Patty Tracks

Monserrate, Azenhas do Mar and Cascais, Portugal

Sintra, Portugal

Packing Tips

Packing for a land tour is a unique experience.  We travel from hotel to hotel, staying from 1 to  3 nights in each location. I hate living out if a suitcase...everything I want is usually in the bottom, and I dig to find it,  with a lot of frustration, and it's all a mess.

Well, one day I decided to watch a Rick Steves "how to pack for a European trip" video. While I will never be able to use just one little carry on for a two week trip, mixing and matching all black clothing, I discovered the secret of "packing cubes" and my packing method was forever changed. This isn't important for a weekend getaway, or a cruise, or a month long apartment rental, but when you are staying in 10 hotels over a few weeks time, I wouldn't do it any other way.

Packing Cubes are flexible, mesh, zippered cubes. You can get them on ricksteves.com or other travel sites. They are inexpensive and pretty durable. On this trip I took 2 large and 3 small. The large ones for shirts, pants, jackets. One small for pajamas; the other 2 for lingerie and scarves.  My travel clothes are mostly of stretchy, non-wrinkle material. I roll them up, which also prevents wrinkles, and put them in the cubes.

When I get to a hotel, they usually have a closet with shelves. All I have to do is put the packing cubes on the shelf, and I live out of the cubes. I am diligent about always putting things back in the appropriate cube, and it all stays well organized.

I also travel with a rick steves toiletry bag that fits so much stuff I can't believe it. Mark asked me why we packed boxes and hired movers for our recent move ...why didn't we just use my toiletry bag?! It has a hook, and who knew all hotel bathrooms have hooks? I just hang it up and I am ready to go.

One other great thing about Rick Steves are his travel guides. I buy the most recent one and read up before we leave. Then, rather than carrying around a big book, I break the book apart into a little "chapter" for the city we are visiting that day. Rick makes little covers into which you can insert the pages. As he says, you can always buy another book! But it really does help. Maybe someday he'll perforate the pages.

The last thing I love I found in the Travelsmith catalog. It’s a vitamin holder! There is a removable plastic pouch for a total of 16 days. Before we go, I put each day's vitamins in a pouch then each morning I remove a pouch and bring it to breakfast to take our pills. I have a second one for our arsenal of cold remedies, etc that we might need on our travels.

A few other things I bring along... a very light hairdryer with a European plug that got great reviews (Elchim) and a hair straightener with a European plug that is also light with great reviews (Sedu). One pair of great walking shoes (I like Clark's Waves), and a pair of Sketchers (both black).

Dubrovnik, Croatia (continued)

The last day of our trip Mark, Sherry and Lowell walked the wall. Dubrovnik is unique in that it has one continuous wall that you can walk along, all around the city. It is a major attraction. Our tour gave us tickets..about $18. It can get very crowded, especially when cruises are in port, and it can get very hot in summer.

A few rules...

You can only go up once, when you come down your ticket won't allow you to go back up again. 

You can only walk counter-clockwise 

There are only 3 entrances. The one by the Pile Gate has over 200 steps to get up there; the one by the Ploce Gate has less steps.

They were working on the wall, so some walking on scaffolding was required!

I was glad I stayed in town to shop! But the pictures they brought back were truly amazing!

Our last dinner was a bus ride out of town to a family's home, where they grow their own vegetables and make their own olive oil. We saw a demonstration  of the "old" way of pressing the olives, using a horse to turn the mechanism, and then how they did the hot and cold pressing. Then they invited us into the farmhouse for a totally homemade meal of cheeses, prosciutto, vegetable risotto, salad, cooked meats, and a traditional flan type of dessert. All so fresh and most from their garden. Wonderful!

We said our goodbyes to our wonderful guide Thamila and all our new friends.

The trip to the airport the next day gave us a bird's-eye view of Dubovnik.  Of course it was the most beautiful weather day, but we were ready to get back to reality.

