Our European Trip: Croatia, day 2

Well the big excitement of day 2 in Croatia was the sea kayaking.  On our first day in Croatia we saw all these groups kayaking around the large island right in front of our Villa.  So signed up for a kayaking tour around the island and we were really excited to take on the sea!  

First of all, we had the HARDEST time finding where the tour started.  The director basically said "go to the cove to the left of the bridge."  Sounds simple enough right?!  Well do you know how many bridges and coves there are?!!  

Well this was the cove!  So when we finally found the cove and signed waivers we got life jackets and assigned a kayak.  They were tandem kayaks so Ryan and I shared a kayak and then Dustin and Liz shared a kayak.

It was a lot of kayaking for the day- 3 hours total!  So we headed out as a large group- probably 20 kayaks or so and looped around the island.  

A little funny from the day was watching Dustin and Liz kayak.  Several of our friends have already heard this story but for those of you who haven't... kayaking as a tandem couple can be difficult.  Dustin and Liz haven't done any kayaking together before so they were newbies!  Dustin who is pretty competitive was-can we say frustrated- frustrated with being in the back of the pack due to a lack of coordination between his and Liz's strokes.  The leader of our tour explained how to kayak and explained that when taking strokes, we should go 1-2-3 and then switch to the other side of the boat and take a long stride.  Well Liz was paddling a little slower than Dustin would have preferred- Liz was adhering more to the timing that the instructor had demonstrated.  Every time Ryan or I looked back, Dustin and Liz were paddling opposite of each other and rolling eyes or giving each other looks.  From our boat it was pretty funny!  

Don't worry they made it back to the cove and didn't dunk each other during the day :)

At the far end of the island is a nude beach which was... an eye opener!  The leader of our tour called it Sausage Festival- I'll let you think about that!  Needless to say the male population on this island ranged from 30-90 years old.  We saw a lot!  Dustin and Ryan focused on getting the kayak around this part island as quick as possible.  Liz said "I wasn't staring, I just couldn't not look!"  And for me- well I looked and maintained a slow paddling pace :)

This was the part of the island that "required clothes."

Once we made it around the island we headed across the bay to a little cove where we ate a little lunch, snorkeled around, and Ryan and Dustin did a little cliff jumping!

From here we paddled back to the launching area- crossed the path of a pirate ship...

And made it safely to shore.  We walked back to our Villa and got ready for some dinner.

We had decided to go to dinner alone as couples.  But not without a little photo fun before going out...

The sunset in Dubrovnik just don't get old!

Ryan and I had dinner at this little place right on the water- near the castle. Dustin and Liz had dinner at a little restaurant in the Old Town Dubrovnik.  After dinner we finished the night on the balcony, glasses of wine and beer and more card playing.  It was a perfect day!

Cheers,

     

Our European Trip: Croatia, day 1

Croatia was by FAR our favorite spot during the entire trip!  I can't say enough good things about it and I would certainly go back in a heart beat if the flight wasn't so dang long!  So we actually took a flight from Barcelona to Dubrovnik in the morning and we were to Villa Matilda Bed & Breakfast by noon.  The drive from the airport to the B&B was breathtaking.  Winding roads on the side of a mountain overlooking the Adriatic Sea- are you drooling yet?!  

We checked in to Villa Matilda- a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 kitchenettes, 2 balconies (are you jealous yet?!) apartment for us to have the whole top floor of this B&B all to ourselves.  It was incredible!

Kari & Ryan's room...

Dustin & Liz's room...

The bathroom...

And the view from our balcony....

After getting checked in, unpacked, and getting some good information about the city from our hosts, we left Villa Matilda to take a beautiful walk along the sea to Old Town Dubrovnik.  If any of you are Bachelorette fan you will recall Emily Maynard going to Old Town Dubrovnik in her last season.  

The mountain full of homes runs right into the sea and it is just beautiful!  We enjoyed dinner in this little restaurant/cafe right on the water.  The ONLY downfall about Dubrovnik is it is a major port for cruise ships so every so often- actually quite frequently- HUGE large masses of people would flood the town and sort of take over.  It was a little overwhelming but I really shouldn't complain since we were tourists too right?!

After dinner we walked through Old Dubrovnik and checked out the little shops and of course took lots of pictures.  One thing if you remember from The Bachelorette was this wall that has a small step coming out of it.  Legend is that if you can stand on it for like 3 or 5 seconds, you will have good fortune and luck for the rest of your life.  It is really really hard.  Ryan and Dustin tried but neither stayed on for very long.  :(

Old Dubrovnik is beautiful!

After walking around, we headed back to our Villa Matilda where we drank some beers and wine and the girls learned to play Uecker on the balcony.  It was the perfect ending to our first day in Croatia!    

This was our walk back...

And THIS was our view from the balcony while playing cards, drinking, and so much laughing!

And when it got really dark you could see the castle all lit up!  It was breathtaking!

So that was day 1 in Croatia.  The next adventure is kayaking the Adriatic Sea- stay tuned for hilarious stories that have kept us laughing since the trip!  Hope you're having a good week!

Cheers!