It's pronounced "Vees"

So it's been a long time since I wrote about this particular subject - it involves passports and suitcases and swimsuits (usually)...
And this.
This post.
Wow. So long overdue I feel silly even posting it.
And yet as I contemplate our upcoming adventure to France and Italy I just have to post it. I'd be doing a serious disservice to the world by keeping this hidden paradise to myself.
The remote, the rustic, the rapturously beautiful island of Vis.
But it's pronounced "Vees." Get it right.

Situated in the middle of the Adriatic Sea off Croatia's Dalmatian Coast, up until the 1980's it was a military base for the Yugoslavian army. Because of this it's one of the most unspoiled (yet inhabited) islands in Dalmatia - more for those desiring a quiet adventure than a lively night scene. An island full of vineyards, family farms (i.e. amazing food and wine) with hidden beaches you hike down to, Vis had our names written all over it.

From Split we took a morning ferry to the island. They have a huge car ferry as well as a high speed passenger one but it wouldn't have got us to Vis until much later in the day and we wanted to make the most of our "island time." Unfortunately just as we set sail so the rain set in. For almost the entirety of our Vis visit. But not to worry. We made the most of it... as you'll soon see.

As Seattleites we're used to ferry rides. In Croatia they're not so different - just a little bigger, a few more people and everything's in Croatian. But we made the most of our 2 hour sea voyage. I wrote. He read. A beer and a book. His mini heaven.

We arrived in the harbor of Vis and pushed our way through the hoards of people the ferry seemed to vomit out in order to secure a rental car for our stay.  I felt like a soldier ready to brave a fierce battle in a foreign land as the ark-like door to the car deck descended. I'm sure there was a way to reserve a vehicle in advance but, well, we went with the "fly by the seat of our pants" strategy. Thankfully it worked out for us. 

The guys at Ionios were super friendly and got us all set up with our quirky Crayola-yellow convertible, along with a map and directions to the nearest grocery store so we could stock up on breakfast items before we headed off in search of our VRBO villa. 

The narrow roads (which seriously look like alleyways or really generous bike lanes) wind up the steep hillsides providing ridiculous postcard views of terra-cotta clad harbors and wild hills rolling verdant and lush.

My go-to guide for dining while traipsing through Croatia was the oh-so-reliable (and amazingly international) TripAdvisor. Before we departed from Split I did a little dining recon. A TripAdvisor must was Lola Konoba & Bar. And just an FYI "konoba" means tavern... you'll run into that word a lot if you're traveling in Croatia. 

The restaurant was, well, totally my kind of place. Perched above a building, the entire restaurant (as far as I could tell) was alfresco with seating areas situated in different terraced portions of this secret garden. The ambiance and decor made me wonder if I'd stepped straight into the pages of an Anthropologie catalog. And when we arrived it looked like they'd just had a wedding there (I spied a seating chart still leaning against a wall). I can only imagine how perfectly wonderful that reception was... 

The service was impeccable, especially considering we were literally the only people eating there that night. A note on dining on the island: since most rentals run weekly with Saturday as the turn over day it tends to be the quietest one of the week. We also came just before the peak season hit so yeah... we had the whole place all to ourselves. Not gonna lie... it was a little awkward. 

But the food was anything but awkward! It was exquisite! This was most certainly the finest dining we experienced while on our Honeymoon, and the meal was more akin to something we'd see in the states. Croatian with a twist. I'd highly recommend Lola Konoba & Bar - especially if you're wanting a romantic evening out on the island... or a destination wedding?

After our delicious dinner we decided to explore a little more of Vis Town- one of two cities, ok villages, on the island. The place is littered with beautiful old stone buildings, their painted shutters either white or green - faded from sun and storm. The patterns and texture they created in the evening light captured my inner photographer. So I did what any artist would do... I stole Ryan's camera. 

Okay maybe I stole it one too many times... It is his camera and he is the photographer after all..

I bought him some gelato thinking that would smooth things over. 

It didn't really work. 

