Well I cut short my stay so that I could know for sure that I was getting home on time. I flew into Toronto on June 1st and then my wonderful roommate and her family shuttled me to their house and allowed both my dad and I to stay the night. We then left in the morning the next day to get me home. When I flew into Toronto and went to pick up my luggage I found that my bag hadn't made the flight from London. So I am still waiting on that to arrive. If all goes well it is supposed to get to my house today. I have had an amazing trip. I took so many pictures. First I will start by posting the remaining highlights of the trip and then answer some questions that I keep getting asked.
May 25
The big thing this day was the Kalemegdon fortress in Belgrade. Once again we saw a statue done by Meštrović. The fortress overlooks War Island which is an island between the two rivers that got its name because it was fought over so much. There is also a park there that we had lunch in. After our day in Belgrade we left Serbia and entered eastern Croatia.
Part of the Fortress
War Island in the distance
May 26
This day we ended up changing things around a little and going to Ðakovo. There we visited the Strossmayer Cathedral whose patron saint is Peter. Then some of us went and saw the Lipicana horses which are known for their agility. They are born a dark color but as they get older acquire a white coat.
After Ðakovo we went to Osijek. This town still has war damage to it. You can see buildings that were destroyed next to ones that weren't. After visiting around the town and dinner we had ice cream at hotel Osijek. They had some crazy ice cream sundaes there.
Going for a walk after breakfast we encountered these roses at a house
The Strossmayer Cathedral
This was inside the cathedral near Peter's cross
The cross of the patron saint of the cathedral as he is believed to have been crucified upside down
Bus for horses and riders
Lipicana horse
May 27
This was our last day in Croatia. We first went to Vukovar where the war damage is even more apparent than Osijek. There were war memorials there that we visited. We also went to a Franciscan church that had been destroyed and is in the process of being rebuilt. Not much in that town and the whole town was touched by the war in one way or another.
We then went back to Vinkovci where we were staying and had free time until dinner. A few of us ended up finding a park where we played frisbee for a few hours. While we had been looking we found a place selling fresh domestic strawberries that came to about $2/lbs and were delicious. After dinner we had more free time until 9 when we left on our overnight bus trip to Venice. While we waited for 9 we witnessed a thunderstorm that was wonderful.
Overnight Trip
While on the bus we tried to get as much sleep as we could so when we got to Venice we wouldn't be tired for the full day that the Pearses had planned for us. We had to stop in Zagreb to pick up Ivana and a new bus driver. When we stopped we stopped outside a Trgovina (grocery store) that had the word buffet after it. Ted woke up saw ina buffet and asked "Are we ordering Chinese food?" We all had a good laugh at that. We then had to get out in Slovenia to have our passports stamped. We got to Venice an hour early so had a nap on the bus before breakfast.
A view from the back of the bus on a different day
May 28
We explored Venice which consisted of being lost on the way to where we were going and the Pearses pulling out maps to find a way to where they wanted to be. We saw many churches and cathedrals and I think due to being in a new place as well as sleeping on the bus they all merged together in my mind. The one I do remember is the San Marco cathedral. Inside the walls were covered in mosaics instead of frescoes. They were very impressive. Dr. Pearse watched our stuff while we went in so he sat down and had a very long coffee.
Basilica di San Marco
Dr. Pearse with the pile of our stuff
San Marco clock whic is a 24 hour clock, tells the phases of the sun and moon, and tells the year based on the astrological sign
When we returned from San Marco Dr. Pearse was asleep. By this time of the trip he was very tired and so we tried to be as quiet as possible getting our things. Then Mrs. Pearse woke him up with a kiss on the head.
May 29
This was our last day all together. Once again we started to wander through Venice and be lost. We visited many churches. We ended up going over to the isola di san giorgio maggiore where there is a church. We went over on the vapporetto. When we got back to the main island the Pearses left us on our own to have free time. They told us to be at the buses by a certain time if we didn't want to pay for our way back to where we were staying. Just about all of us went back on the bus. In the evening we had one last gathering before going our separate ways and exchanged memories from the trip as well as favorite quotes that were said during the trip.
