Today we got an “early start” and headed south to Niagara Falls. We were excited about having the honor of making Charlie the first in his family to see this impressive sight. I know we never took his dad and his mom told us that in spite of her being from NYC she never made it to the Falls.
Going to the Falls seemed like a good idea at the time but once we left the hotel I was having second thoughts. The traffic reminded me of Los Angeles and what I thought would be an easy 90 minute drive turned out being 2 hours and for some odd reason the gps took us off the freeway for a bit. I suppose it was to save time but just added an unecessary detour that made me consider using a different app.
Upon arrival to the Falls things got worse. Not too surprising there were hoards of people and parking was limited. We finally found a spot for a mere $35. Then we had the long walk to the boats. We found out that The Maid of The Mist, which Patrice and I used in 2013, is USA based and we’d have to cross the border to board one of their vessels. Instead we were directed to the Niagara City Cruises which is the Canadian equivalent of the Mist. When we got to the ticket office there must have been at least 100 people on line. While waiting I tried to buy tickets online without success. I was then informed that after you purchased your tickets there was 90 minutes wait to board the boat. I left Patrice and Charlie waiting on the ticket line while I waited on the entrance line. My strategy worked somewhat and we got onboard the boat after a grand total of about one hour waiting. Unfortunately we were one of the last passengers to board so going to the top level was not an option. We left it up to Charlie where we should stay and he opted for the very front of the boat. To say this would be considered the “wet zone” would be an understatement. We got soaked. But considering how hot it was today, getting wet was a pleasure.
This is a land-based photo of the Niagara City Cruises boat approaching the Falls. It is easy to see why we got drenched.
After the ride Charlie needed to use the bathroom and I needed a place to sit down. I found a couple of chairs but the people sitting nearby said they were waiting for friends. I told them I needed to sit and would get up when they arrived. They still didn’t want me to sit down. I told them I felt like I was going to pass out and sat down anyway.
Is this a face you can turn down?
it was 4 pm and we had plans to meet friends for dinner at 8 back in Toronto. Four hours to travel 80 miles seemed adequate since it only took us 2 hours to get to the Falls. We didn’t want Charlie to suffer so we stopped to get him a snack. At 4:20 Patrice checked the route back to the hotel and it said 2:23 so we said we better get going. The ride back actually took 3 hours. Even Los Angeles traffic isn’t that bad.
Luckily our friends were very understanding and greeted us warmly at the restaurant. More about that tomorrow. We are exhausted and have to get up early for a flight to Minneapolis via Chicago. Twenty-three stadiums down and soon there will be one more.
After yesterday, nothing could stress me out. If you believe that, you obviously don’t know me.
I woke up early as usual but Charlie’s young body is still on California time. When he finally awoke it was getting close to the time to leave for the ballpark.
We got things together and headed down to the Sunset Grill (205 Wellington St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3G7) for breakfast. The place was highly recommended and located next door to our hotel. We walked by the place last night and the possibility of having French toast was a winner for Charlie. It was a great meal. I opted for the French toast cheesecake (see below)
French Toast Cheesecake (French Toast with cream cheese filling and blueberries). It was obscenely good and came with a complementary dose of insulin.
Then it was a short walk to the Rogers Centre for the game and my stressful event. In today’s computer age we no longer deal with tickets. Everything is digital. I received the link for the tickets but couldn’t make it work. I have used the Ballpark App numerous times and it has always worked great. Today was the exception. I asked one of the Blue Jay staff for the location of the Will Call booth figuring they could help me get some printed tickets. Unfortunately she looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language (possilbly I was speaking American and that was the problem). She then directed us to a ticket help area and I saw something I’d never seen before (see below).
“Mobile Ticket Support”. There were several similar windows at this location.
The clerk there quickly righted the ship and we were back on our way into the stadium. At least, so we thought. I put the ticket image up to the sensor and it said “I don’t think so”. So it was back to mobile help. This time we were good to go and got to our seats as they were singing “Oh Canada”. We missed the Star Spangled Banner but I’ve already heard that enough times for two lifetimes.
