Oh the Places You'll Go!!!

As I'm sitting here looking out from my terrace at the GORGEOUS sunshine reflecting on the sea just beyond the balcony, I'm reminded of the book title by Dr. Seuss "Oh, The Places You'll Go!!" There are so many great quotes in that book that resonate with my journey..... "You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!.... You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...." Hmmm.... I have brains in my head - check!! - most of the time, feet in my shoes (check!!)....I know what I know....and I'll decide where to go....good plan!!

So here's what I've been pondering and why Dr. Seuss keeps rattling around in my head.... I've been invited by the lovely Omani family I met on  the ferry to Split to come visit them (and not in an "if you're ever in the area be sure to look us up" way, but an "I'll check with my travel agent to see if she can get you a good fare"....which later became a "we want you to be our guest and will pay for your airfare" type of invitation once she realized I'm a "budget traveler" on a journey)!! They are a DELIGHTFUL and kind family, and they were very gracious and hospitable!! The husband and wife have a perfume business together (which is why they had been in Italy - attending a "fragrance convention" in Milan), and she was heading to Bosnia (via the ferry to Croatia) to do a management training seminar. She had organized a trip for over 20 Omani women to come to Bosnia to do this training - part of her other business as a consultant working to empower women in business!! 

Their 7-year-old daughter came along for her "real life" education, and she was DARLING! They have 4 kids and she's the third (with a 2-year-old baby sister), so I thought it was very special that she was getting this kind of individualized attention from her parents. She was SO sweet, giggly and a bit shy, but we hit it off right away!! The more we talked and the more they described Oman, the more interesting it sounded! (Of course the 90-120 degree weather is a bit of a deterrent for me, but a short visit in the "cooler season" wouldn't be out of the question!!) By the time I said goodbye to them once the ferry docked, she had offered (if I'm interested) to have their driver pick me up in Croatia (the same driver who I met and was picking them up from the ferry), take me to Sarajevo where there is a nonstop flight to Dubai (near Muscat where they live), pay for my ticket to fly there, pick me up at the airport and schedule all sorts of visits to wonderful restaurants, sight-seeing, camel riding, and meeting her extended family and expat friends in Oman! 

I told her this was way too generous, but they want to do this so I can see and experience Oman! Of course I've been pondering their motives because I'm not used to strangers offering to pay my airfare and provide such generous hospitality! Perhaps in the back of her mind she's hoping I'll fall so in love with Oman that I'll want to move there and work for her - or perhaps she and her husband are just really kind, hospitable people who want me to see Oman because they are so proud of the beauty of their country and its people?!?! If I go, it would be for 7-10 days in mid-May (after sight-seeing for 3 weeks with Pam!!) because the longer I wait the hotter it will be! 

As I think about the possibility, I get nervous but also feel VERY excited! I was pondering on the ferry ride here if Croatia might be too "westernized" and comfortable to make this a BIG adventure....but traveling to the Middle East - WOW!! - now THAT would be an unusual and challenging adventure! Will it be too much? Too stressful? Overwhelming? Maybe!! But imagine the memories and stories I will have and friends I will make!! If "feeling ALIVE" = new and different experiences, then sign me up! Now I just have to convince the part of me that gets a bit nervous at being TOO challenged saying, "Really?!?! 100 degree weather and camel riding?" But the other part of me says, "YES!!! You only live once, so stretch yourself a bit and have new and challenging experiences - you'll survive just fine!!" 

I've been asking myself....am I crazy to take them up on their offer and visit them?!? Or alternatively, am I crazy NOT to go on an all-expense-paid trip to the Middle East with personal escorts and guides showing me the most beautiful parts of their country?!?! Hmmm.... something to ponder for sure!! (And for those who fear I'm naively jumping in head-first without thinking, don't worry because I'm doing my "due diligence" and checking things out logically as well as intuitively!!) So with an adventurous day of travel behind me (and future travel possibilities buzzing around in my head), THIS is why the Dr. Seuss book came to mind! Who knew he had so much wisdom (except, perhaps, elementary school teachers?!?)!! 

