May 24 - Flew from Montreal (YUL) to Paris (CDG), arriving the following morning. May 25 - Flew from Paris (CDG) to Zagreb (ZAG), checked into the Sheraton Hotel. Went for a short walk and attended a briefing meeting. May 26 - Did a morning guided tour of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. In the afternoon, we went on an optional tour of the birthplace of Marshal Tito and went for a drive through the Zagorje hills to a restaurant located in an old farmhouse with beautiful views. May 27 - Headed north to Ljublijana in Slovenia, a bustling town with unique architecture and a riverside promenade winding through it. After lunch, headed further north to the resort town of Lake Bled, where we stayed at the Golf Hotel. May 28 - In the morning, we visited Bled Castle perched on a cliff above the lake. In the afternoon, we did an optional tour including a boat ride to the small island in the middle of the lake and then went to Lake Bohinj located in Triglav National Park. May 29 - We left Bled for a visit to the Postojna Caves. We proceeded by train 2 km into the mountain and then continued on a walk for 1.5 km amongst the stalagmites and stalactites. We then left for Opatija where we checked into the Grand Hotel Adriatic. May 30 - We went on a full day optional tour of the Istria Peninsula. We visited the towns of Pula with its impressive Roman Amphitheatre and Rovinj with its winding streets, small squares and old palaces built in Venetian style. We then returned to Opatija. May 31 - We continued on to Plitvice Lakes at the Jezero Hotel. We did a walking tour of some of the 16 turquoise lakes and 92 waterfalls and cascades. June 1 - We continued on to the towns of Zadar and Trogir which we toured. Then left for Split, the second largest town in Croatia where we checked into Corner Hotel. June 2 - We had a morning walking tour of the Roman Emperor Diocletian's palace, built in the third century. We then continued south on the Dalmatian coast to Dubrovnik and checked into the Lapad Hotel. June 3 - We had a morning walking tour of the Dobrovnik old town. We then went for a harbour boat ride and a 2 km walk around the town on the wall ramparts. June 4 - We proceeded on a day excursion to the Republic of Montenegro where we visited the Bay of Kotor. We took a boat ride to "our Lady of the Rocks" islet and then continued on to town of Kotor, finally returning to Dubrovnik for the night. June 5 - We took an optional tour to Mostar in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We did a guided walking tour of the town with its mixed Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic architectures. June 6 - We flew from Dubrovnik to Zagreb to Paris and to Montreal arriving home in the mid afternoon. |