So I wrote this post on September 13 but have been too lazy to actually put it up...

 

I haven't had internet, or the connection has been really slow for the last few days which is why I haven't posted in a while. I've been in Zadar and then at Plitvice Lakes National Park, both of which have been fantastic! And once I left the super touristy beach towns, there are many more actual Croatians to be people-watched so I feel like I'm getting a slightly better idea of what Croatians are actually like. First of all, they smoke A LOT and drink A TON of espresso. Not even just coffee, but strong, delicious espresso all day long.
 

 

Zadar old town

They also see to be very friendly. I haven't made much of an effort at speaking Croatian. I've decided that I really don't even know if I'm pronouncing the few words I know - thank you, please, good day - correctly, so it might be less insulting to make it known that I am an english speaker upfront. But regardless, most Croatians have been very helpful and gone out of their way to do nice things for me. The woman in the information station the other day came running out of the office a few minutes after I left to tell me that she had forgotten to mention the place to stay that was just down the road. And the man who's house I stayed in two nights ago had to go to Zagreb for the night, so just left us alone in his house, trusting that we wasn't going to burn it down or something.

The Sea Organ in Zadar - there are pipes under these stairs and the waves push air through them making a really cool sound

Probably the best thing about Croatia is that there is food growing ALL around. You walk down the road and pass at fig trees, walnut trees, plum trees, olive trees, and the occasional almond and apple trees. You could almost get a whole meal just walking around! Most people also seem to grown a bunch of vegetables in little gardens next to their house, but obviously I haven't taken food from them...

I haven't figured out where I'm going to next, somewhere north! Maybe the coast, in an attempt to find warmer weather. Croatia has been surprisingly freezing. But I love this kind of traveling where I can wake up in the morning and catch a train to wherever I feel like.