Greetings from Zagreb (Eric)

We are sitting in an internet cafe called Cyber Funk Cafe. It is a combination smoothie bar internet cafe with really tasty smoothies. We are enjoying ourselves immensely in this charming city. It has many of the attractions of other European cities, the Gothic architecture, the street cafes, the ability to walk from location to location, minus the larger crowds. I have been hearing and reading that Croatia is an undiscovered tourist destination, and I am happy to report that this is true. I find this city to be a fascinating combination of old world charm and modern conveniences. We have been leisurely exploring the city all day, and we have stumbled across some wonderful sites, including a street concert, a farmer´s market (where we bought a .5 kilo of cherries), a few beautiful  cathedrals and churches, and wandered into a museum that had some fascinating sculptures. We are walking back to our apartment from a botanical garden - peaceful and quiet - to get ready for dinner at what looks to be an interesting place called Mano. We will try to post pictures later - I forgot to bring the cable with me.

I Heart Zagreb (by Jenny)

I have been trying to think of different adjectives to try to describe how great and fun Zagreb is, and the only thing I can come up with is that I simply love this city! I am so grateful for all of the incredible travel experiences I've had in my life, and this is another amazing adventure.

What I love most about Zagreb is that it seems to be the prefect combination of everything I love about other cities I've visited; it has the cafe culture and promenades of Athens, the old architecture of Paris, it's compact, easy to get around, and it's surrounded by mountains.  (English is fluently spoken, which is an added bonus).  There are lots of people milling about, so it feels safe, but not so many people that it feels crowded.  There are lots of trees and parks, so even though it's hot, the temperature in the shade is quite nice.

We've enjoyed a great day of exploring the city.   There are many beautiful cathedrals and churches.  We visited the home and art studio of sculptor Mestrovic, which was really interesting.  He was a contemporary of Rodin's, and had even sculpted a few pieces of Rodin.  We enjoyed relaxing under a cafe umbrella when the sun was a bit too intense, and we strolled through the botanical gardens.  We're at an internet cafe now, and Eric is trying to figure out how to get to a restaurant that he read about for dinner.  Unfortunately, we cannot upload pictures at the moment, but hope to be able to do that soon. 

I would highly recommend a visit to Zagreb to anyone who is thinking of visiting Croatia.  It's not expensive.  We've rented an apartment in the center of the city and are finding prices for food and drinks to be very reasonable (although soda is still more expensive than wine!)

Zagreb (Eric)

Blogging from my phone seems to be all but impossible for some reason here in Zagreb, Croatia, so this is just going to be a hello from this wonderful city. We enjoyed our first night here. The city was very lively because the Croatian soccer team tied Italy, and the locals were out celebrating. We are going to explore the city more today and try to find a way to post some pictures. Take care everyone.

An Encounter with a Local (Eric)

While we were out exploring the English countryside, I had a brief encounter with a local that I found amusing and worth sharing.

Those of you who know me well are aware of the phenomenon that random people have this tendency to strike up a conversation with me. While I was photographing some sheep and engaging in conversation with Jenny about the sheep (we did this quite often - we found them to be fun subjects), this gentleman (who by the way had teeth that were really bad even by English standards and an accent so thick that I could barely understand anything he was saying) proceeds to start talking to me. Initially, I cannot make out anything he is trying to say, but then I realize he is asking about a beacon (a signal fire that would have been used back in the day to warn people of invaders) - if you have seen Lord of the Rings, you may be familiar with the concept. Anyway, he is asking if the beacon had been moved from the top of a nearby watchtower to the hillside. As I have said, I had already been engaged in conversation, so I thought that he would be able to tell that I am not exactly familiar with the area based on my accent, but that did not seem to deter him, and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt that he had not actually been listening to me, so I politely inform him that I am not from around here.

He finally seems to actually listen to what I am saying and realize that my accent is not English. He then seems to think he is witty for figuring out that my accent is not British and asks me where I am from. I tell him Houston, Texas, and he claims that this is the one place in America that he has always wanted to visit. I have no idea if he was just being polite, and if I had said I was from Dryden, Texas (town of about four buildings in west Texas), he would have said the same thing, but people in Houston be on the lookout for an Englishman with really bad teeth and an almost unintelligible accent. Once he learned my origins, it seemed I became an instant friend because he knew someone from Galveston, and he proceeded to talk to me about the local political situation and why England was going down the tubes. I was smiling politely, but if it had not been for Alex and Melissa coming back and giving me an excuse to extricate myself from the conversation, I think this gentleman would still be talking to me.

These kinds of experiences are part of the fun of traveling, and the interaction with locals and learning about their viewpoints give you more insights into what life is truly like for people who live here.

Ingleton Falls Hike

These pictures are from our hike in Ingleton yesterday.  We loved the variety of terrain.  Our hike begin in a forest and took us past several waterfalls.  Eventually, we left the forest and entered the hill country with rocks and sheep, then descended into a valley with a gorge.  It was all very beautiful.  The hike was supposedly 4.5 miles, but the four of us agreed that it felt more like 6 miles, and for some reason, it was uphill in both directions!  We've had a great time in Northern England.  Tomorrow, we fly to Croatia!  Hope everyone is doing well.

Eric's Thoughts from Lancaster England

Greetings to anyone who may be reading this. I finally got a chance to blog, but this first one may have to be brief as we are heading to our next adventure (a short hike to a waterfall and visit to a cave) in a little while. Jenny and I are staying with friends (Alex and Melissa) in a renovated barn (it is much more charming than it sounds) near Lancaster, England. Lancaster is the town where Alex was born. The barn is on the out-skirts of Lancaster surrounded by rolling green hills and farm animals. It is peaceful and the stress of the school year and the travel to get here has already melted away. As a child, I was always fascinated with this part of England. The moors are picturesque, and we had a wonderful, but slightly damp (it had rained most of the day before we got here), walk on our first day. We have been lucky with the weather so far and have managed to see some of the local sites (a castle, a cathedral, a coastal town) that we probably would never have seen if it was not for our friends being in this part of the country. I am going to sign off for now, but Jenny and I will try to post more details and/or pictures later. We hope everyone is doing well.