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Archive for January, 2008

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Discovering Cinque Terre

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

It’s hard to believe now, but five years ago I had never heard of Cinque Terre. My friend and I were sitting in the dining area of our hostel in Florence, going over our itinerary for our jaunt down to Rome and the Amalfi Coast, after which we’d head up to Milan with a pit stop in Pisa before returning home. We were trying to decide what hostel in Milan to grace with our presence when a guy plopped down across the table from us. We’d never seen him before, but that didn’t matter because in youth hostels everyone becomes instant friends. It is a law of the traveling backpacker. So we told him where we were headed. “No, no, no,” he said in dismay. “You have to cut out Milan – it’s just fashion and business people, anyway – and go to the Cinque Terre.” To which we responded in confusion, “um…Chingkay what?” [read on]

Posted in Italy | 1 Comment »

Croatian Agriturismo

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

When you’re traveling I can’t recommend staying in an agriturismo enough. Agriturismos are farms that offer accommodation to travelers. Usually, you can partake in part of the daily farm activities as well. Some, of course, are better than others, but if you’re lucky you’ll find one that is extremely affordable and really lets you experience the culture of another country.

The one my family and I stayed at in Croatia was pure bliss. We chose it because it was the only place we could find that seemed to be right where my great-grandma grew up. It was crazily cheap and we figured it could end up being wonderful and saving us lots of money or it could be an absolute disaster. We took the gamble. And it paid off.

After getting a bit lost trying to find it, we asked a lady and her young son if they knew how to get there. After following the son’s directions (he spoke English, the mom didn’t) we ended up driving down a long driveway. My grandpa, being a farmer, immediately took interest in the small plots of various crops surrounding us on either side. Ahead of us, at the end of the driveway, stood a stately, 3-story, light green villa.

“This can’t be right,” Mom muttered. “That looks like someone’s house.”

“Great, we’re lost again,” Angela sighed. She was the one made to ask the last people for directions, and was probably worried we’d all vote her to ask the next people too. And sure enough…

“Hey, look, there’s a guy right there,” I pointed as we got closer to the house. “Let’s ask him if he knows where we are.” [read on]

Posted in Croatia | No Comments »

Ummm…I Don’t Know About This Place

Sunday, January 6th, 2008
It was our last night in Belgrade so Ana and Borko insisted that they take us out on the town - ok, they didn't have to do too much insisting. They were excited because it was the first time they'd ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Serbia | No Comments »

Driving in Santorini

Friday, January 4th, 2008
Oh, the joys of driving in another country. I try to avoid it. I don't even like driving in America, let alone a foreign country. I'll just take the train, thank you very much. But there I was in Santorini with a ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Greece | 1 Comment »

One of the Reasons I Love the English

Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008
My sister Angela and I were returning to Alnwick, a town in England where we had each spent a separate semester studying, after an afternoon of shopping in Newcastle. As we left Newcastle, we made sure to take the 505 bus ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in England | No Comments »

No Problem

Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
Bacina, Croatia is a small coastal village located about half way between Split and Dubrovnik. It is where my great-grandma spent the first fourteen years of her life before moving to America with her family. Of us five travelers (Mom, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Croatia | No Comments »

Getting to Croatia

Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
Croatia is not an easy place to get to. At least not the way I traveled there. In June of this year I did a two week trip with my mom, sister, and grandparents to Belgrade, Italy, and Croatia to visit ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in Croatia | No Comments »