What a great trip.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Our last stop is Dubrovnik for 3 nights at the Hilton. Nice hotel that used to be a palace. It is right outside one of the main gates into the city.

We had a wonderful walking tour with Hamel, where we saw the Franciscan Cloister and old pharmacy, the Cathedral with relics from St Blaise the patron saint of Dubovnik,  the market, the clock tower, and the memorial to those who lost their lives in 1991-2 during the siege of Dubovnik.  We were emotionally stirred, as he told us how he was about 15 at that time, he knew boys of 17 or 18 who took up arms and were killed, and how his father had to fight and they never knew if he would come home. Seeing the pictures of those who lost their lives (many so young) was very sad. The Yugoslav Army bombed them for 8 months and 2/3 of the city was destroyed.  All of the Old Town is rebuilt, but you can see where there was some damage. It's hard to believe this happened.

We took a 10 minute ferry ride to a peaceful island across the way. While there wasn't much going on there this time of year, the peacocks were trying to impress the peahens, and the rabbits were very large. We also got to see Dubrovnik by sea,  which was pretty.

Sucuraj, Croatia

We thought all our twisting and turning roads were behind us, but there was much more ahead. We drove almost 2 hours on very good, but very high and winding roads to the opposite end of the island of Hvar (beautiful views!) to a pretty fishing village called Sucuraj.

We ate lunch in a tiny little restaurant where they cooked the whole fish (sea bream) in a special wood - fired oven. The picture of the fish is hysterical.  It looks like he's smiling! Many people on the trip learned how to take out the head and spine. You can see that photo too.  As one of my Facebook friends said, "Who's laughing now?"

The weather has not been the best, causing us to carry our (now broken) umbrellas everywhere, but it cleared a bit here and you can see the pretty clouds hovering over the town.

We now took a shorter ferry to the mainland...about a half hour. The ferries all seem to be run by a company called Jadrolinja. Jadron means Aegean, which is this body of water.

Hvar, Croatia

After lunch we met at the ferry dock for our 2 hour (very smooth) ride to the Croatian island of Hvar. The weather was spectacular, and we were all enthralled with the view from our hotel right on the harbor. The light there is so unusual, kind of like Provence. We took pictures of both day and night.

Well, that was the end of the gorgeous weather on Hvar. Even though the island us known for its abundance of sunshine, the next day was pretty miserable with rain. Our cheap umbrellas that we bought were pretty useless, and my shoes are still damp from the puddles on the slippery cobblestones, but we managed to get through a local tour of both Stari Grad (a very old town..and it means Old Town), and the town of Hvar (where we are staying).

They grow a lot of lavender in this area. We saw fields in terraces along the roadways.We also went to a Benedictine monastery for nuns who make intricate lace out of agave plants. They are allergic to the oils, it gets very tangled and they make amazing designs. These nuns never leave the monastery - what a different life. We learned about how hard life can be on an island dependent on tourism and the few exports like lavender and olive oil. Our guide once again was a young local who decided to raise her family here. Fascinating, But what a gorgeous place.

We had a great dinner at Giaxa, which had columns inside that were original from medieval times - they built the restaurant around the columns.

Trogir and Split, Croatia

After the waterfalls, we drove about 3 hours to our destination for the evening..a medieval type town called Trogir. We had a short night time walking tour, and a drink in an outdoor nightclub/cafe, then the next morning we walked through the small old town again. The bell tower was built in 3 styles..one level Venetian Gothic, one level Gothic, and one level Romanesque.

The next day we had a short drive to the town of Split, Croatia, which is a pretty city along the coast and a cruise port. There is a fantastic wide promenade along the water called the Riva, lined with palm trees, cafes, and stylish locals walking, eating and having coffee. It was a beautifulSaturday and there were many people out enjoying the great weather.

