0628 Italy

Hi - no photos today. I left my USB cable back at the apartment and it isn't like I can just dash back there to get it. I will make up for it next time.

Well - Italy! Annette and I caught the bus to the port, Gruz (groozsh) around 8:00 pm on Tuesday night and arrived in plenty of time to sit and wait. The ferry boat was HUGE like a cruise ship. We went thru passport checks and entered the ship thru the huge lower door where the cars and trucks drive thru to park for the voyage. We went up to the reception desk and it was just like a cruise ship, except not as fancy. There were restaurants and a duty free shop.

Some of the tickets they sell are deck tickets: these were people who only pay for the ride over and sleep on blankets in the hallways and common areas. There were a lot of backpackers and families with little children. One little child was even sitting on a potty chair as we passed.

We got our cabin key and were please to find a nice clean cabin with bunk beds and a little half bath. The beds were comfortable and we were asleep before the ship even left port.

We awoke to a beautiful day and a nice buffet breakfast in one of the restaurants. We disembarked around 8:00 and had no clue where to go or what to do. We just expect that Italy would be laid out at our feet; we were shocked to find ourselves in an industrial port area with no tourist information booths or anything. Most of the people knew where they were going and soon we were the only people there. We headed out in one direction for a half mile or so, but it was still highway and warehousing and a wrought iron picket fence thru which we could see the city, but not get to it.

We headed back towards the pier and bought a map, but it was in Italian and we couldn't figure out what to do. Nobody could speak English! We found one woman at a desk who looked at us as if we were crazy and told us to go out and to the left. We found a gate and entered the city, finally. Of course, it was a million degrees and sunny, just like in Croatia.

The buildings were all very old and we found ourselves wandering thru peoples back yards. They were hanging out their wash and looking at us suspiciously. We just kept going and I was about ready to scream, because being lost just FREAKS ME OUT! Just as I was about to go into hysterics, we turned a corner and we were on a lovely modern downtown street, lots of shade trees and sidewalk cafes. Whew! We sat down and had a leisurely cappuccino and I relaxed. Thank goodness for Annette.

We strolled down the street which was lined with very high end stores like Armani and Louis Vuitton. We went thru a nice park and I asked a police man where we could find tourist information. He looked at me and shrugged, not understanding. I said "Turista informazione?" and he pointed down the street and said "Terminal."

We kept going in that direction and found a big bus terminal with a little information booth. They had maps sponsored by McDonald's and it was great. There was a McDonald's at the terminal and we used that as our point of reference for the rest of the day. Also to buy cold soda with ice which is very difficult to find in Dubrovnik.

We headed for Bari s (there is supposed to be an apostrophe in there) old town which looked really interesting. When we had walked around the whole thing, we finally found the entrance. We went in and the guy says "Old town closed today. Come back tomorrow." They were doing a lot of renovation - just our luck.

So back we go to the shops. We each found Italian leather sandals that actually say "Made in Italy" for a pretty good price. We saw the same shoes in another store for 5 Euros more, so we felt good about that.

We had such a weird thing happen to us. When we had gotten that first cappuccino after finding the main street, there was a "little person" talking to the owner. He was very distinctive looking with a mullet and a basketball uniform and high top sneakers. Anyhow, later in the afternoon, we were sitting exhausted on a bench near the shops and up comes this same little person. He shoves a cup with a coin in it at us and asks us something. We said "no". He says "No??" and we said no again. He stomped away in his little sneakers and said a very rude phrase to us in perfect English! We just gaped at each other and then started to laugh.

We were able to find a place to eat lunch where they seemed to understand us. Annette had a chicken sandwich and I just pointed to one in the case and it turned out to be ham and mushroom and mayonnaise. Never had that before, but it was very tasty.

However, at supper time - every place to eat was closed! That is because our supper time, 6:00, isn't Italian supper time. The restaurants don't open until 8:00. That is when we had to be back to check in at the ferry. We found a kind of a crummy place near the old area we had walked thru earlier and had a mediocre supper. I couldn't even finish my risotto, but Annette said her pasta was good. The waitress warned us to keep our bags in our laps so nobody would steal them. Not a comfortable way to eat.