The game was great. The Rogers Centre Stadium (named after local businessman Edward “Ted” Rogers) was beautiful. Fans were a delight. We have traveled a fair amount and one thing I frequently tell people is that Australia and Canada are two places I love visiting because the people don’t seem to hate Americans. I think the Blue Jays were especially kind to the American team on July 4th permitting Mauricio Dubon (Honduras), Jeremy Pena (Dominican Republic), Framber Valdez (Dominican Republic) to have great games.
After the game we decided to go to the CN Tower. It was literally steps from the stadium. The line was huge and we were hot and sweaty so decided to defer our visit. We went back to the hotel and after a shower and brief rest we went to dinner.
My friend, Nick, recommended we go to Pai (18 Duncan St, Toronto, ON M5H 3G8), a Thai restaurant walking distance from our hotel. The food was amazing.
Pad Thai was superb.Gai (chicken) Satay was also amazing.
From there we walked back to the CN Tower. The line was again very long but now being cooler and well fed we were in a much better mood to deal with the crowd. The wait was worth it. We saw amazing views of the city.
CN Tower.
When completed (in 1976) it was the tallest tower in the world at 1815 feet and remained #1 until 2007. I am not crazy about heights so I have zero interest in seeing the new #1.
Here is a video of our ride on the elevator to the viewing deck.
CN Tower Elevator.A glimpse of the view behind the three of us.
It was fun viewing the city from the tower but the most enjoyable aspect was that Charlie had a good time. We are now chilling at the hotel and getting ready for a big day tomorrow.
View of the CN Tower from our hotel room.
We promised to show Charlie something even more spectacular than the CN Tower and which took much longer to construct and has been viewed by millions more people. Check in tomorrow to find out just what it is.
Loyal followers of this blog will recall that last year we took our grandson, Charlie, on a baseball trip. We previously took his older brother, Owen, on trips to Canada and Panama. Last year was Charlie’s first excursion with us and because he is a big baseball fan we invited him to join us on our quest to see all 30 MLB parks. Last year we visited Dallas, Texas and saw the Astros beat the Rangers in a very exciting game. My most vivid memory from that game was the 3 women sitting in front of us who drove from Houston to see their Astros. They went bananas when Jose Altuve hit a crucial home run late in the game. They stood up and sang “Jose, Jose, Jose” to the music of Ricky Martin’s hit “Ole, Ole, Ole”. Even more exciting than that was seeing Astros manager Dusty Baker in the hotel lobby. Charlie got to chat with the skipper and get a baseball signed.
From there we traveled to Chicago and saw the Blue Jays beat the White Sox. The Cubs were out of town so we had to be satisfied with a tour of Wrigley Field.
This trip we will see the Blue Jays again but this time it will at Rogers Centre, their home park in Toronto.
Since we will be leaving the country we made very sure that Charlie had his passport. I realized that for Canadian travel you can use your passport card instead of a regular passport (see below).
Example of a Passport Card complements of our friends at Wikipedia.
I didn’t want to have the hassle of carting around the regular passport so I just brought the card. Patrice stupidly brought both saying “Just in case”. Well one of us was indeed stupid, and it wasn’t Patrice. When we went to check it we were told that the passport card is only valid for entrance by land and sea, not by air.
I immediately dropped everything and headed home in panic mode to get my passport repeatedly saying to myself “I am an idiot, I am an idiot.” Good thing Patrice wasn’t with me because she’d would have been saying “Yes, you certainly are, you certainly are!” No, she wouldn’t say that, she’d yell it.
