubrovnik towards a town from which we supposedly could catch a car ferry to an island called Hvar. It was a completely delightful drive up the Dalmatian coast, with a sunset-painted glittering sea and huge jutting islands always to our left. Kathleen proved to be an incredible driver, despite it being her first time driving on the right-hand side of the road. We girls sang songs, played word games, told stories... it was everything you would imagine a girlie roadtrip to be, and it was fabulous.
Our Guardian Angel
Earlier that day I had made a rather strange purchase of, and I kid you not, a Christmas decoration in the shape of an angel made entirely out of different kinds of gold-painted pasta. It seemed quirky and it took my fancy. We christened her Gabrielle, and she became our mascot. We hung her in the position normally commanded by fluffy dice - off the rear view mirror - and we asked for her blessings often. She didn't let us down.
We made it to the town with the car ferry 30 minutes before the last ferry of the night was to leave, Gabrielle clearly helping us out there. As we were waiting in the dodgy tiny port bar, the song 'Needing You' came on the radio, which until that time - and for all the time afterwards - was playing cheesy Croatian classics... Very unexpected, and made all the more spooky by the fact that its Melli's all time favourite dance song, and has incredible memories associated it involving us dancing together when we were younger. We had a bit of a dance in the dodgy bar, I don't think the ancient men sitting in the corner had ever seen such activity in that bar! This got us talking about what song would affect the rest of us equally, and I of course said my song was 'Silence' by Delerium.... hold that thought...
We eventually got onto the car ferry, and onto Hvar. Hvar was described as being beautiful and chilled, so we were looking forward to seeing it. However, once off the ferry, it took us so long to get to the main town. The roads were narrow, windy, and it was dark. We couldn't see what was in the darkness off the edge of every hairpin curve, and perhaps that was a good thing... We all started to get car sick and dizzy with the drive, but eventually, by 10pm, we made it to the main town, and found a nice little B&B to stay in. Exhausted but hungry, we drove into the main square to find food, only to find everything shut by this time, and the town deserted. This was to be a common theme for the rest of our trip: if we were here in summer, it would be heaving, but in the off-season, everything shuts down. Dishearted, we returned to our hostel to eat leftover groceries, watching the TV as we ate. Imagine our shock when the movie we were watching suddenly played 'Silence' by Delerium... in the space of a few hours, both my and Melli's favourite songs ever were played in unexpected surroundings... we took this as a good sign!
Loads more lucky coincidences happened to us... buses that were unusually late meaning we were in time to catch it, the right person passing us at the right time to help us when we were lost, etc. We were constantly thanking Gabrielle for her divine blessings!
Empty or shut!
However, there were many areas we were not so blessed. The main one was our pursuit for a good ol' dance. We kept spending a few hours getting ready, doing our research, hitting the town, only to be thwarted each and every time. It has now become a bit of a joke. In Dubrovnik it was mid-week and off-season so everywhere was closed or empty. In Hvar, it was mid-week and off-season so it was a ghost town. In Split (where we went after Hvar purely to go out) it was a Friday night, but each place we went to (and we went to three) was either empty or playing hard-core Croatian polka music. In Bosnia it was busy but we were so tired after an 8 hour drive we were in bed by 9pm, despite it being a Saturday night. Back in Dubrovnik we found some people to go out with, but the bars were totally empty and they were playing easy-listening favourites to encourage people to leave. In Naples, everything was deserted. In Capri we tried three places as it was a Friday night - all shut for the season. We went back to Naples last night, convinced we would finally be lucky: it was a big city on a Saturday night, SURELY something must be happening!! Well, we did find a happening place: it was full, the music was ok, and excitedly we approached the bar to buy our first celebratory drink. I ordered two tequila shots, and the bargirl said it was 20 Euros. I thought I misheard, and asked again, but yes, she was saying it was 20 Euros... I gasped in disbelief, and told Melli. She gasped and asked me to make sure, so I asked a third time... and it turns out I was wrong, it was 20 Euros for one, that is, it was 40 Euros for two shots of tequila!! We must have had the funniest look of shock on our faces! We made our apologies and left the bar drinkless. Without a drink, the club lost its allure: it was overcrowded and full of rude jostling people, and the music had become folkish. So we left. Every place we tried afterwards was either similarly priced or empty. Finally we found a place that seemed to be playing good house music, and had people inside... so for 30 glorious minutes, we danced, until the club shut.
It was galling and frustrating to continually psyche ourselves up for a fun night, and to be consequently disappointed. Amusingly, the one thing we were constantly asked at each point in our quest by people we asked for help, was "Why are you here?"... They didn't seem to believe we would choose to come to Croatia and Italy in November for a holiday, and we began to understand why.
Anyway, enough rambling for now... still got loads more to cover, but you are probably all drifting to sleep now. Next entry I will describe the life-changing experience that was Sarajevo, the Italian pout, our exploration of Pompeii, and more!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
When two princesses travel...
In Russia on my tour, I met Tanya. We could very well have been sisters, we were so similar. We kept discovering uncanny similarities between ourselves - we had similar histories, similar personalities, similar penchants. She was a Canadian from Vancouver who came to London for adventure and a new start a few years ago, and despite the many challenges that London threw at her, she persevered and built a fabulous life for herself. She is very much a princess, like me, we both travel with luxury beauty items, put make-up on each morning, like nice things in life, but also like me, we can put up with a few inconveniences for the sake of travelling and adventure. We immediately clicked and became bosom buddies during Russia.
But it was after Russia that our friendship truly blossomed. We discovered we had similar travel plans after Russia, so decided to pair up and explore Eastern Europe together. I could not have asked for a better companion. She organised my accommodation in Estonia, emailed me with 'Tanya's Travel Tips' to help me catch a bus to Tallinn, and taught me how to budget and the importance of living cheaply while backpacking. We had such fun giggling and chatting together, playing games, sorting out accommodation and transportation... she was bubbly and vibrant, with a toughness and inner will that belied her pretty petite exterior. She was so little, but with the most voracious appetite I have ever seen... she HAD to be fed every few hours or her spikes would come out, and she would devour a plate of food before I had swallowed my first bite.
The most amazing thing though was how well she put up with my little travelling idiosyncracies... those who know me know precisely what I am referring to. My dithering, my ditziness in the face of stress, my lack of common sense at times, my clumsiness, my need to walk back and forth between my bag, the bathroom, my bed and back to my bag again about five times before I find everything I am looking for. I drive myself nuts, I don't know how others put up with me, yet Tanya did, with an occasional well-deserved growl in my direction. She kept me on track and in line, and I adored her.
I just wanted to write this piece in thanks for such a great new friend and travel companion. I left Tanya in Krakow after an extremely ditzy unorganised morning, and it was hurried and sweaty, and left me feeling I didn't do our relationship justice by such a swift farewell as I scurried to the airport. I felt a sincere welling of emotion as my taxi pulled away and she waved me goodbye outside our hostel. I fondly remembered our recent adventures:
- Squealing as we travelled the cable car up the Zakopane mountain top
- Dragging her to four clubs in one night, despite her protests, and eventually taking her to her first gay club!
- Training her to appreciate and like red wine
- Our extremely decadent last dinner together, at the finest restaurant in Krakow, and being served by men in tuxedos while we wore hiking boots and jeans
- Trying to make sense of the Polish rain system together
- Our double breakfasts, double lunches, double dinners... generally at the ubiquitous Double Coffee cafe chain
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