Jordan and the Balkans Wrap-Up

Facts and Figures
Length of Stay: 23 Days
Miles Traveled to Enter: 4,240 by plane from Bangkok
Miles Traveled: 800 by plane + 620 by bus + 300 by train + 160 by boat + 160 by car  = 2,040 total (37,190 since landing in Quito - yes, I realize the website's logo is now wrong)
Places Visited: Amman, Wadi Musa (Petra), Athens, Skopje, Dubrovnik, Split, Hvar.  Also drove through Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro.
Intercity Buses Taken: 3
Trains Taken: 2
Ferries Taken: 1
Flights Taken: 1
Times a Croatian map failed us: 5

Rankings in the full post.

Jeff's Top 3s
Meals -  At the risk of sounding too much like a jaded and pretentious NY Times food critic, the food we had, especially on the Balkan peninsula, was largely uninspired.
1.  Shish taouk, Wadi Musa.  Grilled chicken at its best.  The hummus was also awesome.
2.  Baklava, Wadi Musa.  Magge claims that I used to say I didn't like baklava.  This isn't true.  What is true is that this was the best baklava I've ever had.
3.  Chicken souvlaki @ tourist trap restaurant in Athens.  This was good, but I can't say it was any better than souvlaki I've had in Philly or NYC.  In fact, I'd give the edge to the Greek Lady food truck in Philly.

Stays - It was a tough transition to go from Southeast Asia, where we were paying $15-20 for a private room and bathroom, to Europe, where we were paying $60 for a shared bathroom. 
1.  Anica Guesthouse, Dubrovnik.  Even though we had to walk almost two miles to get into the old city, I liked this place because of the owner.
2.  Student Travellers Inn, Athens.  We had to share this room and a bathroom with two surly French girls, but the location was perfect for our hit-and-run time in Athens.
3.  Bulovic Guesthouse, Split.  Right outside the east gate to Diocletian's Palace, this place gave us our first taste of AC in a week and the bed was very comfortable.

Experiences
1.  Petra.  I don't think there's a better way to say it - Petra is really really really cool. 
2.  Wandering around Diocletian's Palace in Split.
3.  Walking the walls of Dubrovnik.

Magge's Top 3s
Meals - Things really are starting to go by in a blur.  I'm having a hard time keeping everything straight.  To be honest, Jordan and the Balkans were not the culinary delight that Southeast Asia was.  In Southeast Asia I had a hard time choosing my top meals because everything was so good, whereas for these two locations I am having a hard time choosing because very few meals stand out.  With that said, here goes:
1.  My mom's birthday dinner @ Boban, Split.  Jeff and I were so happy to get to share the big 6-0 with my mom.  Unfortunately, finding a place to eat proved to be more difficult than we had bargained for.  Tired of the standard tourist menu we kept encountering at every restaurant, we decided to try and find a nice place to enjoy my mom's dinner.  The first place we tried turned out to be closed.  Then the second place was actually located about a kilometer from where it was marked on the map.  Poor mom and Lee had been walking around a lot, but they were troopers and pushed through to get to that second restaurant (lots of hills and heat) and I think we are all glad we did.  I had an amazing dish of ham and shrimp stuffed gnocchi with a white sauce and it was just out of this world.  Add in some good Croatian wine and it made for a great meal!
2.  Hummus in Petra.  I do have to say that this stands out.  The hummus we had during our trip to Petra was truly superb.  The olive oil they put on was just superb.
3.  Gyro during out guided tour in Athena.  No, our tour guide (a law student from Iceland trying to earn some extra money during his summer break) really wouldn't count as a tour guide in most people's book, but he was a nice guy and the restaurant he took us to for lunch served up some amazing gyros.

Stays - Top stays is really the same story as food. No real winners in this department either. Though I must say we did encounter some really sweet land ladies
1.  Bulovic Guesthouse, Split.  Though things started out a little rocky - we had to wait outside for a while until our landlady got back from the beach (confusion over when we were supposed to arrive), this place turned out to be a very nice, comfortable stay.  The beds were some of the most comfortable we've had on the trip, along with really soft blankets, air-conditioning, and a nice spacious bathroom.
2.  Anica Guesthouse, Dubrovnik.  This is a very close second.  The landlady at this place was awesome.  She offered to pick us up from the bus station, but Jeff told her not to worry because we weren't sure when the bus got in exactly.  After one of the worst bus rides on this trip, I cannot tell you how relieved we were to find her standing out front when we arrived!  She was also incredibly kind during our second stay with her: after some confusion over dates we were to stay with her (lots of confusion!), she kindly offered to drive us to the airport at 6:30 the next morning for free to make up for the mistake, which really hadn't been a problem in the first place.
3.  Hotel Castelletto, Cavtat.  Our first night together, my mom and Lee had reservations at a hotel in a town about twenty minutes away from Dubrovnik.  My mom and Lee kindly decided to put us up with them for the night and it was a lovely place.  Fantastic breakfast!

Experiences - Though stays and eats are difficult due to a lack of decent options, there are so many great experiences from which to choose!
1. Jumping into the ocean in our underwear in Trsteno, outside Dubrovnik.  Our last day before heading to Split, we decided to check out a garden outside of Dubrovnik.  As we were wandering the grounds, we spotted a little swimming area below us.  We decided the steep walk down was worth it to get a closer look at the beautiful blue waters.  It was a very hot day and both Jeff and I were very jealous of all the people frolicking in the water.  My mom commented that if she were 28 she would just jump in with her underwear on.  Well, I couldn't help but take that as a challenge, and so Jeff and I decided that it was too beautiful a place to miss the opportunity to jump in.

 We both about lost our underwear when we dove in. Though, even without underwear we would have still been wearing more than some of the people there. 

2. Wandering the streets of Dubrovnik at night with Jeff.  We went back on our last night to check out some more of the back streets in the city and all I could keep saying was how magical the place felt.
3. Our hike in Hvar. Already wrote about it, so I wont rehash, but it was great!