Explore the middle of Croatia by visiting the Plizitvice Lakes - it is buried in the middle of the country but the waterfalls we witnessed (under, over and around) were the most spectacular I have ever viewed.
Coffee by the thimble is strong, tasty and in need of sugar, but in the end what I discovered was a huge cup of joe with warm milk which I found in Hvar.
No shirt, no problem has been the rule for men in Europe, but in Croatia, especially on the coast, it relates more to women and small children.
The Dalmation coast was named after the spotted dogs (RIP the Rudder's pup Dominio) but in my 10 days on the islands and peninsula I did not see one spotted dog. I did see tons of stray cats and witnessed a tourist feeding some said cats bags of Tender Vittles cat food helping them wash down with drinks from their plastic water bottles.
Two dollar flip flops from Target are all you need to tackle the rocky beaches on the Adriatic Sea, however they are a bit tricky when rock climbing to jump cliffs into blue green waters.
The island of Hvar and the town of Hvar were the most glamorous - think Miami's South Beach but filled with female stick figures. I have no idea how the desk staff at our hotel in Hvar had the energy or patience to deal with the hundreds of hotel guests surviving on one noodle a day plus a shot of espresso.
The people of Croatia were warm and welcoming and filled with pride for their precious country. We found this from the minute we stepped off our bus - Darin (another one!) helped get our rental car, Sylvia in Plazitvice fed our bellies and tucked us in at night with the request to "sleep well", to the parish priest in Split who gave us a historical book about the precious church, to the lavender sales woman whose product could do anything but raise teenage children, to our airbnb host who picked us from our Walter Mitty water taxi ride and took us to the airport at 5:45 am, to the owner of the fruit stand and town mayor of Cavtat. Yes, the country is stunning but the people are the land's most precious asset.
Our Backroads adventure showed us the terrain less travelled with the most stunning views and formidable challenges including rigorous hikes, rough sea kayaking and of course killer bike rides (thanks George) but it also brought us smart, personable, caring mature twenty somethings from Italy and Slovenia whose dedication to client service, storytelling and life experiences serve as magnificent examples of the phrase "YOLO" . Thank you Saverio, Petra and Anja for everything you did for me, my family and our group. I expect to see each one of you at our house in San Francisco. And I cannot forget dear George - a fellow Leo and native Californian. Backroads, trip participants and your young co-leaders are lucky to have your experience, drive and wisdom to make each trip "a journey of a lifetime."
Croatians love Levi's almost as much as I do and everyone wants to get their hands on the denim dungarees. Together with all my new bosses - Marc, Craig and David along with Kelly and Kate we will be sure to get them what they want so we can enlist them as our strongest brand advocates. (And I would be more than happy to personally deliver the product to them. :)
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