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Ok, so my search for an Irish bar between Istanbul and Calcutta finally began in Rome, where you can buy a pint of Guinness in the main square for 6 EURO. I didn't do that, or much else - having 'been there, done that' all before, we spent our one full day relaxing by the campsite swimming pool, and our nights battling the ants in the tent.<br />

Bored on holidays

Conor Meleady
2006-02-28 09:26:05

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Ok, so my search for an Irish bar between Istanbul and Calcutta finally began in Rome, where you can buy a pint of Guinness in the main square for 6 EURO. I didn't do that, or much else - having 'been there, done that' all before, we spent our one full day relaxing by the campsite swimming pool, and our nights battling the ants in the tent.

We left for Ancona by train, a surprising journey whcih took in some great scenery through a little-visited part of Italy. Having been through Ancona two years, I knew it wasn't the best place to hang around, so we timed our arrival with the ferry, an overnight journey where we met an Amercian guy, who, having abandoned his bandmates back in Rome, was on a quest for love on the remote Croatian island of Vis. After plenty of drinks, we stumbled out on deck for a relatively peaceful sleep, and arrived in Split early the next day.

It's never hassle finding a room in Split - on arrival, you are approached by countless people, mainly elderly women, touting cheap rooms. We got a nice one with some old guy, and spent the afternoon wandering the old town - I wanna live there! It's not too big, not too small, and my only complaint about Split is the un-smiling locals.

Two years ago I spent about 10 days in Croatia, at the end of a longer European trip, and I really enjoyed just relaxing on the beaches, and getting ready for my return to the real world. This time, I found it boring. We headed back to the island I was last time, Brac, and stayed at the same campsite, and ate at the same restauraunt (the waiter even recognised me!) as before. Maybe this contributed to my boredom, but after a couple of days, I was anxious to move on.

So we went on to Hvar, the island of choice for Europe's backpackers right now. The boredom made me lazy - we didn't leave the port town of Jelsa during our three days there. It was pleasant and pretty, but lacking.........anything to do, so we headed back to Split, found a room, and caught the early bus to Dubrovnik the next day.

The bus journey along the coast is great, the road squeezed between high cliffs on both sides, one side rising to the mountains, the other down to the sea. On arrival, we found a room the same way, no problem, and found Dubrovnik.......packed with foreigners. Where were all the Croatians? The old town was pretty interesting, but as we were herded around the city walls, single-file, I realised I couldn't wait to leave Croatia. The most interesting thing that happened in Dubrovnik were the three thunder-stroms that hit the city in 24 hours. Two at night, but the best one was during the day - watching all the tourists flee the main street, like Moses parting the Red Sea. We took refuge in the Irish bar (where else), before waiting out the rain, and heading back to our house.

So, my advice about Croatia? Don't go in July/August, it's just too packed to appreciate. After our time was up on the Dalmatian coast, we boarded the bus for Mostar, just over the border in Bosnia. Our holiday was over, so now our trip could really begin.....