We found our way back to the ferry, thanks to Annette. She has a great sense of direction. We checked in after waiting forever in huge crowd of people. We knew that we had booked the last cabin available because of the holiday, but we didn't know that we were down in the absolute lowest level of the boat. The hostess wouldn't even show us to our cabin. She stood at the top of the stairs and pointed and said "You are down there........................"

We unlocked the door and gasped. The room was about six feet wide with narrow bunk beds and teeny pillows. We just fit into the beds. We had a wash basin only - no toilet. That was down the hall. The sound of the engine was very very loud, but at least it had a nice rhythm. We managed to sleep a bit, although we did hear an alarm and a hissing noise. Annette thought maybe the room was going to fill with water; I was convinced that the engine fumes were going to kill us while we slept.

But - we survived and had another nice breakfast before the ship docked at Dubrovnik. We were so glad to be home. It isn't our "home" home, of course, but after three weeks it has become so familiar to us that we felt so happy to have returned.

Unfortunately, we had to take the bus home, shower and dress and be back down to the harbor for a field trip. But that story is for another day.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer. It can not possibly be as hot as it is here. We had a lot of lightning and a little thunder and two seconds of rain last night, but that was it and today is blazing hot again.

Take care and stay tuned for the next chapter of "Cathy and Annette Do Dubrovnik!"

Tuesday 0624...just another ordinary day...in CROATIA!!

Good morning, everyone! Yesterday was one of those days that was pretty much same old, same old.

We woke up, showered, ate breakfast and all left at different times. I am so proud that I don't get lost when they leave me to walk to work alone. It is still very hot and the air conditioning feels so good when we get to ACMT.

We had lunch at Fuego, one of our favorite places. I had my usual vegetarian risotto which is so delicious that I could eat it every day...and pretty much do! "Annette the Adventurous" ordered the seafood sandwich which listed octopus and anchovies or other various oddities of the sea that shouldn't be in a sandwich. It was displayed very nicely on her plate and she kept making little sounds of enjoyment as she ate it. Kudos to Annette - she should get her own show on the Discovery Channel.

Our art class yesterday was interesting. The professor had told the students that she was just going to hit the highlights of the different eras in art; prehistoric, Stone Age...all the way up to the present. Yesterday, she began class by questioning them in detail on characteristics of each period and asking them to name various artists. She would call on them by name to explain something and they all got that deer-in-the-headlights look! She got angry and said she was very disappointed in their responses. I felt bad for them.

We ate supper at an Italian restaurant called Maestoso. I had pasta carbonara which was excellent and Annette had vegetarian risotto!! Guess she was still recovering from her scary lunch.

I had to laugh because two little Asian tourist ladies came in to the restaurant and I thought "How will they ever be able to order?" They looked at the menu and ordered their meals in fluent Italian from the Italian waitress. Talk about stereotyping! I was ashamed of myself.

Today we will be having a short meeting to talk about our field trip to Split on Friday. Split is the second largest city in Croatia after Zagreb and there are many interesting sites. Zoran wants us to see it so we wont think that all of Croatia is quaint like Dubrovnik.

Wow - Italy tonight thru Thursday, field trip to the island on Thursday, Split on Friday. Whew! We are really on the go all the time. It is great and we are loving it!

The musicians were playing as we went to church on Sunday. The gargoyle picture doesn't really do it justice. It was much more impressive in person.

We wont be blogging again until we get some time, so stay tuned!

Love from A and C

our second weekend in Croatia

After our adventurous (read "tiring") hike through Mljet National Park Friday, we decided to be a little more low key on Saturday. A leisurely breakfast than another pilgrimmage to Tommy grocery store. We walked through Old Town on our hour-long trek; I never tire of walking down the Stradun, although we are developing a little bit of a 'tude... the first few days in Dubrovnik, it was just a "huh" kind of look as tourists pushed past us, oblivious to the "natives". Then they became "those tourists"... and now they're "damn tourists" (said with a sneer and look of disdain). This week I'm sure we'll start swearing at them in Croatian.. and we're told in August, when the Italians vacation, it's even worse. Thank goodness we'll be gone by there, or we might be responsible for an international incident... lol.

