July 18, 2010

Finally Got My Mamma

After spending a couple luxurious months in Southeast Asia, where almost anything can be had for a fraction of the price it costs in the States, the past week in Greece and now Croatia has been a very rude awakening. An hour of internet time in S.E.A. cost us less than a dollar (usually nothing at all because it was free wherever we were staying).  Here we are forced to pay over six dollars an hour.  So, at risk of being killed by husband, I must make my entry very short and sweet - not something that is easy for me.

To be honest, I did not have much time to get excited about seeing my mom and Lee, whom I have missed very much, because Croatia seemed so far away just two weeks ago when I was in Thailand and I knew I still had four countries to go before seeing them.  I could not contain my excitement, however, once we finally arrived in Dubrovnik, exhausted from a terrible night of traveling by bus from Macedonia.  Who would have ever thought transport in South America would seem so luxurious?

Unable to contact each other except through e-mail, we were forced to give my mom and Lee the address of our guesthouse and hope that they would be able to find us.  Well, I knew my mom would find us, Jeff was the one that was fretting.  And, after quite an odyssey, they did finally find us :-)
Reunited with Dubrovnik and the Adriatic Sea in the background

We have had a wonderful two days together so far, exploring the Dubrovnik's Old City (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and around.  It was Lee's 65th birthday on the day they arrived, but we were all fairly exhausted so we had a nice early dinner together in a town near Dubrovnik called Cavtat where we stayed the night. The next day was spent driving around the countryside.  The highlight of yesterday was our amazing lunch at a restaurant located next to a beautiful stream.  It was a very hot day and the cool air rolling off the water was absolute heaven.

Today there really was no respite from the heat as we stormed through the walls of the Old City.  We thought we would avoid the heat and the crowds by arriving early in the morning.  Unfortunately, we got both.  Jeff and I both agree that Mom and Lee were absolute troopers throughout the long, hot morning as we walked around the walls of the city.  Of course there are a lot of stairs, which do not help with keeping cool and very few places that offer any sort of shade.  All of us were dripping (literally) with sweat by the time we were done.  I thought it was not possible for a human to sweat more than me.  Lee beats me.
 Hot and sweaty, but very happy
After a late lunch, we leisurely strolled around within the walls, sticking our heads into art galleries and churches and just enjoying being together.  After arranging our kayaking trip for tomorrow, we decided to call it a day.  It was clear, despite their heroic performances, my mom and Lee needed their rest.  So Jeff and I are at an internet cafe, catching up on our posts.  We too are exhausted (not just the old folks!) and will be calling it an early night as well.

7 comments:

  1. What a great post and the pictures of Marcia, Lee, Jeffrey and you are fantastic. The writing is always on a cheery note and the pictures uplifting. Despite exploring the city and sweating lots your smiles are radiant! Are the roofs orange all over Dubrovnik? It gives a nice contrast to the seascape.
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEE! Magge - The only thing missing here is Lee's birthday sign. Yes, he is with you but I would have loved to have seen another outstanding, personalized birthday sign in Croatian. To complete the birthday sign tradition this one is for you Lee:
    Sretan rođendan, Zavjetrina! Drago mi je da ste imali veliki rođendan sa svojim bliski sam sebe.
    (Glad you were able to spend your birthday with family!)

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  2. Many of the roofs were damaged or destroyed by Serbian shelling during the Yugoslav War. They were restored using similar, but not identical, tiles that had previously been of the roofs. Since they were completed at the same time, there is nearly a complete uniformity in the color, whereas before there was more variation in the shade since the tiles were different ages. Some of the roofs survived the war and are closer to brown or dark yellow. But short answer: yes, the roofs have the same color.

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  3. HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY Mr. LEE! Seems like you guys had a wonderful time. Dubrovnik seems to be a cheery and nice place. Is it safe? or are the pictures just misleading ( :] ). It's so green there! Does it rain a lot?

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  4. Hey, I made it in this post. Thank you Lucie and Kiersten for the HB WISHES.

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  5. Marcia - thanks for sharing!!! how jealous i am!!! ;) glad you are back in the states - NCAMES needs you!!! Beth....

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  6. What great photos of everyone, and you all seem so happy together! I enjoyed reading this, even though I am a little behind on my hostel honeymoon updates. Marcia told me that you guys receive a notice when someone posts, so I don't feel so bad about posting a month later.

    I'm glad that the old folks didn't wear you out too much. I remember our trip in France with Marcia and Dad, and I was exhausted at the end of every day. Those two really know how travel! I wanted to comment, or rather laugh about the luxurious transport in South America. HA, very luxurious! But I think that an overnight bus ride anywhere is going to be bad.

    Miss you both and glad you have some time with family!!!

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  7. Rachel, I'd take Chile's Tur Bus or Peru's Cruz del Sur over any other bus service we've had so far. Easily.

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