Split, Croatia

We returned the rental car to Split with relatively little drama except a little traffic jam. Again we are happy we purchased the insurance because they are very chill about the car return – they only want to remove it from the paid lot we have parked before they get charged for the time there. We give them the list of things that need fixed on the car but they don’t really make any notes or anything. It isn’t cheap for the rental but at least we aren’t stressed about extra charges and getting transport to and from the airport from old town.

We grab our luggage and the grocery bag of snacks and head to our apartment right in the middle of old town Split. There is some confusion but we eventually see the keys on top of a box at the building door. As the first door unlocks we start our two day locking and unlocking three levels of doors adventure. We are on the third floor and every floor has a locked door. The apartment has two bedrooms again. We are both pretty chill about sharing a room but its nice to spread out in your own space for a night or two. I see a washing machine so excited I don’t have to waste a few hours at a laundromat when my friend leaves. I proceed to do a load of laundry. It has to air dry so I want to get this done asap. After the load is finished some items don’t smell clean enough for me. I take some of the cleaner items out and do the load again with more soap and very hot water this time. Granted I have washed these clothes together before, some multiple times since 2019 when I did a long term trip like this before. Never have I had any of my travel clothes bleed onto any of my items. Well this time I guess the water was so hot that it caused my old pink travel underwear to change my white tank to this lilac color. It is almost comical. At least it matches exactly to one of the colors on one of the shirts I wear it under. I might just keep wearing my lilac tank or at some point buy another white one.

We head out to wander around Split and get a proper meal. You still get the tour groups here and it does it get busy but it seems easier to hide from the groups here with all the winding pathways unlike the grid layout of Dubrovnik. I am already liking the vibe here more. We pick a nicer restaurant to eat and I splurge for the leg of lamb. It is very good. We watch people line up outside an ice cream shop outside. We make plans to visit that later.

We thought about doing a sunset pirate cruise but decide to put that off until tomorrow night (mistake since it is cancelled the next night). We instead get a drink by the water and people watch for a while. There are lots of groups of women and hen parties in town from other parts of Europe for the weekend. It must be nice to have this a quick flight away.

We get drinks for walking and do some shopping and end up in the main square of Diocletian’s palace where there is a musical group singing mostly covers in the square. Everyone sits around in steps in the perimeter and the waiters from the Luxor come around to take drink orders. An occasional party of drunk women and sometimes men will stop in the center of the square to have a dance party. Everyone is enjoying themselves tonight. We have an inquisitive Croatian kid and his grandma next to us. My friend initially gets in an uncomfortable staring match with him but we soon learn he is just curious about us and he speaks English very well. He shows us his shoes that light up when we jumps. We cheer him on and tell him to show others. Soon the whole courtyard is cheering him on as he jumps. His grandmother eventually takes him away, perhaps he is getting a little too much attention for her taste.

We attempt a couple late night bars as we wanted to try to stay out late for once but every place is already very loud and crowded. We decide to take back a couple of burgers and chill back at our apartment instead. We have some sightseeing to do tomorrow but plans may get rained out. We make tentative plans to get up very early to beat the crowds coming back to take a nap if needed in the afternoon.

Fortunately we wake up relatively early the next day and wander around. We stop at the green market and admire all the fresh produce. We do some shopping and I buy a cheesy Croatian hat. We also try to feed our not-so-great cheese to some local cats and only one cat is enjoying it; I’d say at least twenty other cats flat out refused to eat the questionable cheese. These cats must get some high class food to turn down free cheese.

We stop for some pizza and more cheese – for us of course.

After lunch we visit the Etnomuseum that has an exhibit of traditional dress, jewelry and other items of the region. The exhibit includes a climb up an observation tower. Down below I can hear singing in the cylinder. I guess it has good acoustics.

Not hungry for a meal we stop for olive oil sample and tapenade at a nearby restaurant. We try their homemade olive oil bread and associated oils. Soon after we visit that popular ice cream place where I try some pistachio combination. Loving the view from yesterday we go back to the bar along the water and this time sit on the balcony to people watch. We had hope that the sunset cruise would happen today but we stare at the boat below as it rains. We finally hear from the booking lady by WhatsApp that the cruise is not happening tonight. We are both disappointed and regretting not going the night before.