Church of Saint Giorgio Maggiore
May 30
When we woke up we were left to our own devices as the previous day had been the last day of the program. I got up in time to send off a group that was going around Italy for a while. Then we had our own worship service. Mrs. Pearse was kind enough to leave out the extra food for us so we could eat it or divvy it up between those that were staying at the campground.
After checking out of our place and then checking into a new place with some of the EMWers who were staying at the campground Katie and I went into Venice to wander around for the day. We called it eating our way through Venice as we went from place to place buying whatever we wanted for food and enjoying ourselves. I had a meringue covered in chocolate, some sort of chocolate thing, a pizza and coke, and then ice cream from the place I had had ice cream the two previous days in Venice. (American ice cream is a disappointment next to European ice cream).
It was nice to just wander. We didn't even get lost probably because we didn't have a specific place in mind that we needed to go. We then left the islands for the last time on this trip.
The Rialto Bridge
Many of the buildings in Venice are starting to lean as the island sinks
May 31 and June 1
We flew out of Venice into London where we then stayed the night in a hotel. We got in late evening so we just crashed at the hotel and watched British television. The next day we flew out of London into Toronto (except my luggage). From there we split with Katie going home and Hannah and I going to Hannah's house. This trip was amazing.
I enjoyed this trip a lot. It showed me another culture and when talking to some of the locals showed me how people perceive America and Americans. It also showed me the relationship that people have with each other there and the way that the religions interact.
I have to say that it is very hard to pick a favorite place. The geography was amazing there with all the mountains and the coast. I enjoyed the Plitvice waterfalls a lot. As for my favorite town I guess it would be Baška where we went to the top of a hill where there was a church and cemetary that overlooked the coast. Baška was on the island of Krk and I enjoyed myself there a lot. Most of the places we went I enjoyed so to say Baška is my favorite is a stretch as most of the places were my favorites.
I am still processing all I saw and what it means to me so by the time I finish writing my paper that I have due in August I should know more about what this trip meant to me.
If you want to see more pictures visit:
There is also a video showing some of the people playing frisbee in Vinkovci here:
This is the front of the house and the next step should be the siding which my parents a cream colored siding for. It will make the house look wonderful.
Alex and my dad started the clean-up by folding a tarp in the side yard. Looking at the house the windows are (from left to right) my parents bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining room and the one all the way to the right is the living room.
Alex posed for a picture while he was tarp folding. Usually he gives a more goofy grin for pictures but I guess he wasn't in the mood as he just wanted to go down to the creek.
This is the inside of the house. One of the reasons we went yesterday was to pick the spot for cable and phone lines in each room. The electrician wanted us to go through the rooms and decided where the cable would go and where the phone would go so he could put them in. After he does that the walls can start to go up and we'll be that much closer to moving in.
Ginger came with us for the day so when we were doing things outside we put her in the house so she wouldn't get loose. She enjoyed being able to go through the "walls" but she didn't like being left inside. We eventually took her down to the creek with us.
While down at the creek we explore up and down and the split. We wanted to explore more but couldn't with Ginger with us as she doesn't like to get too wet and most of the creek was too deep for her taste. She tries to avoid having her belly get wet and only likes to go wading. She ended up doing a lot of rock hopping. After we took her back to the house and went by ourselves to the creek.
When we did we had a contest to see who could be the master of getting wet. While the creek has some deep spots they only go up to my knees so the best way to get wet is to go dunking. We found a nice place, sat down, and put our heads under. Although you can't tell from the pictures, we were soaked and dripping all over the place. Alex really enjoyed it and wants to go it again sometime.
Overall it was a great day although I ended up going into work when we got back. I was tired and a little sore today from all the slipping and sliding and the one big fall I took while exploring the creek but it was well worth it.
