Uros Cavtat

Dubrovnik photos here:<br>http://www.facebook.com/album. php?aid=159757&amp;id=613699523&amp;l=a 6a18d129e<br><br><br>Monday got up early to catch 8am bus from Split to Dubrovnik. Some great views out the right side of the bus across the Adriatic sea as we wound around the mountains.<br>Met Mark from Glasgow on the bus to the Old Town and he was staying at the same place as Nonie and me so we walked ...

... I got to catch the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games in Beijing (how much money did China spend on these?!?), the booze was cheaper than in Dubrovnik, and I got to know a new friend quite a bit better. We had an entertaining night around Split and found a cheap hostel to crash in before giving up and returning to Dubrovnik the following morning due to the ferry situation. I'm two weeks away from coming back home and though I'm half excited, I ...

... was a narrow walkway splitting into another, up many steps in the corner of the farmer's market. Quite a challenging find! Jele Kulas was our host here, and the place was spectacular. A beautiful garden welcomed us and the only thing more cheerful was the owner Jele. She quickly welcomed us in with rather good English and promptly sat us down and gave us some really cold and refreshing water and Biscotti type snacks. She offered us tea and coffee as well, but that's ...

... hopped into a shop as we walked and got us two very pretty Croatian umbrellas! A souvenir that we really hadn't planned on! We didn't' expect rain. It never rains in all the ads for the Mediterranean! The Franciscan Monastary was built in the 14th century and boast cloisters in Romanesque and Gothic styles as well as one of the finest manuscript ...

... to confirm directions and then got out of her kiosk to show us exactly where to go. And at the grocery store, the nice lady gave me a free cookie. I must look like someone who gets a lot of enjoyment from food because this was the second time on our trip that a merchant had given me free food. Despite the rain, we still walked the perimeter of town and saw the ocean from three angles: Lapad Bay, Graz ...

... with huge mountain range on one side, and the Adriatic Sea and all the villages on the other side. Went through a small part of Bosnia, where they checked our passports. It was cloudy when we left and raining when we arrived. We were lucky to find someone at the bus terminal with a sobe inside the walls, right off the main plaza. When we arrived at the gates it was just amazing - huge medieval walls ...

Montenegro has only broken free from Serbia in the last year or so.... Its on the euro which surprised us all and its not as cheap as you'd think! This was proven when we got to the boarder... you have to pay for insurance to get in to the country, no matter what. For a car it's 15 euros, for a van its 137!!!! What a difference, but they've got you because you have to drive through to get to Greece ...

... of the cost of the conflict (surrounded by tanks, big guns, and a destroyed plane). I was surprised that they allowed (even encouraged) people to crawl through these remnants of buildings... they didn't seem too safe to me. Throughout the country, there are buildings that were destroyed or damaged in the war, untouched entirely or only paritially repaired. It's very erie ...

First, if any of you have the opportunity to pass through Londons Luton Airport, I would seize it. Located well outside of Londons city limits, its still only a 30 minute ride directly to the terminal. Then, once inside the terminal, you are treated to a veritable embarassment of travel riches: well-chosen books, inexpensive travel games, healthy and reasonably priced sandwhiches, its absurd. It is everything that an airport should be. The contrast betweeen Luton ...

... them from doing so (without adopting a police state). The upshot is that my trip through the Balkans only reaffirmed my belief in living for today for myself and what makes me happy - a hybrid of selfishness and hedonism which needs a name, but hedishism and hedishness sound stupid, because my nihilism outweighs my gnosticism. Otherwise, we just ate and drank. On Wednesday night (May 31), we had a pretty mediocre meal at a restaurant recommended ...