Getting close to nature in Croatia...

Warning: This post is a bit longer than previous ones... (been an absolute mission posting the pics so thought we'd make the most of it! )

After leaving Italy, our fears of finding a place to stay in Split were soon eased when about 20 Croatian ladies surrounded us at the port with offers of rooms in their houses. We battled through the crowd, determined to find a better price, and ended up finding a friendly Croatian man, Ivo, who was more than happy to take less, and throw in a welcome beer, so he could lock in guests for the night and head off to the footy.

Split was very beautiful but we were keen to check out the surrounding islands so next stop was Hvar Island. Bolting to only just make the high speed catamaran to get there brought back memories of legging it to the Manly jetcat to work every morning!

We were enchanted by Hvar from the moment we got there. Our planned 3 days quickly turned to 4 after we scored a cool apartment with the view of the sea and a kitchen to satisfy our cravings for home cooking and a bit of red meat! Highlights from Hvar included:

- Sipping cocktails at sunset at bar with the water lapping at our feet and the sounds of funky tunes from a DJ

- Crusing around the town on mountain bikes with dodgy brakes

- Probably the top moment was hiring a little motor boat to cruise around the small islands surrounding Hvar. On the way we passed a nudist island where we observed many nudist activities including the standard sunbathing, but also fishing, sailing and even nude hiking complete with backpack, boots, hiking stick and nothing else!
We found ourselves a secluded bay with noone in sight where we had lunch and decided to follow the locals' lead. Although there was definitely no hiking or fishing involved, it was a very liberating feeling and the whole experience went straight to the top 3 moments of our trip so far.

- We also managed to meet up with some new mates, Caz and Dave, who will be working in our village in the Alps during the season. Had a great lunch and swim with them and got the lowdown on life on the slopes. It's great to already have some friends before we even start work.

After Hvar we went to Korcula Island, famous for its dessert wine. Great town and very picturesque but a bit tainted by a full on bearded lady who ripped us off when we were buying our standard breakfast fruit. We were so taken a back by the wealth of hair on her face we didn't question it when she charged us $20 for some grapes and nectarines!

Our last stop was Dubrovnik, a beautiful ancient walled city right on the water. Amazing to think it was war ridden just 14 years ago. Apparenty during the war of 1991 with former Yugoslavia 70% of the buildings in the old city had at least one direct hit although you wouldn't know it looking at it now.

We have been very blessed to have great weather to finish our time by the sea. After a great week we are very keen to come back to the Dalmatian coast again. Maybe even cruise the coast on a yacht with a bunch of mates ...Kang charters perhaps ??!

Next stop Slovenia...


Scenic coast of Hvar Island, Croatia.

Port of Hvar from the ancient fort which towers above.

Hvar Island by night.

Em catching a few more rays on the rocks.

Bikin' it through Hvar.
The cruisy bar in Hvar where we watched the sunset with beers, funky tunes and swing chairs.

The skipper (sorry AY!)

Cheeky shot of GP getting into the local spirit in a secluded cove off Hvar.

Our new alpine mates, Caz and Dave enjoying our favourite beachside bar in Hvar.

Korcula Island, Croatia.
Em on top of the wall surrounding Dubrovnik.

spaggetti, sunsets and stracciatella

Just arrived on the shores of Croatia after a great week in Italy. A couple of highlights from the week just gone....

After arriving in an ugly port town of Livorno we had no idea where we were going and no idea how to get there. We were lucky enough to land ourselves on a bus full of friendly italians who quickly took up the task of directing us, in italian, to stay on the bus when we were about to hop off. Just when we thought we were about to end up in another industrial port city, the bus turned a corner, the sun came out and we arrived in a beautiful beach side town called San Torenzo in La Spezia. 45 euro later we scored a great room overlooking the sea - see the pic below!

After San Torenzo we met up with Jen and Forta in the stunning Cinque Terra. We spent 3 days living it up with: a 2 bedder apartment complete with balcony overlooking the town; numerous lunches and dinners out; lots of gelato; plenty of swimming, rock jumping, and walking the "Via del Amore". It was great to catch up with some friends from home and there were plenty of laughs. Certainly a taste of "la dolce vita" as the italians say - the good life!

A couple of quirks of italian life...

We decided we might bling it up on a beach in San Torenzo where you pay to lie on sunbeds at a private beach. That was until we found out it would cost $25 each for the privledge!

Italians do definitely fit their stereotype of style gurus with everyone styling it up from Nonnas (italian grandmas) through to bambinos, policeman and even the ticket collectors. Big shades, open collars and white suits are definitely in! We even managed to bump into a Miss Italia contest on the street one night (much to Gav's delight!).

