(Zadar, Croatia)

Grant and I rounded out our London trip tired but happy. The sightseeing schedule was pretty intense but we had a lot of fun spending time with family and seeing some historic attractions from London. We took the train back to Switzerland and got some much needed rest and relaxation for a few days before boarding a bus and riding through the Swiss Alps and Italy to Croatia, our next stop (by the way, our third time was a charm, transferring in Paris without trouble, unlike the first 2 times).

The bus ride was an overnight, 14-hour ride. I was excited as we got to travel through the new Gotthard Base Tunnel. This tunnel is 17 kilometers long and took about 20 minutes to drive through. Grant and I were prepared to sleep on the bus but the energy of the travelers and people going home was electric; everyone was in a good mood, chatting and laughing away. So we mostly stayed up. Plus, it was a full moon that night and the scenery was beautiful. We could see a lightning storm in the distance while driving through Italy and so, got a light show throughout the night. I know I would have been scared experiencing it up close, but from a distance it looked impressive.

The sun started rising around 6:00 in the morning. Grant and I were able to doze off for a few hours but when I opened my eyes, we were driving along the beautiful Adriatic coast. Finally, arriving at the main bus station in Zadar, we took a taxi to the Old Town section which lies on a little peninsula right by the ocean.

The taxi dropped us off in the middle of Old Town in front of a row of open-air cafes and restaurants. We had a couple of hours to spend before we could check-in to our rental so we picked a shaded, outdoor area of a cafe facing the sea and ordered capuccinos. The sun was shining and the air was nice and warm. We could hear the gentle sound of the waves as it splashed against the white marble esplanade just 10 feet away while sipping our coffees. The view was splendid as we could see clear across the calm sea to the row of islands that stand like sentinels guarding Zadar. It really felt like we had arrived in Hawaii. And after the “summer” in Dublin, we finally felt like it was summer for us. The fresh sea breeze and the other relaxed visitors enjoying their holidays were a nice omen and gave us a sense that Zadar would be the “breath of fresh air” to recover from hectic Dublin.

Zadar is the oldest continuously lived-in city in Croatia. Sprinkled throughout Old Town are many buildings still standing from the time of the Romans and the Venetian Renaissance, such as smooth marble stone-paved streets and 17th Century well-heads.

Pictures of the shore-front in front of Old Town:

The following pictures are of Old Town Zadar, our new home for the next 3 months:

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