Scott and Elise's European Adventurer

Sitting at a bar on the dock of Trogir the night before our 7 day cruise we were very excited and also very curious as we had booked it over the internet & weren´t sure about the boat or the clientele it would attract. When we spotted the ´Otac Ivan´ we were quite relieved that it was quite an impressive looking boat so our only worry was that we may have been the only english speakers on the boat.

On boarding we quickly figured out that it was a much older demographic on board and everyone was either speaking German, Dutch or Austrian. To our relief there were 2 other Aussies & 2 Americans so out of 34 people we at least had some other english speakers on board.

The cruise was absolutely fantastic experience and we made some great friends from Holland who spoke fluent English (Hi Sylvia & Peter !) and Aussies Kim & Derek. The islands were spectacular to see and we stopped at Korcula, Hvar, Vis, Lastovo, Brac, Bisevo and Solta along the way.

We visited the Blue Grotto in the island of Bisevo an amazing blue water cave where the light shines under the mountain rock and produces an amazingly blue water cave.

It was a nice change of pace for us not having to worry about finding accomodation or a place to eat. We just relaxed in the sun for 7 days as all of our meals were provided by a chef who seemed to work all day every day preparing the food which always tasted great. The crew on board also made it quite a memorable experience especially Capitan Branimir who could hardly speak a word of english but always managed to get his message across.

The Adriatic is a great place to swim with the water so warm albeit extremely salty. At the start of the week the water was 24 degrees and by the end it had reached 29.8 which was really warm. We were warned about the sea urchins in Croatia so rock booties were our first purchase in Croatia. They also came in handy when walking along the rocky beaches.

After the cruise we ended up going to back to Hvar and staying for 3 nights also where our Aussie friends from the cruise were also staying. Hvar is an unbelievable place with the most picturesque little harbour and funky bars. One day we hired a scooter and drove around the island stopping for swims along the way at the most fantastic little coves. The roads were really scenic and it was quite an experience riding thru the lavender scented mountains with Elise hanging on for dear life on the back.

Next stop after the cruise was Dubrovnik the amazing old town that was unfortunately bombed during the civil war here in the early 90s. Although the war was some 15 years ago it is still a sensitive topic with many of the locals and it was strange to be walking around the old town where you could see where the bombs had left their impression. We did a night tour about the 'War history of the Balkans' which was really interesting. A kayak tour was also a nice way to check out the city walls.

From Dubrovnik we took a day trip to Montenegro where Elise was in search of Daniel Craig but to no avail. Kotor is a beautifil little town and although it was only 1 hour from Croatia it did have completely different feel.

We definately will be back to Croatia one day. It is the most spectacular place which unlike Italy, Spain and France does not feel that turisty (I hope it stays that way!) We were not expecting Croatia to be such a culinery delight but we have had the freshest and best seafood to date, plus it is relatively cheap compared to the other more well known tourist spots.

Croatia is also one of the best places to people watch. The locals love congregating in squares to chew the fat. I just loved getting a coffee and watching the world go by.

Next stop is Krakow in Poland where we are planning a day trip to Auschwitz.

We decided to get an overnight bus from Sicily to Amalfi which was full mainly of Italians, and few tourists. We settled into our journey and after 3hrs arrived at the ferry crossing back to the mainland. At this point you can either get off the bus and go up onto the deck of the ferry - or you can stay on the hot bus which had the air off. So, the choice seemed obvious for us and we headed up onto deck for the 45min journey. We did think it was a strange choice for many who did stay on the bus, until it was time to get back on and our seats had been taken by a nun. She had obviously decided that she wanted a little more space to spread out and had settled into our 2 seats. Now we were in a bit of a bind, as technically they weren't the seat numbers on our tickets as to our horror, at the start of our journey our allocated seats were taken by the drunk we had seen hanging with the gypsies at the bus-stop, filling his water bottle with cask wine for the journey.

Now Scotty being a good catholic boy didnt want to kick the nun out of her new seats, however we now had to decide who would be easier to kick out of our seats - the nun or the drunk!

In the end, we copped out and told the bus driver that our seats had been taken. It was quite funny to watch Scott try to communicate that a nun was in our seat to someone who didnt speak a word of English. He was making the sign of the cross and putting his hands together in prayer to try to get the message across, whilst I was trying to hold back my laughter. It must have worked as the bus driver got on the bus and blurted a few words in Italian to the nun, who with a huff and a puff begrudingly moved out of our 2 seats and back alongside someone else.

Luckily that has been our only transport hiccup, aside from our frustrating bus trip from Catania to Mt Etna where the bus driver and his side kick decided that within a 45min journey they had earned a half hour break to have coffee, buy cakes and smoke a few cigarettes before resuming the journey. (see picture of them in action below)

So far, Sicily definately wins the award for the craziest drivers in Europe. Mopeds and scooters rule the streets and pedestrians have to step out in front of cars in order to make them stop. This doesnt seem to phase the locals one bit who walk out with their baby in a pram hoping the cars will stop. I cringed everytime I saw this.

