Dream Destination: Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik's Old Town is perhaps best identified by its orange roofs. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

I’ve been dreaming of Dubrovnik, Croatia’s romantic, trapped-in-time city, since Jade and I began discussing our (as of yet unscheduled) eastern Europe tour. In spite of the fact that it’s inaccessible by train – our preferred mode of European transport – Dubrovnik is on my must-see list for the trip.

To add to my anticipation, my all-time favorite show, Game of Thrones, is filming part of season two in the medieval city. They’re also filming in two of my other Dream Destinations, Northern Ireland and Iceland. Oh, what I would give to be on that production crew…

Dubrovnik is a walled city on the Adriatic Sea, well-preserved since its medieval hey-day. (Poet Lord Byron called it the Pearl of the Adriatic.) The city’s first pharmacy, established in 1317, is still open today. Dubrovnik’s walled Old City was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

Dubrovnik combines all the best of a perfect travel escape: sunny beaches, sidewalk cafés and an almost pearlescent radiance (hence Byron’s nickname for the city). The city is geographically isolated by mountains and sea, making it a hassle to get in (by air seems to be best, but you can also reach it by ferry or car). But that kind of isolation makes a place all the more relaxing once you’re there.

Sponza Palace is one of the many medieval

sights in Dubrovnik's Old Town. (Photo byLászló Szalai)

Many of Dubrovnik’s most exciting sights are from its medieval prime. Visitors can walk the city walls that have protected Dubrovnik since the 13^th century. Other medieval sights include the Franciscan and Dominican Monasteries and the Rector’s Palace. Other palaces, as well as cathedrals and fountains, delight sightseers.

More adventurous types can go on sea kayaking excursions or dive in the Adriatic. Visitors looking to venture further beyond the city walls can travel to Mostar, Montenegro or any of a number of islands, including Korcula (with a beautiful medieval city) or Lokrum, with a ruined Benedictine monastery and botanical gardens. Mostar and Montenegro are accessible by bus or car. Both islands are accessible by ferry.

What to eat: Seafood! It’s on the Adriatic Sea, after all. Seafood specialties include squid, octopus and all sorts of shellfish. Risotto is another local specialty, and you can find seafood risotto all around the city. My fellow vegetarians might have a tougher time in this city, but the city seems to have a variety of pizza and pasta places that might serve.

Where to stay: The most convenient – and most expensive – part of Dubrovnik in which to sleep is the city’s Old Town. Budget options include Fresh* Sheets hostel (www.freshsheetshostel.com) and the Old Town Hostel (www.dubrovnikoldtownhostel.com).  Rooms Vicelic (rooms-vicelic.com) is a guesthouse inside the city walls, and has two other properties with rooms and apartments just outside the Old Town.

For more information and details to plan your trip to Dubrovnik, visit:

• Lonely Planet: Dubrovnik
• Croatia Travel Blog
• Frommer’s Dubrovnik

– Sputnik

Changing habits, perspectives since 9/11

The tenth anniversary of the September 11^th attacks tomorrow has brought about a barrage of media coverage asking variations on the same question: how have the United States and the world changed since that day?

Certainly, the attacks fundamentally changed the way we travel. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the airline industry saw a record number of passengers during the August before the attacks. It took three years for airlines to recover those numbers.

Airport security has changed drastically, and new policies have discouraged many from flying. Recent research by the U.S. Travel Association finds that travelers avoid two to three trips per year due to the “unnecessary hassles” of airport security.

I was 14 years old when the planes hit the twin towers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania. The events of that day have had a profound effect on my generation, which was too young to experience the fears of the Cold War and oblivious to suffering in other parts of the world. From our perspective, we lived in a world absent of the kind of fear and suffering that previous generations faced.

The events exacerbated my already-pronounced fear of flying, which remains with me to this day. For others, post-9/11 biases have affected how they view other cultures and have discouraged global understanding. Unpopular U.S. policy decisions after the attacks have also caused many to fear discrimination or retaliation when traveling abroad.

On his blog today, travel writer Rick Steves is encouraging Americans to continue traveling, in spite of fears and a recent U.S. State Department alert reminding travelers of the continued threat of terrorism. I echo Steves’ statement. Travel not only promotes your own understanding of other cultures, it encourages others to better understand yours.