For now, I'm going to steer myself in the direction of making another Bijela kava (or "white coffee" - the name for a latte here in Croatia - which I practiced saying multiple times the other day in multiple cafes in Split, so I know it well)!! (If you want to pause here for a coffee refill or bathroom break, now's the time!! I decided to put these stories all in one LONG post instead of two for convenience.... because I might have MORE to write about by tomorrow.... who knows?!?!) So let me fill you in on my sight-seeing in Split and the final leg of my journey here (and how I ended up taking the ferry to the WRONG town....ay yi....they shouldn't make it so confusing by having the same name for the island AND the town)!! 

But that's the end of the story.... let's start at the beginning!!....as soon as I arrived on the ferry from Italy, I stored my luggage with a nice, young man in an official "left luggage" booth on the pier so I could more easily wander around looking at the sights in Split! Fortified by my first of many coffees for the day, a lovely chocolate pastry, and a "normal" (clean!!) bathroom, I set off to do a bit of sight-seeing. For the next 7 hours I would alternate between sitting in a cafe (more relaxing and cost-effective than paying to use the public toilets after drinking all those coffees) and wandering around the maze of narrow alleys.... literally Diocletian's hallways at one point in time! 

It's hard to imagine, but the residents of Split are actually living IN a Roman emperor's palace. There are 220 buildings within the palace boundaries, home to about 3000 people and LOTS of shops and cafes! Built in the 4th century A.D. when the Roman emperor retired, the palace was built from white stone transported from the island of Brač, marble from Italy and Greece, and columns and sphinxes from Egypt. He built a vast residence in honor of his "god-like" status, but when Rome fell the palace was left empty! Eventually, a medieval town sprouted from its abandoned shell and became what is now modern day Split! Just inside the gate off the waterfront "Riva" with all the cafes and stores, there is a grand underground hallway which is now used as a shopping area for local artisans (one of whom yelled at me for picking up something to look at the price....not going back there)!! 

Coming out on the other side of this underground hallway/cavern is Split's "main square" and Diocletian's vestibule, the dramatically domed entryway to the emperor's private rooms. More details in the pictures I've posted, but that's the "gist" of what I saw! I'm sure there was a lot in Split I didn't see, but I mostly enjoyed people-watching in the cafes (both on the "Riva" and in the Old Town city center)! One of my favorite things (believe it or not) was wandering through the smelly fish market!! It was fascinating to see the MASSES of fish and shrimp of all sorts and sizes!! I didn't stay for long because of the smell, but it was so interesting to see people buying their fish for their lunch or dinner!

THIS is a FERRY!

Then FINALLY, after waiting 7 HOURS to catch the DIRECT ferry/catamaran to Hvar Town I wandered back to pick up my bags and waited in the line that was taking a tediously LONG time to board!! I had asked the nice "bag guy" AND the ticket booth lady where the ferry was for Hvar, and they both said it left at 2:30 from the spot not far from the booths on the pier! I wondered why the ferry was leaving at 2:30 instead of 2:00, but I just assumed they hadn't updated their website (not an uncommon thing on this side of the world)! The website had said it was a catamaran, but it looked like a big boat in the pictures, and since this ferry was smaller than the ferry from Italy, I figured this must be it!! (AND.....let me point out that nobody I asked seem to differentiate and say "do you mean the ferry to Stari Grad or the catamaran to Hvar Town?".... I guess they just ASSUMED since I used the word ferry!!)

THIS is a CATAMARAN!!

(I still can't tell the difference!!)

And THIS is how I Ended up on the FERRY to Stari Grad.... ALSO on the island of Hvar, but on the other side from where I was meant to be!! When I was planning my travel here I had researched the ferry to Stari Grad at 8:30 am (not too long after my 7:00 am arrival from Italy), followed by a bus to Hvar Town, but I figured it would be "much easier" to wait and take the DIRECT boat later in the day and spend some time sight-seeing in Split! I was so tired when I arrived at 7am that I almost changed my mind....but thought, "No.... I'll just stick with my plan and it will be much easier in the long-run".....HA!!!!....not so much!!

