As mentioned in a prior blog, Sue Rhodes did extensive research for this trip and all of the accommodations have been spot on terrific. We cannot thank Sue enough for all that she did to bring this trip together so smoothly. Thank you Sue.
After Jenn, Rob and Jack left; Jim Sandy, Sue and Helen drove five hours to Split Airport to pick up Julie (a friend of Helen and Sue) who was coming from Manchester England. It was then another 90 minute drive to Makarska.Our host Matas greeted us with his daughter and had this food for us when we arrived.This was a five bedroom AirBNB in Makarska Croatia and each room had a balcony and ensuite bathroom.This was the view from the top balcony.We also had an infinity pool. Here is Helen enjoying it.Julie (on her phone) and Sue cooling her feet for relief from the heat with temps reaching near 90 degrees.We loaded up on supplies for our 7 days stay in Makarska. Evening moonrise as seen from the balcony.On our first night our host made us a reservation at Panorama Restaurant located at the top of the mountain we were on. They sent a van to pick us up and bring us home.This restaurant was spectacular.The views were amazing.Makarska is a popular coastal town. Our accommodations were in the Biokovo mountains. We walked the hills most days before it got too hot out.This was a sweet little church chapel on the mountain that we walked to.This is the steep winding road that led us to the top of the mountain.Makarska Port.Our host and his wife drove us downtown to Kacic Square where we enjoyed some cocktails along the main street of the town.We also had a fabulous meal at a great restaurant along the water.St Marks Church in Kucic Square.We took a ferry to explore the islet of Brac.Great view of the beautiful Dalmatian Coast from the ferry.It was a perfect day to be on the water.Brac is an Island in the Adriatic Sea known for its famous Zlatni Rat (Golden Beach). All rocks and no sand but very popular and crowded. Look at this amazing floating playground.
Video of ferry returning to town.Jim and Helen discussing lunch options.
Our last night in Makarska we went back to the Panorama Restaurant to experience the Tomahawk steak ritual. It was delicious. Check out this video to see the dramatic presentation.Our last sunset in Makarska.We drove Julie back to Split Airport where she left us to return to Manchester England and we proceeded to our next destination, Zagreb.Jim had another five hour drive to Zagreb. Our last Air BNB was lovely and very conveniently located; thanks to Sue’s extensive research for our Croatia accommodations.Unfortunately this majestic Cathedral was closed for renovations while we were there.We did a Communism and Croatian Homeland WW II tour where we learned about the city”s experiences of WW II Yugoslavia and communism under Marshall Tito. We also learned about the war in the 1990’s and visited the tunnels consisting of trenches, galleries, and communication passageways which provided shelter from air raids to the people. Varying from 10 to 20 feet wide and about 8 feet tall, the tunnels can hold more than 50,000 people, nearly the entire population of Zagreb.After the tour we ambled through the farmers market. For our last meal in Croatia Helen booked us a table at the Esplanade Restaurant in the 5 star Zagreb Hotel. It was amazing and one of our best meals. This was our Negroni cocktail. We left Zagreb around 5am for our 7:30 flight to Frankfurt where we had a brief layover before our final flight to Boston Logan Airport.After landing in Boston we drove directly to Newport RI arriving around 9pm. Helen and Sue left Zagreb a few hours after us for their long trip back to New Zealand.
And so ends our summer in Copenhagen and Croatia. What a great time we have had with visits to Copenhagen by numerous friends and three of our children and six grandchildren. Finishing it off in Croatia with our close friends Helen and Sue was just the icing on the cake. One last mention of our late friend Sue Klesniks who was sorely missed. The Croatia time was in memory of Sue.
We are leaving for Scotland on September 9 where we will do a driving tour to include Isle of Islay, Skye and The Orkney islands.
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