Croatia!

About 5 years ago I was researching buying a plane ticket to Paris and searching different travel agencies in New York to get me the best deal. One day I went into STA travel and while waiting in line to talk to someone I checked out all the different brochures. The pamphlet on Croatia, and Dubrovnik in particular, immediately grabbed my attention. I took it home and even though I was planning my trip to Paris and travel afterward I could not stop thinking about how much I wanted to go there.

I would actually say that the simple tiny brochure was one of the main motivators to get me saving for this trip . . . finally. Well, in all fairness, I didn't start saving until a couple years later but it definitely spearheaded the extensive research aspect of my trip. For some odd reason Dubrovnik would not escape my mind. Whenever I was doubting the possibility of the trip I would think of Dubrovnik, the Adriatic Sea and those red roofs and it would get my butt back in gear and saving.

When I was talking to my friend Ethan about this the other day he asked me if I was worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations and that it would be a big disappointment. It happens in traveling all the time - someone tells you about a must see spot and you get there and don't get all the hype. (My example would be Bali, as some of you have read in my post. I just didn't understand why people loved the place). Dubrovnik, however, was one of the coolest places I've been to on the entire trip. It was incredibly impressive and lived up to all my expectations.

The icing on the cake? I stayed in a great hostel and met great people. Sometimes, it just all works out. Not only was Dubrovnik great but I thought Zagreb was an interesting little city! It doesn't get much love but it was a fun place to stay for a couple nights and I met some Croatians there who introduced me to Croatian Master Chef.

Here are some pictures of Dubrovnik and the old city:

Most of my time in Dubrovnik was spent roaming around the city and enjoying the ridiculously good weather. For all you who don't know, Dubrovnik gets just about 250 sunny days a year!

Next stop: Beautiful Slovenia