Amfora Hotel Kotor

... is a town set within a valley and nestled in the Bay of Kotor, which means it is stunningly located in a near-perfect setting (It also mean the view on the bus was somewhat marred by all the people on the left-hand side of the bus leaning over those on the right-hand side with their cameras to take pictures...). <br> <br>I left the bus station with no map and no directions and decided to walk back in ...

... Kotor seemed like just a little triangle way down below.<br><br>The walk down was equally ******* the knees, and upon reaching the apartment we rested for a bit and headed out for dinner. Afterwards we found a café in one of the little squares and just spent several hours drinking wine (Vranac is excellent) and watching the local Kotorians dance to 80&#8217;s disco music in the square. They have some pretty interesting dance moves&#8230;.

... br>This chain smoking Tony Soprano look alike maneuvered our bus through beat up streets filled with either Mercedes or donkey carts. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground in terms of private transportation. On this bus we had a string of garlic and Sylvester the Cat hanging from the window instead of Jesus and french fries. One scene that repeated itself over and over starting at 6am was wedding processions of Mercedes ...

... 8217;ve seen, cobbled roads, little churches, vendors selling their wares from the stone openings. Gabe though spotted some guys eating a pastry type thing that he had wanted to try in Bosnia-Herzegovina, so we went on a hunt for them. I was thrilled to be finally doing something for Gabe since he never allows any of the focus to be on him or what he might want. On our own we weren&#8217;t able to find it, but just as we&#8217;d ...

... kilometres. The scenery however, made up for it. The winding road ran through mountains and beside huge sea inlets with small fishing towns spread out along the water. One highlight was the tiny town of Perast with its church steeples and small off-shore islands. Such a charming looking place. It would have been great to be able to stop and explore for a while.<br><br> Kotor itself is an unusual place. It is divided by ...

... soon complied with her demands. Thereafter, we ended the day with lunch and drinks. The following day was one of my vacation high points. We visited the Ostrog monastery. Driving to the Ostrog monastery was long, hot and boring. It lied somewhere deep beyond the Montenegrin coastline inland. We drove a long windy road without even so much as a store on it. After a couple of hours, Darko stopped for lunch at the only restaurant I noticed the entire trip. You'd think it would be ...

... shop, seemingly to chat with the owner, but in fact to purchase a gift for the girls. Both girls were perplexed when presented with what appeared to be pretty plastic hats. They graciously thanked Vladimir even though they were not quite sure what to do with it. Back in the car Georgie then fiddled with the hat, discovering that it was just a case for the gift that was inside - a small silver ball that Vladimir told us was a 'button for the ...

... of Nemanjic. It is another site that UNESCO has kept well preserved for all to see. Between the 15 and 18 centuries, Kotor and its surroundings were under Venetian rule and influence, which, even though we were only staying there the night, you could tell the impact of that history through the architecture. I'd like to visit Kotor and much more of Montenegro again in the future, as there is a lot more of the country that has yet to ...

... the recently-proclaimed independence of Montenegro, there were flags and banners around the place, but the people didn't seem very jubilant - not really sure why but I guess some people could be cynical about the changing of power from the old-school Serbians to the younger generation Montenegrans. Really got a great vibe in Kotor, someday I'd love to return to all the former Yugoslav states (incl. Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and FYROM) but there is simply no time left on this trip.

... we decided to turn back. Sandles aren't the best climbing shoes! As the sun was setting the Serbian Orthodox churches opened their doors. There was a huge one and a tiny one that both had a kind of greek feel to them. The priests were there welcoming the locals who flooded in to light candles and fit in a quick pray before dinner. It had seemed a fairly quiet village by day, but come night fall, everyone was out filling the outdoor cafes and bars. Next morning I headed for the ...