I’d like to hear from you. How did your travels change on September 11, 2001, and how have they evolved over the last ten years?

To read more about how travel and our perspectives have changed over the last ten years, check out some of these stories around the web:

“Security has changed flying in myriad was since 9/11,” Vancouver Sun

“The true cost of 9/11 for travelers,” Smart Money

“From 9/11/01 to 9/11/11,” Blog Gone Europe (Rick Steves)

– Sputnik

Essential Hosteling Accessories

That's me, Sputnik, at the Valley Hostel in Lauterbrunnen,
Switzerland, where I went during the summer 2010.

As I’ve mentioned previously, my dad and I spent a month touring western Europe last summer. We were on a budget, so we stayed mostly in hostels, with the occasional small hotel or B&B thrown in the mix. Here’s a list of items we brought and found immensely helpful, and a few items we wish we’d packed.

Sleep sack. Some hostels will require you to rent sheets, or might not have any at all. And then, of course, there are the hostels with questionable cleanliness. A sleep sack will keep you clean under the covers. You can get cotton sacks, or splurge and get silk, which are much lighter and smaller. Check out the Sea to Summit collection ($26.95-$64.95, www.rei.com).

The lightweight Jetlag Alarm Clock
takes up barely any room in your
pack. (Courtesy A+R)

Portable alarm clock. You don’t want to miss the sights (or your train)! Pack a lightweight one to save space. Try the Travel Alarm Clock (Rick Steves, $15.95) or Sam Hecht’s Jetlag Alarm Clock (www.aplusrstore.com, $40).

Ear plugs. Every hosteller has stories about snoring bunkmates or drunk and stumbling spring breakers. Unless you sleep as deep as the Mariana Trench, you’ll be glad to have these on hand. You might also want to pick up a sleep mask for the same reason.

A good paperback. Not only does a good book help pass the time, but many hostels have book exchanges, so when you’re done with the one you bring, you can choose another one. A book that somehow involves your destination is a nice choice.

Headset. No one wants to hear the other side of your Skype conversation. Get a lightweight, USB headset, complete with a microphone, to easily voice- and video-chat over the internet. Try the super lightweight Freetalk hands-free device, which also helps to cancel out that background hostel noise (shop.skype.com, $49.88). Jade also recommends the Skullcandy line of headsets (skullcandy.com).

Deck of cards. You don’t need to speak the same language to connect over a card game. It’s also a great diversion if you’re stuck inside or outside your hostel during lock-in or lock-out hours.

The FlexiLock allows you to
secure your belongings.
(Rick Steves' Travel Store)

Combination lock. Most hostels have lockers of some sort, but often they require you to supply your own lock. A combination lock is better, because then you don’t have to worry about misplacing a key. When hostelling, though, make sure to keep the really important stuff (passport, credit cards, big bills) in a money belt, and keep that money belt on you at all times, even when you sleep! I like the FlexiLock, which has a flexible cable, allowing you to secure your stuff in lockers, on trains and elsewhere (Rick Steves, $9.95).

Netbook. If you’ve got the space, a netbook (smaller and lighter than a regular laptop) will be immensely useful. You can Skype, Facebook and e-mail, and you can also use it to confirm hostel reservations, check museum hours or catch up on the news. In my experience, most hostels have internet, and if they don’t, they can recommend a nearby internet café. Since there’s no way to protect your stuff fully while hostelling, don’t invest in expensive or attractive-looking netbooks (or really, any technology).

Clothesline. Dry out hand-washed laundry or wet clothes overnight using a packable clothesline. You can get some that have clips attached (like REI’s Hang-up Clothesline, $9.50) or with braided elastic, so you can stretch it and hold clothes in place (Travel Clothesline, Rick Steves, $9.95). Also pick up detergent, like Tide Liquid Detergent Travel Sink Packs, with just enough soap to wash a few clothes in the sink.

If you can think of any other essentials, mention them in the comments!

-- Sputnik

42 Hours in Vegas

Las Vegas is one of those places about which you hear and think "what's the allure?". If you are one of those people, put your judgment on hold. Sputnik and I randomly ended up there last summer and were pleasantly surprised. The story of how we got there will be reserved for another day but I will say we didn't expect to be there or like it and yet we did. But that's a different story.

