22 Photos from 22 Days in the Balkans

I AM BACK!  After a 22-day break from the site — my first non-working vacation in years — I’m ready to share my adventures from Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro with all of you.
It was SUCH a good trip.  I’ve been yearning to visit this region for years, and the Balkans didn’t disappoint whatsoever.  I’m convinced that these are some of the most beautiful (and most fun) countries in the world!

For now, a picture from each of the 22 days I was away:

Day 1: Pula, Croatia

How’s this for an airport arrival?  Dave and I later learned that we happened to be on Jet2′s inaugural flight from Manchester to Pula, and they welcomed us with wine, pastries, and lavender sachets.

13 Reasons to Fall in Love with Costa Brava, Spain

Costa Brava may very well be the best kept secret in Spain.  This September, I spent time in this region of Catalonia for the first time ever, and I was blown away by its sheer beauty, the variety of things to do, and its warm hospitality.
From beaches to cities, from jamon to tomatoes, Costa Brava is filled with so many treasures — and if you’re anything like me, you’ll fall in love with Costa Brava quickly.

Here are 13 reasons to fall in love with Costa Brava:

Wild Coastline

I’ve seen the coasts of California, Croatia, and the Faroe Islands, and Costa Brava’s dramatic coast blows all of them away.  Pounding surf, wild rocks and stunning beaches dot the landscape — it’s impossible to not want to photograph them all!

The Unfathomable Beauty of the Faroe Islands

I have been to the end of the Earth — and it is GLORIOUS.

My time in the Faroe Islands was absolutely enchanting.  These are some of the most beautiful islands I HAVE EVER SEEN.  That’s not something to say casually!  I mean it.

Maybe the most beautiful islands in the world aren’t filled with palm trees and sunshine — but instead cliffs and cloud-encircled islands and waterfalls tumbling into teal seas.

Where I’m Going This Spring and Summer

It’s been three and a half weeks since I returned to my home in Chester, England, after my month in Spain and Portugal. 
And those three and a half weeks have been far from relaxing — Dave and I just finished moving into a new house with our friend Collette.  A word to the wise: if there’s a gap in between your leases, pay more to stay longer.  Moving twice is not fun.

The house is just a block away from our old place in Chester, but it’s SO much nicer – it’s filled with beautiful decor and looks like a French country home, complete with a working fireplace, hardwood floors, a washer/dryer, and a dishwasher.

A DISHWASHER!!  I’ve never had a dishwasher in my adult life!
But I digress.  While this is a lovely place to spend my time, I have some exciting travel plans for this spring and summer.
April through July is going to be one of my busiest stretches ever as a travel blogger.  Am I overdoing it?  Indeed I am!  We’ll see how long it takes for me to burn out.
Here are the destinations of my upcoming travels:

Umbria, Italy

My travels begin this Thursday – I’m heading to Assisi in the region of Umbria, Italy, for the Travel Bloggers Unite conference!  TBU Innsbruck was such a blast, and I’m looking forward to seeing my travel blogger friends, meeting new ones, networking like crazy, and learning more about our ever-growing

Sveti Stefan: A Travel Dream Fulfilled

It was several years ago when I first began reading about the Balkans.  I immediately became a Balkans junkie, dreaming of sailing Croatia’s islands, hiking Slovenia’s Julian Alps, partying on Belgrade’s river barges.

But the place that captured my imagination the most was a little island off the coast of Montenegro called Sveti Stefan.

Look at that island.  How could you not be captivated by it?  But it was also its history that charmed me — it had been a chi-chi resort from the 1950s through the 80s, hosting stars like Elizabeth Taylor.  But like many other places in the Balkans, it fell into disrepair during the war and remained shuttered for a very long time.
I dreamed of visiting Sveti Stefan for years, and it had always been lurking in the corner of my mind of the places in the world I wanted to visit the most.  When Dave and I added Montenegro to our Balkans itinerary, I hoped that we would make it there after all.

The Travel Olympics: Who Gets the Gold?

Happy Olympics Opening Day!  I’m super-excited for the London 2012 Games, wondering what the iconic moments will be this time around.  I’ll never forget what it was like back in 2008, screaming my head off as Michael Phelps and his teammates beat the French in that one swim relay they weren’t expected to win.
So to celebrate, I decided to do my own personal round of the Olympics, giving out medals to the 33 countries that I have visited so far!