If you’re not familiar with LAX the American Airlines terminal could not be located further away from the place where you pick up cabs (an area named LAX-it). So I took off running keeping my eyes open for a taxi dropping off a fare nearby. Initially I saw a car that had some sort of transport lettering on the side but the driver said he wasn’t a taxi. I next saw a couple getting out of a car; I asked if it was an Uber but they said no. I started to run again. Then I saw someone getting out of a Tesla. I asked if it was an Uber and they say YES! I was in business. I knocked on the passenger side window and opened the door asking if he was an Uber driver to which he said “No!” I asked again in disbelief to which he again said no but this time he added, “I’m a Lyft driver”. I hopped in, told the driver my situation and begged him to take me home and return to LAX for a cash payment (not a time to mess with the Lyft app). He agreed and we were off. Traffic wasn’t bad going home. He kept obsessing about putting my address into his gps and I just wanted him to drive as quickly and as safely as possible.
Luckily I was able to shut off the alarm and open the garage door when we were approaching our place. I grabbed the passport and rushed back to the Uber, (I mean Lyft), resetting the house alarm from the car. The trip back wasn’t as easy. Traffic wasn’t horrible but it was definitely heavier than my first ride to LAX this morning. When we arrived at LAX, cars were at a standstill and I received a message from Patrice saying that they cut off check-in one hour before the flight. My Uber, darn I mean my Lyft, was due to arrive at terminal 4 at 7:15 only 40 minutes before our flight. I texted Patrice, “What are our options?” She didn’t reply, I presume because the options she was considering were divorce or murder.
The Lyft driver (see, I can learn from my mistakes) dropped me off. I handed him enough cash for him to take the rest of the morning off and have a great story for his wife when he got home. I sprinted to check-in and found Patrice and Charlie right where I had left them. It was then a sprint to the Bradley terminal gate 159. For some reason apparently you can no longer check-in at Bradley for American Airlines flights. So off we went, Patrice, Charlie and me running to the international terminal. I took Patrice’s backpack and my own to allow them to run ahead. Unfortunately they weren’t able to get there much quicker than I was (amazing how fast someone can run when they’ve made the bonehead move of the century).
We arrived at Bradley and learned something very helpful for this and future flights. Previously after checking in we would walk to the right to go through security. Today we saw there’s also an entrance on the left and it had virtually no travelers so we got through security in no time.
Then there was the run to the gate. Signs said gates 151-159 this way. Of course 159 was the last gate. I’m still in sprint mode and my thoughts were 1. Are we going to make it to the plane? and 2. I’m I going to have a heart attack?
We made it! We boarded and took our seats. Patrice sat with Charlie and I sat across the aisle with a pilot hitching a ride home to Chicago. I explained what happened and apologized if he had to breathe through his nose. He then told me he had Covid 3 weeks ago and couldn’t smell a thing. There’s a sobering thought for you.
Our flight from Chicago to Toronto was much less eventful. After check-in at the hotel we had a lovely dinner at Scaddabush Italian Kitchen & Bar Front Street (200 Front St W Unit #G001, Toronto, ON M5V 3J1). Apparently this is a local chain but we found it very good. The entrance to the restaurant has a sign that says they make their pasta daily. We thought it was delicious. Charlie, being the Italian cuisine expert, of course ordered the chicken tenders.
We are now relaxing at the hotel ready for the umpire to yell “Play ball!”
By the way, I’ve apologized to Charlie and Patrice for my stupidity this morning. They both forgave me for being an idiot.
Patrice here: He is definitely an idiot but still quite lovable.
We had another wonderful vacation and I really enjoyed writing the blog much more than ever before. One of our Tauck travel partners, Steve, announced to the group how much he was enjoying my blog and the Tour Director, Gabby, sent everyone the link. I think you know how much I love to see the reader’s “Comments” and “Likes” but traveling along side of some readers made it even more special.
