When we started planning this trip many months ago it was pretty simple – Tuscany/Umbria then Croatia. Like some Bill passing through Congress we added a bunch of addendums along the way.

All of our trips start with a two hour train ride to Paris, then an airplane or more trains from there. Since all the trains to Italy go through Lyon it only made sense to stop there for a few days, and Geneve is so close why not stop for a day or two. The train stopped in Milan late in the evening so of course we spent the night there before renting a car the next day for the drive to Perugia in Umbria, our hub for the next 13 nights, almost five hours of driving.

We realized we did not have enough time planned in Siena, so we left Umbria a couple days early so we could spend two nights in Siena. Then we drove to the Milan airport for a flight to Amsterdam. That happened because all the flights to Split changed planes in Amsterdam so of course a couple nights there just made sense, bien sur.

One thing that stood out in Amsterdam is that they love hamburgers – they really love hamburgers. We found a nice restaurant and yes, I had a hamburger, which came with fries. Oh my. These were the best fries I have had in a long time. Crisp on the outside, perfectly cooked in the middle, sure beats the limp soft frites in France.

Tired of Italian food and pasta we found a French Restaurant, de Belhamel. What a wonderful place and even more wonderful food.

We took an open boat canal tour, the sun came out just to make it a good day. We passed by many houseboats, some rather beautiful, but this one at over a million Euros is a bit over our budget. The counterbalanced bridges are quite something.

After the cruise we sat at a cafe in the sun and watched the people go by. I sketched one of the iconic towers in Amsterdam; Munttoren.

This morning we flew to Split, hungry of course we sought out food. The desk clerk at our hotel recommended Bokeria, what a good choice.

We shared these crispy fried balls of almond and others goodies on herbed cream cheese with mâche, called Bombolini. We sat outside watching people walk by, sipping a great Croatian wine.

Tricia had sea bass, I had grilled octopus, one of the best I have ever had. It came with a bulgar and quinoa salad that was so good. This was a perfect start to our Croatian journey.

Tomorrow we take the bus to Dubrovnik, since that is about the only way to get there. We will spend almost a week there before returning to Split.

Lots of sketches to come. I hope that all of your journeys are enjoyable regardless of how long or far. Enjoy each day and capture the moment, I still think sketching is the best.

Thanks for following and I hope to hear your thoughts.