Travels with Louise-Croatia
By LOUISE HUGHES

Had to say a sad goodbye to Marco the informative, gracious and handsome young sloveman who had been our guide. Today we decided on Trieste as it was not far and has a huge flea market- Ginny hoped for some Italian bargains. Marco's final tip was watch for pickpockets! We took the direct road to Italy and the first thing we saw was the street market which was very different from the Slav vendors. The Italians were quite aggressive and too busy competing with their neighbors- we spent most of the morning there buying odds and ends. We could actually have gone to Venice but too long a trip home in the Yugo and we had not planned an overnite so it was back to Istria away from the crowds and I took the coast road through Kopar, an old seaport, Slovenia's largest, with large palace on a square, now housing the courts. An arch leads into the picturesque narrow shopping streets. There are several monasteries, one now a prison, and the other are churches. However, neither of us wanted to walk much more so we went through Portoroz and Porec. Both of which are beautiful towns on the Adriatic-stopped in Rovinj for another delish meal with an adorable waiter with no English. My Italian is poor but we had fun all for twenty dinars. Twenty dinners for Ginny who absolutely refused to try one word. I had already given up on "Dobar Dan" which suffices for hello, good morning, etc. Just a greeting. There were many incredibly old crumbling buildings, still inhabited and glorious churches, fortified castles and tiny fishing villages. Everywhere we went was interesting and the weather cooperated.

From there we cut across the peninsula to arrive in Rieka, larger city than Opatija. It has a thriving shopping center but no parking as there were no cars when any of the European towns were built. Ginny had a fit of giggling watching me park. These people are all crazy just like Sicilians! They almost park on top of each other and squeeze into impossible spots so I did too-after all it's just a Yugo! I did notice a truck with a giant claw who seemingly indiscriminately chose an auto, picked it up in those alien claws and took it to somewhere for the unlucky driver to bail it out. They left us alone. Cheap rental!! We shopped and envied the great selection of clothes, shoes, handbags and more.

I like Opatija better and soon we headed north just a few miles and were glad to see our hotel and relax-we agreed to meet later for dinner and perhaps a stroll on the promenade it was another day. A prime objective of my own after reading about it was a visit to Plitvice National Park, a unique chain of sixteen lakes and countless waterfalls with many caves-it is a gorgeous park and four hour drive, so we planned ahead taking a few goodies and wine for Ginny-I can't, and would not of course, as I'm driving. Much to my distress a couple, we had met on the bus, heard our plans and invited themselves along offering to split the costs. My first inclination was to find an excuse. This is a great trip and I'd prefer not to share it. But somehow, they came along and turned out to be very pleasant companions who appreciated the glorious scenery all the way. The park is inland from the highway and gave us a look at lovely farms, ladies all dressed in black. We finally reached the Lakes and it is so incredible. Pictures I had seen did not prepare me for the breathtaking splendor of this spot of paradise. There are wooden walkways everywhere and convenient benches as this is a huge park. It is impossible to see it all so they have lovely lodges for those who can stay for a few days. There are boats to rent and electric vehicles to explore it all but after three hours of trying to absorb all I could it was time to tackle four hours back to Opatija. On the way there was a cool turkish cafe where we all tried oot pastries and coffee in tiny cups which were strong enough to sustain

me on the trip home. I did have one small moment when filling up the trusty Yugo, our new best friends did not feel they gad to pay their half so stood there with my half and attendant until they gave up and paid. Fair is fair and especially as they intruded on our trip. Gas was four dollars a five litre gallon then-hate to think what it is now.

If you want a wonderful unusual trip yo can go by a small ship, starting from Istria and go from island to island all the way down the Adriatic Sea ending near Dubrovnick, stopping off at all or just some of these lovely islands with plenty of options of shopping, restaurants, churches etc. all. There are many choices of trips and none were affected by the war.

Luckily, although it was late we had a very good dinner. I am still raving about the Slav bread. Huge round breads a foot or more across. Wonderful. With a couple of glasses of wine we were ready for sleep. I took a long luxurious bath and read for awhile watched the lights in the harbor and off to bed. Tomorrow is our last day here. A quiet one-turn in the faithful Yugo and enjoy Bronkos skill driving the exciting road south.