Villasimius - Villa Fabulous!

This is what holidays should be about....kids happy with new friends and another adult taking responsibility for them....perfect sunshine and crystal clear warm water....and 1 litre of vino costing $Euro 1.20 at the supermarket (and because it's Italy you know that it's going be decent wine!).....

This is living!!!

Vino.....1 litre.....Euro 1.20....is there any way I can import this stuff back home???

Yesterday, the girls were in the pool early (well - early for Sardinians...the pool doesn't open until 9am). Eloise and Neve have discovered the joy of jumping off the diving board - Eloise using the 'twirling' method and Neve doing the 'bomb'...

Doing it tough on the beach...

Even Eloise spent some time just chilling out in the sunshine.



















In the evening, we walked down the road to a nice little restaurant and enjoyed pasta in the way that only Italians seem to know how to do.
After that (and it was now 9pm), we went back to the resort for the nightly "Baby Disco". There were Italian kids songs that all seemed to have some sort of hand actions for (which may explain why the Italians love to talk use hand actions- they get started at an early age)....Neve and Eloise were right into it and loved every minute!

 

 I have never stayed in a european resort before but I think that perhaps this is standard practise....all the organised activities (aqua-gym at 11:45, beach tennis at 1pm, bocce at 3pm)..and of an evening there is a man with a microphone, computer and synthesizer keyboard who sings Italian songs while people sit and drink beer and coffee around the pool (which is now roped off so no-one can swim)....it is all very strange but we have embraced the "kitch-ness" of it all and LOVE it!!!

Thursday morning started with a bang - of the shutters against the villa in the wind....it was too windy for the beach so we decided to jump in the car and head towards the city of Cagliari (which is where the airport is and is as big a city as it gets in Sardinia)

 The view of our resort....

Some of the coastline...there truly are some magnificent beaches here - supposedly the best beaches in Europe...









We first stopped in a shopping centre...where we found some new swimming goggles for the kids (who have trashed them swimming in the sea looking for fish - and jumping off the diving board in the pool) and had some lunch.
We then went into the main part of Cagliari town, the port and the old city. It is very beautiful (are you sick of reading that?). We wandered a little, but as it was only about 2pm it was 'siesta time' and most things were shut - they really close everything down from 130pm to at least 5pm everyday -
walking around a town then is like going to a ghost-town...although the gelato shops seem to remain open (God bless them!)...

Eloise's new goggles - that she felt she needed to wear through the entire shopping centre...
  Neve's new goggles - extra big so she can spot more fish...

Cagliari old town with other tourists wandering aimlessly looking for any shops that are open....

We have found a few scooters that the girls have fallen in love with - Winne the pooh.....

And Hello Kitty - which was Eloise's favourite (note her t-shirt).  This one we spotted the other day in Trieste.

Hello Kitty seems to be everywhere at the moment.....



















Tonight the girls went out for a "pizza night" with the kids club before coming back to the resort for the "Baby Disco"....still wondering why they call it a Baby Disco when there is no "Grown-up Disco"....

Shane and I were given the luxury of a night our to ourselves to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary which is tomorrow.....this time 5 years ago we were sunning ourselves and swimming on the Greek island of Santorini.....I think we should keep this tradition up for our 10 year anniversary!!!

Hopefully tomorrow the wind dies down and we can resume our positions on the beach.....I am becoming quite partial to my personal beach chair!!!!

Trieste - Villasimius (Sardinia)

Well...what a big few days!!

On Monday we woke up in Trieste - the sun was shining, the sea was a glorious blue and there was an amazing breakfast buffet in the hotel (while the 'private home' accommodation option is usually better...sometimes it is nice to stay in a hotel....with crisp white sheets and a breakfast buffet!!)

We drove into the centre of Trieste to have an explore before we needed to be at the airport to catch our flight to Sardinia. Shane (and I) were very excited at actually find a parking spot in a large Italian city without much hassle....and it even had very cheap parking rates.

Shane looking very pleased with himself after parking the car...










Trieste is a lovely city. I had forgotten how Italian cities have a love affair for the large (and beautiful) statues and fountains....we found quite a few.

After a good walk around, we headed back to the car and 'took off' for the airport.

As usual, the girls very excited about the airplane flight (number 7 for this trip) - but it was our quickest yet, only being in the air a little over an hour (landing 25 minutes ahead of schedule...even Italian pilots drive fast!).

Eloise loving the window seat!!





















Here is where some of our 'dramas' started.....

