Istanbul

Southwestern Turkey

Belgrade, Serbia

We ended up in Belgrade by chance as there was no more direct way to get to Turkey from Montenegro. The plan had been to go through Greece but the ferry schedule was infrequent and we weren't up for the challenge of crossing Albania. So Belgrade it was! It is a very funky town with lots of art galleries. Cool lounges scattered the city, like the one we went to with beachy chairs set up in a public plaza and red umbrellas with gold lights.

Kotor, Montenegro

The scenery in Montenegro is straight out of Jurassic Park. A huge storm was coming in and there were lots of low-lying clouds sweeping by. We hiked up to an abandoned fortress looking down over the bay of Kotor which is the southermost fjord in Europe. We met an intrepid British traveler who has been scouring the country looking for land to invest in. Prices are going up daily as more and more foreigners come in looking to make money on what will surely be the next Croatia.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

What can you say about Dubrovnik? The pictures do the talking. We rented an apartment 900 steps above the old town for next to nothing with a washing machine and a spectacular view of the Adriatic Sea. The old town was bombed heavily during the Balkan War in the 90's but it has since been fully rebuilt. The historic wall completely surrounds the old town and one can walk on top of it along the entire 1- mile length.

Adriatic Coast

The original plan was to island hop from Split to Dubrovnik, perhaps by hitching a ride aboard Valentino's boat as we'd read about in some gossip magazine. He wasn't in town so we set out along the spectacular coastal road via bus. Our driver ensured an adventurous trip by dedicating one hand to his cellphone for most of the winding journey. The US warship in the bay is keeping an eye on the short stretch of coastline belonging to Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Split, Croatia

From Slovenia, it was off the Croatia and the Adriatic Coast. When we arrived in Split, we were instantly greeted by a group of Croatian grandmas eager to rent us a room. This is the view from St.Dominus Bell Tower, and a shot of the tower at night. Split has a beautiful Old Town built onto and around the remains the retirement palace for the Roman Emperor Diocletian.