Easter Break, Part III

Croatia: Happy Easter – Salty Oysters?

First things first. Who knows where Croatia is?

Yep… a little to the right… there, the red one. Just east of Italy is Croatia, a former member state of Yugoslavia and home of Dubrovnik, a city-state since the seventh century – before the formation of most European states (Will Hailey, can you insert a few interesting facts about the seventh century here, please?). Croatia, called Hrvatska by the locals, is an EU hopeful, 95% Catholic, a fascinating mix of Eastern and Western influence; and, in the last two years, it is beginning to reclaim its spot as a European summer hotspot which it held before the war in the early 1990’s against Serbia.

So, with a little background now, the second question. Why Croatia? Two reasons:

and

The first picture is of Camille, Chuck and Kate Meehan, my godmother, godfather and godsister (?) in that order. Kate is studying in Dubrovnik, poor soul, researching tourism in the former Yugoslavia between 1945 and 1991. Chuck and Camille, typically hard at work in Louisiana, were doing exactly what I was doing in Croatia – just about nothing but making Croatian friends, and loving it.

There are plenty of Croatian stories – I imagine that at some point I’ll share them all – but for now, a few more pictures (…than you know what to do with):

What you’re missing by not visiting Croatia

An atrium inside the old rector’s palace, and apparently the best concert hall in the world

The warning outside the rector’s palace: No dogs, no ice cream, and certainly no tightie-whiteys.

Camille and Chuck on the Dubrovnik wall

My new favorite place in the world, in the Dubrovnik wall:

The view downward from my favorite place:

Kate Meehan’s “street”

Saint Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik. Saint Blaise, children are told, “sees all and knows all.” Remind you of anyone, Minette and Robert?

The Dubrovnik Stradun, or main street

From the top of the hill overlooking Split, Croatia

And lastly, a shot for Bobby: Buffet Snoopy, in Zagreb, Croatia. Exotic foreign lands, I tell you.

I’m not going to spellcheck this, sorry. I’ve got papers to write.