The big attraction in Split is Diocletian's Palace. Diocletian was a Roman emperor known for good leadership..he ruled an unprecedented 20 years..but he was also responsible for the ruthless persecution of Christians. He was also the first to "retire"..this palace was his retirement home. Slaves built the huge structure in 10 years; 2000 died building it. He brought huge columns from Egypt that we can still see standing today. After his death, townspeople eventually moved into the palace, dividing it up into apartment/homes. In ironic twists, his mausoleum is now a Catholic church. Today you can see a lot of the original structure, but there are beautiful homes inside, poor homes inside, stores, hotels, and restaurants and cafes..all using portions of the original structure.

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

This was our long bus travel day. Leaving the Istrian Peninsula, we went 3 hours east to a national park called Plitvice Lakes. It was one of the reasons many of us wanted to come to Croatia.

Picture 16 lakes (turquoise colored in sunny weather) connected by a series of waterfalls and cascades, surrounded by dense forests. There is a very short boat ride across one of the lakes . Then we walked along boardwalks, carefully watching our steps, past all the rushing water for about 90 minutes.

Even though we didn't get perfect weather, we were all happy it did not rain, and we were amazed at the waterfalls, many quite wide, all around us.

Istrian Peninsula, Croatia

After the cave, we headed back to Croatia for the remainder of our trip. The Istrian Peninsula was our stop for the next three nights. After WWI this area was part of Italy, but after WWII, it became part of Yugoslavia and then later Croatia, so there is a very strong Italian influence here. Signs and menus are in both Italian and Croatian, the food is mainly Italian, and they have truffles, wineries and olive groves.

We stayed in the beach resort of Opatija, with a long scenic promenade along the water called the Lungomare..one afternoon we walked 6 miles admiring the sea views and the large (sometimes abandoned) villas along the way. There is even a statue of a woman surrounded by seagulls called Greetings to the Sea.

One day we went on a tour of the Istrian Peninsula. First stop was Pula, which has a Roman amphitheater - the 6th largest and 2nd most intact - we were amazed we had never known of it.

Next stop was Rovinj, which is a very pretty town right on the Adriatic, with winding and windy cobbled streets through an Old Town, that lead up to a Venetian looking church and bell tower. Mark climbed the rickety, spiral steps to the top for an amazing view. We had a great lunch by the port. We found a great wine bar in the square where we had the best wine if the trip so far. It was lovely.

Ljubljana, Slovenia

After leaving Lake Bled, we spent two nights in the beautiful capital city of Slovenia...Ljubljana. There is so much to love about this city. We saw many similarities to Salzburg...there is a river (the Lubljanica River) with several pedestrian bridges (cobblers, ugly duckling, triple, butchers, and dragon), pretty squares with grand buildings  (Preseren, Congress), and a castle on the hill, accessed by a funicular with great views of the city and the alps. But there is also a huge pedestrian zone (cars are only allowed in for deliveries until 10 am); there are 2 markets - one has the same local and imported produce and products each day with more on Saturday, the other has different vendors each day, all along a striking riverside colonnade.

The architecture includes art nouveau, some Austrian Habsbrg looking buildings in "Maria Theresa yellow" as well as other more modern styles. Jose Plecnik, a local,  the architect who designed Prague Castle, was responsible for the most important buildings in the city. The buildings are quite colorful...the pink Francescan church, the pale yellow Serbian Orthodox Church, the light yellow and blue-green of the Cathedral. Another important person in town was France Preseren, a poet, whose statue is in central Preseren Square gazing at a plaque of his love, Julija, who married another. The symbol of Lubljana is the dragon, and you see it everywhere. ..on the dragon bridge, the city flag, and all about town.

We had another wonderful young man as a local guide, Vod. He walked us through all the squares, over the bridges, past riverside cafes and shops, to the cathedral where he explained the doors created for John Paul II's visit,  through the markets, then up the funicular to the castle. We took some group photos, then some of us climbed up spiral staircases to the platform or the tower for the better view (not me!). After that we tried to retrace our steps looking for the perfect lunch, and found a great spot outside by the river. ..glorious! Mark and I shopped for local chocolate with sea salt, local fleur-de-sel salt, honey brandy, and saw the local lace.

