Last Post

     Well it may be a little late, we have been back for a week, but I feel I need to do a last post to close off our trip. We are all still feeling the effects of our travels, I continue to wake up way too early for summer break. It was 5 a.m. this morning. Mark and Joe are suffering from some gastrointestinal upsets. Joe is convinced it was the swim in the Neretva River in Mostar that did it. While we loved all the places we visitied, this trip definitely had its stressful moments. European travel is not a relaxing vacation by any means, but the travel between destinations was particularly stressful this time. Once we got where we were going things were awesome. We did cover a lot of ground and go to some out of the way places which made things a little more challenging. Well, here goes a little "best of" and "worst of".

Favourite stop: Sarajevo. Totally different culture, fascinating history, great people, great hospitality, interesting architecture, cheap beer.

Best accommodation: Rental apartment in Bayeux, France. In a very old building, totally renovated and modern, amazing views, excellent location - I would stay there again in a heartbeat. We will try to rent apartments for all our travel from now on. So much nicer having a little room to stretch out and a kitchen to make breakfast.

Worst accommodation: None this time, they were all in amazing locations. One small thing - there is a persistent sewer smell in Dubrovnik. We would smell it inside buildings, and when walking the town. We even smelled it in our apartment. I found the source of the smell (a small vent) on the last of our four night stay in the apartment we rented. Wish I had found it sooner!

Favourite Day Trip: We were all pretty much in agreement that it was the D-Day Tour. It was amazing. Vimy Ridge was a close second. Joe liked the Siege of Sarajevo Tour. They were all good.

Best Architecture: France. I absolutely loved the towns of Arras and Bayeux.

Most Picturesque: Dubrovnik - the fortress Old Town walls against the blue/green Adriatic Sea was beautiful. The old bridge in Mostar was a close second.

Best Monument: Vimy Ridge Memorial

Best Museum: The Srebrenica Exhibit in Sarajevo

Best Shopping - Mostar - narrow little streets....felt like you were in a Turkish Bazaar.

Best Dinner: The meat platter for "two" on our first night in Sarajevo. Not sure of the name of the restaurant but really four people could have eaten off that thing. We ended up going back there and ordering it again on our last night there. Bosnian cuisine is very meat heavy. I also had an amazing salad in Arras France on our first day there. The French know how to make a salad that is definitely a meal.

Worst Dinner: Hotel Ibis in Paris the night before we flew home. Insanely expensive and nothing special.

Best Beer: Mark liked the Mostarko beer in Bosnia. I liked the Sarajevska - it was nice and light and cold. Mark's favorite beer "experience" was when we had ice cold Tuborg beer on a lovely terrace on a very hot afternoon in Mostar, Bosnia.

Best Coffee: Mark liked the coffee he had in Arras and Joe liked the Bosnian coffee.

Best Ice Cream: Dubrovnik - Joe liked the mint chocolate chip and the caramel.

Best Pastry: Pain au Chocolat in Bayeux France - literally the best pastry I have ever eaten. The baklava at Ducan in Sarajevo is a close second - we actually went and bought baklava there twice.

Nicest/Friendliest People: Really we had great experiences everywhere but especially in Bosnia.

Most interesting experience: Hiring a driver to take us from Dubronik to Sarajevo. We got to see parts of the country we wouldn't have seen otherwise and our driver stopped at some intersting and historic sites. We also got to see many small Bosnian communities which was really interesting.

Worst Toilet: Dubrovnik Airport, they were modern but the smell was completely disgusting. When we were in Bosnia many of the bathrooms were of the "hole in the floor" variety but they were kept quite clean.

Number of photos taken: Too many to count.

This was a very interesting trip. Even though it is a little bit of a journey to get to Sarajevo I would absolutely recommend it as a destination. They people and the history are amazing. I also hope to explore more of the small towns in France, they are so picturesque and there is so much history. On our bucket list is watching the Tour de France in France so hopefully that will be a future trip. I would like to see a flat stage, a mountain stage, and watch a stage in a pub. I also wouldn't mind riding a little bit of one of the famous climbs of the tour....and I do mean a little bit! On our way home from Paris we ran into an acquaintance that Mark knows and he had just spent 2 weeks in Spain. They rented a villa with a pool, rented a car, and did day trips and hiking. Sounded pretty heavenly. However, for our next big trip we are hoping to go to New Zealand for Spring Break 2021...let the planning begin!