Croatia visit

Visit to Croatia from Sep 5 to Sep 12, 2018

After visiting the island of Malta in July, we decided to make a trip to Croatia in September

Malta is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea directly south of Italy and north of Libya

Not far from Malta, Croatia is a country at the crossroads of central and south-eastern Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. Its capital, Zagreb, is one of the main subdivisions of the country, with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of ​​56,594 km² and a population of 4.28 million

We noticed differences between the two countries, each with its own particularities, but our stay in Croatia, as a tourism, was more pleasant. 

Tourism the main industry in Croatia is concentrated in areas along the Adriatic coast

Off the coast of Croatia, more than a thousand Croatian islands of varying size, ranging from small rocks in the sea to the island of Cres, which is the 20th largest island in the Mediterranean. We visited 3 of them …

UNESCO World Heritage sites have included 10 Croatian sites on its World Heritage List. 

We visited 5 sites

• Old Town Dubrovnik

• Split Historical Complex with Diocletian's Palace

• St James Cathedral of Sibenik

• Venetian defense works between the 15th and 17th centuries in Zadar

• Historic town of Trogir

What was the schedule?

• Landing at Dubrovnik Airport

Dubrovnik is one of the most famous Croatian tourist sites. The old town and its many sights (including the well-preserved city walls along which we walked) are one of the city's main attractions.

Your second trip was to Split, but we have to cross the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina because the Herzegovina municipality south of Neum makes the southern part of Croatia (Dubrovnik-Neretva County) an exclave. An exclave is a part of a state or territory geographically separated from the main part by the surrounding territory.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have signed 111 different treaties to resolve border disputes, but sometimes there are long queues. We were lucky not to have to wait at the border!

• Split. Visit the city and do the "3 Island Tour". First stop at Duga (island of Ciovo near Trogir), then visit the Blue Lagoon and arrival at Maslinica (Solta island) before returning to Split

• Visit Sibenik and KRKA National Park. 
One of Croatia's most enchanting natural wonders, with its waterfalls and cliffs stretching along the banks of the river Krka.

• Zadar called “Home of the Best”. A monument of the city, surrounded by historic walls of an exceptional history and a rich cultural heritage, a tourist city.

• Trogir was my favorite place visited in Croatia.

Trogir is a targeted destination for many artists, writers ... and travelers because of the many colors of Trogir. The spectral palettes of blue, green, gold and violet ... Called "Little Venice" and deserves to be on UNESCO's World Heritage List

Trogir is located 10 minutes from Split Airport where we took our flight back to Bordeaux

This video brings what we preferred on our trip 

following the order of visits described above

Travel through the island of Malta

From May 10th to 15th, 2018, we made a trip to the island of Malta

Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea directly to the south of Italy and north of Libya.

The island, 27 kilometers long and 14.5 kilometers wide, is composed of many small towns with a population of 409259.

The capital is Valletta.

The landscape is characterized by low hills with terraced fields. 

The video above summarizes what we visited:

• The capital Valletta

• The three cities Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua

• The south and east of the island with the blue cave

• The center of the island: Mdina and Rabat

• The northwest of the island where we stayed (St Paul's Bay)

• The island of Gozo

2018 "Cordes Sensibles" Festival

I belong to an association of guitar players named "Accords et à Cordes".

Each year, we set up the festival "Cordes Sensibles" where some famous guitarists are invited to play and sing their success.

On the last day, members of Accords and Cordes can participate in this event.

This year, March 25, 2018, I was happy to be on stage to play and sing three songs.

Streets of London

Ralph McTell, is an English singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist on the scene of British folk music since the 1960s. His song "Streets of London", we chose, was covered by more

than two hundred artists worldwide

The last thing on my mind

The last thing on my mind", the second song, was written by American musician and singer-songwriter Tom Paxton in the early 1960s

Back to USA (Arizona; New Mexico; Texas)

This year we decided to go back to the USA and complete 
the West America Tour we achieved in June 2012

                                                                                                                                                           


The tour of West America took place from May 24, 2012 to June 6, 2012 

while traveling to California, Arizona, Utah, next to the Colorado border

The 2017 tour focused on Indian culture in Arizona from Phoenix, New Mexico, a small loop in Texas without forgetting the Grand Canyon we visited for the second time ...

Departure the May 21, 2017 to June 3, 2017

               Total tour: 2800km

Main points of interest for each stage

Phoenix

one of the sunniest cities in the United States. During our stay, the temperature was up to 43° C. 

The Desert Botanical Garden: incredible and beautiful. Wandering the paths between the desert wildflowers and the giant cactus (saguaros)

Chihuly - The nature of glass

Purple Prickly Pear
Cactus family

Saguaros

Tucson

a large city surrounded by mountains and the Sonora desert.
The Apache Trail named the best scenic drive in Arizona let’s go to the Goldfield Ghost Town at the foot of the legendary Superstition Mountains

Saloon of Goldfield

Jail and scaffold from which criminals were executed

Tombstone

a real cowboy’s town. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place on Oct 26, 1881 and made Tombstone famous. We could watch Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday in a reenactment on the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Entrance town admission

From Arizona to New Mexico

Las Cruces 

and its the suburb “Old Messila Plaza” were built like a small Mexican town around his central square “Zocalo”

The dance of the eagle

Traditional Native American Dances from the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico

Just a small loop to the Texas and Mexico
























El Paso

Very close to the Mexican border and in front of its twin town Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. 

Go back from Ciudad Juarez must make a long queue before checking the passport!

El Paso first and in the rear Ciudad Juarez

Alamogordo

a stop before going to the White Sands National Monument. The largest gypsum dune field in the world. A very amazing place that seems to be a snowfield but that’s not the case!  A unique variety of plants and animals have evolved to survive.

A yucca has grown after be buried by the sand.
The sand moved and now it will soon fall over and die

Albuquerque

the largets city of New Mexico (550,000 people living here) but not the capital. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center “where tradition inspires”. Founded in 1976 by the 19 Pueblos of NM it is the place to discover Pueblo history, art and culture

Santa Fe 

the New Mexico capital.
Very pretty town built in Mexican-Indian style and also known as a major shopping destination (hand-crafted jewelry by Native American artisans...)

At the Plaza, dozens of Native American artisans
are selling their turquoise and silver

Houses in Santa Fe built in the Taos Pueblo style

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe: an unique exhibitions of contemporary and historic Native American art (Navajo, Rio Grande Pueblo and other Native people of NM)

Baby on board

Taos Pueblo 

an Indian village and one of the best place for the tourists. 

Over 1000 years of Tradition

The housing is called Adobe Architecture. Adobe is a brick made of an earth, straw and water mixture formed and sundried

 Horno used for bake goods or bread loaves

Not very far from Taos, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge

Gallup

the Historic Route 66 goes to the heart of Gallup Downtown

Flagstaff

the last stop before the Grand Canyon South Rim

Grand Canyon National Park

a World Heritage Site that encompasses 27 miles (446km) of the Colorado River. One of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world. 

"A Land to Inspire Our Spirit"

Redwall Limestone

Rock nearly 2 billion years in the bottom of the canyon

Up to 18 miles (29km) wide and 1 mile (1.6km) deep

Sedona

Back to Phoenix airport we didn't miss to go through Sedona

Phoenix

It's gone again for 3.5 flight hours to Minneapolis, 8h to Paris, 1h to Bordeaux and 9 hours of jet lag...

It was a long flight, but we were rewarded and enjoyed every day of our trip