Anyway, after our purchases of cheese and yogurt and fruit (how very European), we hit the bread counter and bought a loaf of bread, still warm from the oven.. and a cheese pastry that was thin layers of dough and about 12" long. It wasn't sweet and I told Cathy as we ate it on the grocery store steps that it would have been awesome dipping it into pasta sauce.. yum.

We took a cab home and hung out at the apartment until we decided to go back into Old Town and stop at the college to check mail. We got through Ploce gate and as we started down the Stradun, we stopped in our tracks. Cathy and I looked over at some of the tourists at one of the outdoor cafes. They were signing.. two women were at a table signing to another woman walking down the Stradun, telling her they were deaf, asking her to join them. Cathy and I were amazed; we don't know what nationality the ladies were, but WE understood them. As I looked around, I saw a few other people having their picture taken, gesturing to their photographer friend to take the picture portrait length, not landscape. It felt like a touch of home, to be somewhere where we understood very little of the native language but saw people signing to each other and knew what they were 'saying'.

Pictures: The drummer and guards.. they march through Old Town to the Pile and Ploce gates each evening at 7:30

A minstrel who plays near Pile gate... that red thing on his foot is his tambourine which he uses to keep time with the music by stomping his foot up and down.

Sunday morning Cathy and I took momentary leave of our senses and planned out an ambitious day. We would go down to the beach in the morning for a swim in the Adriatic. Then we would attend the noon service at Saint Blais' and that evening we had been invited to the Dean's home for dinner. We knew that involved at least three trips down all those stairs and at least two trips back up, but we were buoyed by how well we had done on the stairs the day before; obviously one of the benefits of our trek around Mljet.

What we failed to consider in this equation was that after swimming in the sea for an hour, we would be tired. And we had 400+ steps to climb to get to the apartment, shower, and descend into Old Town again... in the hottest part of the day... and after church, we would face those same steps again... in STILL the hottest part of the day. Any sense of Saturday's accomplishment that we had ascended Harold and Kumar steps without taking a break and had climbed upper hell with only TWO rest stops... and then walked from the road all the way up the apartment without a break, vaporized. We're not twenty-something young chickies... I can tell you right now, even with all this exercise, I do NOT expect the producers of "Buns of Steel" or "Thighs of Iron" to be calling me to record their next video. ("Buns of Tapioca", maybe... "Thighs of Cottage Cheese", absolutely!).

We vowed not to plan this much ever again. I know during the church service, not understanding a word of Croatian, we were praying we'd just make the second trip up the hill without heat stroke or twisted ankles :)

Dinner at Dean Don Hudspeth's home was a delightful event. It was the Dean, Vincent, Cathy and me. He had a special room, built away from the house, where he barbequed veal chops and sausages. We had potatoes baked with fresh rosemary and onions and grilled vegetables, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms and peppers. His mother-in-law, who lives just down the road, had made a dessert, a custard with carmel syrup... baked with eggs fresh from the chickens penned in the Don's yard. There were tangerine, pomegranate and olive trees; grapevines and artichoke plants; chickens and kittens and bats, oh my! I said all Don needed was a cow for milk and he'd never need to visit a grocery store.

His home was at the base of mountains; on one side, if you went over the mountain, you'd be in Bosnia. There were actually mortar rounds discharged from the top of that mountain and Don showed us where the house and walkway had been hit. It is very humbling to think that a little over fifteen years ago there was a war going on here.

His wife's family is from Croatia, while he himself is a Candian. During dinner he explained the variations in languages in Croatia and Serbia and Slovenia, and the histories and attitudes of people in the different regions. As with Professor Stasa, Don told us how families are so tight-knit in this part of the world. It's not just immediate families, but mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers that many times gather for a meal, everyone sharing the cooking and cleaning and entertaining. Kids spend time on the computer playing games, but they also wander down to the river and congregate with their friends for hours of fun. Over and over we've heard of the strong sense of community and the unhurried pace here, something lacking in the States.

Well, I suppose I should get some work done. This week is going to be a busy one... Cathy and I leave for Italy tomorrow evening, as Wednesday is a holiday here. Tentatively, there are two class field trips planned for Thursday and Friday, so we jump off the boat from Bari Thursday morning and hop on another a few hours later. What was that again about us not being young chicks...? I can't remember... I'm too busy soaking up the culture and surroundings... I'll have time to sleep on the plane on the way home :)

mir... annette

Friday 0620 - are they trying to KILL US???

