So there was a blockage in the blog (caused mainly by The Children consuming my attention.)

I was genuinely very sad to leave Sarajevo. I feel very at home in Ottoman places. I’ll miss the call to prayer and mosques. I’ll miss all sorts of undefinable elements of a world I feel very comfortable in. The colors are better. The smells are spicy. Its very hard to explain, but it all makes me feel at home.

I drove through the breathtaking Bosnian mountains. Very steep and rugged. Gorges and rivers and waterfalls. Wild red roses clinging to white stone cliffs. Lime green beech forests. Bosnia has one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe. And wolves, that they hunt.

Over the austere mountains down into lush (Christian) Herzegovina where I went to Trebinje. (Which is in the Republika Srpskasee  – a whole different entity to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Another place to put on the list of ‘countries I’ve never heard of’.)

It is so beautiful. Little stone bridges and orchards and vineyards and is exactly the sort of place you’d prick your finger on a spindle or be offered an apple by a crone.

I visited the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral and bought local wine … then drove over the white, rugged, high, stony mountains and steeply down over the other side – down to the ocean and beautiful Croatia.

Croatia – It has the same lazy seaside feeling as Greece and the Italian seaside. Orchards and gardens and tiny fishing villages. All strung along a narrow strip of coastline backed by mountains and Bosnia.

I met up with the children at the airport in Dubrovnik,  where they arrived from Barcelona with their Dad. And it was lovely to see them after so long. And reinforced how much I like being by myself and traveling alone …

Dubrovnik itself seems quite artificial – arriving with the mid-day cruise ship crowds was like checking in to ‘Mediterranean World’ at Disneyland. But with better seafood and slippery white marble. And fewer fat people on mobility scooters.

Our apartment was in the attic of a very large, heavy stately apartment building. Downstairs were twisty alley ways and enough restaurants and bars to meet the needs of any tourist from any part of the planet. Early mornings and evenings it was gorgeous and semi-peaceful, but mid day it was chaotic. Steaming pushing crowds. Like Venice at its worst. But with a wall around it so you can’t get away.

We spent one day at a nearby island. Weirdly infested with fearless rabbits and flocks of peacocks. And empty apart from a scenic monastery and Napoleonic fort. They all swam and I read peacefully among the peafowl. Ate a lovely meal in the cloisters. And had to fight off snacky peacocks.

We walked the walls one evening. Vertigo inducing (100ft tall in places). But worth it for the sunset. Ate some really good seafood in places. But ridiculously expensive. So good after all the dolmas and cucumber and brown since August.

There isn’t much to Dubrovnik. Its pretty. There are some nice buildings. Its fun to pretend to be Cersei in Kings Landing. But its very touristic and after 3 or 4 days … there’s really fuck all to do. Very popular with Americans because a) accessible to cruise ships b) Game of Thrones c) not seen as a terror threat.

The recent history is interesting. Looking at the massive, thick, defensive city walls. Still intact – mostly 14th century. And thinking that those walls semi-succesfully protected the city from bombs and missiles as recently as the Yugoslavian war. Photographs of a modern city under siege – of buildings you’re standing beside being shelled, shrapnel in walls, painting ripped by bullets – is really quite moving and amazing.

From Dubrovnik we drove to Split. The second city of the Dalmatian coast. Curiously, since the fall of Yugoslavia you now drive through a tiny portion of Bosnia … so the kids have a Bosnian stamp in their passports.

Split is, I think, much nicer than Dubrovnik*. Built on the ruins of Diocletian’s Palace. A fascinating mix of ancient, organically fused with really old, with tasteful touches of modern around the edges. Less military and defensive than Dubrovnik. Opening on to the busy beautiful harbor –  like the sea side retirement resort Diocletian meant it to be in the 4th century.

We stayed a bit out of town, near a beach, in a manky AirB&B (they can be hit and miss). But the walk into town was nice. I fell in love with a bar called Noor. Lovely barmen making really interesting cocktails … craft syrups and liqueurs … across the tiny alley from a great restaurant – all set under Roman arches and renaissance ruins. Stunning. I may have had too many cocktails and too much really fucking good Croatian red wine that night.

*Dubrovnik is a VERY cattie place. Molly and think it might be the cattiest place we’ve been which scores it a lot of points. Split is quite light on cattes.