We grab a snack and head back to catch the finals of Eurovision. The musical acts are real crazy. We don’t stay awake for the results though since my friend has an early flight in the morning. I’m going to miss her when she’s gone.

Spain: Sweet Ronda

I am leaving Madrid and heading to Ronda this morning. Today is an early morning start since my train leaves at 7:30 am from Atocha. I take the subway to the train station. The ride from Madrid to Ronda is anywhere from 3 1/2 hours to 4 1/2 hours. I choose the 3.5 hour trip but it includes a stop and a train change. On this train ride is where I start to notice that train cars will occasionally not have the coach number on the outside making it especially challenging when trying to find your correct car (Spain has assigned seating for all its long distance trains). I eventually find what I believe is the correct car by process of elimination. Travel by train in Spain is mostly pleasant: trains are clean, they are roomy even in economy class, temperature is comfortable, and noise level is low. I do occasionally treat myself to an upgrade while I travel if the price is right. For some reason (perhaps it was lack of sleep) I thought that this particular route was one I upgraded myself for. When trying to find my coach this train of thought combined with the lack of numbers outside led me to sitting in the incorrect car in someone else’s seat (the seat number matched though). There is an awkward situation of me getting kicked out of the business class. So here I am with my bulky backpacks, trying to quickly pack up; I already spread all my junk out for my trip….breakfast sandwich, ipad, coffee, etc. I am pretty sure I was a disturbance to all the business travelers that morning. Once packed up I pass through a couple of coaches and find what I believe is my seat, and confirm it with the train employee this time. My correct seat isn’t terrible. I can relax again.

We arrive late for our train stop in Antequera. I have some anxiety for this since there is only ten minutes allocated for my connection. Luckily the train to Ronda is held because a majority on my train are heading there as well.

We arrive to Ronda little after 11:00 AM. The hotel is about a 15 minute walk from the train station. I still have many hours before check in but I am heading to the hotel to drop off my bags. I walk down a busy shopping pedestrian street. There are many shops and cafes. A person eating at one of the cafes notices my college t-shirt and stops me to chat a bit since he is also an alumni. It is fun to see my commuter school grow to the popularity it has now over the years. When I first started traveling internationally I would have never met someone from my college.

I drop my bags off at my hotel and wander around a quiet part of Ronda.

There are some day-trippers and tour groups but overall the town is not ruined by over tourism. The pandemic seemed to hit this town like everywhere else (closed businesses, etc) but for the most part it seems to do well. They don’t have many “must-sees” so it doesn’t get crowded and has maintained it charm somewhat. I love staying in slower paced towns like this. It is like a vacation from my vacation.

I spend some time at one overlook area where a guy is playing contemporary songs on the Spanish guitar.

I find a park and admire the flowering trees.

Bring on all the flowers…..

I feel the need for a snack or even lunch. I search restaurant menus for the special gazpacho of the region (ojo blanco -Spanish White Garlic Soup) but I can’t find it. I settle for a café that has the local cheese payoyo that I want to try (goat cheese). I order cheese and a normal gazpacho. The cheese plate is very large for one person; getting too much cheese is a common theme for my travels. It is in Ronda where the idea occurs to use the Ziplock bags to carry my cheese, and sometimes croquettes, to go. Yes, I’m the person squirreling away food in my purse… thank goodness I carry Ziplock bags with me when I travel.

After I eat I finally check into my hotel and clean up. The hotel, Hotel Don Miguel, is not fancy but it is clean and has a million dollar view.

Later on I go for a walk around town and find a park with curvy paths and a view of the cliffsides and bridge. I see olive trees that make me want to reach out and grab the olives with my fingers.

I take a smaller stone bridge across the crevice.

I start walking back toward the main street that crosses the crevice. I hear peacock noises. I know them well because we have random peacocks in the neighborhoods I used to do my training runs in Florida. There is one sitting on the fence of the place I plan to visit tomorrow.

