Postcards From Italy

i am finally home from my fifteen day vacation to croatia. we were there a majority of the trip, but also saw a little of montenegro, slovenia, and venice, italy! maybe scheduling the venice days at the end of the trip wasn't the greatest idea (emotions were high, people were tired, etc.) but it was a pleasure to visit, especially if it does in fact sink one day. i didn't think venice smelled too bad, but dang, was it super expensive, especially compared to croatia! restaurants and bars charge like three euro a person just to sit down, even if you buy a whole meal, so that added on about $20 a sitting for our group. i don't think it was my favorite place in italy, and i'm not even sure i'd go back, but i'm glad i went! here are a few shots: ) 

Not to Brag or Anything, But...

so this is it, andrew and i will be headed to europe on friday! It's scary how fast time flies sometimes. i think we have gathered most of the supplies we'll need (dual voltage flat iron, really nice headphones, travel journals, new swimsuits!), and we have the itinerary mainly set. we are trying to learn some important phrases (kave, mollim = coffee, please). we even practiced going over the canadian border memorial day weekend because we fly out of toronto (eh, no issues!). since croatia is a fairly less-traveled destination, i'm not sure how much preparing we can really do, but we are super excited! here are a few of the places we'll be visiting!

trogir, croatia: we are spending a couple of nights here before taking off on the boat. can't wait to explore it!

split, croatia: we're taking off on our rented sailboat from here. yes, we're sailing. i'm hoping not to be the (wo)man overboard.

isle of hvar, croatia: one of our stops as we sail! eric clapton was just there, I hear!

isle of brac: another island on our tour of dalmatia.

dubrovnik, croatia: we are renting a villa here for about a week (I'd be staying in hostels if I wasn't going with andrew's family, so this is beyond belief). they are filming "game of thrones" here, which I've said before,

but we love that show! i hope we get to have a beer with peter dinklage!

budva, montenegro: hopefully one of our excursions from dubrovnik. it's supposed to be really beautiful here.

mostar, bosnia and herzegovina: we are really hoping to go on this excursion as well. i think the bridge is the most iconic part, but i'd love to see bosnia!

venice, italia: the members of our group have all been to italy, but not to venice! i'm really excited for this part. gelato, bellinis, gondolas, cappucinos, and tiramisu!

and that's our trip! i'm hoping to have internet access so i can update you all. have you ever been to any of these places? what's the best vacation you've been on?

Let's Go Today, In a Heartbeat

i cannot believe how soon we are heading to croatia! today is may 2nd, and we leave june 8th. i am a little concerned because i feel like so many plans still need to be made for the trip and we need to buy a few more things on our croatia list... and in the meantime we are trying to figure out andrew's whole car situation. but overall i know it will be great, and i think we have most things booked at least - plane tix, hotels, villa, boat... yes! a boat! we are sailing between some of the islands for a few days of our trip. this is something i have never done. i have barely been on a moving boat (i have a few times though!), so i am somewhat nervous for this leg of the trip. i'm sure it will be amazing, and i read that the sailing is pretty smooth! we are also going to be staying at a villa in dubrovnik, which is where they are filming the game of thrones scenes that take place in king's landing. i realllllly hope they are filming there when we are visiting! that would just be an added bonus.

since we are actually flying into and out of venice, italy, we are also spending about two and a half days there at the end of the trip. i have been to italy, but not venice. i'm sure it will be gorgeous and that the gelato will be my friend. 

i wish i could post more details about the trip but i honestly don't know what it holds for us. we are hoping to go on a kayak tour in dubrovnik, which is pretty much the only water activity i have any confidence or skill at. we also want to venture a little bit into bosnia and herzegovina since it is so close by. montenegro too? and we'll be driving through slovenia to get to croatia from italy. 

have any of you been to croatia? where is your next trip to?

*i did not take the photos in this post, but i will soon have my own!