Villa Velzon Hotel 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 ...

I arrived at Budva late late night, sweating and exhausted. But after a night's rest I was ready to attack the place. I first went to a nearby, more famous town by the name of Kotor, which has a nice walled old town, beaches and a pretty harbor, but what makes it unique is the fact that it is located at the mouth of the deepest and biggest fjord in Southern Europe (and ...

... I didn't feel like doing much of anything. I'd come down with terrible stomach symptoms that began in Budva several days prior. This was probably owing to my ignoring Darko and Bojana's warning not to drink tap water but only bottled; a lesson I ought have learned in Indonesia as a young girl. We were all feeling tired and slightly under the weather merely wanting to recuperate. Notwithstanding, Darko, always an avid early morning riser, insisted we promenade Beograd's renown indoor ...

... started today and we were looking forward to the atmosphere over here - however few places seemed to have a screen, and even in the English pub the atmosphere wasnt good. Did speak to a decent American chap who suggested a bar for us later that evening, complete with bikini clad dancers. It was too early for us for this type of thing so we left him too it and er, went to another big bar with skimpily dressed ...

We spent two days in a little town called Kotor in Montenegro. It was a lovely little old town next to the sea, and surrounded by mountains. We wandered around an old town there one day. The next day we hiked up along a fort on the mountain. We hiked and hiked and got to a really nice point where we had a wonderful view of the mountains around us, the sea and the city. The weather is really nice. We even had a little swim in the sea!

... cheese seemed like a moist, yellow cheddar and was pretty good. As you come down from Njegusi to the coast you encounter the Serpentine Road. I wish I had pictures but imagine a beginner skier trying to get down a mountain where they ski across the slope, turn around and then ski back the other way so that they eventually reach the bottom in under 4 hours. This road has 26 absolute hairpin turns (they are numbered) which have just enough room for our bus to navigate. The roads ...

... taxi driver they wound up flagging down seemed questionable from the start. Five Euros for a brief trip across a tiny town seemed a little out of the ordinary, but the Serb guys didn't blink. Then the loudmouth driver asks me where I'm from after I protested about the perceived rip-off. Boy, did the **** start flying then. Some of the highlights of this shrill monkey's rant: "America? Oh . . . good country . . . good for NOTHING! America cause all ...

... When I jumped off it last time I got a bloody nose." "No." I said with certainty. "There is no way I'm doing that jump." "Well, I need to one more time. Time me." And we parted ways as Daniel climbed up the cliff and the rest of us made our way slowly down to the bottom. I yelled that I was ready and he jumped and I counted...I cannot recall now how long it took. But it was too long. That jump was insanely high and so is anyone who jumps from it ...

... supposedly held a portion of the true Cross and some of the mummified right hand of St John the Baptist. It was hard to believe that the hand that baptised Christ (minus two fingers - one residing in Istanbul and the other in Sienna) was located here in this small, almost forgotten city in the mountains near the Montenegrin coast. Nevertheless there were a handful of pilgrims in the monastery indicating that perhaps there was some truth to the story. Without our own ...

... at the time, and promptly proceeded to spill the entire contents on my shirt and shorts. It was not too hot. That was not an issue. However, soiling some of my precious few garments for the trip was a big deal, and I was filthy! It was all over my clothes. Oh well. Did I mention how much I hate cats? I headed back to the room, and cleaned my clothes by hand in the sink. We hung it all outside and hoped for the best. We headed into town, this time by bus, for another day of ...