Kate and I spend so much time planning our vacations and we get asked about them frequently, so I’m going to start creating blog posts for where we stayed and what we did so it’s easy to share. We just spent 12 days in Croatia and Paris. Here are our notes:
Dubrovnik
- Stay
- We stayed at an airbnb close to down which was a good location – would recommend vs. beach area outside of town. (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/31607491?source_impression_id=p3_1566060624_sSvzbUC9zgWlMe6j)
- Eat
- Gusta me – just outside the city walls on the walk to the cable car. I think I liked it more than Kate – the tuna, fish, and house wine were great
- Dolca Vita – great gelato place – went 3 times in 2 days
- Taj Mahal – Bosnian food (read: meat), solid, but not as good if you get the meat sweats while walking on the city walls in the heat
- Do
- Climb the city walls – we went in the afternoon – it was really hot but less crowded because it was so hot
- Cable car to see the city – go at sunset
- Sunset kayak tour – crowded but still fun
Hvar
- Stay
- Hotel Jagodna – 15 minutes outside of Hvar town on a beautiful bay where you can swim. Rooms are basic but it’s awesome.
- Eat
- Antika in Stari Grad – best meal of the trip.
- Fig Hvar – went there twice in 2 days. Amazing fig flat bread. There is also on in Stari Grad and Split in case you miss it here.
- Konobo Menego – Croatian food on your way up to see the fort. Get the octopus salad and the gnocchi
- Hotel Jagodna – great dinner – fish is amazing
- Do
- Visit Stari Grad – outside of Hvar town but cute small town. It’s one of the oldest towns in Croatia and Europe
- Rent a boat (that you can drive) and cruise the seas
- Do the walk up to the Spanish fortress
Brac
- Go here and stay at Hotel Lemongarden and do / eat everything they let you. It’s expensive but totally worth it.
Split
- Stay
- Did an AirBnB but didn’t spend much time in it
- Eat
- Fig Split
- Corto Maltese – creative Dalmatian food. Good drinks (especially lavender gin and tonic) and you can sit on the street and people watch
- Ciri Biri Bela – Similar to Plant Cafe. We didn’t love it but it was probably just because it was so hot.
- Do
- Rent a car and go to Krka waterfalls – amazing. Make sure to go early, it gets really crowded with tour groups starting at about 10am
- Diocletian Palace – we didn’t actually go in but it’s nice to look at from the outside
Paris
- Stay
- Le Bristol – place is amazing but really expensive. Thanks to Kate for getting a great rate through work
- Eat
- Croissants – favorites were Boulangerie Alexine and Miss Manon
- Soul kitchen – right behind Sacre Cour, seemed to have only locals and food was cheap and delicious
- KB coffee – oat milk cappucinos
- Cook n Saj – loved this place. Family run Lebanese that was yummy, fun, and affordable
- Arc de Falafel – in the guidebooks. The line is long but it’s cheap and really filling
- La Drougerie Du Marais – crepes by the falafel place. Solid.
- La Portena – empanada counter – aka a place made for me
- Do
- Eiffel tower
- Ateliers Lumieries – really cool art museum that has 20 minute experiences. We saw the Van Gogh one and really loved it
- Montmarte – really cute neighborhood with Sacre Cour, artists, and great food
- Rent electric bikes and bike along the Seine – do it in the morning and on the weekend. The city gets really crowded and dangerous to bike later in the day. Make sure to dodge the scooters.