Rome + Croatia

Maria & I just got back from a trip to Rome + Croatia.

Here's the slideshow:


NOTE: If you'd like a bigger slideshow and/or more info (descriptions of the photos, click here to see the Rome + Croatia set on Flickr. Once you're there, click the little "slideshow" link at the top right for the real deal, or just peruse the pics on your own)

Our trip:
1st Stop - Rome
We visited Rome for several days and took in the sites while also managing to see our friends Jaime & Weylen get hitched in the all official Catholic style. We had a great time meeting their Kansas family and friends and we even managed to stay out with Jaime & Weylen until 6 am on our first full night in town. That kinda hurt actually...


Then, Maria & I set off for Croatia.

Our first stop was in Split where we spent a night in a little apartment right across the street from the fish market... it smelled funny but Split was pretty great. I think my favorite highlight was the little square in the middle of the palace where you could get a drink, sit on the steps and do some serious people watching.

Our next stop was 2 nights in Hvar - a little island town that's about a 45 minute ferry ride from Split. We FINALLY got to do some swimming when we got to Hvar. It was nice, but small and it was obviously very popular with the yachting crowd.

And then we made our way to Dubrovnik to meet Crystal & Darlene for 4 or 5 nights (I don't quite remember). Dubrovnik was great. We stayed in the old town and Dubrovnik was just the right size to walk around & see everything. It had just the right number of topless beaches (are you still reading this?), there were some good restaurants and we found the BEST beach/bar in the entire world. You'd just duck through an opening in the wall around old town and find yourself on the rocks overlooking the water. There was a bar & all that, plus you could just walk right down to the edge & jump off the rocks into the deep, crystal clear water. Like this...




Hank Went on Vacation Too
While we were gone, Hank got a vacation of his own. We took him out to a farm where he played with some pigs, goats, a couple of great dane's and a toddler.

Here's what he did with his vacation:

The 53 Places to Go in 2008

From a NYT article I saw today. The 53 Places to Go in 2008

From Laos to Lisbon, the travel choices for global nomads have never been more varied.

We should be able to hit a couple of these, no?

A few personal notes from the list:

• WHAT?!?!? - Detroit is #40?
• Puerto Vallarta is listed as #12... trying to get people to go there with us in February
  
• Lisbon is #2 (been there, done that)
• Libya is #10 – totally want to go there
• Prague is #14 (and still part of my central European to do list... Do again anyway - it was AWESOME the first time I went)
• Malaga is #45 (been there, done that)
• Buenos Aires @ #27... Might need to do that one this year. We're due for a Latin / South American trip
• Munich is #17 (been there done that also, and like Prague, it's still part of my central European 'do it again' list)
• Mazatlan is #24... really? I wasn't impressed. But, I'm not impressed with Detroit either, and I never did really venture away more than 5 blocks from our Mzt hotel
• Others I can check off: San Francisco (#39), San Diego (#44), New York City (#53), London (#47), Las Vegas (#50)
  

I complain about going to Detroit for Christmas (leaving next Thursday in fact), but at least I can check it off the list... again. I had to reprint their review. Looks like they're into the hotels & investment... Don't see much of that from the 'burbs. Just lots of strip malls and crazy-ass make-a-right-to-go-left turns.

40. DETROIT

Historically crime-ridden Detroit may not spring to mind as a hot tourist spot, but don't tell that to the city's bullish hoteliers. Newcomers include the MGM Grand Detroit (www.mgmgranddetroit.com), the MotorCity Casino Hotel (www.motorcitycasino.com) in an old Wonder Bread factory and the historic Book Cadillac Hotel, being transformed into a Westin (www.westinbookcadillac.com). Plus, the Detroit Institute of Arts (www.dia.org) just reopened after a $158 million renovation.

They didn't mention the burned out buildings, smoke stacks, 1-degree weather and that all the bars are in strip malls...

Finally Posted: Spain & Portugal Video

Take a 10 minute vacation & watch the vid I made of our trip to Spain & Portugal with our friends Sara & Christian last year. Apologies in advance to Sara & Christian, I cut the Paris part out so I could fit YouTube's time constraints. I'll post that part for you some day. :)
Enjoy! (we did)

BARCELONA OR BUST

Oktoberfest is Fun for the Whole Family

This picture made me laugh out loud. Oktoberfest in Munich is on my list of things to do. Apparently it's so much fun that this little guy needed a nap.

A Bavarian boy takes a nap in the hand cart pulled by his parents during the tradtional folklore parade on the second day of the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich , Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007. (AP Photo/Diether Endlicher)