Tonight the goal is to try some local wines. I find the perfect tapas bar close to the hotel to do this. I have a view of the iconic bridge and a nice breeze from a cool late afternoon. I try the white asparagus, another regional item, and some other tapas such as ham and salmon. I also get to try a couple local wines.

It’s still early and I want to enjoy my view from my hotel so I buy a bottle of wine and some chocolates for dessert to enjoy on my balcony. Have I mentioned how I love the temperatures here? It is hot during the day due to the humidity and sun but the temperatures are not unbearable. The evenings are gloriously cool. It is almost like it is still spring in this town. I love it!

While I sit on my patio Spanish guitar player plays Stairway to Heaven across the way.

I enjoy the view from my hotel room until after dark. Loving the Andalucía life.

More Great Ocean Road Australia

I have just left my wildlife retreat. Currently (December 2019) Australia is experiencing an outbreak of fires. I start actively watching for news updates because the fires escalate day by day. I may need to alter travel plans or even leave the country.

Today I am heading to an airbnb in Port Fairy Victoria. I am staying in an adorable cottage for the night and stopping at some sights along the way.

Gibson’s steps

My first stop of the day is Gibson’s steps.

The steps provide a pathway down to a beautiful beach. Today the Gibson steps are closed due to storm damage and erosion. I just soak up the view up top instead.

Great Ocean walk

From the parking lot I notice a trail marker for the Great Ocean Walk. I read later that that it is an 100k scenic walk along the coast. Today I only walk a little bit of the trail since I hadn’t prepared for a long hike.

12 Apostles

I head back to my car for the short drive to the twelve apostles, a collection of limestone rocks off the coast.

I plan to head to the next rock formation down the road, Loch Ard Gorge, but I see a sign for a cheese and food trail and suddenly decide it is more important to follow that trail then to stop at any other roadside wonders.

12 Apostles Food Artisans

I follow the road with the food trail signs until I get to the first stop Apostle Whey Cheese. I skip the chocolate stop (Gorge Chocolates). I know you must be thinking there something wrong with me but I prefer a block of cheese over a chocolate bar 99% of the time.

I partake in a cheese sampler, tour the grounds and purchase to cheese to go.

I also pick up an official copy of the food map.

I head off to the next location but stop to look at some cows on the way.

I am heading to a brewery nearby, Sow and Piglets Production Brewery. From the website it appears that they sell sausages and such to eat. Beer samples and sausages sound good to me. When I arrive I find the brewery is closed for tastings. I must have arrived off season. If I want to try the beers I have to go to their microbrewery location in town.

Instead I head to the town of Timboon. My first stop is Timboon Railway Shed Distillery. It is a whisky distillery and restaurant. I try a couple whisky samples and then sit down for a late lunch.

I finally try a sow & piglet beer.

Right around the corner is an ice cream shop. I head over to Timboon Fine Ice Cream where they have some unique and fun flavors (at least to this American).

I order one scoop of Orange & Cardamon and one scoop of Rhubarb & raspberry. I really love the flavors.

After my ice cream I head back on the road. I plan to go straight to my Airbnb but I drive by Cheese World and I cannot help stopping.

They have Meredith Dairy in stock. I first learned about Meredith Dairy in central Florida where a local cheese monger sells the marinated goat cheese feta. It probably is one of the best cheeses I have ever tasted. Meredith Dairy cheese is produced in Victoria; in fact I emailed the farm to see if they gave tours before my trip and sadly they do not. In the USA we import the feta but some of their other products are new to me. I pick up some cheese to take back to my cottage tonight.

I check out the cheese store’s wine collection which is unfortunately heavy on the not so great wines we can already try in the USA. Luckily I already have some bottles I purchased a couple days prior.

I head to my cottage in Port Fairy to rest for the evening. It is an adorable cottage named Elizabeth Margaret Brady Cottage built in 1860.

There is charming bedroom and a cozy living room with a working gas fireplace that I use that evening.

The cottage can hold a small family. There is an attached area with another bedroom and bathroom. It is a pretty large place all to myself. There is also a washer on sight. I am happy to be able to do laundry.