Avala Hotel Budva

... bags and shoes... The city streets are narrow and this adds to the charm of the town, however when bus-loads of tourists come through - it can get a little claustrophobic and the ambiance is shattered.<br>On the up-side I did locate a juice and 'organic' bar and was able to have my first milk shake in a long time (the simple things!!). <br>Outside the city walls the 'beach' is a short walk and this alone is reason enough to stay here for a day or two...

... and speaking in broken English introduced himself. When I told him that I was from New Jersey in the United States he became extremely interested and warmly said he is pleased I was able to enjoy the area. I replied, "I was tired and needed to retire." Saying he understood he returned to his card game. We had the usual dinner at which time Bojana was overcome with a terrible toothache. I told her I'd pay for the filling tomorrow; Darko knew a dentist ten meters from Kosovo's ...

Day 1 After the stifling public bus ride from Sarajevo to Ostrog, we somehow ended up with a private AIRCONDITIONED bus to take us to our next destination, Budva! Stopped on the way for a photo of Budva, which looked lovely from all the way above on the hill. Little did we know that when we got there it would be a dump, with rubbish, a horrid smell, and garish, trashy looking tourists. The only saving ...

... two blocks from the unmarked stop (I looked everywhere for signs, there were none). As the bus goes by, I flag it twice. The driver stares at me and keeps going. I mutter not-nice things about him under my breath and go sit on a stone wall in he proper location for the next hour until the bus comes again. On the upside, it's 16 degrees and humid, so I am far from cold. So long as I move, I'm even comfortable in a T-shirt. On November 27, who would have thought it?

... and fell once again. This time I thought for sure I was going to break my left ankle the way it twisted. I never heard it snap but it sure went in weird directions. I took my time getting up once I managed to get out from under my backpack. I knew my ankle was going to be a problem so I decided to just get the first place I could find. There was a hotel on the promenade that had vacancies so I went there. The hotel was full but they had an apartment in a nearby building which ...

... men here have a lot of Arab features which is not a good thing but seems OK on the women. All of the women look a lot like Cher and have a harsh, deep voice. The people don't seem very friendly and customer service is still a foreign concept. I'll get answers to questions that I'll find out later are wrong. Typically if you ask a "can you" question the answer will be no. Can you take the bus to xyz? No. But you can. It's frustrating. Maybe they just say "no ...

... rock were frightening. The tide was carrying the waves into the rock where they broke with a loud sound. I wanted to go far out into the sea to avoid being smashed against the cliffs, but at the same time from my position in the kayak I could see nothing but the glistening blue green of the Adriatic. A fisherman went by in a medium size craft and the thought occurred to me that perhaps I had ventured much too far out to sea in a single seat kayak ...

This post could really have been placed anywhere between Istanbul and Dubrovnik, but I chose to list it here because Montenegro was the only Balkan country in which we actually spent the night in a real bed, not on a train. I was tickled by the fact that Montenegro is in fact now its own country (that 6-0 thrashing by Argentina in the World Cup first round must've been the last straw leading to Serbia and Montenegro's breakup) and also that we met a guy there from Cal ...

... a suitable place to leave the carcass. It is a good thing that they did, because this country, and especially Dooby, is overrun by vile stray cats, including a large population of kittens. Unfortunately, Bob Barker's work has no effect here, as there is clearly no spaying or neutering. These cats are gross, and many tourists exacerbate the problem by playing with and feeding them. After that traumatic experience, we consoled ourselves with a cup of hot chocolate at a café. The ...

... i'll hve to show you all the pictures of the hotel...its very werid as you can see how it was once beautiful...The Adriatic is clean, blue and pristine...great temps too! NOt cold at all...it was just amazing to be swimming only a day after being in sarajevo...we made our way around the old city and found a cafe on the rocks overlooking the ocean...it was a sight...we jumped off the rocks into the water below...so much fun! Last night we were set up by the guy who owns ...