Laid-Back on the Adriatic Part 1

We left Barcelona in late April and flew east to Croatia for two reasons: first, we visited this beautiful country two years ago, had a great time and definitely wanted to go back and explore it further. And, it was time to leave the Schengen Zone for a while. Leave the what?

The mysterious Schengen Zone.

For those new to the blog, or not familiar with the Schengen Zone here is a quick primer. Back in 1995, 26 European Countries agreed to allow free travel within their borders for all of their citizens. They also agreed to a common set of rules for visitors from outside the zone.

Which means that Americans, and other non EU citizens including those who don't need official visas for short-term stays, are only allowed to stay in the 26 member countries 90 days within any 180 period.

So, for most tourists who spend a week or two in Europe, there are no restrictions. But for those of us who want to spend more than 90 days, it presents a challenge. For the first two years of our travels, with Mary's help, we obtained Long Term Visas from France which allowed us to travel anywhere in the Schengen Zone for a year.

Our original Long Term French Visas.

After two years of having these French visas, we thought we had the system figured out and decided to apply in Paris rather than waiting till we got back to the States and applying in San Francisco at the French Consulate. If our plan had worked, we would have been eligible for a 5 year visa but our plan came off the rails when we did not have some unexpected paperwork in hand last November at the Immigration Office in Paris - like French translations of our marriage certificate and birth certificates, in French, for our entire family. Not something we had at the ready.

A quick check on the storage unit in December. What IS all this stuff?

We returned to Seattle in early December for Christmas unsure of what we wanted to do for 2016 but in the end, we decided to skip the whole visa process experiment with "stepping" in and out of the Schengen Zone as needed. For the first two months of the year, it wasn't an issue since we were in Mexico and Cuba (which also required a special visa) but by mid-March we were back in Europe so the clock started ticking on March 17 when we landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

Whew! With all that said, after spending 38 days of our 180 days in France, Spain and Andorra it was time to leave the Schengen Zone which we did on April 23 when we flew from Barcelona to Split, Croatia. Our plan was/is to stay out of the Schengen Zone until early July by spending time in Croatia, Ireland and the UK.

Our wonderful Airbnb in Split, Croatia. Ours was the bottom floor.

Like our visit to Croatia two years ago, we started in Split but this time we stayed for two weeks instead of just three days and we were glad we did. Weeks earlier, we found a wonderful Airbnb right across the street from the beach and just a short 20 minute walk into town along the water. Unfortunately, it had no reviews but we really liked it so we contacted the host with a few questions. We heard back right away and it was obvious that Jelena (pronounced Yellena) is a born host with hospitality in her DNA. After a couple of emails back and forth, we decided to book it - and be her second Airbnb guests. Here is the link: https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/11289569

Combination rusty bus stop sign and Seahawk's 12th Man flag across the street.

Debbie along the path into the old town.

As it turns out, it was a great decision. Jelena and her husband Darko were two of the best hosts we've ever had and that is saying a lot - theirs was our 102nd Airbnb.  The day after we arrived, I found a football match to attend, which I wrote about earlier. Over the course of our stay we walked and walked many, many scenic miles back and forth from our Airbnb to the old town where ancient history is so thick on the ground that chunks of the Diocletian palace built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD have been turned into planters and benches.

Huge stones from the fourth century are scattered all around the old city.

The walk back home. It was cloudy and rainy on many days, but we got some great sun, too.

The view towards at the Riva (waterfront walk) and the city of Split from our neighborhood park.

We also wrote and re-wrote our book proposal for Airbnb and, with a wish and a prayer, sent it off to our contact there for approval. Which you know we received - and that's why I am blogging because Debbie is just over halfway through writing the book - 5 down with 5 chapters to go! 

Although we rarely complain about our health, Debbie recently turned 60 and I'll be 71 in August, so we both have a few aches and pains that come along with the senior side of being Senior Nomads. Hauling heavy bags doesn't help either. So, we really appreciated it when Jelena found a local orthopedic doctor who was willing to look at my "frozen shoulder" which seems to be getting more frozen and more painful all the time. He diagnosed a torn tendon, so there is some work to be done there. Not sure what the plan will be. She also got us an appointment at her dentist office to have our teeth cleaned by a skillful German-trained hygienist who was delightful, thorough, and best of all, very affordable.

This twenty foot giant has had frozen shoulder a lot longer than I have!

We are becoming international dental patients. Look at all those pearly whites!

The weather was mixed over the course of two weeks but we still had plenty of sunshine during the day and beautiful sunsets in the evening. I got in some early morning masses at St. Francis. Debbie made regular trips to the outdoor food market so we ate lots of yummy home-cooked meals with fresh ingredients.

The fresh market in Split is huge - Debbie was in heaven.

Fortunately, she decided these tasty morsels could go their own way.

After successfully getting coverage for our travels in the local Aix en Provence and Girona papers, we  encouraged Jelena to reach out to her local newspaper, Slobodna Dalmacija, to see if they would like to meet her "crazy" guests from America. Turns out they did and they sent a reporter out to meet us a few days later along with a photographer. Here is a link to the story for all those who speak Croatian. From what we understand it's humorous, and in fact does paint us as a little crazy. In this country where families live with, or next door to each other how could we possibly pick up and leave our "babies"?

With the reporter from the local paper in our Airbnb.

Photo opp in the rose garden!

Here is a screenshot of the online story. It also ran as a full page in the paper.