We did our fair share of hiking in Sicily. We visited Taormina which is a beautiful town perched on a clifftop. The train station however is by the sea, so it was a good 30min stair climb to the top. We were rewarded in the afternoon when we stumbled across a beautiful beach called Isola Bella - Beautiful Island (see picture below). The rocks did hurt getting into the water, but the swim was worth it.

We also did a day trip to Mt Etna, which we were a little unprepared for. ie: we wore shorts, singlets, took hats and suncream and didnt realise that it is a ski mountain during winter, so in the summer was still a chilly 12 degs. We did warm up though when we opted against the overpriced jeep bus to the active crater at the top and walked up instead. We had no idea what was at the top, or how long it was going to take, but about 2hrs later, with slightly stiff legs we made it to the top. We were 'rewarded' with seeing the steam coming out of the crater and feeling the heat coming out of the ground. I'm not sure its something we'd visit again, but the walk up their at high altitude was good to get the heart rate up.

After Sicily we had 3 much more relaxing days in the beautiful Amalfi Coast. We stayed in a very cute little bed'n'breakfast in the town of Amalfi and did a day trip to both Positano and Ravello, along with some good hours chilling out on the beach and swimming in the nice warm water.

In total, we've had 3 weeks in Italy and loved pretty much most places we've been to. It definately is a country spoit with lots of beautiful places.

Today we arrived in Croatia and tomorrow we board our 7 day cruise around Central and South Dalmatia.

Unlike most other countries in Europe and presumably the world, the buses in Malta are privately owned and the driver makes a commission on the tickets sold. Factor in the old school Leyland buses, where the front door is always opened and the bus is decorated with the drivers favourite football team and religious sayings and you have a transport experience like no other. Quite often there is a side-kick hanging out the front door yelling obscenities at his mates whilst trying to increase passenger numbers. Now I may not fully understand the language, but coming from Maltese blood I know enough of the swear words to find this hilarious entertainment.

We've enjoyed many fun bus rides in Malta whilst steering clear of the "dodgy bastard taxi drivers". My parents were only very young when they emigrated to Australia but one thing they warned me about was to avoid the taxis. After only taking a couple of steps outside customs we were approached by taxi drivers who proceeded to tell us that the only way to get to our destination was of course by taxi....and it would only cost us 25 euros. We refused their kind offer and started the walk up the hill to Valletta city centre which was 'apparently' only a 15-20min walk from the ferry terminal. Some 45 minutes, and many stairs later we arrived at the bus terminal 2 hot and weary travellers given the combination of backpacks and 30 degree heat. A 30 minute bus ride costing a mere 0.30 euros we arrived at my uncles empty flat. The 2 bedroom flat just 2 min walk from the water at St Paul's Bay seemed more like a palace to us after 2 months of hostels, pensions and dodgy hotel rooms with noisy motorway views.

One thing I haven't been suprised by is the friendliness of the locals, especially the old folk, which I encountered in my search for my mum's family cave. The beauty of Malta is that pretty much everyone knows everyone. Even though my Mum's family left over 50 years ago, I only had to ask a few locals in the town where they lived who somehow could still recall my Mum's family and point me in the direction of where they lived. On many occasions I can recall my Mum saying "Son, if I told you I was born in a cave you wouldn't believe me!" and to be honest I probably didn't. But having tracked down the site where there are about 10 caves built into the side of a rock face where my Mum's family lived amongst others and wandering through them, I now believe her. The caves have long since been vacated but there were still signs that these were well lived in caves. Some were sectioned off into numerous rooms, the hessian sacks used as curtains were still hanging, along with rusted old buckets we're told were used to carry water, and old cooking pots. Visiting these caves was quite a surreal experience to think that people actually lived here, let alone my Mum's family.

When visiting a country you always gain a much bigger appreciation of the history because you get to see it with your own eyes. In Malta I have been blown away by the amount of attacks and attempted invasions this little island has had to endure, mainly due to its strategic location smack bang in the middle of the meditteranean. We visited some WW2 air-raid shelters when Malta became one of the most bombed places on earth.

We also visited the Mosta Dome - a massive church, which during WW2 a bomb was dropped, piercing the roof during a service and did not explode or injure anyone. This is considered a miracle by the Maltese. It's after visiting these places that the locals are so proud of their history and these little islands.

We've had 2 wonderful weeks here and even though you can drive from one side of the island in less than an hour there is plenty to see and do here. We have swum in some of the most crystal clear bright blue water at the Blue Lagoon, had a day snorkelling, did a Jeep Safari around the island of Gozo and experienced a religious festival quite unlike anything I've seen before. We sampled the islands night-life hotspot at Paceville where some of the female fashions really do leave nothing to the imagination. Throw in the hot weather and we can see why this is such a pommie tourist haven.

Next stop is to Sicily and then the Amalfi Coast.

PS: The pastizzi and Kinnie taste better here!