Hmmm... I wonder if that was my catamaran?!?!

Sadly - and I say "sadly" because during the whole ferry ride I was DYING of tiredness and wishing it would go faster - the catamaran only takes an hour and the ferry takes 2 hours and (as I mentioned) arrives on the other side of the island!  AND - once I figured this out shortly before arriving in Stari Grad, I found out there wasn't a bus that late - so my choice was get a room in Stari Grad or (thank goodness!!) take a taxi to the other side of the island! At this point, I was in the "I'm so sleepy and exhausted I'd give my first born child (if I had one) for a bed!" mode - but fortunately, it didn't come to that! 

The very nice taxi driver dropped me off directly in front of my new "home" for the next month, and I got to share the taxi with a young Korean woman (who didn't speak much English but had Google translator - thank goodness)!! She had asked me while standing in line in Split (waiting to board the ferry) if this was the ferry to Hvar, and I had "helpfully" told her "Why YES," expert that I am, "this IS the ferry to Hvar!!" Sooooo....I got to share the cost of the taxi and redeem myself by explaining to her that we had both ended up on the WRONG boat....in the wrong town for our hotels - so maybe I was meant to get the wrong boat to help her find her place! (Or at least that's what I've been focusing on since I'm trying NOT to focus on the fact that I could've taken the 8:30 am ferry and been happily ensconced in the sunshine looking out at the water by noon - maybe even napping rather than trying not to fall asleep on the cafe table!!) Oh well - the joys of traveling and hindsight!!

The kind owner of my rental place "pre-filled" the kitchen with a "moka" (a special "espresso-making" pot for the stove), MILK (yaaaaay!!), and a fresh bowl of fruit! He has been very kind (and, did I mention, he's QUITE good-looking..... think hospitable, hard-working Paul Newman with a Croatian accent)!! He has patiently answered my multitude of curious questions about his childhood/young adult life as part of Yugoslavia, Croatia and how it has changed since the break-up of Yugoslavia, "the war" in the 90s, and the arrival of capitalism (he gives it "mixed reviews" thus far)!!

In addition to my milk, coffee and fruit, I also have a "round" of fresh cheese to nibble on (which has been my sustenance and is going well with the apples he supplied....until I talk myself into walking the 25 minutes it takes to get into town - or 15 minutes to the grocery store)!! I bought the cheese from a woman at the pier while waiting to board the ferry! I watched as she sold one to a Croatian woman (and I understood the lady to say "privado" - which, I took to mean made by hand at home?!??!), so I went ahead and bought a couple!! (I didn't mean to buy TWO, but when she said 2 for 20 Kuna (about $3 US), I said SURE!! 

Come to find out, she actually meant 200 KUNA, so I said no thank you - until she said 20 Euros and kept pushing the bag back into my hands, so I just caved and handed over 20 Euros! It all feels a bit like Monopoly money to me anyway (which is why I usually pay with my debit card because then it seems more "real")! I didn't think about it until LATER, but I probably could've just bought one instead of two, but by then I was focused on getting on the ferry and so sleepy I couldn't make the transition from Kuna to Dollars to Euros quickly enough - so I just bought 2 for 20 Euros! It's quite good (maybe goat cheese?), and I was able to give the other "round" of cheese to my host (SO thankful for his kindness in getting me all set up with coffee)!!

So for now....another round of coffee, and maybe a "light breakfast" of apples and cheese! (I enjoyed eating cookies and coffee for breakfast in Italy every morning - followed by pasta for lunch and sometimes dinner - but I think my body might need a bit of rest from all those carbs - so apples and cheese it is)!! And don't worry....I'll keep you posted on The Places I'll Go and the directions I'll choose.....who knows at this point, but I'm sure it will become clear as I ponder it a bit more!!