Wrapping up a great trip, a few photos add to the story. Note also a number of photos added to entries over the last two months.
 |
 |
 |
|
Travelers enjoying tapas and their guidebook. When blitzing tapas bars in Madrid’s best neighborhoods, it’s fun to find happy travelers putting their guidebook to good use. |
An amazing painting in Cortona. |
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I open the shutters and greet a new day in Volterra. In a week I meet the TV crew… |
 |
 |
 |
|
Dottore Vincenzo Riolo in Pisa taught me volumes about his town and is one of many excellent new local guides I met and will recommend in my guidebooks. |
Why call it tourist season if we can’t shoot them? A scary welcome in Florence’s Oltrarno district. |
Station of the Cross, padded for protection, along the route of a bike race in Slovenia. |
 |
 |
 |
|
Happy road trippers with favorite guidebooks in Slovenia. |
Cheap and delicious picnic, relaxing in my Zagreb hotel room. |
Cameron Hewitt (co-author of our Croatia & Slovenia guidebook) reads about himself, me, and our American film crew in a Zagreb newspaper. I guess an American film crew in Zagreb is newsworthy. |
 |
 |
|
|
Croatian B&B hosts—clicking with new friends in Korcula. |
Day #70…Trip over, one last beer to enjoy a Dubrovnik vista and celebrate a smooth and productive trip before flying home. |
Whoa, Rick, you’re looking a little beat there. You look like I feel after a four-day manager’s meeting in Chicago! I hope that the day got better. It’s great to see the photos. For me photography is a critical part of the trip and I love seeing what others choose to remember through photography. Pam
Great photos. But good gravy, man! Get some rest. You can’t be lookin’ that haggard when you have the best job in the whole world.
Jim, play nice. And I am only posting again because I swear that my non-spammer verifying word is “haggardly”.
Hi Rick, I just watched your show this week on Croatia & Slovenia so I came to the website to see what I could share with my son who is backpacking through parts of Europe and was planning to go here. I sent him the link to your blog. I enjoy the blog because I like a dose of the real stuff (angry man yelling a crew) but understand why that stuff won’t make PBS. I was just in Norway and there were rumors you were coming through. It’s so funny when I have the book out and other Americans say “you like Rick Steves too?” Always a bonding moment.
The dreaded Blue Book sign shows itself again!
I’m glad I’m not the only person who takes feet shots. However, mine is the view from my Hallstatt through my feet. Enjoyed the photos but you do look a little wiped out in the one.
Have a cigar, Rick! You sure do walk the walk. No false fronts for you.
Don’t worry Rick, if Jim thinks your politics are ridiculous many of us know his politics are worthy of ridicule.
Don’t those of us who choose to post here have a right to differing opinions without being subject to “ridicule?” Disagreement, yes, ridicule, no.
I don’t think Jim’s post was a “differing opinion”, I think it was a personal attack.
Do you suppose Rick thinks of Jim’s comments as a “personal attack,” or as an attack on his political views? There is a difference. I personally like Barack Obama, but some of what he’s doing scares me very, very much.
Rick………….Love the picnic……..I make the room picnic very extensive and a highlight of the trip….super healthy, cheap and always right there……and the odd room that has a bar fridge really helps in the choices of items I buy….and keeps the (my own) beer cold….smoked salmon and any food goes for the room picnic …luxury on a budget……
Jim’s post was his opinion; nevertheless, for such an innocuous blog, dragging politics in again seems totally unnecessary. Some people like using these forums as their high tech punching bag, so upset they are about “their America” disappearing. As if this country belonged only to them. And Louisa, I hope you aren’t referring to this whole socialism bent that glorified comedians have paranoids foaming at the mouth about. U.S. Government rescue money has assisted a meniscule percentage (1.1%) of the corporate private sector–hardly socialism on the scale of other First World nations. The same people critcizing the Administration would be the sreeching like hyenas if he would just watching it all burn like The Joker. My anti-spam word is “deceivers”,…..too true.
Alfran, this is a political blog.
I thought the sign in Florence was pretty creepy and ignorant. I can’t speak for others, but it pretty much sums up the attitude problem towards tourists that I encountered in Italy, but no where else in Europe. Italy’s economy and culture depend so much on tourists for their survival so I don’t understand why, in general, they take tourists for granted and act so unwelcoming. Well, that was my experience in Italy anyway. And no, I didn’t behave like a “tourist” and I do look Italian, so I didn’t understand their attitude problem with me when I was there. By the way, I wish Rick would post more photos of his Balkans trip. I’d love to see more of the former Yugoslavia. I’d love to travel there but, unfortunately, I can’t get any of my family or friends interested in that region. Looks like I’ll have to do a organized tour there because I don’t like to travel by my lonesome self.
Catherine, get a good guide book that has lots of photos and show them to your friends. Slovenia and Croatia are stunningly beautiful–Alps, seaside, islands, lakes–everything any visitor would love.
I happened to catch Rick’s previous show on Croatia and Slovenia this past weekend. Seeing the gorgeous Plitvice (sp?) and his visit to the Lippizaner stud made me eager to visit there. Slovenia looks like I remember Austria and Switzerland being like 27 years ago and with even fewer crowds.
Rick, you look 20 years older in that pic!!! I don’t think I have ever seen you look so old. I don’t think I could ever be that candid. I am very selective about pictures I post. None where I look old, fat, or ugly. So I don’t post that many pics. :) Bravo for being real with a pic like that!
I can’t speak to much of Croatia as I have only seen a small piece of it but Slovenia is one country I would LOVE to explore some more of spend more time in!
I think that is called the “morning look…before coffee”. :) Happy travels, Rick and gang!
Clarification: Rick’s latest entry–that is this one–isn’t political.
Rick what are your thoughts on Iran now? I suggest we send Jimmy Carter to audit the vote!
RE: “Tourist Season” – I live in a tourist town in Canada that Rick has visited several times on his book tours (always a hit) and I see T-Shirts with the same wording for sale in tourist shops. Here it is a joke and since we depend on Americans and the T-shirts have been in the shop window for years, I assume most tourists are OK with the little joke.
Rick, I support Ken K 100% in his suggestion we send former President Carter to Iran. Maybe,this time, they will keep him.
Rick, Last month my niece and I were sitting in that same spot (the one with you and the beer) in Dubrovnik. It is a spectacular vista. We used your book throughout Eastern Europe and Dubrovnik. Thanks for the tips.
Keep on ‘seasoning’ the travel with the spice of your viewpoints – I plan to pick up two copies of your book, one for each of my sons (22 and 24). I have seen the sign about tourist season on both the east coast and west coast of the US – maybe this is more a sign of global bad taste. Haggard? No – hunky!
We just came back from Portugal & Greece. Your guides & tips were very helpful. Hotel Tempi in Athens was wonderful because of Katarina & Yiannis. We took their day trip suggestions. We drove 1,600 km. in Portugal. The people were so helpful. We stayed in hostels and was very happy with them. Price was very good.
Oh my gosh! Rick that 7am photo really made me feel sorry for you. Would you like some change to get a cup of coffee? I really need to buy more CDs from your store. Bless you Rick, may you find the fountain of youth.
The Hawk is watching