We had a lovely fairwell dinner last night and said goodbye to our new friends. This morning we left for the airport via water taxi at 3:35 AM. Things went very smooth at the airport because it was essentially empty. The short flight from Venice to Munich might have provided us with the highlight of the trip. Shortly after take off we saw a magnificent sight outside the left side windows. I asked the flight attendant and she confirmed we were looking at the Dolomite mountain range of the Italian Alps. The highest peak is a bit under 11,000 feet but extending through the clouds and being covered with snow presented a glorious picture of the Earth. I took some shots but again they don’t replace seeing them for yourself.
Dolotmite Mountains from our flight from Venice to Munich.
As usual, at the end of a trip, I like to post some pictures of interesting things I have seen during our excursion. I hope you enjoy them.
About 35% of adults in Croatia smoke (compared with about 11% in the USA). Hopefully warnings like this will help get their numbers closer to ours.Messages like this might have the opposite effect. Especially in Alabama.Lots of signs in English here to attract tourist customers. Sometimes they get creative with their spelling. In addition to the creative spelling (exhibition) they have allowed HBO access to the monastery on Lokrum Island. I know I have shown you this before but with my legs looking like they belong to Patrice still cracks me up.Apparently the Croatians can only count to 55? After that they add the appropriate digits?Is a Bloody Mary considered a soup in Croatia?In Split, Croatia parking can be hard to find so they often park on the side walk.All the important rooms are listed on this sign from the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb.This looked interesting but we didn’t get a chance to go. Next time.
And lastly, a picture of my real travel buddy. Looking relaxed while having lunch in Split, I caught this shot under the table.
We left Rovinj at a reasonable time and took the long bus ride to Venice. Of course we could only take the bus part way. The last part of the trip was via water taxi.
Patrice and Me on the Water Taxi zipping along from the bus drop off area to our hotel
We met our other tour members and our city guides in the hotel lobby, had some appetizers and then headed out on our tour of the Doge’s Palace. Patrice insisted we visited this place when we were in Venice in October of 2022. Unfortunately I had no memory of going inside. A check of my blog posts failed to show any mention of the palace so it looks like I was right for a change. Patrice had been to Venice once without me so she must have confused the two trips (Patrice here: I remember enjoying my visit of the Doge’s palace so Robert definitely wasn’t on that trip).
The palace was okay but I was tired, hot, and my back was aching so this was not a highlight for me. Here are a couple of things I did like. Statues of Hercules and Atlas.
HerculesAtlas.
I think those muscular bodies reminded me of myself when I look in the mirror each morning. (Patrice here again. Did Robert mention he has cataracts?)
After the palace, Gabby took us to a local Murano glass blowing shop. There we saw an amazing demonstration of how these objects are made. Below is a link to a video of what we saw.
They showed us all sorts of beautiful works of art they have for sale. We decided not to buy the serving tray, decanter, and set of glasses for 1,800 Euros in spite of it being discounted down from 2,800 Euros. It was a close call. Patrice elbowed me and said, “Let’s get it”. My intestines started to roar, my heart began to race, and my pores began to pour out sweat. But then I was saved by one of our fellow travelers asking, “Can you put them in a dishwasher?” With the answer being, “No, do not put these items in a dishwasher”, Patrice said, “Forget it” and I could breathe again.
We headed back to the hotel to rest up for dinner and that is when I really began to sweat. I had given my fellow travelers the big build up and now it was time to perform my magic trick. Patrice videoed the event and although I won’t be making anyone forget David Copperfield or Doug Henning, I do think things went pretty well. Check out the video and let me know what you think.
Shortly after this we said goodbye to our 20 new friends and hopefully we will see them again very soon.
Time for me to say goodnight to my followers. Believe it or not we leave for the airport via water taxi at 3:40 AM.
We got off to an early start this morning in order to visit the nearby town of Pula. It is located at the tip of the Istrian peninsula of Croatia. The main tourist attraction is the Pula Arena which was built between 27 BC and 68 AD if you believe Google or in about 100 AD if you believe our guide (or if I heard him correctly). During the Roman era it was used for gladiator battles and is now available for concerts. When we were visiting they were in the process of breaking down the stage from a concert that occurred yesterday. Here is an incredible picture of the Pula Arena.