Just like everywhere else we have been, there is a local pastry that just has to be sampled. This one is called gibanica and it has to be one of the world's best. Layers of apples, sweet cheese, chocolate, walnuts, pastry, rum. We had it served warm at Gujzina, a wonderful cafe/restaurant and it was heavenly!

Many European  cities have a large park, and we try to visit. The one here is Tivoli, with lots of green spaces, and nice paths for walking or biking.

There is one "skyscraper" in town..a whole 12 floors high..so even I went up for the view. It was clear enough to see the alps in the distance. There is a rooftop bar and restaurant.

For dinner we had lots of pretty restaurants from which to choose. We picked Tatiana's, and it was like being guests in her home. We decided not to "see" the fish that was available,  but ordered asparagus which is in season, and was delicious! along with really good entrees. The wine was plentiful, and the meal was extremely reasonable.

Afterwards we went for sladoled (ice cream) ... Svezda (star) had amazing ice cream for very little cost. I  had coconut and dark chocolate. ..3 scoops..,fabulous!!

Postojna Cave, Slovenia

Our next adventure was quite an adventure... Slovenia’s Postojna Cave was discovered in 1817 and opened to the public the following year. It is the largest cave system in Slovenia with over 12 miles of explored caves. In the beginning it was lit by oil lamps; electricity was added in 1884.

A train whisked us rapidly deep into the cave. Not many warnings are given, actually none!, but as we went, the ceiling was quite low, and I was worried about Lowell hitting his head! Once we got off the train, we walked for about a mile with guides along lit paths. The formations were varied and of several colors, with some stalagmites and stalactites 100 feet tall.  Some looked like spaghetti, others like melting ice cream. Once I  realized we would be crossing a bridge over a 60 meter (200 foot) canyon, I was not as happy to be there. At another point the lights all went out...still not sure why that happened! I was glad when we finally reached the large cavern called the concert hall, which can hold 10,000 people, and got the train once again to get back outside.

The cave is home to a strange pink salamander - like creature with fingers and toes, called the olm or "human fish" , which can live up to 100 years and can survive without eating for 10 years. We got to see them in an aquarium at the bottom of the cave. The big news here is that for the first time one of them is about to give birth to offspring while in captivity. That should happen very soon and it has even been in the world news.

One other interesting note.. the entrance to the cave is charred black because the Nazis stored fuel here during WWII,  and the Slovene Partisans blew it up; the fire burned for 7 days.

Interesting excursion.  I don't think I need to go in anymore caves in the future!

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Today we rode by motorcoach to Lake Bled in Slovenia. The bus is very comfortable since it is large and there are only 18 of us...we can each have our own row if we want! We had to get off at the border to get our passports stamped, but it was quick.

Our luck with the weather ran out a bit today, but it didn't keep us from doing all the activities. We were bundled in our warmest clothes and rain gear, but rain held off for most of the day. We saw some glimpses of the Alps until the clouds set in, but the setting was still very beautiful.

This is a resort area, summer and winter. Families come to camp, swim, bike; crew races are held here. There are no motors allowed on the lake.

The special thing to do is to take a traditional Pletna Boat across the lake to the island in the middle of the lake. These boats have been  made by the locals since the 1500's...similar to the way they make gondolas in Venice. These have colorful awnings and flat bottoms, and are rowed by a specially trained oarsman. We had to load and unload the boat carefully, and sit by weight, so as not to tip over.

We could see a castle perched high on a cliff, and also a villa where the ruler Tito used to stay.

Once we got to the island we had to climb up about 100 stairs to the top...whew! It is a tradition for brides to be carried up these steps, which would be quite a challenge! There is a church at the top where we each rang the bell 3 times for good luck,  another local tradition.

