Day 88 - Zadar, Croatia
Thursday, September 27, 2018.
We arrived in Zadar at 5:30am and it was cold! We got out of the bus, got our suitcases and then Gregory remembered that he had left his cell phone on the bus. Second time in three months. I don't blame him, we were rushed to get out and it was so early in the morning. A taxi driver approached us and told us that he would take us to our destination for 20 euros. I wanted to scream yes because the lot was empty but Gregory, who is always calm and patient, said, "that seems a lot. I think we heard it would be less." I thought the taxi driver was going to bargain but he just left. I was worried a little but Super Gregorio had already called an Uber. Thank goodness they have Uber here! By the time we reached the curb, the Uber was already there. We didn't see him because he was a taxi driver. In no time, we were at our final destination for the total cost of less than $3!! Once again, Gregorio had done it and I need to learn to be calm and patient, to always look for other options.
By the way, the 2 reasons Uber isn't in Italy are corruption and unions. You can get a private car with a driver, and you can get a taxi, but not Uber. Taxis hate Uber because everyone prefers it: the cars are clean, the drivers are friendly, and the prices are low. And the drivers just follow the GPS. We found several taxi drivers in Italy who didn't even know where they were going, and the fares were astronomical. But, they're in a union, so they have a monopoly. Oh, and unlike taxis, you can reserve an Uber for when you will need it! The unions use threats and money to keep Uber and Uber drivers out of Italy both by paying off politicians and they threaten the Uber drivers with violence when Uber is allowed.
We made it home, luckily, the host had left the door open for us and we didn't have to wait to get in like we did in Portugal when we first got to Europe.
Gregory jumped into bed, me, I had to make sure, everyone was warm. I found more blankets in the closets and even heaters in each room. After everyone was in bed, I jumped in bed and we slept until noon!
Sunshine came into our room saying that she was hungry, I dig into my backpack for the bananas that we didn't eat the night before. We also had some cookies and I always have coffee in my suitcase. That was enough to start the day before we found the grocery store, which by the way, is extremely close.
After our late breakfast, we went to the grocery store called Tom's and let me tell you, it was quite an adventure. It is already an adventure when you are in a different country but when you don't understand a single word of the language, it is quite another adventure. Did I mentioned also that Croatia has its own currency called kunas! We also had to make the conversions to see how much food cost because everything seemed expensive. One dollars = 6.50 kunas.
Gregory and I spent a good amount of time in the grocery store while the kids stayed home. When we came home, I prepared a nice homemade meal with meat and salad!
After our late lunch-dinner, Gregory and I left to explore the historic downtown while the kids stayed home. We didn't push them because we are staying in Zadar for 10 days. We are not in a rush.
We are 20 minutes walking distance to the old town which is beautiful. We saw the beautiful sunset in front of the Adriatic sea and then we saw a traditional dance contest in the main square.
It was very nice and entertaining. After that, we decided to walk back home. We had a light dinner of bread, salami, and cheese. We watched tv in English with Croatian subtitles and then went to bed at 11:00.
We arrived in Zadar at 5:30am and it was cold! We got out of the bus, got our suitcases and then Gregory remembered that he had left his cell phone on the bus. Second time in three months. I don't blame him, we were rushed to get out and it was so early in the morning. A taxi driver approached us and told us that he would take us to our destination for 20 euros. I wanted to scream yes because the lot was empty but Gregory, who is always calm and patient, said, "that seems a lot. I think we heard it would be less." I thought the taxi driver was going to bargain but he just left. I was worried a little but Super Gregorio had already called an Uber. Thank goodness they have Uber here! By the time we reached the curb, the Uber was already there. We didn't see him because he was a taxi driver. In no time, we were at our final destination for the total cost of less than $3!! Once again, Gregorio had done it and I need to learn to be calm and patient, to always look for other options.
By the way, the 2 reasons Uber isn't in Italy are corruption and unions. You can get a private car with a driver, and you can get a taxi, but not Uber. Taxis hate Uber because everyone prefers it: the cars are clean, the drivers are friendly, and the prices are low. And the drivers just follow the GPS. We found several taxi drivers in Italy who didn't even know where they were going, and the fares were astronomical. But, they're in a union, so they have a monopoly. Oh, and unlike taxis, you can reserve an Uber for when you will need it! The unions use threats and money to keep Uber and Uber drivers out of Italy both by paying off politicians and they threaten the Uber drivers with violence when Uber is allowed.
We made it home, luckily, the host had left the door open for us and we didn't have to wait to get in like we did in Portugal when we first got to Europe.
Gregory jumped into bed, me, I had to make sure, everyone was warm. I found more blankets in the closets and even heaters in each room. After everyone was in bed, I jumped in bed and we slept until noon!
Sunshine came into our room saying that she was hungry, I dig into my backpack for the bananas that we didn't eat the night before. We also had some cookies and I always have coffee in my suitcase. That was enough to start the day before we found the grocery store, which by the way, is extremely close.
After our late breakfast, we went to the grocery store called Tom's and let me tell you, it was quite an adventure. It is already an adventure when you are in a different country but when you don't understand a single word of the language, it is quite another adventure. Did I mentioned also that Croatia has its own currency called kunas! We also had to make the conversions to see how much food cost because everything seemed expensive. One dollars = 6.50 kunas.
Gregory and I spent a good amount of time in the grocery store while the kids stayed home. When we came home, I prepared a nice homemade meal with meat and salad!
After our late lunch-dinner, Gregory and I left to explore the historic downtown while the kids stayed home. We didn't push them because we are staying in Zadar for 10 days. We are not in a rush.
We are 20 minutes walking distance to the old town which is beautiful. We saw the beautiful sunset in front of the Adriatic sea and then we saw a traditional dance contest in the main square.
It was very nice and entertaining. After that, we decided to walk back home. We had a light dinner of bread, salami, and cheese. We watched tv in English with Croatian subtitles and then went to bed at 11:00.
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| Thank God there were pictures! |
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| In case you want to know what we got! |
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| City wall |
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| Venetian influence |
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| Beautiful sunset |
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| Traditional dance Festival |
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