Which I didn’t take.
Here is my photo.
Okay, okay, I am not a great photographer.This one is from the inside, it is not perfect but I like it.
The remainder of the tour of Pula was very interesting. We were shown the various types of architectural forms in the town. As you would expect the different styles are dependent on when they were built. In one area alone we saw construction that represented the Roman period, Mussolini era, Austrian (also known as the Habsburg Monarchy), and finally Croatia when it was part of Yugoslavia.
From left to right: Mussolini era, Austrian, Yugoslavia. See below for what is located just to the left. To the left of the Mussolini structure is this Roman arch.
After our day in Pula, the bus, I mean the coach brought us back to the hotel. By the way, did I mention we are staying at the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj (Smareglijeva ulica 1A, 52210, Rovinj). Yes, Rovinj is another one of those Croatia towns with a random J thrown in. I suspect a government official at some point in time owned the rights to the letter J and got a commission every time it was used.
After a hot time in Pula, Patrice and I just wanted to chill. We had a nice lunch at the hotel cafe (yummy 4 cheese pizza) then headed to the Adriatic to dip our feet in the waters that have been purported to be therapeutic. It has been said that putting your feet in the Adriatic Sea can cure strept throat, urinary tract infections, and bacterial pneumonia. That is if it is also accompanied by the appropriate antibiotics.
It was great resting out by the water. The hotel provided very comfortable lounge chairs and shade umbrellas. We took a quick dip in the water but just up to our mid shin and I can report that the pain in my right foot felt much better almost immediately. Of course now my foot is complete numb from the cold water.
Now that my blog has become so popular we did have the occasional passerby asking for a photo with us to show to the folks back home. Of course we accommodated all our fans. I’m not sure if it was the blog that attracted them or seeing Patrice in her thong bikini and me in my Speedo. Here is a picture of us relaxing in our aforementioned bathing suits.
That’s Patrice on the left, I am on the right.
While relaxing I heard a loud squawk. I looked up to find this guy standing on one leg. I tried to film a video of him squawking but he must have been camera shy because he’d only do it when I lowered my camera.
I tried to recreate this pose only to nearly fall and hurt myself.
Well rested, we were now ready to resume our vacation which more times than not means to get some food. I didn’t plan to write much about dinner but tonight was a special event. The meal was good but the dinner was more of an experience than a meal. On the boat ride over we were entertained by some men singing in what I assume was the Croatian language. They joined us at the restaurant as well. I was told that the restaurant (Spacio Matika) is only open 3 times per week and only for special parties. Following the meal the singing got even more intense. Our tour director, Gabby, serenaded us with two John Denver classics. She was great. Then one of the male singers sang “O Sole Mío” in Croatian. Here is a YouTube link if you are interested in hearing this young man.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel. Tomorrow we leave for Venice. John and Brian were asking for more magic tonight but they will have to wait for my ace trick tomorrow at our farewell dinner. I told them I get it right about 50% of the time. My good friends know it is closer to 25%. But when I do get it right it is SPECTACULAR. Well maybe not that good, but I think it is pretty cool and in the end isn’t that all that really matters?
I’m starting to hate myself. Yes, I’ve become one of those obnoxious self-absorbed tourists. It became evident this morning at breakfast when I told Patrice that the Eggs Royale this morning wasn’t as good as at the Hotel Esplanade in Zagreb. Oh well, I’ll just have to adjust.
Today we had a very early start being told to have our bags ready for pick up at 6:20 AM because we would be leaving the hotel at 7:20 AM. Apparently an early start was necessary because Tauck Tours had a very special activity planned. I’m not from Missouri (the “Show-Me State”) but I still need to be shown the proof because I would have preferred more time in bed.
