Hotel Fineso Budva

... smoker-friendly than the USA in general, but Montenegro was even more extreme than the other European countries we’d been to. Employees were smoking while working (including the train ticket lady), people would light up a cigarette right next to you without even thinking about consideration, and people on the train were even smoking (ignoring the no-smoking symbols). It was so weird and so terrible. I’m sure we smelt ...

Well after 4 different forms of transport I finally made it to my destination Budva in Montengro! Montengro is the worlds newest country and it is definatley up and coming in terms of tourism and it is really set up for mass tourism in the near future so it seems. My day started off by catching a bus from Tirana to Shkoder on the border with Montengro. That was all fine and dandy and it took me 2 hours to get to the border town. When there I was told I would need to wait until 15:00 ...

... beef, cheese and sometimes spinach baked in layers similarly to Italian lasagna. After lunch, I decided to walk by myself to a local store for purchasing some items. I wanted some air alone outside not wanting Darko to see me cry. As aforementioned, I became extremely sad about returning to the United States the following day. When returning to the apartment, Darko suggested I nap a while so I did. I don't remember what time it was when Darko knocked on my door waking me up. He ...

... of fish from nets into huge ice buckets. Captain Pugwash (stripy t-shirt, long beard, classic fisherman) had a terrible aim and dozens of fish missed there intended target and started floating towards us. I jumped in, at first to catch couple for tea, but then to collect as many as possible thinking we could exchange or sell them at the fishmongers. Only when we had about 100 of them did we consider how we could get our catch back to Hvar with only a dirty fabric shoulder ...

... stone arch just a few feet off the water which was a different experience. 8/14 Up at 4 am for early morning bus trip to Dubrovnik. My place is right on the beach promenade and I could hear music and lots of activity even at 4 am on a weeknight! It sounded like they were having fun and enjoying their holiday. I certainly enjoyed Budva despite my health problems. Budva is a lot better than Ulcinj but not close to Dubrovnik either. It is a relatively inexpensive fun beach resort for the whole family.

... posh resort island of Sveti Stefan is only a few kilometers away and then the industrial port of Bar is not too much further beyond that. Bar itself is supposed to be a largely Communist place architecturally, but there's apparently an interesting old town lying in ruins on the outskirts. While I'm in the area, I figure I should see as much as I can. Then on Monday it's off for the Albanian frontier. We'll see if the sun stays as intense down there (or worse).

... couldn't miss it while I was in the region. It was a beautiful two hour journey along Montenegro's stunning Adriatic coast from Bar to Kotor, passing a number of small towns and the small city of Budva. The sun was still shining, and I was glad we made the journey during daylight hours. We arrived in Kotor late afternoon, and immediately went into the old town (stari grad) to find some accommodation. One of the tourist offices helped us find a ...

Budva is a coastal town in Montenegro. The coastal area around Budva, called Budvanska rivijera, is the centre of Montenegro's tourism, and is well known for its sandy beaches, diverse nightlife, and beautiful examples of Mediterranean architecture. Many would say that Budva is "colourful" because of the majority of buildings that have a distinct variety of ...

... supercheap (they don't break that easily, and who cares when they do?) or the real good ones (so long as I don't lose them). Random Croatia thought: we are really surprised by the amount of American tourists here. They are of all ages, but especially recent college grads and older retirees. I reckon that Croatia is to today's generation of college kids what Cinque Terra [Lynne: and Prague] was to mine. Back to a chronological recap: After our wall walk, we had lunch outdoors at a ...

This website needs an update in its list of countries, as the Montenegrins voted to end their union with Serbia some months ago http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe /5009242.stm (In fact, on tracking down the article on the BBC, I see that it is now over a year ago that the last two nations of Yugoslavia agreed to separate). Anyway, one of the fun things about visiting Montenegro is the look on people's faces when ...