From Beantown to Dalmatia

It may be a strange thing to combine Boston with Croatia, but that is exactly what I seemed to do this time.  A few months ago, Alex and I booked a weekend in Boston, and we then promptly forgot all about that when we booked our sailing trip from Split to Dubrovnik.

So last Friday,  I brought our luggage to the airport, and locked it in storage.  And there it stayed until we picked it up on Monday evening.

Boston was wonderful.  We began by flying with Porter Airlines, and we not only go to enjoy the new tunnel that runs from the mainland to the terminal, but also the complimentary coffee and shortbread cookies in the lounge.  After a short flight, we were in Logan International Airport and enjoying a lovely reunion with John and Kathleen Lamb.  It was such a delight to return to their beautiful home after almost 16 years.  The photos of their beautiful children, including the incomparable Sarah Lamb, have now expanded to include beautiful grandchildren and wedding photos.  Alex and I were grateful to enjoy coffee in their lovely garden, and we took full advantage of their Museum of Fine Arts memberships.

On Saturday we took the T to the museum, and got to see the Hukosai exhibit.  There were many people there enjoying the lovely landscapes and animals painted by this Japanese master.  Following this, we walked to Quincy Market and enjoyed fresh oysters on the half shell in North America's oldest restaurant.

On Sunday, we were picked up by Alex's friend Mircea and his wife Deyra, and we drove to the coastal town of Gloucester for lunch.  After the most delicious mussels I have ever had in my life, we then walked along the shoreline and passed an American flag every 10 feet.  God forbid you forget where you are for even a minute.  But I have to admit that the red, white, and blue is a beautiful flag and it had a nice visual impact.

After the town of Gloucester, we drove to the smaller coastal village of Rockport.  Rockport is a darling little town full of artist shops, bakeries, and places to get an espresso or saltwater taffy.  We enjoyed a strudel on the waterfront, and then walked through some nearby trails to view a lovely little quarry with water like glass.  Rockport was such an unexpected treat and I am really glad that we got to spend our last day in Boston enjoying the coast.

We flew back to Toronto, and had time for a quick visit home before returning to the airport to catch our flight to Rome.  Terminal 3 was an absolute zoo because a severe storm had wreaked havoc with flights, and our departure was delayed by 3 hours as the plane waited for its co-pilot to arrive.  Eventually however, we did get off the ground, so to speak, and then had a nice flight to Rome.

The airport in Rome was a total fiasco.  There had been a fire at FCO a couple of weeks earlier, and that, combined with another storm that caused various delays, led to a rather disorganized and annoying experience.  We landed in terminal 2, and then had to walk to terminal 3 to check in to easyjet.  Ok no problem.  The line at easyjet was crazy so that we got ushered up to the front in order to drop off our luggage an hour before the flight's departure.  From there, we were told to go back to terminal 2, and make our way to gate H.  As we were speedwalking towards the security are, we were stopped by airport security who, after finding out when our departure was, gave up on asking us for documents and ushered us along.  We got through passport checks, and security, and were then on our way to find gate H.  We did find gate H (the furthest gate of course), but from there could not see any evidence of our flight, or find any people to ask.  Eventually, one of the display screens showed the departure list and we saw that our flight had been changed from gate H to G03.  No problem we thought; G ought to be right next to H....we then had to ask someone to learn that to get to G03, you have to go to H10, and then catch a shuttle bus to G03.  We made our way to H10, where we just missed the bus and had to wait another 10 minutes.  To make a long story short, we did make it to gate G03 to find a long line of people waiting to be checked through manually by a single, sweet-natured attendant.  On the plane at last, we finally relaxed.  Our first glimpse of Dubrovnik was of hills of scrub and trees, and lots and lots of ocean.

Alex's sister Alice and her husband Vali picked us up from the airport, and we then drove to a supermarket to buy some groceries to prepare at our B&B.  Our rooms are in the home of a local family, and is in the hills directly above the Old City.  It is very unique and interesting how the homes are built up the hillside, and there are terraces with trees all the way up!  We all found ourselves wondering how they got the dirt up here, or whether they simply carved the living quarters out of the hill itself.  We cooked up sausages and pork chops, and added a tossed salad and some crusty bread.  We stayed up chatting well into the night enjoying the cool breeze and lovely night view of the old city.

This morning, we made a simple breakfast, and then walked down into the stunning labyrinth that is the old town.   Dubrovnik's old city is walled complete with a moat and drawbridge, and is so picturesque that it is the filming location for some of Game of Thrones.  We walked up and down stone steps, and strolled through the plazas with flagstones so buffed by centuries of feet that it shines.  As you walk through the old city, you see succulent plants growing in cracks in the stone walls, and hear scratchy clarinet scaled being played from behind barred windows.  The residents who live here keep their entire lives within their doors in order to maintain the austere and Medieval appearance of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that is the walled city.  We stopped for beer and lemonade, and then walked on to enjoy a seafood lunch with wine and espresso.

I am now sitting back on the terrace of Biba's guesthouse, and looking over the red ceramic roofs of Dubrovnik.  There seems to be a storm rolling in.

Tomorrow, we hope to leave early for Split.  I know that Alex and I will be back here for one more night at the end of sailing trip with G Adventures, and I look forward to seeing this city again.

As always, thank you for reading!

Leslie