After a scolding I handed the camera back to him and all was well.

Now that's the work of a real photographer!

The sunset was glorious and we ended that first day excited for the "Part II" of our Croatian Adventure - Vis!!! 

Croatian Honeymoon Adventure! It begins...

So I know you've been waiting for this.
No I don't. That's stupid.
Why would you be waiting for my Honeymoon? That's absurd.
I'VE been waiting for this. All year. And it's finally here. We're in it. Right. NOW!

When people asked Ryan and I where we went on our Honeymoon, (since yes, it's been 9.5 months since we said "I do.") we were met with some very puzzling looks when we replied that we hadn't gone anywhere. Yet. These puzzling looks turned to wide eyes and slightly furrowed brows when we told them where we would be going: Croatia!
"Why'd you choose Croatia?" was the usual response that would follow. Sometimes it would be a more excited, less-skeptical "Oh! A friend of a friend of a friend of mine went there and said it was fabulous!" We liked those responses.

The truth of the matter is that Ryan has been practically everywhere and I've been nowhere. Okay that's not true. I've been to many of the cosmopolitan cities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, the Carribean on a cruise with my family when I was 12, and Paris. I don't think I could list the places Ryan's been to on this blog. It would become a completely different post.

At any rate, when deciding where to take our Honeymoon, certain ground-rules/criteria were laid.

Number 1: This was Ryan's thing. As he told me after about 6 months of dating (yes, we had a relationship check-in and the "M" word was brought up. Ah! Scary!), "Jessika, you know how every little girl dreams about and plans her wedding? Well every boy (Man? Maybe it's just Ryan... haha!) dreams about and plans his honeymoon." In my mind it made sense. So I got to have my dream wedding if he got to have his dream Honeymoon. Not only did it seem like a fair exchange, but a win-win situation for both of us.

Number 2: It had to be a place Ryan had never been to. As stated before, Ryan's been all over the world. This trip needed to be a new experience and adventure for both of us. He needed to be able to cross another country off his long list.

Number 3: It had to be in Europe. This was actually my teeny-weeny stipulation. There are so many places in Europe that I want to visit. And we had to narrow down the playing-field somehow.

Number 4 (and most important!): We had to win. And by "win," I mean we had to have the most unusual, crazy-amazing Honeymoon ever. A co-worker of mine is going to Iceland, Paris and Prague for his Honeymoon so I don't know that we actually accomplished this one but we like to think in a small way we did for the budget we have. 

So with this crazy criteria (yes, we are a bit intense about this thing), we started looking. One day I was looking at Jetsetter.com and they had a package titled "Sail Croatia." The photos blew our minds. Croatia?
This is Croatia?!!!!

We started researching and found that not only was it beautiful, but it was everything we wanted: Amazing food (think a mix between Greek, Italian and Turkish food focused on fresh fish, lamb, figs, olives and wine), great beaches, crystal clear water, vineyards and olive groves for days, nature unspoiled. Did I mention amazing food? A paradise for the foodie. And the temps at this time of year typically range between mid-seventies to high eighties.

DONE. Croatia here we come!

So that's probably more information than you wanted.
But we couldn't be happier with our choice. And with all the craziness of this year, we are also really grateful that we waited this long to take our Croatian Honeymoon Adventure. It's been something to look forward to - the proverbial dangling carrot if you will. It's been something we've both needed after a long season of dancing, health struggles and hard work. But it's something that we're both prepared for and able to enjoy. The days that followed our wedding were a blissful haze. Another way to put it: slap-happy and exhausted. There's no way we would have had the the energy, mentally or physically to really enjoy this trip. And to be honest, we were both a bit depleted when we got here, but there's nothing like salty sea breezes, hot Adriatic sun and delicious Croatian food and wine to replenish the heart, mind, soul and body.

There is much more to come.... in this Croatian Honeymoon Adventure as well as our life together. And you'll be hearing lots more from both realms. For now I've posted some of my favorite funny photos from the trip.
Many more posts to come!
I promise!

Cheers!

Jessika