Kerala: Kerala is a lush tropical area in the southwest of India. The area has the highest literacy rate (over 90%) and life expectancy rate (73) in all of India.

Allepey: Allepey is a nearby town famous for it’s houseboats and backwaters. We rented an entire houseboat with a captain, a chef, and a waiter for the 4 of us!

Typically the houseboat tour is an overnight tour but since we already had a hotel we made this a day cruise. The houseboat had beautiful hard wood floors and 2 bedrooms and baths. We were also treated to a very tasty south Indian meal consisting of coconut fish curry, cocount with beans and a few other dishes. I love coconut so this was one of my favorite meals on the trip.

Munnar: Our friends told us about a beautiful tea staion four hours from Kerala. The ride to Munnar was brutal – up and down mountains, with lots of turns in the road, however, the trip was worth it! Munnar was one of my favorite places on the trip. The hills are covered with tea plantations. Workers dotted the hillsides clipping tea leaves as you would trim a hedge.

While in Munnar we had the opportunitiy to take an elephant ride. It was incredible to be so close and to touch an elephant. They are massive creatures with rough calloused skin with bristles. They feel similar to a pig. They walk very slowly and stop every now and then to grab something to eat. I scratched the elephant’s ear and soon learned this meant I was going to give it food – the elephant stopped and put up her trunk expecting bananas.

At the end of the ride we purchases bananas and fed the elephant. The elephant lifted her trunk to receive your gift and ate the banana and peel quickly so she could beg for more bananas.Munnar is a really scenic location and somewhere I would recommend if you ever find yourself in India!

View our View our Kerala, Munnar and Alleppey photos.

Posted in India, Travel 4 Comments »

We visited San Diego and Palm Springs on Z’s winter break from Wharton.  As usual, our vacation was packed full of adventure! 

 We flew into LA and drove to San Diego where we enjoyed the beautiful weather, watched the seals on the beach and visited the San Diego Zoo Wild Animal park.  The wild animal park is great.  It’s expensive but a really nice zoo.

 We also drove to Josuha Tree national park, Palm Springs and the Algodones Dunes.

View our View our California – New Years 2006 photos

Posted in New Years 2006 -CA, Travel 1,434 Comments »

We used the Jadrolinija ferry to travel from Hvar to a Sebenik which is near Murter, Miljenko’s (Z’s dad) hometown. We spent some time at his family home and enjoyed the beautiful sunsets and great beach.

View our Murter photos

Posted in Europe, Slovenia & Croatia, Travel 1,390 Comments »

Each year we try to go to Slovenia & Croatia to visit Z’s family.  Zvonimir grew up visiting Murter, Croatia and surrounding towns where his dad is from.  However, he had never visited Dubrovnik, Hvar or the towns further south of Murter.

Since we were planning a trip to Slovenia for Lucija’s wedding we extended our time in Croatia to visit Dubrovnik and Hvar. 

Dubrovnik is a town on the Adriatic Sea (opposite the heel of the “boot” in Italy).  The old city is surrounded by a wall with a walking path with amazing views.  Dubrovnik was exteremely beautiful and the Hilton hotel there was incredible.  There were very few Croatians in the old city and they were surprised when Z ordered in Croatian.  The only disappointment in Dubrovnik was the number of loud American tourists!!

Hvar was much more of a nightlife scene.  It is the place to be seen for the rich and famous!   Many tourists find room rentals with local families.  This is a cheap and easy way to travel if you’re willing to take a gamble and find something last minute. Families stand at the bus stop advertising their rooms.   You can find private rooms from $15-30/day. 

 We were a little worried about taking this approach since we were visiting at the height of tourist season so we booked a room in advance with a local family (though we paid much more).  The family was extremely nice and the owner was very excited to know that Zvonimir could speak Croatian that he treated us to some homemade Croatian liquor (similar to how I would imagine jet fuel tasting!).

View our Dubrovnik and Hvar photos.

Posted in Europe, Slovenia & Croatia, Travel 79 Comments »

Plitvice, a National Park in Croatia is a series of lakes and waterfalls.

View our Plitvice photos

Posted in Europe, Slovenia & Croatia, Travel 1 Comment »