calling from some city...

We made it to the end: today is the last official day of Eurotrip, as we depart for Boston tomorrow evening. We knew the next two days would be a lot of hours traveling, so we wanted to make the most of our remaining relaxation time in Dubrovnik. We had to get up early because we had several things we had to get done before 10 am: check out, and return our smart car. I woke up at 8:45 and breakfast was just about ready. I did some last minute packing and we ate eggs and hash browns for a delicious last meal cooked by Scott on the trip. We checked out but left our bags at the guesthouse for the day, as our flight wasn’t until 8:20 pm. Scott and I climbed into our Smartcar for the last time and had a short 10 minute drive to the drop off point. Conveniently, the drop off point was very close to the beach we went to two days ago. So, after dropping off the car, we walked to the supermarket to get sandwich supplies for lunch, and then walked to the beach.

On our way to the beach, we stopped at a café so Scott could get a cappuccino. While we were sitting down, he received a call from the Smartcar rental office, wanting to know what was wrong with the tires. Scott and I were immediately concerned, thinking there was a problem with the car. As I listened in on Scott’s side of the conversation, and noted his worried face, I was just hoping we didn’t cause any damage to the car that we would have to pay for. Luckily, it was a misunderstanding. When we had to jump the car a couple days ago, we had pulled out a can of “tire foam” that is used as a temporary fix when a tire needs to be changed. We had left the can out because we forgot to return it to its spot under then floorboard of the passenger side. Thus, they thought we had to use the foam because of a tire problem. Once Scott explained this, we were relieved there were no problems with the car. With that settled, we headed to the beach.

We were on the beach by 10:30 and stayed there for the next 5 hours or so. The weather could not have been more perfect for our last day- hot and not a cloud in the sky. We spent the afternoon reading, tanning, and swimming, as usual. I decided to rent a beach chair for the day, as it was extremely cheap. For my last day in Europe, I figured it was worth being comfortable rather than lying in rocks all day. Overall, I loved the beaches in Europe because they offered far prettier and more stunning scenery than the beaches I’ve been to in New England; the water was also warmer, cleaner, and prettier to look at. However, I do wish the beaches in Europe were sand, rather than pebbly or rocky, as it is uncomfortable after a while. On the other hand, you don’t get sand all over you. Anyway, we greatly enjoyed our last lazy day at the beach. It was less crowded than it had been two days ago, which made for a quiet, peaceful afternoon.

Around 3, Scott and I were just about sunned out and needed to escape in the shade for a bit. We walked around a shopping center and then went to the supermarket to get supplies for dinner. Because we needed to leave for the airport at 6, it was just easier to make quick sandwiches again and eat them once we got there, and then snack on the plane. We took the bus back to the guesthouse and had about an hour to relax on the terrace, then change up for the plane. I felt pretty gross because I was all salty from the water and sweaty from the sun and heat, but couldn’t shower. While we waited around for 6pm to arrive, Scott and I again reflected on the trip. We both agreed it truly a fantastic experience and everything worked out even better than we had hoped. At the same time, we were ready to go home. We missed the comforts of home and some of Europe’s little idiosyncrasies that become annoying. I personally was sick of living out of a backpack, and wanted my own room back. It was time to be back in America.

But first we had to fly to London for an overnight stay because it wasn’t possible to get a return flight home from Dubrovnik. We left for the airport at 6, with our guesthouse owner Antie giving us a ride. I don’t think I’ve mentioned Antie before, but he was probably the nicest hotel/hostel owner or worker we met on the entire trip. Scott offered the best description of him: he looks just like Mr. Clean, except he speaks with a Croatian accent. He’s probably in his late 40s, keeps himself in shape, and every day wore a blue bathing suit with a white t-shirt tucked in. As he drove us to the airport, he talked to us about Dubrovnik, where he has lived his entire life. The city is much bigger than I expected, about 50,000 people, and he’s concerned about the future of Dubrovnik because a lot of foreigners have moved into the region in recent years, buying up available land (which is very expensive). You could see he was worried about the place of natives and the local economy will survive the onslaught of Italians and Germans, among others. He also talked about the Balkan War and Dubrovnik’s role in it. The entire city was attacked for close to eight months, and he joined the Croatian army in fighting the Serbs and Montenegrins. He said he woke up every day feeling lucky he was alive that day. On the way to the airport, Antie also took a short detour. He showed us the hotels that used to be the luxury hotels in Dubrovnik before the war. They were never rebuilt. Parts of the buildings remained, but you could see the roofs caved in, all the windows and doors completely gone, and trees and weeds growing all over where the hotels used to stand. You could tell these were beautiful hotels before the war. It’s incredibly sad that they were never repaired and are just left standing there.

We got to the airport at 6:30 and received an unpleasant surprise: our flight was actually taking off at 9:20, not 8:20 as our confirmation email said. So we had extra time to kill. We sat down at the one café in the airport, ate our sandwiches, and waited to check in. Scott worked on his album while I read until it was time to board the plane. Luckily, it did take off at 9:20 and it was a smooth and easy flight. We arrived in London at 11:10 London time (so, it was 12:10 in Croatian time). We then had to take a train from London Gatwick Airport to London’s Victoria train station. Luckily, we were able to run right into a train without waiting (we literally bought our tickets at 11:18 and boarded the 11:20 train). It was a 30 minute ride into London, and by this time, I was exhausted. It had been a long day, and the combination of sun, traveling, and Dramamine wore me out. Once we got to the station, it was about a 20 minute walk to our hostel. Given it was late and freezing out (probably in the 60’s, which was a drastic change from the very hot temperatures we experienced all summer), I decided it worth a splurge and we hailed a taxi. I also wanted the experience of taking a taxi in London. The whole “driving on the other side of the road” thing is even more strange than I expected. Every time we took a turn, I flinched because I was convinced we were going to get into an accident. It was a bizarre experience. The cabbie was a douche though; he didn’t know where the hostel was, so I gave him the address. We get on the street, and he tells us to look for the hostel. Then we get to the end of the street, and he pulls over, saying he doesn’t know where it is. He said there was just a pub up the street. That triggered my memory- I thought I recalled the hostel was above a pub, from the description given online. I told him that and he yelled at us for withholding information. When I explained I had never been to London before and arrived 45 minutes earlier, he still claimed I should have told him it was above the pub and he could have gotten us there faster (meanwhile, as he is pulled over the meter is still running). First of all, I forgot about that, since I’ve never been to the hostel before. Second, it’s not my job to know where places are in London. That is his job, and that is what we are paying him to do. So I was pretty pissed at this point so there was no tip for him.

We checked into the hostel, which had kept reception open late for us. We went up to our room, where our dorm mates were sleeping. So we quickly made up the beds in the dark and went to bed. By far, this was the worst bed we spent in for the whole trip. The bed wasn’t long enough, the mattress completely dipped into the center, and it was just incredibly uncomfortable. The pillow also sucked. Luckily, I was tired enough to fall fast asleep.

Tomorrow: America.