A Bittersweet Season
Me and the Orange Mini-Brum

Croatia: Visiting-Your-Son-At-Work Week

Photo by Pero Klaic

When our son Seth, the New York Times's Frugal Traveler, told us that his summer assignment was to travel to countries on the coast of the Mediterranean, we asked if we could join him for a week. Last summer, when he traveled from São Paulo to New York, we had met him in Nicaragua, and we weren't so sure he'd want to put up with his spunky, then old (and now a year older), parents again.

But he said he would and even allowed us to choose our country. We had wanted to visit the Dalmatian Coast for years, and seeing Croatia frugally was fine with us. So that's where we've been.

To say it was an adventure we will treasure is an understatement. Croatia's coast is a never-ending panoramic picture postcard. The Adriatic Sea is a palette of blues surrounded by hills/mountains that come down to its shore. You have to see it.

This area has a complicated history. You have to read it.

But the people have to be experienced, and that is easy to do in Croatia. In all of our travels, we have never met friendlier or more helpful people. We were treated like treasured guests by the people who rented us apartments or rooms in their homes and exactly the same way by people on the streets of Dubrovnik, and on the islands of Mjlet and Korčula.

Of course, the best part was being with Seth, watching his remarkable competence. He doesn't plan ahead much, so we didn't even know where we would go, or how we would get from place to place. Except, we knew it would be frugally.

We also didn't know that we would love Croatia.

We never see enough of Seth, so to have a solid seven days with him was a huge bonus. But it came with a price—saying good-bye without knowing when we will see him again. So, having just returned, I do feel a little sad. But more than anything, I am very grateful.

To see Seth's take on his week with his parents in Croatia, http://nyti.ms/mLTi1N

Comments

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Letha Saldanha

I am a follower of Seth's travels, and got to your blog through his link :-) As it happens I have a 27 year old son who grew up traveling around the world with us since age 2 and still travels with us off and on, along with his girlfriend now. As for travelling style, someone said we take frugal to a different level. On a recent trip to Nice, where we had to get a early morning flight from Nice Airport to London (to catch our flight to San Francisco) we walked from our three star hotel, three blocks away, to the train station, wheeling our bags (20 minutes walk) at 5:00AM and caught the first aiport bus that got us to the airport for Euro one each and well in time for our early morning flight...and even a coffee before the flight...(a taxi would have cost us Euro 35).

We were in Croatia this May and yes I got interested in that area after reading all their history, both ancient and the 90s (Simon Winchester's 'The Fracture Zone' was a good starting point and I am now reading a copy of 'The Bridge Over the Drina' that we picked up as a souvenir from the book store on the Stradun in Dubrovnik--the only thing we were willing to splurge on in expensive Stradun!)). We did make it to Plitivice too (in fact the choice was Korcula or Plitvice and we decided on Plitvice, though we did get our Island 'fix' with Hvar). Please go back and see Plitvice at the first chance you get...and I hope you do. For us, while we loved the rest including Split, Trogir, Sibenik, Zadar, Mostar etc., Plitvice was definitely the icing on the cake and a one of a kind where nature and it ecological balance act is at its best...

I am enjoying your blogs and wish you many more happy years of blogging and annual travels with Seth...

Elaine Masters

I say take any chance to travel, especially with someone in the country and double especially if that special person is your son! Good for you. Keep traveling,
Elaine J. Masters,
Fellow nomad

Iva

Dear Judy,
I was impressed with your love to you son and travelling with him especially because my dad is dying of cancer and I'm so sad that we never will go on some adventure anymore.
We have apartments in island Pag which is accros the most beautiful town on the earth :)- Zadar and whenewer you wanna back in Croatia you can stay in ours apartments for free. I'll take you to the Plitvice lake :)
[email protected]

IVA

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