I returned to the Bus Stop for the tour. The open bus cancelled that day with the threat of rain so I took the Blue instead of the Red tour. I removed my hearing aides and put in the cheap plastic ear buds they give you but couldn't understand a word of the muffled recording. I put my aides back in and tried to hold the buds up to the aides to hear...that didn't work so I took decided to focus on taking pictures but we were only following a bus route and I didn't see much to put on camera until we came to a large "Sports Park" with a Lake , beach, tennis, volleyball, crew, grandstands, etc. It was nice but the tour was wasted on me and after 2 hours I left to go eat .
Earlier I did spend the morning visiting the Market and the main Square. Now, as I was getting ready to return, the main square was full of soldiers and characters they were filming for a movie. I stopped at the Dubliner Pub on the way back thinking I would enjoy a corn beef sandwich or a boxie...but no food , no toilet and only drinks on the patio. I found a Pizza joint and ended up taking half of it home in case I got desperate that evening. If wasn't like any Pizza I ever had nor wanted again.
When I got to the Hostel, a man approached me when he heard my accent. Your English? No American...and I was assuming he was English. He just arrived from Istanbul with his wife and a group of friends from Cape Town ,South Africa. They were going on to Split then Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Germany. He gave me tips on Istanbul and I thanked him.They had been planning this trip for over 6 months.The Italians took that long to give them a Visa. Croatia wanted them to fax a confirmation of EVERY place they were staying before they would grant them a visa. Three of the six places refused and didn't want trouble with the police so cancelled their reservations . I had drinks with them the next night on the lawn while they all had a South African BBQ. This evening I was playing on my computer in the Main room, another lady , from Australia was on her I Pad. She said she hated it and wished she had my computer. She just arrived and did a Bike tour with a guide. She was the only one to show for the tour so he treated her great and it was the best tour of the City she could have had. She was around my age and sailed in from Istanbul to Split then bused to Zagreb. She had been to Sophie, Budapest, Hvar, Montenegro,Dubrovinick, etc. I retired to do laundry tomorrow and take the Red tour with my own ear buds and hope that makes a difference.
Friday morning and David felt the best he had since departure from Phoenix. He had energy, his legs and feet felt great and he took right off after breakfast to drop off his laundry. The lady said she couldn't have it back by the next day and the following day was Sunday and they were closed. He returned his dirty laundry to the room and went to the train station, bought his ticket to Split for Sunday and started walking.
It was getting close to Noon when the bus tour departed but he was enjoying the beautiful day and the walk so much he decided to do a walking tour. He walked for over 6 hours ...minus 2 hours for lunch and a museum. He could have been in Paris, Madrid, Saigon, or any major city in the world with tree lined boulevards and beautiful parks. It was a magical day. He found a tourist information office and checked out a few restaurants to have lunch. He found Grandpa's Dream near the National Assembly Building where the Prime Minister had his office. It turns out he eats there frequently as well as other government representitives and so did David. He had Grandpa's Pan (Mixed grill with Lamb,Pork, Bacon and fresh vegetables) some wine, great bread and a Walnut Cake. All was great and with the tip came to around $28.
He passed a Sculpture Gallery and thought he should have a photo in the doorway when a gentleman was just coming out the door. He asked if he would take the photo and he agreed but suggested David step closer to one of the main Sculptures. David thanked him and decided to visit the gallery when he noticed a large poster of the artist was the man who took his photo! Wow. Wow was actually what happened everytime he turned a corner. You can't describe how beautiful this city is...you have to experience it.
He was going to go to an International Fireworks Competition that started tonight with Russia was the first in the competition but the clouds ruined that. There are a lot of events the months of July and August but David is leaving in two days. Tomorrow, Saturday will be the last chance before boarding the train on Sunday to really see more.
He went to the Museum of Broken Relationships before returning to the Hostel. That was a whole different and enjoyable exhibit that really made you think. He was able to take some photos but they really could make a book to sell with each chapter part of the exhibit. Earlier their was the Native Folk Art Museum full of Japanese tourists.
He arrived back in time to finally get a shot at beating the Champion Ping Pong player from California. He lost 21/15 and only had the lead once. The Sandels were a hinderence.
The South Africians invited him to join them so he had a beer but was to stuffed from lunch to join them for dinner. They were friendly and courious about Arizona. They had a friend in South Dakota and had visited. While there, this Doctor had met some of the Lakota Nation Chiefs and was invited to meet the tribe. He took back their "religion" to South Africa. These people were wealthy professional farmer , doctor and teacher who had to assimilate with the new government...which meant learning a bit of the indiginous languages of Africa to include Zulu, Swahili, and about 6 others in order to keep what they had worked for all thier lives. The Indian culture they learned about was what they were trying to teach now to the Africans...one people one world based on Nature and commonality. Quite interesting. I put in my two cents about SERVAS and CouchSurfing. The Doctor was officially retired today so the BBQ was a party for him. I excused myself and am trying to decide what to do tomorrow.
I wish I had more time in Zagreb. We all commented about how the Croatians are so tall and so physical. They all look like they spend everyday at the Gym...the older ones not so much. The young ones are out jogging, playing tennis, football, and they are sports fanatics. They have sports betting parlors on every corner that are frequented by both male and female. When you get on the Tram they give you their seat. When you reach the Main terminal, you can see all the seats on the entire Tram , which could be 3 to 4 cars long are filled with old or disabled persons and all the people standing are young. You do see a lot of gorgous women with these exaggerated high heels and very fashion oriented. Angela Jolie sat next to me at the Tram stop. I was going to ask for her autograph but had nothing for her to write on.
There seems to be a lot of cosmetic stores with fifty lines of lipsticks and lotions, etc. Many natural made cosmetic stores. The men all look like pro atheletes on the way to the gym with the high tech shoes and sports short and tee shirts. They also have the build to pull it off. Enough! I'm getting depressed...but I sure felt good today...a little tired and sore when I got home but ping pong picked me up. I think I'm going to join the South Africans...they are laughing so much I can hear them up here in my room.
I stopped and said goodbye and asked the Doctor who just retired to keep in touch with his new idea to do more for the indiginous people of the world.
I challenged the ping pong table with John and Tom and ended up playing John Kelly , a project engineer for a large commercial construction outfit out of San Francisco...both John and Tom attended H.S. and college together. John beat Tom and David. We did a shot or two then they invited me to a night on the town but I declined.
I got on the internet in the common room. I noticed another guy that had an ACER like mine so after finishing my emails, I brought mine over to compare to his. My notebook was over 5 years old and his was only 5 months old that he just bought on his last trip to London. Davio was from Buenos Aires and hoping to move to Miami to learn English. We compared Aspire Acer computers and think his was a little better than mine. I gave him my card and we agreed to stay in touch...I told him I hoped to meet him in Argentina this winter.
I put my condo out on CouchSurfers swap homes...and within 24 hours got a couple from Italy that want to come out at Christmas. I can stay in there condo in Southern Italy. So much for Argentina. Wow...life is good...even if I lost at Ping Pong.
Saturday morning Tom, from California, couldn't sleep so was on the his computer when I went in to check my email. They were out until 3am. John was still sleeping. They had a great time. I'm planning on going to an Antique Fair and a music concert so best get on with it.
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