MickeyandKimWorldAdventures

  Dubrovnik, Croatia Our last stop in Croatia was Dubrovnik. Since Mickey and I had been here before, we chose a wine tasting tour on the Dalmatian Coast. While I considered a Game of Thrones tour, (King's Landing in the show), as I am a big fan, the wine won out! Our first stop was a family run olive farm up in the mountainous area of Dubrovnik. The drive up there gave us some spectacular views of all the mountains surrounding the bay. The olive farm was small and rustic. The owner showed us how they have the horse turn the stone mill to pulverize the olives (pits and all), then place the olive pulp in the natural fiber baskets to be set in the cold press. The cold press was manned by two men turning a press to squeeze the oil out of the fiber baskets filled with olive pulp. After his talk, he took us to his home where we were served farm to table lunch platters filled with cheese, sausage, tomatoes, olives, etc. and served with his own family’s olive oil. He also served wine fro

  Split, Croatia When we were last in Split, they were waiting to become part of the EU, which would give them more stability and help with unemployment. Our tour guide could not get employment outside of Croatia in his chosen field, technology, due to crazy regulations.  He was looking forward to the entry - I hope he has been able to fulfill his dreams.  Our first time we did a segway tour to the parks and a little in the city, so we just got off the ship and wandered through the city.  Split is the 2nd largest city of Croatia, the largest in Dalmatia, and the largest on the coast.   One of its claims to fame, is that portions of Game of Thrones were shot here.  Not as much as Dubrovnik, however. After walking around in the heat, we were ready for refreshments.  found a great bar on the water, and a new taste treat.  Bought some to bring home with us. A very nice day -starting to get toured out, but a lot coming up yet.  Beautiful sunset that evening. Dubrovnik, here we come!

  Zadar, Croatia Zadar, Croatia is the first of three ports that we will be going to in Croatia and is a new port for us. We took a tuk tuk tour that gave us an overview of the city center, the seaside, and the highlight was the "Sea Organ" and the "Greeting of the Sun". Coning into port. Zadar is a medieval city and surrounded by the old walls. For those who don't know (and we were one of those), a tuk tuk is a glorified golf cart and a great way to get around town. First stop - an old Venetian gate to the city.  The significance of the lion with the wings - the city peacefully surrendered and came under Venetian rule, just as in Verona Italy.  Fifi was sunbathing on her boat - under the shade. Have to keep that youthful appearance. Next, we stopped at an old villa that is being restored and will become a museum.  It is home to the Sphinx of Zadar. The grounds need a lot of work, but the former owners were fans of Egyptian art.  It should be beautiful when rest

  Venice, Italy While we did not make it to Venice, since we have been there so many times, I thought I would share some pictures that Matti Chan posted from his trip.  It truly is a magical city, and we have always enjoyed our times there.

  Koper, Slovenia Koper with a population 25,000, on the Slovenia coast is the fifth largest in Slovenia. It is located in the horseshoe shaped bay in northern Adriatic. It is located only 3 miles from the Italian border and only 12 miles from the port we had just left, Trieste, Italy. That is probably the reason that Italian and Slovene languages are the two official languages of Koper. Not only does Koper border Italy, but it also borders Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Austria’s influence can be seen everywhere, from it’s housing designs, alpine ski resorts and lifestyle. Slovenians like to enjoy the coastal areas during the Summer, where they can do water sports, and then drive up to the surrounding Julian alps during the winter to enjoy snow sports. Slovenians are very fitness oriented and seem to brag a bit about how they are more focused on physical work and activities than drinking and eating like their neighboring countries. Our tour took us to Lake Bled. Lake Bled is 4,530 ft

  Verona, Italy After a 2-hour train ride to Verona, we checked into our hotel, and then headed out for a bit to eat before we met our evening tour.  We thought it would be interesting to get a perspective of nighttime, and then daytime tomorrow.  It was a 2-hour walking tour which was a great way to end our day.   The top picture is the coliseum of Verona, which we were told was older than the one in Rome, and in much better condition.  It was also quite a bit smaller.  Kind of a mini me... Our tour started at 6:30 pm, so we got to see the buildings lit at night and also as the sun was setting.  Bologna (for the short time we were there) was more of a city feeling with some history added in, Verona was more of a small town feeling with so much history and preserved buildings.  Really could spend more time here. This is the Adive River and has two main bridges that cross it.  The Ponte Della Vittoria and the Ponte Pietra Bridges.  The Ponte Pietra connects the fortress that was built t