Who knew when they told us we should wear sturdy shoes that they wanted us to actually tromp up a mountain???

Annette and Vincent and I left the house by 7:30 on Friday to get to the pier at Gruz by 8:15. Annette and I taxied; Vincent bravely took the bus. He LOVES public transportation. We arrived at almost the same time and were the first ones there. Soon the students started showing up, then Zoran and the art professor, Kate (KA-teh) Bagoje (I haven't mastered that yet. Luckily, she wants us to call her Kate like in America). Like every other event in Croatia, we all had a coffee first while we waited for the ticket office to open. Zoran had told the kids to be there at8:15 for a 9:15 arrival because they are habitually late. Naturally, they were all early yesterday.

The boat was the hydrofoil in the picture - very sleek and very fast. The photo inside shows that it was like being on an airplane. Annette took dramamine just in case; our student Jackie took one also, but it was not too rough a ride.

When we arrived at the national park on Mljet(Myet), Stasha, the environmental science professor, was at the dock to meet us. He led us up a little hill to some ruins and gave us a brief history of the site. I am thinking to myself "This will be so interesting. What a lovely day." I was still laboring under this misconception when he led us up another hill - the one in the photo with the red roofs. Still thinking "...how beautiful! Good thing Annette and I climb all those steps every day or we would really be hurting!"

It gets hotter and steeper and hotter and steeper and narrower and narrower and stonier and slipperier. The path winds up a #$%&/ mountainside, thru fallen trees and brush ("Be careful! Watch out so the branch doesn't whip you in the face!!")

It never seemed to end. Soon Annette and I were trailing behind and I was at the tail end. We, but mostly me, were getting tired and I started thinking "We can not let ourselves get hurt or we will not be able to work!" I know, lame excuse. I sat down on a rock and waited and soon some of the others trickled back down. There were six or seven of us who went down to where it was a bit flatter and chatted.

After ten or fifteen minutes, the main group came down and we all trooped down to the pier again where another little boat waited to take us to lunch on another island, Ovet Santa Maria. We ate at a beautiful cafe, under a rush canopy. Stasha had arranged for a special meal consisting of foods that the locals only serve at weddings or celebrations. We had a delicious soup with homemade, handcut noodles, a cabbage slaw and a pasta dish with little pieces of beef. For dessert, we had "Croatian apple pie" which was like a coffee cake. All delicious.

Stasha taught us that instead of saying "Hvala" or "Thank you" after a great meal, we say what sounds like "Old Leech Naw" which means something like "I was not feeling so great when I came, but after eating this my mood has really lifted!" We all tried it out and the waiters seemed pleased with our efforts.

After lunch, we all swam in the beautiful cool blue water. It is so salty that everyone except Gene was buoyant. He kept saying "How can you just float like that when I keep sinking!" We all had a fun time. Jackie took her hearing aids out to swim and the kids were so kind and made sure that she was looking at them when they spoke.

Jackie told me on the boat that she is so glad she stayed. It was a great life lesson for her to work thru her homesickness. She seems so relaxed and happy and enjoyed yesterday just as much as everyone else. Whew!

We all conked out on the way home. I slept for half an hour and then loud music blared to let everyone know that we had reached another stop on the island where people wanted to disembark. Annette went up to the top deck with some of the kids and shortly after, Jackie came down and insisted that I go up top to see how great it was. It was windy and sunny and gorgeous and I stayed until the ship came in to port.

The kids left to get ready to go out and party because Croatia played Turkey in soccer (football). Annette and Vincent and I all took the bus home. I posted a photo of the decal that was on the window of the bus. I since I didn't have a dog, I wasn't carrying an ice cream cone, and I sure didn't look like the chick in the bathing suit, it was OK for me to ride.

The bus dropped us at the Bikers Cafe near Upper Hell. Annette looked for her favorite biker that reminds her of Antonio Banderas, but he wasn't there. Darn. So, we trudged up the steps, up our street, up the 58 step front porch and crashed. Well, Annette and I crashed. Mr. Vincent got tidied up and went out to rub elbows with the locals and watch the game...which Croatia lost in double overtime. No fireworks, no sirens. Sigh.

