Croatia

Earlier on in the year in May, I gatecrashed my friend's family holiday and joined them on a trip to Croatia.

Travelling is such a luxury but can be tricky when you are older as everyone has families and busy lives and don't always have the option to book a flight and leave the country! 

So when my friend said she had booked a villa, I jokingly said I would come and that was that. 

I have wanted to visit Croatia for so long, it looks so beautiful with its sparkling seas and interesting cities.

We flew into Dubrovnik and the villa was a short drive away. We were in a small town/village and we had our own pool and were surrounded by olive trees. 

A short drive away was a harbour town which had so many great bars and restaurants. Sadly it was under construction when we visited but I think when it is finished, it is going to be an up and coming place to visit.

Our week was filled with fantastic fresh food, lovely cocktails, wandering around, swimming and reading books. Such a relaxing week. Our villa was located next to a place which opened up for dinner but it was like a biodynamic farm. It has a proper name but I have forgotten them, you can find them all over Europe, you book in and its really reasonably priced, the food is local and home made and wine is included. We had a tour of the grounds and then we were treated to a performance of local dancing and were well fed and watered!

When we could tear ourselves away from the pool, we took the ferry to Dubrovnik which took about an hour and was a lovely scenic smooth journey.

Dubrovnik is stunning. I'm not a Game of Thrones fan but the architecture is incredible and the streets were lined with tables beckoning for tourists to come and take a seat.

We chose to visit the city on a day when there were no cruise ships docking so it was relatively quiet. I'm not keen on crowds so this was nice to be able to wander at a slow pace and not have to struggle to find somewhere to sit to eat.

We chose not to walk the city walls as it cost 30 euro and we just weren't fussed to be honest! But we did walk up the little side streets with steps to the top and enjoyed seeing the backstreets of Croatian life.

The one thing that surprised me the most about Croatia, not just in the city was the cost of things. It was more expensive than I had anticipated but perhaps its just Europe now. It was worth it though as we ate and drank in great places.

Croatia reminded me of Italy, the buildings looked like what you might see in Lake Como.

If I do return to Croatia, I would like to visit some of the islands and the waterfalls. There is so much to see and do and all of the people we met were so friendly.

Send me any Croatia recommendations so I can save for another trip!