Last weekend I found myself in the city of lights for the second time. Two of my dearest friends were getting married and decided to do it in grand style. Because I was there for the wedding I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked but now I have some great ideas for when Sputnik and I wander that way in about a year.

Since my stay totaled less than 42 hours I mostly wandered along the strip. Again, one of those things that sounds uninteresting until you do it. Even though everyone I was with was from the city we all felt like country bumpkins because of the grandeur of the city. Every direction you look there's something eye catching. The new hotel, the Cosmopolitan, is the perfect example. They manage to combine the classic idea of glittery Vegas with modern flair as well as sophistication. The first thing you see when you enter is a three story chandelier which is large enough to have a bar inside. All I could do was stare up in wonder. My friends and I had dinner at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, which was excellent. One of the best things about this hotel was that everyone working there (including the waitstaff and bartender) we're both congenial and professional. This was refreshing considering the poor treatment we received at the Bellagio. While that hotel has a list of pros as long as your leg, the staff all acted like we were something stinky stuck on their shoes. New York New York was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Their workers were extremely friendly but failed on the end of professionalism. One of the bouncers at Coyote Ugly made a comment which was highly inappropriate and made me quite uncomfortable. I realize that this kind of informality is appealing to many but there is a line. Despite this, the club was one of the highlights of the trip.

The whole point of the visit was to participate in my loved ones stunning union. When they told me they were getting hitched in Vegas and not doing the tacky Elvis wedding, I was a little disappointed. Maybe it's just me but I think getting married at the world's littlest chapel with ushers wearing powder blue tuxedos ala Dumb and Dumber and brides maids with dresses straight out of a thrift shop has its own charm. This is not what my friends did and I cannot say the wedding was lacking. The ceremony at the Paris Hotel was absolutely beautiful and combined both their personalities. We had the reception at Augustus Cafe in Caesers Palace. There was only one problem with the meal: there was so much food I couldn't finish a single dish. This was only a problem because it was the best meal I've ever had. Their french onion soup can only be described as delectable and the prime rib was simply amazing (the most perfect medium rare I've ever had paired with huge asparagus and a stuffed baked potato). Unfortunately, the piece of meat I left on my plate could have been a meal unto itself. If I hadn't been getting on a plane in less than 7 hours I would have taken it with me.

After the meal we had cake at the condo where some of us we're staying before going out for drinks. Nothing  of particular interest happened at this point; just a group of friends celebrating. I was only there for a few hours before I had to run off to catch my plane.

All in all Vegas is one of the few cities in the world that can get away with charging you an arm and a leg at every point but have you leave still feeling good.

-Jade

A Bit About Sputnik

Hello fellow travelers,

Sputnik in Siena, Italy.

Sputnik here, writing to tell you a little about myself and my travel philosophy. As a kid, I did a lot of traveling in the United States and Canada. I've been to 37 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces. My favorites so far are Massachusetts (where I spent most of my summers as a kid), Arizona, Quebec, and of course, my home state of Washington.

Until recently, I hadn't had travel experience outside of North America. Last summer, my dad and I did a tour of western Europe, visiting France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The trip only increased my appetite for international travel. Next, I'm looking forward to trips to India, Spain and central Europe.

Even before my Europe trip, my passion for travel was inspired by my French language studies and by Rick Steves' TV program and travel books. In future posts, I'll further explore my mild Rick Steves obsession...

A final note -- I'm vegetarian, which affects my travel plans, especially internationally. I'll post about my food experiences along my journeys.

Thanks for traveling our way!

-- Sputnik

Welcome to Our Awesome Blog

Howdy y'all! Can you tell we're in the south? Welcome to our brand new blog. This is Meghan (Sputnik) and Anne (Jade). From now on we will be using our travel names. We've started this blog to share our travel adventures, aspirations, and advice to you, our fellow wanderers. We're not by any means experts but rather we enjoy the path through life. Sometimes we will post together and sometimes we will post alone. You can always tell who is writing by the sign-off at the bottom.

Enough about that. You probably want to know a little about us. We are currently special education teachers in Jackson, Louisiana. Neither of us is from here although this is where we met. Completely coincidentally we are both from Washington State, love to travel, and are complete goof balls. Because we both have a teacher's income all of our trips are low budget. As we post more you will surely get to know our distinct personalities. Just to end on a cheesy note: thanks for wandering by!


-Sputnik & Jade