All for now. We miss you and we are still having a wonderful time. The three of us are becoming a little family. I bought an ibrik which is a Turkish coffee maker. Look it up on Google. I bet some of you have family that make their coffee that way. I had brought a pound of Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters "Jamaica Me Nuts" coffee and I tried it today. It was very good and when I offered Vincent and Annette a sip, they all drank out of my cup. That is what I mean about being a little family. It is a comfort to have such great friends when you are so far away from home.

Annette will post our next adventures. I hope I didn't ramble on too long. Love to you all - CathyB

just another day...

Cathy and I realized on the balcony last night that we had nothing truly remarkable happen to us yesterday. We got up, ate our breakfasts, left for work individually, attended/captioned the Culture class given by Zoran, went out for lunch on the Stradun (pictured at here - see how worn the stones are?) in Old Town, captioned Art History, left work and headed to Fuego for dinner... yeah, nothing extraordinary except we're... in... Croatia!!!







But seriously, we keep saying over and over what a blessing and privilege it is to be here, not that we would take any of this for granted. There are no specific plans for today, other than the usual classes and meals and walk through a 600AD old town... but tomorrow we head to Mljet National Park (about an hour and a half northwest along the coast... and yes, I have dramamine and sunscreen) and Sunday Cathy, Vincent and myself have been invited to the Dean's house for dinner, so I'm sure we'll have more to write about early next week.


Last night Cathy and I did have a guest for dinner at Fuego. Sadly, I don't think it was our clever wit, sparkling personalities or newly acquired European ways that attracted this third diner. It was the scraps from my seafood pasta that were of most interest to him. Nicki, you'll be pleased to know we're doing our part to nourish the kitty population, one feline at a time. This little guy loved the squid and had the very best manners!


I do have a success to report, as well. I finally was able to download my camera and I have attached a few pics for your viewing pleasure.


Again, we realize what an amazing opportunity this is to be here, to do what we love to do in an environment that holds new adventures each day. A gal can't get any luckier than that.



Harold and Kumar, or the lower wide steps.



















ugly broccoli tree :)






The view at the bottom of H&K, and the gate of Ploce (plaw-chick) into Old Town.

Wednesday 061808

The guy in the bandanna is our live-in houseboy, Vincent. He jogs and hikes and even managed to find a gym at a local luxury hotel. They sold him a pass for two months for 250 Kuna, around $50. We only see him just before we go to bed at night and in the morning, we all walk to work together. He was right when he told us he was a night owl. I don't know how he gets along on such a little bit of sleep.

Also, he is a vegetarian and eats such strange stuff. Would you eat pasta mixed with zucchini, carrots, olive oil and peanut butter for supper??? Yuck. Annette and I go out for lunch and supper, but the food here is different than home. So many great salads and sandwiches and not heavy at all. The portions are not super-sized, so I will not be surprised if our weight stays the same, or we even show a loss.

We are so relaxed and happy every day. We comment on how great we feel and how all the stress of our lives seems to have melted away. I have been sleeping well, 8 hours a night. We wake before the alarm at 6:00 and are refreshed and smiling.

We are checking into taking an overnight ferry to Italy next week. June 25th is a holiday and we wont have class. We are not sure what the holiday is as of yet, but that is OK. Any holiday is great, right?

There was a little light rain last night when Annette and I walked home. We were bummed because we had our hearts set on the chicken salad at Cafe Dubrava, but we were worried that the rain might turn into a thunderstorm. The streets and stairs and paved walks get so slick that it is dangerous. We stopped at our local mini mart and bought ham and fruit and eggs and pickles and Nutella (for our sport crackers which are like animal crackers). Obviously we will not starve if we can not eat at our favorite cafe.

Annette left for work early this morning to get some work accomplished before the students show up, Vincent left next and I sat on the couch and watched CNN and knitted. Such a relaxing morning. I left home at 9:10 and was here by 9:30. Great time if you don't mind having to wring the sweat out of your clothes. I think I will take an easier pace next time.

The picture of the two of us is from our walk to the BIG supermarket. There was a building that was all mirrored and I couldn't resist. I wanted to watch myself do a little dance routine, but Annette dragged me away before the local politsa did.

