Sure you’ve heard of a vacation: it’s the measly two week period you end up using up for doctor’s appointments and your cousin’s wedding. And the “staycation”? Well don’t get me started– you might as well call suicide watch on anyone that tries to convince you that sitting in the house for a [...]

I took the overnight ferry from Italy to Croatia, landing in the city of Split. Usually when you land in the sea port, you’re down by “the docks” in some quasi-industrial section of town, where you have to walk 30 minutes just find a taxi to get you back to civilization. In Split, [...]

When I announced that I planned to go to Croatia, it was based on a photo I had seen online. It was taken from within a door frame, peering out towards brilliant blue water just few feet away. I thought, “Wow, I have to go there.” When I arrived, I soon found [...]

Venice in August is a theme park.  You bus in from the airport.  It drops you at the Palazzo Roma, where every other bus unloads hundreds of tourists per hour.  You wait in line.  You pay too much for a ticket.  You get on the first ride, a ferry that takes you down the grand [...]

I schlepped my backpack, laptop and camera across town, getting properly lost along the way.  The 5 minute walk turned into an hour long hike, as I overshot my destination and searched in the wrong neighborhood.  Finally I climbed four flights of stairs and knocked on the hostel door.  “Hello?  Hostel?”  The woman shook her [...]