After about one hour on the bus (Excuse me, Tauck Tours has a “coach” not a bus. This is a very high class operation) we arrived at Postojna, Slovenia. Is it my imagination but does almost every city in this region have a J in its name? Also they seem to be thrown in at random, like in Postojna and Ljubljana. In Postojna, we toured their famous caves. They are famous to anyone who knows anything about this section of the world. Of course that would not include me. One very rewarding part of this trip has been that I have learned a lot of information that quite honestly has been soulfully lacking in my education. Back to our early start. We left early so we could enter the caves one half hour before opening and have the place to ourselves. Our sacrifice was well worth it. My pictures cannot do it justice. The sights were spectacular. It was a bit chilly and occasionally we would get hit by some water drops from above, but overall it was a great experience. Here are some photos that won’t impress you but you should definitely add this place to your bucket list. Before this trip I didn’t know a stalactite, or a stalagmite, from a hole in the ground.
I just read how to make it is easy to remember. If you care at all about these formations, stalacTites grow from the Top of the cave and stalaGmites from from the Ground of the cave. That should make it easy to remember.
Group of stalactites extending from the top of the cave ceiling.Lovely stalagmites growing from the ground of the cave.
There were a series of formations that resembled some other objects. Such as a couple with one holding a baby, a kissing couple, and the one below that looks like a rooster.
Does this look like a rooster or hen to you?
At end of the tour we were treated to a series of Slovenian songs sung by a male A Capella group. The acoustics in the cave were fantastic and made the performance unique.
Leaving the caves we took a short ride to the town of Prašćari. There we were the guests of the Prodan family who owns and operates a truffle farm. I learned that truffles are mushrooms which need to be “hunted”. Apparently they grow in the wild and are not readily apparent. So in order to find these guys you need to use truffle sniffing dogs to locate them. We also had a wonderful truffle-themed lunch. Appetizers, salad, scrambled eggs, and ice cream all using truffles as a focal ingredient.
As a little bonus I did a card trick after lunch that worked perfectly. I had promised John and Brian for days that I would do the trick but kept forgetting to bring my cards to lunch or dinner. I finally remembered today and my travel buddies were a great audience. I’m now 2 for 2 doing magic tricks on this trip. Dare I press my luck with my favorite trick on our last trip night? We will see.
After Prašćari it was back on the bus, oops I mean coach, and headed to Rovinj. This is a small seaport town in Croatia. We had a short working tour on arrival but I was too hot and worn out to pay much attention. I will say ciao for now and hopefully have some more trip information for you tomorrow.
Today we had a lovely day of eating (as usual) and touring castles.
In addition to our tour director we have had some great local tour guides. In Ljubljana our tour guide has been Miha (pronounced “Me Ha”). Miha guided us yesterday as well. On the bus today I asked Miha if anyone had ever told him that in Spanish Me Ha (spelled mija) is an affectionate term used to address one’s daughter. He said yes and then looked at Patrice. She smiled at me and said, “I told him yesterday”
We started the day visiting the Ljubljana castle. We toured around the site and heard some actors portray some historical persons from Slovenia history. The highlight of the visit for me was the view from the hill. See below
You can see the funicular track. Unfortunately this picture doesn’t capture the beauty of the view of the city.
The country that produces the most Brazil nuts is not Brazil but rather Bolivia. This has nothing to do with our trip but it was just a random thought that came into my mind.
Our next castle, if I heard Miha correctly, was in a town called “Argadobitch”. That wasn’t correct. The name of the town is Radovljica but don’t ask me to pronunce it. I have to admit I’m not big into castles so the highlight for me in Radovljica was was the view from the hill. Actually that’s not true, the real highlight was lunch. Lunch was at a restaurant whose main claim to fame is their gingerbread cookies. We heard a very forgettable lecture about gingerbread cookies and I was very disappointed to hear that they are produced more as ornaments rather than as cookies for eating. If that is the case then why call them cookies? We then left the gingerbread “cookie” kitchen and headed to the restaurant portion of the building for lunch.