The emphasis on style and all things nice definitely does not translate in the toilets! there is nothing worse than busting for the toilet, finally managing to find one, opening the door only to find.... another dirty squat toilet with no toilet paper! worst invention in the world ever!

The other thing about italy is that you don't have to go to a night club here to be hit up with cover charge... they have this lovely thing called "coperto" (translated in english as cover charge) which is charged at most restraunts and can be as much as A$5 per person. As a result we havent been leaving many xtra tips though italy!!

The last one would be the italian church bells. seem lovely and romantic at first, but when then they ring every hour, ringing 12 times for 12 o'clock etc, 24 hrs a day, it can start to get a little painfull. they even give a celebrity ring on the half hour, just to keep things interesting!! Forta was a particularly big fan, and it always made for funny breakfast conversation.



Gav walking the streets of Bologna (the home of spaggetti bolognese!)

Riomaggiore, Cinque Terra, Italy
The Forts and Peacocks doing the via del amore in 5 Terra
Fort and Gav taking the plunge in 5 Terra
Sunset drinks in Cinque Terra

Em in San Torenzo
view from our room in San Torenzo

Nothing 'boaring' about la Corse...

On our last night here in Corsica and have had a great five days on the island although a little hampered by the weather and injuries! Had a great time swimming in the clear turquoise waters and exploring cliff-side towns.

Unfortunately the sneaky little steps that seem to be everywhere here in Europe finally got the better of me (Em) and I had a very embarassing stack in a very short skirt which drew many cries of 'ooh la la' and has left me hobbling around a bit over the last few days - bit of a dud when you're on an island full of great hikes and water activities!

They were definitely right when they said the beaches can be pretty untouched here. We spent about an hour hiking down a cliff (me hopping) to one particular beach only to find that it was so windy it was kinda like a sandstorm in the sahara desert when we finally got down there! At least it was pretty empty!

The gale force winds on the coast which are apparently common here in September (for some reason no guide books seem to mention this...) forced us into the centre of the island to Corte for a few days of chilling in the rain, catching up on emails, sampling the local Pietra beer and trying the local delicasy - stewed wild boar. It's surprisingly good!

View of the beach we are swiming in below.


Gav working it in the budgie-smugglers!

Turquiose coastline of Bonifacio, Corsica. You can see the old town on the cliffs in the distance.

The very tight road we drove on to get to a hike near Corte - the centre line was very token as there is only really room for one car!

Some of the scenery from our short hike.

Adventures in the alps

Looking out from an ancient fort build into the cliff face, La Roque Gageac

Cruising down the Dordogne river in a canoe, all downstream with a bus to bring you back!

La Roque Gageac, Dordongne region, France - spent a few nights here


After a long long drive today we are finally in Nice and getting pretty excited about heading to Corsica early tomorrow for a week of relaxing on the beach before hooking up with the Forts in Cinque Terra, Italy.

The last week of travelling through France has been pretty awesome and we've been totally astounded by the range of spectacular scenery. We are loving this country!

From the Dordogne region we headed over to the Alps last Friday to do our much anticipated cooking interview for our chalet couple role for the coming winter season. Bit of a stress having to cook a 3 course meal for 11 people, mostly seasoned chalet hosts, a chef, the potential bosses and a range of their French friends!!

Much to the answer of our prayers it all went well and we have now secured a job for the season!! When it rains it pours, because we were actually offered 3 jobs within a week but the winner for us was with the company we just did the cooking interview with. So we are all lined up for the season, cooking and hosting for 16 people 6 nights a week, between just the two of us. not sure if thats great news now come to think of it.....!

But the mountain is fantastic with loads of off piste runs, the resort is very beautiful, the company seems really friendly, and the chalet we will be managing looks great. The other good news is that we get our own appartment for the season right next to the ski lifts which we are hoping will be able to host any of you guys who would like to come stay with us. (not quite 5 star though!) if you're after the 5 star treatment however, you are more than welcome to book into our chalet for a week and we can cook and clean after you - family and friends get discounts apparently.

For more details check out http://www.skihiver.co.uk/
we will be looking after Chalet Bellcote in Les Arcs.

Chalet Bellcote, Plan Peisey, France (in Les Arc resort)
Another pic of 'our' chalet for the season... check out the view!
Classic lunch baguette picnic by the side of the road
a shot we took on the long drive from the Alps to Nice today (around Provence) - if you look carefully there is a pretty massive church built right on top of the huge mountain.