Here’s how I would award my medals:

Best Beaches

Gold — Thailand
Silver — Croatia
Bronze — Indonesia
Thailand is an obvious gold winner in this category, being home to countless incredible beaches, both famous and obscure.  So many of these beaches are icons, with the limestone cliffs of the Andaman Coast and the gentle beaches of the Gulf Coast.  Thailand is also home to my favorite beach in the world: Koh Chang’s Lonely Beach!

Montenegro: The Most Beautiful Country in Europe

Ah, Montenegro.  I knew I’d love it.  I knew it would be beautiful.  But I had no idea that it would have the kind of beauty to knock me off my feet and render me speechless!

The scenery in Montenegro was tantalizing: the Bay of Kotor from every direction, storybook-perfect walled towns, mystical islands, a mountain-edged coastline, Tara Canyon, and especially the fjords throughout the country.

With only just a taste of Montenegro, I’m ready to declare it the most naturally beautiful country in Europe.  Here’s what it has going for it:

Istria: The Best Kept Secret in Croatia

One of the unexpected highlights of our three weeks in the Balkans was lovely Istria — the heart-shaped, Italian-flavored peninsula of western Croatia.

Dave and I ended up here on a bit of a whim.  We were deciding whether it would be best to fly into Zagreb, Split, or somewhere else entirely — and it was cheapest to fly into Pula.

Pula?  We can work with that, I thought.  I’d read a bit about Istria, and I know that both Mike of Go, See, Write and Akila of The Road Forks were fans.  So Pula it was.

Girona: My New Favorite City in Spain

Early this year, I visited Spain for the first time and quickly declared it one of my favorite countries.  The culture, the architecture, the food, the beautiful men — how could I not fall for Spain?  Of all the cities, I found myself falling for Granada and Sevilla the most.

But my new favorite?  I think it might be Girona!

Évora: The Unexpected Beauty of Portugal

When I added Évora to my Iberian itinerary, I didn’t have many expectations.  I heard it was a lovely town, but my main goal was to see the Capela dos Ossos, the bone chapel.  Anything else would be a fringe benefit.

Sometimes, going into a place without expectations is best — because I was absolutely bowled over by the beauty of Évora!

Shetland: The Strangest Place I’ve Ever Been

This past summer, I visited Liechtenstein and declared it one of the weirdest places I’ve ever been.  But after visiting Shetland, I chucked that theory out the window.
Liechtenstein is delightfully quirky — the Zooey Deschanel of principalities.  Shetland, by comparison, is Bjork laying an egg on the red carpet.
I had the time of my life visiting Shetland for the first time this winter with Haggis Adventures, and I quickly fell under the islands’ spell.  Shetland was raw and remote and absolutely beautiful — and also, really

Bologna, Italy: the Sexy, the Delicious, the Untouristed.

Sometimes, you walk into a place and feel an immediate revelation — this is what I’ve been searching for, and I didn’t know it until now.

That’s how I felt about Bologna — la grassa, la dotta, la rossa — my new favorite city in Italy.

I’ve been no stranger to falling in love with Italy — I was hooked immediately from the moment that I arrived for my semester abroad in Florence in 2004.  Italy is one of my favorite places to travel solo — I love walking the streets alone, taking pictures, drinking caffe while standing up at bars, getting catcalled by men, window-shopping for fabulous items I can’t afford.

Why Go to Liechtenstein?

So…I ended up in Liechtenstein.

Yes, it’s a country — the sixth smallest country in the world.  Liechtenstein is a mountainous principality sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria.

Innsbruck, I’ve Fallen For You

Oh, Innsbruck.  Just thinking about you now gives me such happiness.

I’ve said it before and it needs repeating: I never had any desire to visit Innsbruck because I thought it was just for skiiers, snowboarders and winter sports enthusiasts, and I’m pretty winter-phobic.

Kampot: I Want To Bottle This Town And Drink It.

I have fallen in love with the riverside town of Kampot, Cambodia.

What is it about this place?  Is it the crumbling architecture?  Is it the French influence, from the lampposts to the baguette carts?  Is it the peaceful riverfront and the walkability? Is it the fact that everywhere has free WiFi?

Seriously, though, more than anything, I think it was the architecture. I’m a big architecture fan, and I was crazy about the crumbling French colonial villas that line Kampot’s streets.  I don’t think I would have liked them as much if they were pristine.