I had arranged for a 3 bedroom flat, right on the beach (walk out the back door onto the beach - literally) and had spoken to the Italian owner, Lucio on numerous occasions. Anyway - it was getting dark by the time we arrived at his house....and started to get suspicious when, instead of showing us directly inside, he started wandering all over the place, showing us the (now nearly black) beach and the play equipment. Our girls were exhausted (it was an hour drive from the airport and was very hot) and hungry and we just wanted to get into our accommodation and then get some dinner and go to bed.
So he eventually led us inside the house and showed us the kitchen (very nice) and the back porch (again lovely), the lounge room (bit dated but will be OK) and the main bedroom......it was then I noticed that there were no other rooms in his apartment.
"Where are the other bedrooms?", I asked. "This is it", he said (in now increasingly bad English)....we went on to learn that one of the lounges was another bed and he had one of those folding 'camp style' beds as another bed......
Then I also noticed - where was the bathroom? Well - this was outside and around the corner....

When we complained about the lack of bedding (there were 5 of us after all) - he suggested that my mother sleep upstairs in what could only be called a 'roof cavity', accessed outside via a rusty, twisty staircase that threatened to fall down at any minute!!!

What I discovered was the apartment we were supposed to have was above the one he was showing us and that a Russian family was staying there.

Right - so the conversations I had been having with Lucio for the last 6 months organising this were obviously forgotten when this other family turned up!!!

I was angry to say the least. We told him that this was not OK and he suggested that we stay there that night and he would call around and find us somewhere else to stay the next day....by this time it was nearly 9pm and the kids hadn't even had dinner so we just said 'yes' and took off to get the kids something to eat.

Of course the local pizzeria was the slowest place I had ever seen and our 3 pizzas took 45minutes to arrive - meaning we were eating dinner at nearly 10pm and then going back to a horrible apartment....

I will admit I cried just a little bit.

The kids were great through all this. Kept their sense of humour and even put a smile back on my face with their 'napkin hat' game while waiting for dinner...






Dutch napkin-head Eloise

Pirate napkin-head Neve
















Oh...and I forgot to mention. Lucio brought his mother with him to show us the apartment. I thought this a bit strange until she went into the apartment and started taking her clothes out of the cupboard in the bedroom.....HE WAS KICKING HIS OWN MOTHER OUT OF HER FLAT!!!

Unbelieveable doesn't fully describe it.

I wish I had taken photos now (particularly of the 'belfry' that he tried to say my mum could sleep in) - and we are laughing about it now....but it was horrible at the time.

Anyway - we got back there after dinner and set up Eloise on the sofa bed and Neve in the camp bed and I got online (through our own mobile phone - there was no way this place would have internet access!) and found a villa in a 4 star resort just down the road for an even cheaper price than we would have paid for Lucio's place (had we got the right apartment). I booked it then and there and, under the cover of darkness, we packed the car, took the kids out of bed, and headed out of there and to the resort!

Needless to day the girls were a bit disorientated when they woke up this morning.

The resort we are in is fabulous. We have a 3 bedroom villa and the resort is on it's own private beach with REAL SAND (which Eloise was SO excited to see...."Look Mummy.....real sand!!") and we get our own beach chairs and umbrellas dedicated for us on the beach....and (more importantly) there is a FREE KIDS CLUB!!!! It has more than made up for the terrible time last night when I thought all was lost!!

Why did I not find this before you ask?? Well...Shane has always had a 'thing' about staying in resorts....but today he decided he is over it and LOVES resorts...!

Crystal clear water....AND SAND!!!!!

 The view from my personal beach chair....

Eloise making friends with the kids club staff.....











We also took a quick drive into the main town of Villasimius which looks like a great place....but time for all of that later...today was about relaxing.

 Eloise found the world's biggest ice cream....with Neve eyeing off another giant one a few steps away!!
























So today turned out to be a fabulous day. The kids played with other kids most of the day....Shane and I swam and slept on the beach and just had a day where we didn't have to bribe/threaten/coax the children.....and we can do it all again tomorrow...and then next day.....and the next day.....

Brac - Plitvika Lakes - Slovenia - Trieste (Italy)

On Saturday we bid a fond farewell to Brac island and started our journey through Croatia and Slovenia and into Italy.

We were up early to catch the 9am car ferry from Superstar to Split. We were towards the front of the queue although they let more cars on than I could count. The ferry was actually divided into 3 levels for the cars to park on - were on the bottom level. I couldn't watch as Shane steered the car into a ridiculously tight spot!!

Down we go.....

Our car ended up behind that one on the right....with a scratch...well done Shane!!








We got on and took the 45 minute trip back to mainland Croatia.

Relaxing on the ferry now that the car was safely parked!

























It was a long day of driving - through different scenery...from bare rock and heat to the much milder and greener mountains which was our next stop for the night.

Through the rocky mountains....

Into the green hills - there were lots of roadside stalls selling homemade cheeses, honey and jam...most of them were just tables with an umbrella beside the road...this one was a far more sophisticated setup!











