Slap time

("Slap" means waterfall in Croatian.) We set out from our beautiful cozy homestay at a decent hour finally (9am instead of 5:30am), with the little girl and her grandmother waving goodbye to us from their front yard. Then we set out hiking in Plitvice lakes national park. It was gorgeous! Very well kept, walkways over the water leading up to massive waterfalls, trickling streams, and aqua blue-green placid pools. We so badly wanted to go swimming, but that's not really allowed :( after hiking for the better part of the day (some great exercise) we drove to zadar, a beatific coastal city fortified by the ... Wait for it ... The venetians yet again. (and the romans before them). Way to go venetians- this place is awesome. We had a nice dinner at an italian place in a narrow alley filled with people watching and cheering on the Croatian national soccer team in their Croatian flag (red and white checkered) tshirts. I take it by the honking in the streets and the bells tolling and the shouting that Croatia must have won! Yay! After dinner we drove up to a little house in a place just south of zadar
With a sign outside reading sobe/rakija/vino meaning "rooms/brandy/wine" so naturally we stopped there for the night (yes we actually u-turned for the brandy sign). The old guy (who didn't speak a word of English) and thought we were Russians gave us a great deal on a room (another full on apartment with kitchen and bathroom) in the upstairs of the house, and showed us his amazing gardens. He makes his own olive oil and wine and brandy out of apricots. Unfortunately he didn't offer us any brandy and I couldn't figure out how to ask if he sold it. Alas. But he made sure we took our fill of apricots from the tree before we left:)
Sunset swim in the adriatic then Another comfortable nights sleep and we are back to zadar in the morning for
Some cappuccinos followed by sight seeing. Oh, and more gelato ;)
Ciao for now.