The first thing served was a mushroom soup in a bread bowl. Take a look at this.,
Mushroom soup is a bread bowl that looked like a mushroom. This was delicious.
Next we had what they described as a “seasonal salad”. If you want pictures of salads go to someone else’s blog. The main course was beef and pork sausage, potatoes, and sauerkraut (they called it “baked sour cabbage”). It was very good but the real winner was dessert. It was apple ice cream in an apple. See below.
My mom wouldn’t have had to struggle to get me to eat my fruits and vegetables when I was young if she was this creative.
Next we were off to Bled (Blejski) Castle. This place had a fantastic view of the lake and town below.
Here is a web picture of the castle. No surprise it would have a great view. You can’t see in this picture but there were numerous canoes and other boats in the lake.
Miha said we shouldn’t jump off the cliff to commit suicide because of the trees. Many people have apparently attempted suicide but because of the trees they didn’t die but rather just became permanently maimed. Guides sometimes have such wonderfully useful safety information.
After a tour of the castle we went to the main attraction……. the gift shop. Not much caught my eye except for some plaques with some interesting words of wisdom. See below.
I love this one. I especially plan to remind Patrice of this when her birthday comes aroundI really like this one.You have to love this one.Wait! Wait! Wait! How did this one get in there?
That is enough for today. We have to have our bags ready to go by 6:20 AM tomorrow and be on the bus by 7:20 AM. Are we paying for this?
Last night was magical in two ways. We had a wonderful dinner and I performed another magic trick for some of our fellow travelers.
In addition to the dinner being delicious we had a little show when the waiter deboned my Sea Bass at tableside. If you’re interested here is the link to the video
After the main course and before dessert I performed a mentalism trick for our table mates, and new friends, Steve and Karen from Boston. I also recruited our fellow travelers John, Ann, Brian, and Perri to watch me perform. The trick went without any hiccups and everyone was amazed that I was able to do it (including me). I left them wanting more and I promised that I’d do a card trick at the next day’s lunch.
This morning we got an early start but not too early so we were able to enjoy another wonderful breakfast at the Hotel Esplanade Zagreb.
We then boarded the bus at 8:30 AM and headed for Ljubljana, the capital and biggest city in Slovenia. En route we stopped at the Trakošćan Castle in Northern Croatia. I didn’t sleep well last night so this visit was less than exciting for me. The castle was located in a forest region which was absolutely beautiful. See below.
View of the forest from the Trakošćan Castle.
Here is a view of the castle.
Trakošćan Castle
We were told that we would be treated to a traditional dance demonstration at the castle by some lovely ladies. I was too tired to enjoy the presentation and was wishing I had that extra 30 minutes to be in bed. I did take a couple of pictures of the dancers.
Lydia, the group leader, is on the left.These three are the remainder of the group.
We had a pleasant lunch at the castle and then hit the road for Ljubljana, Slovenia. I had forgotten my cards in the bus so I couldn’t do my magic trick as promised and it was probably just as well because I felt awful. After the castle visit, en route to Ljubljana I reclined on my favorite pillow (Patrice’s thighs) and napped for about 30 minutes. When I awoke I felt like a new man.
When we arrived in Ljubljana is was raining lightly. Our tour director told us some of the plans for our time in Ljubljana. It seems like Ljubljana is a very easy city to navigate. If it seems that I have been using the name of the city of Ljubljana a lot it is because I am so proud that I can spell Ljubljana. Now if I only knew how to pronounce Ljubljana.
We are staying at the Hotel Intercontinental and this place is fantastic. It has all sorts of cool gadgets. The toilets flush themselves. That is very nice but they don’t salute you like the toilets we had in Japan (just don’t get the respect from toilets in this country as you do in Japan). We also qualify to go to the executive lounge where we can get happy hour drinks (you probably know I don’t drink except on rare occasions) and food (just what we need is more food).
