the one with the most beautiful place in the world...

First I would like to make an announcement, I am sincerely sorry for not posting more pictures. Many of you loyal followers have expressed anger and sadness over the lack of photos posted since Spain. This is of course due to the lack of quality Internet at my disposal. I would like to make this up to all of you by sending out an invitation to a slideshow party at my house upon my return. Date and Time TBA. :]

And now the rest of the story…
Our two days in-between Italy and Croatia went by ridiculously fast, two midterms, bible study, and the pre-port breezed by and next thing we all knew it was time once again to get off the ship.
My itinerary for Croatia:
July 7, 2010: Arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia the night before we planned but are, sadly not permitted off the ship.
July 8, 2010: Disembarked after an informative diplomatic briefing. Sabre and I explored the old town and got some serious shopping done. Of course this was only the first on many Croatian shopping sprees for us. We came back to the ship around 12:30 and Sabre left for her city orientation at 1, my FDP for drawing started at 2:30 so I took a short yet satisfying nap. From 2:30 to 6 I explored the old city with my drawing class, or at least the 5 or 6 people that showed up. We took time to draw the very beautiful sights. Sabre and I then enjoyed a wonderful dinner; I had spaghetti, which was extremely satisfying.
July 9, 2010: My SAS trip on this day started at 7 am, so I had to be there at 6:45 so I naturally had breakfast at the shocking hour of 6:15. It was a hellish morning but I slept on the bus off and on all day. We stopped at a few towns Tristino with its beautiful gardens, and then the random town of Ston. I say random because we were only off the bus for about 10 minuets to look at some very old salt harvesting fields. We then took a ferry out to the island of Korcula, a fascinating little island with a rich history. The day did not end until about 6pm when we at last returned to the ship. I was totally exhausted and went to bed after a much-needed chat with my mamma on the phone. 
July 10, 2010: My SAS trip started at the reasonable time of 9am, and was a very exciting and unexpected joy. We visited very very small villages and sampled much of the locally grown fair. It was really beautiful. Sabre and I this evening caught wind of a Mexican restaurant, and my taste buds could not resist the rare opportunity. It was an interesting experience, the chips were fantastic. But most of the meal did not even come close to resembling normal Mexican food. It was still good though, and the strawberry margaritas kept us happy, although they were much different than normal margaritas too.
July 11, 2010: I spent today doing pretty much nothing once again. Although it was much more enjoyable than my time in Naples because I did get off the ship for a brief time to buy some groceries and exchange my Kuna for Euros I could use in Greece.

Overall Croatia was my favorite port yet, it was beautiful. You MUST come here if at all possible, really it’s amazing.

I just finished my essay due tomorrow, and I feel extremely prepared for the next two days of class before we get to GREECE!!!! Yay!

My plans for Greece before I forget to post them:
July 14th- Arrive in Greece, Piraeus to be exact, it is the port city of Athens about 6 miles away from the City. Possibly explore the city with Sabre in the morning, Sights of Athens trip with SAS from 1300-1700. Sign off of trip in city and go to the archeological museum and buy bus tickets for the 16th.
July15th- possibly go on the Saronic Islands trip with SAS, unless I can find someone to switch with for the Delphi day trip… I am not sure why I didn’t do that in the first place.
July 16th- Take bus to Andritsena while praying that I find family members that are friendly. Find family. Eat. Take many many pictures and Video of town and potential family. Take Bus back.
July 17th- Cooking Lessons with SAS! From 1100 to 1400. Explore Athens more.
July 18th- Visit Archeological museum, potentially for the second time because it is so huge.

Throughout Greece: Buy many little gifts that are traditional Greek, attempt to find a family crest, or family something…

YAY!

Missing Home (but not too much because I am going to my homeland soon!),
Cris