Greece

Elafonisis beach – stunning!
Jen and I soaking up the rays
Loving Crete!
Squid steak for dinner on the water in Kissamos
Grape leaves and yogurt – so much tastier here than at home!
My first Greek beer!
Fix was the winner!
We did a 5 mile hike from the end of Impros gorge from the bottom up. It was beautiful!
Sites along the way
Impros gorge was totally worth the hike without all the tourists!
Lots of wild goats all to ourselves
1.6 meter stretch between the 2 mountains
Post hike recovery! It was 100F and totally earned!
Our host greeted us with fresh figs and grapes
Inside the Distillery House. A perfect place to get away for 2 nights in wine country!
Curing olives
The Distillery House can be found on Airbnb
Right in the heart of wine country!
Sun dried grapes for sweet red wine
We ate fresh almonds right off the tree!
Crete olives are pretty little and harvested around November time. For black olives they harvest in December.
Veggie mousaka was delicious!
We took the Hellenic Seaway fast ferry from Crete to Santorini. It was a 2 hour journey and waters were slightly choppy. The boat was beautiful and well equipped!
Surprisingly organized chaos when arriving Santorini
Santorini
Perfectly blue skies today!
Tried another new brew today!
Donkey’s coming up from the hiking trail to the old port
View of Fira during sunset
The old church roof is a popular spot to take in the sunset views.
Stunning hillside slopes full of fancy hotels
The walking trail to the old port via switchbacks. Donkey’s were available for both up and down or there was a funicular that could bring you both ways.
No donkey parking here
Grilled calamari dinner
Akrotiri ruins
The Minoan people built 3-story houses before 1627 BC!
They found this room full of different size pots which held grains, olive oil and water
The 855 steps to the Old Port in Fira
Sunrise at the Old Port
Donkey rides up and down the 855 steps to the Old Port
Red Beach
Cool old Buick on the way to the Red Beach
Perissa Beach
Kamari Beach
Donkey beer “Hip Hoppy Kick Ass Beer”
Last sunset in Fira
Last sunset in Fira
Farewell Santorini!

Macedonia

Peppers, peppers everywhere!
Downtown Ohrid shopping street
Roasting peppers for their famous pepper dip/spread
Bay of the Bones – ancient area from 2100 – 600 BC
Lake Ohrid boat cruise
One of the monasteries near St. Naum
St. Naum monastery
St. Jovan on Lake Ohrid.
Peppers at the market come in any kind of vessel one can find!
Ohrid school
Making pasta for the winter
Once the peppers are roasted, it becomes this sauce called Ajvar
Her neighbor pressing grapes
Lake Ohrid
Samuels Fortress – Ohrid
St Clement – the brother of St Naum. They are reconstructing the first European University on this site where it originally stood in 900 AD
The swastica was originally a religious symbol meaning eternal peace
Local soccer/football match in Ohrid. Passionate fans!

Albania

The main square was turned from a roundabout to a public square and completed in June 2017.
The main mosque in the city. It was open to men and women. It was the first mosque I was able to walk into.
Communist mosaic left over. Notice the woman leading the charge
Tirana
Tirana from the top of the roatating Sky Bar
but of course…
Lots of painted buildings to eliminate the drab communist era
Local booze at the market
Loose tobacco with rolling papers at the market
YuM!
Mother Theresa was born in Albanian Skopje
BunkArt was really cool museum to visit and learn about the history of the city!

Montenegro

Budva beach, Montenegro
Budva, Montenegro
Fresh fish in Budva
Fancy yachts in the Budva marina
cute pup in Budva
Beach in Budva
Budva
Beautiful waters in Budva
Boat commute from Budva to Kotor
Lady of the Rocks Chapel in Kotor Bay, Parast
Lady of the Rocks doors
The terrace where I ate breakfast in Kotor, Dobrota Montenegro
Delicious breakfast in Dobrota
Muscle farms in Kotor Bay
Entry to Kotor Old Town
Perast, Montenegro
The Kotor Bay Old Town wall
The hiking trail
Switchbacks/serpentines up the trail
Trail markers
Kotor Bay
The wrong (scenic) trail that I took
The Old Town Fortress

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Several old burned out buildings exist around Mostar, Bosnia
Old house riddled with bullet holes
New construction taking place around the city
Great beer in Bosnia!
The Old Bridge was commissioned to be built in 1557 by the Ottomans. It took 9 years to complete. It was finally bombed and destroyed in 1993 during the war. The city decided to rebuild the bridge and their city and under the supervision of UNESCO it was built once again.
Old Town with limestone roofs
The apartment building in the distance. All the graves in this cemetary are from 1993
Too many young people died in 1993
Bullets and bombs.
This was an old apartment building. People fled and lived in their basement during the war in hopes of survival or escape.
The Neretva River flowing through town
Could be someones old house?
Still trying to create beauty out of war
2 old squat toilets. Maybe a restaurant was here?
Old Town shops and stalls
Pedestrian bridge over the river looking out at the moutains
Ive never seen a hedgehog before! This guy hangs out at my hostel
The Old Bridge is a huge tourist attraction now. It took longer to build in the 20th century than it did 450 years ago
Old and new
Souvenier stall

 

Croatia

Distilling Rakia
Great winery on Hvar!
Cleaning out the vats at the winery
Market in Hvar
Market in Hvar
Market in Hvar
walking up the clock tower in Split
the outside of the Split clock tower
Diocletian’s Palace, Split
Watching the bells in the clock tower ring at noon
Squid for sale at the fish market, Split
Everyone is a human at Falling Lakes Hostel
Beetle!
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Plevitce Lakes National Park
Brittany and I in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik view from the top of the cable car
Shiny streets of Dubrovnik
So many steps in Dubrovnik
View from the Old Town Wall in Dubrovnik
Cats, cats everywhere!
There’s even an RIT campus in Dubrovnik!
Olives turning black
Pomegranates
Korcula
In a no car zone, these are the pickup trucks that deliver all the goods around town
Sailing to the Pakleni Islands
Vbroska “little Venice”
Vbroska “little Venice
Vbroska “little Venice”

Slovenia

Bevel
Check out my fancy Audi A3!
Flowers everywhere
Bevel
Who, me?
Hiking near Bovec
My new friend Samira and I
Goats at sunset
laundry day
Soca River
Soca Gorge
Soca River
Chainsaws were active all over Slovenia prepping for winter
Colorful bee boxes
Slap Savika
Lake Bohinj
Lake Bohinj
Hay trestles
Lake Bohinj
Lake Bohinj
Lake Bohinj
The most beautiful cemetery! Each plot had fresh flowers planted within it. What a beautiful way to honor a loved one!
Lake Bled with church and castle in the background
Local artist along Lake Bled. I bought 2 of his paintings
Lake Bled cream cake
I love you, Slovenia!
Ljubljana
Ljubljana dragon, protector of the city
Ljubljana graffiti is a big scene and super cool
They say the locks of love all started here in Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana market
Ljubljana market
Ljubljana market
Ljubljana famous cake – Prekmurska gibanica
Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Škocjan Caves
Škocjan Caves
Lipica Stud Farm
Tilia Winery, Vipava Valley
Wine maker, Matjaz and my guide, Mojca

Venice, Italy

This view was at the end of my street. I loved it!
The Grand Canal
Laundry day
Even the ambulances are boats!
The only bridge that has no sides. This is a private bridge going to a home.
Rialto fish market
Rialto market
I love wooden boats!
St. Mark’s Square
St. Marks Square
St. Marks and Clock Tower
The Baroque Opera
From the top of the Tedeschi Department store
Garbage collection
Basilica Santa Maria