Still in Zagreb

It is amazing how fast each Tuesday comes!

Here I am once again looking at tomorrow being Tuesday.  Am I ready to share with you our trip to Croatia? I hope so.

The final arrangements are almost complete for our departure to India. Tomorrow is a book club at Nicholas Hoare in Toronto so we will be heading there weather permitting around 10:00 AM. It is time to share "God of Small Things"!

Before I depart I must tell you a little more about "Amazing Zagreb!
September 17, 2012
I had arranged a tour of the city with "Dora Fila". We used Dora's company on our first visit as she came recommended by Miljenka for her perfect English Tours. It was a great success so once again I hired Dora. Our tour started in Park Zrinjevac where we first saw the 'Plane Trees' and the beautiful gazebo.

After our city walking tour we went to a new museum ...new to me! 'Lauba', is a privately owned contemporary art gallery, well worth a visit.  The art of Zagreb is exciting and in this museum it represents today!

At this time in our trip I hadn't discovered 'mini memories'. I was still painting with my watercolour (Canadian spelling) paints and drawing with a marker. As you can see the marker used to draw the gazebo was much finer then the one to draw "Coffee Street",  below. It is amazing how the change of a pen changes the way you draw. The larger the pen the faster and simpler the drawing. I am learning something new each day.

Just behind the umbrella and below the sundial clock is the statue of Marija Juric Zagorka, Croatian writer and journalist who was born in 1873 and lived till 1957.

 See you here on Feb. 5th my last posting before I head to India.

Zagreb, Capital of Croatia

Hi, Tuesday and oh so cold in Stratford! It is great to have wonderful memories of warm places when you have to face -15 C.

I will start back on our arrival in Zagreb.

September 16, 2012 Zagreb, Capital of Croatia
It was a long journey and we were tired but Zagreb has too much to share to stop. We checked into The Palace Hotel. A perfect location for walking to and from anything really important to visitors.  Our itinerary said that we were at leisure. This means if you can stay awake get out and walk! We met in the foyer and walked to the main square. Just out the door and turn left...keep walking and in about 5 minutes you are there. Zagreb citizens enjoy the out of doors. Cafes, parks and shopping can all be enjoyed without entering a building. We walked, sat in a cafe, enjoyed a cup of coffee and of course an amazing little dessert. Six PM and we returned to the hotel for welcome drinks with our friend in Zagreb...Miljenka's daughter, Kora...came to our hotel to welcome us.  Miljenka, our contact and friend in Zagreb was off in Brela making final arrangements for our trip.

As you can see the little painting was done the next day. I will talk more of this day next Tuesday.
Till then.

Time to head home!

September 30, 2012

Time travels quickly when you are enjoying yourself. It certainly went quickly on this trip to Croatia. As this is the day we returned to Canada there isn’t much to share. A beautiful sunrise out the window of our early morning flight to Frankfurt then the rest is a blur. 

It has been fun sharing my mini memories with you. I am leaving for India on the 9^th of Feb.  To keep the blog going as per my, every Tuesday posting decision, I will post sketches that I did on this trip prior to starting mini memories. When I get to India I will do my best to post as I go, Mumbai, Cochin, Backwaters of Kerala, Periyar, Madauri, Chennai and Pondicherry are waiting.

 

The Hat!

I told you about the hat, "follow that hat", our Dubrovnik tour guides hat. I was so taken with her hat I decided I wanted one of my own. I am not sure where I will ever wear this hat but it was fun to shop for and it now is in my office along with my safari hat from Kenya. I hope this isn’t the beginning of a collection. See you here next Tuesday. 

 

More Dubrovnik

 

Here we are again. Tuesday,  I am to post on my blog. I am heading to Toronto in the morning for the Reading Southern India book club so will not be here to post. I will do it tonight and those who are in another part of the world will be able to read the blog on Tuesday while the rest of you sleep. 

September 29, 2012

All too soon our tour is coming to an end. There is still so much to experience in Croatia but it will have to wait until the next time. I will return to Croatia with painters or with small group. I am not sure when but am hoping it will not be too far in the future.

On our last day in Dubrovnik our itinerary was "at leisure". Everyone had things they wanted to do  What had we missed in our Dubrovnik experience? 

 

We found a boat trip that went to an island off the coast. It sounded like something that would interest us. Breakfast was once again at Sesame. That mini painting is the view from our table.  There were little flies under the table, biting little flies. We enjoyed our breakfast but moved along faster then we had the previous days. Our cruise which was a water taxi, took us to Lokrum Island. The boat left at 10:00 AM. We went to the harbour in the old city and purchased our tickets. At 10:00 we boarded the Dubrovnik “Skala”. The trip was not very long but a beautiful view of the old city walls, the harbour and an amazing cruise ship that was letting down its' boats for those heading to Dubrovnik for a day tour. Many, many little boats!

It was a very hot day so out on the water was a pleasant place to be. On arrival at Lokrun Island we followed the signs to what we thought was Fort Rajski. We ended up at the monastery. We found a quiet restaurant and ordered a coke. Rest and relaxation was the name of this day. If you are going to Lokrum don’t forget to go prepared for some time at the beach. This island seems to be a destination for beach time and there were lovely places along the shore to sit in the sun or swim in the beautiful Adriatic.  We walked around the island taking in the sights. The boat was returning to the mainland just as we completed our circle so we boarded and returned to Dubrovnik. 

Now what to do? Lunch! We always seem to be sitting, always eating and yes always painting little mini memories. In the square at the gates of the old city you can book tours so we headed there to see what was offered.

Back to you next Tuesday. 

Continuing our travel in Dubrovnik

September 28, 2012 

Our day began with breakfast at Sesame.
TOVJERNA SESAME Dante Alihieria bb, 20000, Dubrovnik, Croatia

We found this restaurant in 2011.  It was very close to our accommodation and was suggested as a good breakfast place.  This restaurant is located just in front of the IUC the Inter-University Centre.  We sat outside at tables that were lined along the walkway to the university. The sun was shining and the food was just what we were looking for.
After breakfast we met Pave Braile our guide for the Dubrovnik Old City tour.  On our visit in 2011 we had been assigned Pave and were so pleased with her and her excitement about her city I asked to have her again. Pave has her own signature it is a beautiful hat.  Follow the hat! Every where you looked were large groups of tourists all following guides with umbrellas and flags, our Pave had the most beautiful hat and for our small group it was perfect. It was personal.

After our tour it was once again time to eat. You do a lot of this while travelling and in Dubrovnik it is a way to find a seat to people watch.  Each stair way, climbing the wall from the main thoroughfare offers an opportunity to eat and people watch. We decided to have a snack. A hot dog and a coke were advertised for 20 Kuna ($3.47 CAD)  at "Belleza". We placed our order and watched the tourists go by. The hot dog was a foot long and the bun the size of a loaf to bread! I still laugh when I remember the look on our faces when they were delivered to our table.  

Sister Janja told us about a place to swim so we returned to the monastery and changed to our bathing suits then headed out the back door and turned left.  At the sign for the restaurant, turn right. There it was an amazing almost private beach. As we floated in the Adriatic, we looked up at the wall of the old city. You couldn't ask for more. It was a great way to experience Dubrovnik and to escape the cruise ship tourists.

Happy New Year, I will be back next Tuesday with more from Dubrovnik.