We will be going down to hear the Wednesday session on Croatian culture in a few minutes; my turn to caption. Jackie doesn't care about getting a print out, but needs them to understand the speaker, Zoran. She has difficulty understanding when people speak with an accent and also, he wears braces which changes the shapes of his words.

That is it for today on "Days of our Lives in Croatia". Stay tuned. We miss you all.

paper.. or plastic

Sunday was truly a day of rest for us. Without classes or adventures planned, we took our time just relaxing on the balcony, enjoying the view (which we will never tire of) of Old Town and the Adriatic Sea. Breakfast was unhurried and Cathy and I decided to wander west of the college in search of a grocery store, or a reasonable facsimile.

Uphill we trekked, resting on a bench along the busy narrow road before we crossed a bridge that led to a new and previously unexplored part of Dubrovnik. Walking down what appeared to be a commercial/office building area, Cathy decided to rest a bit while I went in search of something bigger than a 7-11 (or at least the Croatian equivalent). With thoughts of "just around this next curve up ahead" a few times, I decided to cross the street, trudge through a parking lot and see what the parallel road had to offer. When what to my wondering eyes did appear, but a Tommy Mart. Oh joy, oh rapture! Could it be?

I hurried (ok, not really hurried, but I didn't dilly-dally either) back to Mrs. Cathy. "Come see the wonders of the new world I have discovered. I have heard tell of amazing machines and culinary delights beyond our wildest imaginations."

We proceeded to Tommy Mart and took the escalator to the grocery store entrance. There were shopping carts.. there were scanners.. there was a deli area larger than Wegmans.. there was a security guard. We wandered the aisles, delighted to behold such treasures. Fresh produce and breads, meats and cheeses, shelves upon shelves of items that we could not identify were it not for the pictures on the labels. Of course, we loaded our baskets and headed for the checkout. (Sharon V., you will be delighted to know they even had my coveted Aero bars!) Now the problem was schlepping our packages home.

Not to worry. A taxi was nearby. We told him where we lived and he immediately gestured his hand in that direction, making a steep uphill motion. Yes, we nodded, on the top of the hill. We bundled in and Cathy was kind enough to give me the front seat. All the better to view our trip home as we sped up hills and around curves, the likes of which Mario Andretti probably has never traveled. "Don't talk to me while I'm driving uphill," the driver cautioned us. It was easy to keep quiet with my heart in my throat.

We arrived safely, delighted to unload our packages and relax on the balcony once again. Of course, our wonderful landlords made a visit upstairs to deliver pieces of fresh baked cherry cake and blankets for Cathy and Vincent (you know me, I don't need one!). All in all, a peaceful, relaxing Sunday.

Yesterday, Zoran (the student assigned to watch over us :) covered his culture class from 11a to 12p. He brought us up to World War II, which he will finish Wednesday. He is such an intelligent, enthusiastic young man; we found out from Vincent last night that he wrote an essay in a national Croatian contest about why Croatia should join the European Union, and he won! It's obvious he will go far, as he is working on both degrees in hospitality and law. And his sense of humor is delightful :)

Yesterday's Environment class was a viewing of the Al Gore movie, "An Inconvenient Truth". Having not seen it before, it was eye-opening and interesting and as Professor Stasha said, told in a plain language people could understand. View it if you get a chance, it is enlightening.

Art History was a review of prehistoric, Egyptian, Roman, Greek architecture, sculpture and paintings. While the material can be a little dry, its great to have this foundation as we delve more and more into the great masterpieces of all the periods.

Friday is our trip to Mjlet National Park... stay tuned for details on that.

This morning since our classes didn't start early, we still walked in with Mr. Vincent but took a detour for coffee, to go. Yes, coffee in good old fashioned paper cups with plastic lids. Imagine our surprise when we thought perhaps they forgot to finish filling the cups. What they lack in quantity, they make up in quality... and pastries (which we avoided with the willpower of saints)... although I can't say we didn't leave nose and fingerprints on the display cases. Definitely a place to return to, it's just down the alley off the Stradun (the main street of Old Town)... the only problem is remembering which alley.

Well, that's it for today. As always, we send our love and happy thoughts... stay tuned for the next installment of "Cathy and Annette's Excellent Adventure".