Shortly after arrival we went on a brief walking tour of the city. It was informative and I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn’t raining and I wasn’t so cold. When the tour ended I bought a long sleeve shirt that will help me survive tonight when we go to dinner,. Speaking of that, it is time to go to dinner. Catch you later.
After suffering the Croatian heat while walking around seeing some lovely sights the past few days, today we were treated to much cooler weather in Zagreb. There was some slight rain but being outside wearing long pants and my sweatshirt was a welcome relief. This was better than becoming dehydrated each day in spite of wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Enough complaining (Patrice here: “Enough complaining?” I have 42 years of experience to know that he is never done complaining)
We started off with an excellent breakfast which for me included “Eggs Royale” or “Jaja Royale” if you prefer to read it in Croatian. That dish is Eggs Benedict with lox instead of the Canadian bacon. I also tried (at our tour director, Gabby’s suggestion) the Zagorski štrukli. It didn’t look very appetizing but it was delicious.
Zagorski štrukli. Would you want to try this? I know it doesn’t look special but I thought it was fantastic.
After breakfast we heard a lecture from former Minister of Tourism, Pave Rusković. To say she was impressive would be an understatement. Ms. Rusković discussed the developement of modern day Croatia with great detail describing her involvement in tourism in a variety of positions cuminating in her heading the Ministry of Tourism. This was a post she held from January 2000 through December of 2003. A side note of interest is that Ms. Rusković is the mother of the silk worm lady I discussed when we were in Dubrovnik.
After that we had a walking tour of Zagreb armed with hotel provided umbrellas which were needed only briefly. We are staying at the Espanade Zagreb Hotel (Mihanovićeva ul. 1, 10000, Zagreb). The place is gorgeous and our room is spectacular. It is the type of hotel you might expect in a movie like “Murder on the Orient Express”. Actually it is adjacent to the Zagreb train station and that is not by accident. The hotel was built to accomodate the extremely wealthy passengers on the Orient Express traveling through Zagreb. There are all sorts of pictures of the famous rail line scattered around the hotel. We were told a number of celebrities have stayed at the hotel. England’s King Edward the VIII supposedly stayed here and swam naked with his wife Wallis Simpson. I asked Patrice if we could do that royal activity and she said “Have fun, I’ll meet you in the room when you are done.”
Our city tour included all sorts of fun facts and beautiful sights. One of the focal points was Ban Jelačić Square with the main attraction being the statue of Josip Jelačić. He was a famous guy in these parts in the early 19th century. I won’t bore you with details about him because I don’t remember any. But I will show you his statue and let you know why it was important today. See below.
Statue of Josip Jelačić most important today because he is using his sword to point the direction we need to walk to get back to the hotel.
After the morning tour we had a lovely lunch and then were left to our own desires regarding further sight-seeing. Patrice suggested we go see “The Museum of Broken Relationships” (Ćirilometodska ul. 2, 10000, Zagreb). This museum has a collection of artifacts from emotional relationships that didn’t work out. Do you think Patrice is trying to tell me this will be our last trip together?
Some of the exhibits were funny and clever, like the mobile phone with the description “He gave me his mobile phone so I couldn’t call him anymore”. Or the “Ragged floor lamp” which a woman saw in some sex photos on the internet with her boyfriend with another woman…… Ouch!
Then there were some objects that showed some real pain. Like the exercise bike that one guy donated to the museum saying, “It was not the only thing my girl friend liked to ride”. Or the full length mirror a man said his wife used to spend hours in front of making sure she looked “just right” when she was leaving him at home with their 2 children while she was going out to meet clients. The husband later found out she was meeting other men.
After the museum we headed back to the hotel to rest our weary bodies and get ready for dinner. I am not sure how much I will be able to eat because I am very nervous. I announced to two of our new friends, Steve and Karen, that I will be doing a new magic trick tonight. They were a great audience for my first trick, how could I not perform an encore?
I will report about dinner and magic later. I need to practice my mind reading skills for tonight.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 