CROATIA zagreb (try split,rijeka or zadar…actually anywhere else)
coming from ljubljana, zagreb plain sucked. i only went against everyone else’s recommendations (for every other awesome town in croatia) since it was a convenient two day stop over on the way to sarajevo. next time i shall listen.
first of all, there were two walking tours that was recommended on the city guide. . .and we did them in three hours. we would follow the map, see the buildings, and move on unimpressed. this is the moment i realized i need to settle somewhere for a bit. i mean, i usually LOVE marveling at architecture. and here i was, not caring. but all the parliament buildings and important institutions are all starting to look identical, i swear. maybe the city would not have been that bad a few months ago. i dunno. someone let me know what they thought.
SLOVENIJA ljubljana.bled (yay for dragons!)
my first stop in eastern europe! or so i thought. . .as the hostel owner made sure to correct me and inform me that slovenia is actually central europe. . .and i soon realized how true this was. visibly annoyed, he says most people that come through believe so just because it is not one of the “main” european countries. way to piss him off before checking in, right? ok so now i know. anyway, he turned out to be super nice and the hostel was fantastic. ‘aladin hostel’-with the logo looking like the film cover but the interior decoration looking nothing like the name. i met some cool people there-fun girls from wales (no surprise, as i have not gone TWO DAYS in the last eights months without meeting an oz or someone from the uk. . .they are EVERYWHERE!) and a couple of cool dudes from sweden.
and so it turns out slovenia has a happening night life! the coolest club we went to was up a clear elevator to the rooftop, which was open and letting in the warm breeze. the music was not half bad, and we ended up staying out till the morning. i wish seattle clubs were open past two!
i wish i spent more time in slovenia. . .most specificly in bled. lake bled is brilliant! (haha ok another lake, i know) there is a castle on the high cliffs and then an island in the middle of this huge lake just big enough to fit a church. picture perfect. kinda like a bob ross painting-with lots of ‘happy trees’ and the only thing missing was a lone cabin. how cool is that?
oooh two more reasons ljubljana is worth checking out: green dragons statues on the bridge, and a sprinkler system in the center (kinda like in the veggie section) that gently sprays water from ten metres above you. ABSOLUTELY clutch on a hot day.
ITALIA milano (more than just a fashion capital)
milano is THE place to be. i guess i am a little biased since i got to spend time with my relatives. . .but still. and because of its location, i have been able to use milano as home base for the last couple of weeks, which is a definite plus!!! besides the most famous opera house in the world (the scala), davinci’s ‘last supper’ painting, the gothic duomo, castello sforzesco, AND the magnificent train staion. . .milano is unique because unlike rome and firenze, random sites are hidden around the city, and you only stumble upon them as you walk around. this was the case as i walked the family dog belle around and got to extensively explore the city!
till my stay in milano i had not met a backpacker who had anything positive to say about it. so i am glad i gave it another chance since i felt the same way when i was here with tiff, alex, and tyson. although all we did was check out the italian super brands (dolce and gabbana, emporio armani, prada and gucci to name as few). . .and eat fifty cent hamburgers. haha. what a difference it makes to have locals show you around!
the nightlife is incredible. we didn’t leave the house till 1:30 am and even at that time people were not out in full force. milano’s clubs are all so gorgeous! with grand chandeliers and professionally designed layouts, sitting at a bar was an experience. i was so let down when their most famous club-’hollywood’ was a dingy dark dance pit. seriously though. i guess it is really hard to get into unless you are a model or work in the fashion industry, so the point of the club is to get in and be seen. my cousin sara knows the bouncers pretty well since she has been going since she was like fifteen. . .and we still had to pass me off as a fashion designer friend from the states. . .i was just hoping the bouncer did not ask me who i worked for. the music selection was hilarious, since the night started with euro-trash pop, then some top 40’s, to a few american country songs, trendy pop punk. . .and then back to euro trash. i was wondering how the hell people were dancing, and then realized most were just shuffling. lame.
hanging with sara was cool since she is like a little sister. we met for the first time in tokyo, but she is more like me than our other cousins in japan. considering i finally just met her but have known the other cousins my whole life, this was an interesting revelation.
things i have noticed about italians (mostly in milano) : they shop at dolce and gabbana like it is their job. love shirts with the designer´s name in block letters across their chests. prepare DOG PASTA for their pet. talk really really loud. don’t seem to use deodorant. shop at emporio armani like it is their job. are crazy drivers. swear a lot. . .maybe even more than the english.
ITALIA riva (vista of santa barbara)
up next was the town of riva! because it is on the opposite end of the lake, we took a scenic ferry over which was a way better deal than sitting on a bus. a plus was that garda is the last stop, so we got to see what the other towns looked like. i would highly recommend any of the towns on lago di garda. . .what a relaxing place to chill. . .but i suppose the mountainous back drop along against the lake provided an ideal setting.
we had a booking at the h.i. hostel, (only because it was 15 euro a night) but as soon as we checked in and saw the rooms. . . and then got told there was a curfew of 11pm, we checked back out. the receptionist was understandably pissed as we got our money back, but there was no way we wanted to stay. he was like, “no where else you find cheap.” we were not sure where else we could stay, but we figured it would work out. and it did! we walked for a bit and saw a sign that said “albergue” above a restaurant, so we asked the waitress and she happily offered us a room. the best part was that it was only 18 euro! boo ya, hostelling internatinal.
up the hill from riva is a little church named santa barbara. looking up at the mountainside from town, we could only make out a little white speck, so we thought it would be a cool hike with a rewarding view. the guide book said it would take about an hour, so we figured it would only take half or forty five minutes at most. wrong! it ended up taking us the full hour, and the worst part was that we did not have enough water. . .and rationing the last few sips sucked. good thing the view at the top was worth it!
ITALIA sirmione (hot deals!)
i have been visiting a lot of lakes recently. . .and lake garda (the biggest one in italy) is my latest. jonah came up from firenze and we were able to spend the weekend exploring two towns on garda, which was THE TRUTH.
the first was the town of sirmione, on a peninsula at the south end of the lake. after getting off the bus, we were looking for our place and everyone we asked told us to “go through the castle.” although the directions were simple, we were still unsure and were like, “the castle gates?” sure enough, we see a castle WITH A MOAT and a big gate. i was so impressed! i had seen a lot of castles but never one with a moat! to top things off, our room (hotel grifone) at the very edge of the peninsula gave us a view of the whole thing! at 32 euro this was definitely a hot deal.
swimming in garda was amazing. there were huge boulders that were partway submerged in the water, which was fun for lying out without getting too hot. . .and at the edge the water was deep enough to dive into! i wish there was a lake to jump into at the end of every day, especially after sweating all day with our bags. the day was complete after chilling for a while and then getting bomb fungi risotto!
i really could not be bothered with any more cathedrals or grand buildings. at least for the next few weeks or so. . .but ruins? yes please! the ruins of sirmione, called grotte di catullo are incredible. it was especially cool for me since it reminded me of the ruins enda, randall and i hiked to on isla del sol. grotte di catullo is just up a hill and overlooks the whole lake, so we got some amazing photos. we were just loving it.