Afterwards, our bus drove up to that perched castle. We had to climb 2 more sets of stairs and then were rewarded with beautiful views of the lake, and the island we had just visited.

One of the Slovenian food specialties is found here in Lake Bled... the Blejske Kremne Rezine. People come from all over to get it here. It is a layer of cream and a thick layer of vanilla custard, between sheets of delicate crispy crust...delicious!! So of course we all had to try it, and didn't feel as guilty since we had climbed all those stairs!!

Zagreb, Croatia

Our first stop in Croatia is the capital of Zagreb, There are about 4 million Croatians, and 25% live in Zagreb. We found it to be a lovely place..the old city has grand  Austro-Hungarian architecture, green spaces with parks and gardens, a large cathedral, a busy main square, a bustling market of flowers and produce, and a laid back cafe culture that is well utilized by the locals.

The Upper Towns of Gradec and Kaptol are accessible by either a very short funicular or a long series of steps. There is a nice view at the top, and pedestrian streets. St. Mark's Church has the crest of Croatia..checkerboard for north central Croatia, 3 lions heads for the Dalmatian Coast, and the animal called a marten ( kuna in Croatian, which is also the name of their form of money...no euros here). Prices are extremely reasonable too. There is a plaque honoring Nikola Tesla, the promoter of AC current, who was from Croatia.

There are a few traditions here.. In this area of town, 200 gas lamps are lit each night and extinguished each morning. At noon a cannon goes off to commemorate a 15th century victory over the Ottomans. There is a changing of the guards parade each week. Other than that, it doesn't feel touristy at all.

In the lower town we saw the main square (trg in Croatian) called Jelacic Square, the Dolac Market, and the Cathedral. Inside the cathedral is a wall inscribed with the earliest Slavic language Glagolitic, invented by Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius to translate the Bible. It was later adapted to become the Cyrillic alphabet still used in Russia and Serbia.

Croatia is called Hrvatski in Croatian.  That is why the internet here is .hr for Croatia.

Croatians are responsible for inventing the necktie or cravat.

Tkalciceva Street is a long pedestrian street lined with indoor/outdoor cafes. Especially on a Saturday, locals are frequenting the cafes and watching all those walking by.

Vienna, Austria

Just left Vienna this morning. We had two beautiful weather days in this grand city. Our hotel was in a perfect location - right across from St. Stephens Cathedral on the pedestrian streets.

We did lots of walking around, past the Opera House, the Parliament building, the Burg Theater, the City Hall,,, through the park with the famous Mozart statue. The center of town is surrounded by a road that is called the Ringstrasse -  there are trams that run along this route, and there are bike paths and walking paths... we had to be careful (as in all Europe) not to walk on the bike path!

We walked by the palace, and got to see some of the Lippizaner stallions in their stalls..such pretty white horses. Maybe next time we will be here on a day when they have a performance and we can see them dance! We saw the jewels and crowns in the Royal Treasury.

One day we took the tram out of town to the Belvedere Palace, which is now an art museum with several Gustav Klimt paintings, including the famous "The Kiss"... just beautiful. There were also pretty gardens and a lovely view of Vienna from the ballroom.

One church we stopped in had an Impressive mosaic of The Last Supper. We also went into the Romanesque and Gothic St. Stephan's Cathedral - a massive church.

And what would Vienna. Be without the cafés? It was warm enough to eat either indoors or out. We had eiskaffe and sundaes outdoors at Mozart Café and Anna Torte, Vanilla crème and strudel at the famous Demel. The cafés here have very large newspapers on wooden poles so that customers can read the newspaper without buying their own,

For dinner, we went to a traditional Viennese wine garden type restaurant called a heuriger. We all had goulash.