We were at Plitvicka National Park...famous for its tiered lake system and the large number of waterfalls that result. We arrived just after 2pm and after checking in at our camp-cabin we headed straight for the lakes. They are very beautiful and very big...I think most people spend a few days exploring but we only had an afternoon. Neve, Mum and I took the electric train which ran most of the length of the lakes while Shane and Eloise concentrated on the first few lakes and the waterfalls there.

The entrance to Plitvicka National Park

 

Some of the lakes and waterfalls























It's a shame that being in such a special, natural environment meant sharing it with so many other people at the same time! It didn't have quite the same peaceful feel that it deserved.

We were all pretty tired from the big days' traveling by the time we had dinner...but it didn't stop Neve from breaking down international language barriers and making friends in the playground!!!!

After a big nights' sleep we were up and in the car early again on Sunday....this time leaving the mountains and driving through some very remote countryside to get us up to the Slovenian border.

Through the back-roads...although this one was actually one of the 'wider' ones we went on before getting back on the motorway

The border between Croatia and Slovenia





Before we reached the border, we found about the only McDonalds in Croatia (much to Eloise's delight) and managed to get rid of the last of our Croatian kuna. We said "Hvala" (pronounced "Farla") to Croatia....which is "thanks" in Croatian - something Eloise was getting very enthusiastic about saying! What a fabulous country!!

The border crossing took a while with both the Croatian and Slovienian sides needing to check passports. I can imagine this will be much more streamlined once Croatia becomes a member of the EU. We drove through Slovenia for half an hour or so before crossing (much more quickly) into Italy.

Trieste was our next stop (which we fly out of tomorrow afternoon). It was very hot in Trieste but we took a walk along the beachfront - by "beach" I mean cement slabs with far too many people that were far too brown and smelling of coconut oil.

At the beach....Trieste style!

Once again, "Mrs Thornton" the bird managed to find us....
























We came to a castle - Castello Miramare and timed it well so we managed to catch an Italian choir signing outside the castle.

 When we got back it was just past 6pm so we tried to find somewhere to have dinner. Although we soon discovered that nowhere opens for dinner until after 730pm!! So the kids had a "reverse dinner" - eating an ice cream before dinner! A gorgeous sunset followed by too much food for dinner - it is Italy after all...and it was time for bed. A big 2 days of driving....looking forward to settling into the week in Sardinia tomorrow.

Brač island - our last day

Friday 9th September...our last full day on Brač island.

Today began with clear, sunny skies - a perfect day for going to the 'best beach in Croatia'...a place called Zlatni Rat (The Golden Horn) near a town called Bol. This is on the opposite side of the island to Splitska and takes about 45 minutes to drive to.

We packed up and headed out pretty early (930am) and got to Zlanti Rat about mid morning. I must admit that it is a beautiful beach when viewed from afar...and even close up - but the one thing that disappointed me was that this was not a 'sandy' beach as had been told to us by everyone we had met....I am thinking now that perhaps the Croatian definition of 'sand' is quite different from ours.

The town of Bol and Zlatni rat (The Golden Horn)

Zlatni rat beach (or one side of it at least)


























The 'sand' was in fact, pebbles...smaller pebbles than some of the other beaches we have been to...but certainly NOT sand!

None the less - it was a beautiful and unique beach, flowing out to a single point in the middle of the sea. It was crowded (by Australian standards) but I can imagine in the peak of summer that the size of the crowd would probably be 4-fold....not sure that it would make it such a beautiful beach then!

The water was (as always) crystal clear, warm and delicious to swim in.....

The 'peak' of the golden horn beach....

The other side of the beach, set out with beach chairs and umbrellas. I can imagine in the height of summer that this is totally full.








We spent a lovely few hours here, swimming and exploring the different parts of the beach. The side we sat on was bounded by pine trees. On the other side there were beach chairs and stalls and cafes. We got some chips in an ingeniously designed holder that had special cutouts for both the sauce (two varieties) and a drink......not bad at all!!

Once we had enough sun (probably too much sun!) we went back to visit the nearby town, Bol. It is quite a tourist orientated town - but still with that Croatian charm and beauty that we have now come to expect.

The town of Bol

We sat by the water and had lunch and then wandered back to the car to head home....I noticed an interesting sign on the way back...

Wonder what McDonalds think of this....?




















Returning back to Splitska, we were all tired and hot so a last swim in the jacuzzi and dinner on the terrace, watching the sun go down on our last night on this beautiful island...with the added bonus of having our internet FINALLY restored!!!! It's a christmas miracle!!!

Tomorrow we head off early on the ferry to the mainland for a big day of driving inland in Croatia...to the Plitvice Lakes national park....which we will visit the day after tomorrow...they are supposed to have quite spectacular waterfalls. Can't wait!!!!