Goodbye, Dubrovnik!

When we arrived, the main street (called the Stradun) was packed with
tourists. As we leave (at 4am), there seem to be no stragglers, and
the town looks so peaceful!

We greatly enjoyed our experiences here, which included lots of eating
(we found the best ice cream scoopers, and tried some crazy dishes
like black risoto - it is black because of the squid ink), lots of
walking in the rain (including a trip both on and within the wall),
walking through museums and churches to avoid the rain, a bocci
tournament, and, of course, some coffee drinking.

I found my new favorite beer: Lasko "dark" only to find out that this
Slovenian brewery has gone bankrupt and will no longer produce this
beer!

Jessica found a new love for pizza and the relaxed, harbor-town, cafe
culture. I think she will really miss all the cats and dogs that we
have befriended along our way (people just let their animals roam
here). On our last night, we were eating ice cream next to this cool
mutt, and it started to down pour. We high tailed it for our pad, and
the dog figured that he would join us. He hung out with us in our
hallway until the rain cleared.

Goodbye, Dubrovnik!
Goodbye, Croatia!

Jason & Jessica

Not so Instant Coffee

In Bol, we were spoiled by access to a French press coffee maker. We
bought some coffee and made ourselves our own cafe culture on our
pretty patio there. We were not given the same luxury for our single
nights in either Hvar or Korcula, but with three nights planned in
Dubrovnik, buying coffee would get expensive quickly. I became a man
with a mission.

I am not sure that JP fully understood how dedicated I became until
our second day. We had been browsing stores looking for a French
press, but on our second day in Dubrovnik, the thunderstorms started,
and coffee sounded really good (I am usually not a coffee drinker, a
fact you soon won't believe).

I began my march through the torrential rain into just about every
shop in and around the old city (where we are staying)-the store
owners were glad to have me dripping wet in their stores. I finally
got to someone who could respond in English (thanks to some studying
of Croatian, and the "lingo" device I got from the Torrano's, I could
ask in Croatian, but I couldn't understand the answer) (most of this
town speaks basic English, unlike the rest of croatia, but not complex
stuff). They told me to get on a bus and head to the closest
supermarket. I got to the bus terminal, and figured that Jess would be
pretty mad if I took a bus an hour away as she waited for this coffee.
I had to get crafty. I went to the nearby store and got paper towels.
I put the coffee in the paper towels and made a contraption to hold
the paper towel/coffee mixture above an empty cup. I poured boiling
water through the contraption, and got coffee on the other side. I
thought about just boiling the coffee with the grinds, but according
to the discovery channel, this is the worst tasting coffee possible.

In the end, it worked great! JP even called it the best coffee of the
trip. But I learned a very valuable lesson: just buy instant coffee
next time!

National Championships

While wondering the streets of Dubrovnik, we walked right into what
may have been the Croatian bocci ball national championships! If it
wasn't the national championships, then don't tell the players because
the emotions were boiling.

The game was between Cavtat and and Dubrovnik. We couldn't understand
the names of the players, so we gave them our own:

Cavtat (in white):
Superstar (an emotional roller coaster but clutch thrower; high five'd
Jess)
Loafers (all accuracy, first thrower... wore loafers)
Young one (look like he was raised by a family of bocci players)

Dubrovnik (in red):
Handle bar (great facial hair, had three clutch tosses)
Jelly (great accuracy, croud chanted "Jelli" when he was up)
Belly (largest beer belly there, which is an accomplishment!)

The game was riveting! Cavtat was up 10-3 when Dubrovnik started their
come back to win 13-11!

Entire game and all players' refreshments sponsored by karlovachko
(the local beer).

Jason & Jessica

Thank You

Dear Guardian Angel,

As Jessica stepped off the ferry in Jelsa, she must have looked like a
lost soul without a place to stay, with a backpack twice her size.
While i just stood laughing at the humorous situation, again, you sent
a lady in white.

As you know, the bus from Jelsa to Hvar town (where our friends were
and the place we needed to leave from the next day) had a driver that
took the day off (low season). So we were stuck with one option: a
$100 cab ride. But you sent us this lady offering not only a place to
stay, but a free ride. Thankfully, her small runt of a dog ate through
her iron, and the only place for her to buy a new one on the whole
island was Jelsa! So she thought she might as well try to find some
tennants: Us!

Once we got there, we cafe'd with our friends, relaxed on a beautiful
beach (picture) and navigated our way through the nameless, small,
pedestrian streets. Apparently, it is so common to get lost in this
hilly town that all hotels and hostesl give out a number to call when
you lose hope in finding your place. Part of the fun of the town was
watching people wander the streets for hours in search of their
hostel, which they swear has disappeared.

Thanks again, this was a fun town!

Jason & Jessica