After departing our 5 star luxury hotel in Zagreb, we boarded a train which landed us in Ljubliana, Slovenia. Our hungry tummies took us straight to the Mcdonalds at the train station! Oh yes we did...Mcdonalds for lunch. We then rolled our way the few blocks to Hertz where we picked up our latest vehicle, a Hyundai. We zipped outta town, heading for the mountains, the Julian Alps. We made a quick stop ledBEtterled and Bohinj, two quite touristic (a word used frequently here but new to me) towns on the southern side of the alps. Both towns set on lakes with nice mountain views...but we were bound for the Soca River Valley so didn't linger long in these towns. The drive to Soca took us over Vrsic Pass, a very scenic pass crossing northward over the Julian Alps. One sign post on a pull out along the way revealed to us a face in the mountain. I love when I can find faces in rocks and was delighted to see this one. It looked a lot like picassos depiction of John Lennon. Anyway, as we zoomed over and down the other side of the pass, it began to rain and soon the mountain tops were blanketed in fog. We got to the Soca River just at dark and searched for the campsite that most suited us. We ended up at Camp Triglav. Triglav is the tallest mountain (2860ish m) in the Julian Alps and the name of the national park surrounding it. We quickly set up our tent in the rain and were happy, once again, to have our big blanket from Montenegro. We awoke to mountain views all around us. Soca is nestled right in the heart of the mountains so we spent our time in Soca doing some hiking and attempting to get as high as possible in those alps. Triglav was an unmet aspiration due to the rain but we did drive up to about 2000m and then hiked up Mangart (on the Italian border) until we were in the clouds (not to the top) at about 2300 or 2400m. The views were stunning, literally surrounded by mountains. A very rainy day inspired our short jaunt into Austria. We literally crossed the border, spotted a mall and entered the mall in search of food and a map of Austria so as to plot our next move. We didn't leave said mall for many hours due to a run in with an all you can eat sushi boat restaurant and some back to school shopping. I shopped while Jij read up on his Bengals using the free wi-fi. It's more fun to shop in other countries but I had to resist the slight urge to purchase the, I'm sure there's an official name for this type of ware but I can only describe it as the female version of lederhosen which was for sale at all the modern shops in the mall and surprisingly worn by many! After our stand at the mall we cruised back into Slovenia for the night at a hotel overlooking lake bled, with breakfast included and, best of all, free access to the indoor waterslide/hot tubs/ multiple swimming pools. Priceless! I realized that when I return to this part of the world I'd like to be properly equipped for outdoor activity (hiking, biking and/or climbing). I would spend some time here in Slovenia being out in the mountains and would then head for croatias beaches. On a side note, one of my favorite quirks of many of these countries is that they play what was popular music in the states in the late 80's through mid to late 90's. A genre of music that, if you know me you might know, I am quite fond of. As I sit here in this pizzeria typing on our (borrowed) iPod touch, November rain is pouring out of the speakers...probably soon to be followed by Dire Straits or Lionel Richie or Cyndi Lauper! I can't help but pause my typing at times to sing along. Today, or very early tomorrow morning I suppose, we catch our 2:18am train from Ljubliana to arrive in Venice at 7:15am...the Sofitel Venice (actually named Papodopoli Venezia) awaits us. It's august 6th, we will be home in 5 days! We are both excited to return home, we like our home, but we are also excited for what we will encounter in our final 5 days...

de Jesus and his beer glass-theiving lady friend in Dubrovnik

Long Haired Asian Endorses Central European Coastal Nation

ZAGREB- Jij de Jesus, an American traveler of Filipino descent, recently made an official statement regarding the country he will be leaving later today.

"I endorse Croatia!" stated de Jesus, as he sipped water from the elegant Karlovacko beer glass his lovely wife Claire had relocated from a caffe bar the night previous. When considering why he would make such a formal pronouncement of affection, de Jesus had little trouble listing the reasons for his endorsement.

"Beautiful pebbly beaches lapped by brilliant turquoise waters, fantastic historical and cultural sights, terra-cotta roofed Old Towns surrounded by marbled walls, phenomenally fresh seafood, lovely accomadation, from private apartments to beachside campings, a fun language to attempt to speak with the friendly locals. I could go on."

Narrowing the reasons to just one proved more difficult. "I can't choose one. But I can do two. Pivo and Hobotnitsa."
(To clarify, Pivo is the Croatian word for "beer", a frothy beverage that de Jesus seemed to consume at every waking moment, usually from a 2-liter bottle made of the lower grade plastics that one would expect to find in Europe, often on the marble steps of an old historic church or other building. Hobonitsa means "octopus," which became something of an obsession for the skinny, sun-darkened fellow. Whether hunting it in underwater environs with a snorkel mask and a stick, buying 5 kilos of it at the Sibenik Fresh Market, eating it deliciously fire-roasted "under the bell" prepared lovingly by Kasia's dad, or consuming it in a ceviche-esque preparation of Hobotnitsa salad, de Jesus simply could not get enough of the oshem-tentacled sea creature.)

In the the end, while he is sad to leave this lovely land, de Jesus knows that it is time to move on. "In an hour and a half, I'm catching a train to Ljubljana, capital of Slovenia and gateway to the Julian Alps." That leaves just enough time for 1 or 7 more pivos.

Hvala Hrvatska.

For the first time on this trip I am actually feeling legitimately sad to be leaving a place. I was momentarily sad to be leaving Istanbul but Croatia has an extra special place in my heart. Maybe its the reality of returning home to work looming just around the corner but I dont think so because I have a new job and new people to meet that I am excited about and looking forward to. I must just like Croatia THAT much. I guess that means Jij and I will have to return sometime :) We are off to spend our last Croatian night in Zagreb. I hear from a friend of mine that Zagreb is for zombies...I dont know what that means but I suppose Im about to find out! We are staying in the first 5 star hotel of our trip. The Regent Esplanade. We will be strolling in there toting (more like pulling) our recently acquired rolly suitcases. I have a rolly suitcase of sorts from every long trip abroad Ive ever been on. Maybe next time Ill just start the trip with the rolly suitcase in hopes of lessening my growing suitcase collection! We also just booked rental cars for both Slovenia AND Italy! As you can see we have clearly morphed into poshies :) On that note, I should probably go and buy something other than the 1 black dress that I have worn the ENTIRE trip so I can better fill my role as a poshie...after, of course, I have my latte. Ciao