Salzburg, Austria

Just starting our adventure to Austria, Croatia and Slovenia with our good friends Sherry and Lowell Hill! It has only been a little over 24 hours and we have already tried all the "treats" on our list ...(pretzels with and without chocolate, eiskaffe (coffee with ice cream and whipped cream), topfenstrudl (cheese) and apfelstrudl (warm with both vanilla ice cream and whipped cream) and more! just "in case" we didn't get another opportunity!

We are in Salzburg for a few days, then will take the train to Vienna for a few days, before flying to Zagreb Croatia to start our Odysseys Unlimited tour of Croatia and Slovenia.

Our hotel is the Hotel Bristol and we love it! There are chandeliers of Austrian crystals and mirrors everywhere, the bar is intimate and lovely, the dining room is so pretty, our rooms are great and the breakfast was fantastic!. We arrived to some rain, but it didn't keep us from crossing the Mozart pedestrian bridge to explore the Old Town yesterday, where we visited the Salzburg Cathedral and walked up the pedestrian shopping streets with their wrought iron signs. While it rained, we had happy Hour in the cozy bar and played bridge before going into the dining room for a lovely meal.

Today, after a wonderful breakfast, we took the funicular up to the fortress on the mountain, where we had hot chocolates and topfenstrudl as we looked at the view of the alps. Then we hiked along the "The Hills are Alive" path to the modern art museum for more views of the beautiful compact city. There are several domed churches, multiple pedestrian bridges, and an interesting fortress on the mountain. We took an elevator back down to street level, then went to our favorite brewery - Augustiner - where you grab a mug, rinse it under cold water (we think to get it cold after the dishwasher), pay for your drink, then have it filled and drink it in the beer garden outside under the chestnut trees. Our next stop was the famous Café Sacher, where we had our delicious apfelstrudl in a beautiful elegant setting (more chandeliers!).

Banff, Alberta

Our last stop was a 2 night stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel with our Tauck rooms overlooking the mountains and the Bow River. Rooms were very tiny, but that is the way these hotels were built, often without bathrooms at first which needed to be squeezed in as well. The hotel is grand, with English Tudor public rooms.

Tauck once again let us dine on our own in whichever restaurant we wished, so we chose their finest once again, the 1888 Chophouse, and it was the best steak any of us had ever had…with prices to match. There was a $25 surcharge, but we could have anything..appetizers, $60+ entrees, sides and desserts. Unfortunately, the wine prices were outrageous too, and we needed to pay that on our own, but it was great.

The next day was a float trip down the Bow River. As our guide said, it was a float trip, not a white water rafting trip and he was right, but it wasn’t boring at all. There were 12-14 of us in each raft, with one guide doing the paddling, which took a lot of strength to maneuver. The scenery of mountains along the 4 mile trip was beautiful, and we saw an elk along the shore!

In the afternoon Sherry and Lowell went up a gondola to a very high peak. We talked about Mark doing some hiking or biking, but you really should not go alone in case you run into an animal, so we started to walk to the cute town to shop or go to the Whyte Museum, when the wind and rain came. Suddenly day passes at their famed spa started sounding like a good idea, so we spent a lovely afternoon in their whirlpools and mineral baths. Very relaxing.

Our Tauck farewell reception included two surprises. One was a Canadian Mountie who posed for pictures then gave an entertaining talk. The other was a visit from Mr. Arthur Tauck, son of the founder, who happened to be vacationing at the resort with family and friends. It was an honor to meet him. They are based in CT, so we had a bit in common. A nice dinner followed.

This morning we had the added treat if seeing an elk outside the breakfast room nibbling on the bushes, just like the deer do at home. You can see his antlers poking over the top. We went to another room and got an even better view.

It was sad to say goodbye to Sherry and Lowell at the Calgary airport today. They fly on to Seattle and we are now in San Francisco, getting ready to spend aome time with our boys.

The tour was wonderful…filled with good friends, gorgeous scenery, great meals, many modes of transportation, contrasts in visibility without missing a thing, and very different types of accomodations.

Here are some pictures from Banff.