Day 1: It was such a whirlwind getting to this day, August 2nd, to take off for our Europe trip. A show then finish teaching a day camp then straight to my girlfriend, Josie's rehearsal linner, and then she got married August 1st. And now we're in Croatia. So technically we travelled overnight which makes today August 3rd.
It was a long trip from SFO to Washington Dulles to Frankfurt to Dubrovnik, Croatia. But we did have a long enough layover in Frankfurt for Jason to get the sausages (Nurembrat) and saurkraut he was dying for. I have to say, they were pretty amazing and a great first meal in Europe.
We arrived at 4:30PM on very little sleep. The guy at the rental car desk apparently is some cousin relation to a former classmate of mine. He mentioned cousins and San Jose. Wild right? Then I chatted up the lady waiting after us to get a rental car. She's there for a family visit and her family runs a winery (popular business in Croatia). We can't buy the vintages here in the States but she works at the American family winery in California. So she hands me her card. She's Violet Grigich from Grgich Hills Winery. Grgich Hills. Jason LOVES their wine. I couldn't believe how small the world was getting and we hadn't even left the airport yet.
We stayed with family friends, the Kusalos, who rent out rooms there during the summer and they were kind enough to house us for our stay. Their place is a piece of heaven right on the water and 10 minutes from town. They have a large garden full of amazing fruits and vegetables! Down the steps you can dive right into the Adriatic off their dock.
Maryann (mother) and Caterina (daughter) greeted us upon arrival and Pero (son) was fast asleep on the couch like any 23 year old would be doing on his summer vacation. When Mato (father) returned home we headed out for dinner.
It was a nice walk to the restaurant and once seated I realized I was out of my comfort zone. It's been awhile since I've been in a country where I don't know the language or the customs. Croatian is a Slavic language so no amount of French, Chinese, Spanish, or English was going to help me here. I heard the waiter ask me, "Glass?" when I ordered water but he actually said, "Gas?" as in mineral water. Apparently, I couldn't even handle English my first night here. Fortunately, our hosts and hostesses all speak the language.
The octopus salad, ćevapi (small seasoned sausages - pronounced che-VAP-ee), and calamari were all really delicious. Mato also had these small lightly fried fish which were pretty good.
After dinner, Jason and I rallied for a night out with Pero and Caterina. We headed into town where everything takes place within the city wall. There are churches, shops, bars, restaurants, even a stage and then homes or apartments above all that. The floor is built from the white rock found all over the countryside. But over time, people's feet have worn them down so that they are smooth and polished. The ground always looks wet and it's dangerous when it really IS wet.
We started at Sky Bar which is an ironic name considering it's on the ground floor. A shot of Jager and a Croatian beer with Caterina start off my night. The boys have Stok and Coke (if you order it's a "Shtok Cola" otherwise the waiter or bartender has no clue what you're asking for) which is similar to Crown and Coke. After that, we move across the main walk or "stradon", up some stairs in an alley and stop at Casablanca. This one is popular with people covering the stairs around the bar, smokers everywhere. There's even a random girl go-go dancer in the bar. Seriously, she's half naked dancing on a platform that might as well be flush to the floor. Very strange.
We meet Marco and Georgie from Santa Clara, Pero's friends. Small world. They're also regular visitors during the summer. Later we move on to the Exit Bar, fitting considering this is where we ended our night. It's quieter, less people but now there are two or three go-go dancers dancing right next to us... and in bare feet. Awesome. We hang out with more of Pero and Caterina's friends and surprise, a bunch are from the Bay Area. This is the place to be! We don't say good night until 3:30 AM. Yeah, I'm not old yet.
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