Tuesday was a long bus ride from Budapest to Croatia, but on the way, we stopped at a cute family run restaurant for a lovely homemade lunch, walked the grounds, and our bus driver took a group picture and video. When we got back on the bus, it was covered in stink bugs...ew ew ew! 

Later that day, we arrived at our hotel in Lake Plitvices, which was absolutely overrun with tourists. Hats off to the hotel for managing such a large number of guests so well though. The dining room was just jam-packed, but somehow, there was plenty of food for all. 

On Wednesday, we loaded our bags onto the bus, then met back in the lobby to start our descent down the stairs and into the park. We took a little slinky bus up to one of the trailheads, where our guide gave us the lay of the land via a map. We then set off on a beautiful, but slightly treacherous multi-part hike through the park. It was stunningly beautiful, with TONS of waterfalls and trees everywhere you looked. We had gotten an early start, but we were soon joined by tons of other tourists walking around us on the narrow wooden plank walkways. I was afraid I was going to fall into the water!

After the hike, we hopped on our bus and headed to Rovinj, On the way, we stopped in a small town called Senj, where it was extremely windy, but cute. We walked around a bit, admired the Adriatic, got some ice cream, used the facilities, and got back on the bus to head to Rovinj.

Cathedrals, a wabbit, a crazy bus ride, and lots of paprika

On Sunday, our tour guide, who also lives in Budapest, took us on a tour of the pest side of the Danube to give us an orientation of the area. From there, a couple of gals and I went to have lunch at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, which was a bit overpriced, but still delicious. I tried the insanity burger, which I saw Chris Morocco remake on Bon Appetit, and it was pretty tasty but spendy. It did not come with red Leichester cheese, which I recall being a thorn in Chris' side.

After that, we did some window shopping, and I went to do laundry, find a geocache, then relax in my room. The introverted side of me needs a break from the group every so often, so instead of going out to dinner, I just downloaded the Wolt app (like Uber Eats/Grubhub; saw them delivering around town) and ordered Thai food for delivery to my hotel. Unfortunately, they didn't include a fork and all I had in my room was a spoon for coffee, so that was interesting. Thankfully nobody was in my room to see me try to eat wide noodles with a spoon. 

Monday morning was a tour of the Buda side with another local tour guide named Esther. She took us up to the Castle where we walked around and and got some great views of the city. To get to the market, we had to take a very windy and dicey bus ride down the hill and across the bridge, then take a tram ride to the Market Hall, where we all split up and went shopping for paprika, lunch, and souvenirs. After that, I just went back to my room to take a disco nap and organize all my crap.

In the evening, we did a lovely sunset cruise along the Danube. Once all the buildings and bridges were lit up, it was even more beautiful! I sat in front of our tour guide and driver and had a blast chatting with them. After that, several of us went to dinner at a restaurant along the river, and I enjoyed a really delicious foie gras dish that included grilled peaches and mashed potatoes. Yum!!

Tomorrow, we are off to Croatia!