Two weeks rushed by and before you knew it we were standing in line to buy tickets for the one-hour catamaran trip to the laid-back and very beautiful island of Hvar. The "H" is mostly silent so we reminded ourselves to say "Var" when referring to our next stop. Debbie still likes to gently pronounce the H so it sounds more like pirate-speak - like in "hVAR there, matey! So, join us for the next post when we return to Hvar for our 3rd week in Croatia.

Thanks for following along,

Michael Campbell
The other half of the Senior Nomads

Whistle Stops: Pézenas, Girona & Andorra!

We wish we could have gone to every place on every postcard on this leg of our trip!

Michael here! After a nine days in Aix, it was time for the Nomads to once again, hit the road. This time we boarded the train heading west to Montpelier, where we changed trains for the smaller town of Beziers. From there Patou (Patty), a friend of our host picked us up and drove us the final 30 km to the small village of Pezenas, population 6,000. Pezenas is in the heart of the Languedoc-Roussilon wine region, and home to one of Frances most impressive Saturday markets. Debbie was excited about that!

Every street in the perfectly preserved village looked like this!

You might be wondering, why Pezenas? Well, here's the story.

Back in February, 2015 the New York Times ran a rather lengthy piece about our travels. The writer, Steven Kurutz did a great job of capturing our story. We had no idea of what would happen as a result of the coverage, but as it turns out, thousands of people visited our blog and we heard from hundreds of readers from all over the world who told us repeatedly they were inspired by our story.

One of them was Louise, an Airbnb host who lives in Geneva but has a gite in Pezenas that she has transformed from a 17th Century communal bakery with rooms above it to a luxurious home that includes two rental apartments. The interior was a perfect blend of ancient and modern styles, and the original wood fired ovens are still intact in the basement. Here is what she said in her email:

I wanted to get in touch with you to say how much I enjoyed the article and how, in return for the joy you seem to be bringing to so many, I would love to offer both of you a week at my Airbnb gite in Pezenas in the Languedoc-Roussilon, "on the house".

The sunny roof deck. Be sure and go to the link to see this fabulous house.

Needless to say, we were excited when we got her email with this generous offer but unfortunately at the time we didn't have plans to be in the South of France anytime in the near future. We thanked Louise and said maybe we could work it in when we returned the following spring.

Another day, another fabulous French market.

Well, as you can see, we were able to take up her offer a year later. We contacted Louise. She made room for us on her calendar and we started making plans to visit Pezenas and it turned out to be a great decision. It was one of the loveliest Airbnbs we have stayed in on our entire trip. The house is called Porte 22 and you can search for that online and see several ways you can book it. Here's the Airbnb link: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/3637437 And the location, while a bit off the tourist track was perfect for reaching the sea, the lavender fields and wine tasting galore.

Debbie in the dream kitchen. We ate well this week.

The oopy goopy, but very delicious banana bread. All the crusty edges were the best!

Here are the dishes I was left with. Luckily, it was worth it.

We had a wonderful week enjoying the fresh food market, the Museum of Doors, shopped, walked, read and played games. The gourmet kitchen gave Debbie the excuse to cook at home every night and bake her famous Nasty Banana Bread. It also gave me the chance to wash the nastier than usual baking pans. But it was all worth it because the Banana Bread was delicious - even though it bubbled over and didn't really rise. It was sort of a dense, caramelized rendition that probably cannot be recreated. Still, she had fun playing in the kitchen.

Our generous host Louise in the middle with Kama and Debbie.

Our host Louise and her good friend Kama arrived the day before we left so we were were able to thank her in person for a wonderful week in her fabulous home in a  French village we would have not discovered otherwise.

On the road again! Thank you Louise for this great photo - we love it.

The river that cuts through the center of Girona flanked by colorful houses.

We caught the bus back to Beziers where we boared a train heading to Barcelona for our next stop - the beautiful city of Girona, Spain. Those familiar with northwest corner of Spain will know that Girona is the capital of Catalonia, the region that has been seeking independence from Spain for many years. Their first language is not Spanish but Catalan and the people are proud to fly the Catalan flag from balconies and roof-tops across the city.

Girona is a beautiful city - and home to many Tour de France riders during the off season.

The most common pictures you will see of Girona are the sunny ochre and rose-colored houses that flank the Onyar River. Sports fans like me know Girona because American cyclists like George Hincapie, Tyler Hamilton and Lance Armstrong made Girona their home during the off-season while training for the Tour de France.

Hello from your Senior Nomads!

With our hosts on the deck. They were really great people to spend time with.

Our Airbnb in Girona was in stark contrast to the 17th Century dwelling in Pezenas. For our short three day stay, we were perched on the 10th floor of a modern apartment building with 270 degree views that overlooked the city and nearby mountains. Our hosts lived on the same floor right next door to us and they were welcoming and wonderful. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/6229018

The view from our apartment looking towards the mountains and our next destination, Andorra.

When they learned that our host in Aix-en-Provence had called the newspaper and arranged a story about us, Narcis and Teresa were not to be outdone. By day #2 they asked if we were available to do an interview with the local newspaper. By day #3, the reporter was sitting at the dining room table of our Airbnb interviewing us. The reporter was a young woman who was interning with the El Punt Avui. She did a great job and hopefully got a nice peice for her portfolio!

Every host's style is different, Narcis & Teresa had a place for every thing and everything in it's place.

From our apartment we could see the train station right below us so when it was time to move on, all we had to do was take the elevator to the ground floor and walk two blocks to catch the train to Barcelona. But that was not our final destination. Instead, we headed north into the Pyrennes Mountains to the tiny micro-state of Andorra. Again for just a few days, but I have always wanted to visit Andorra. One of the reasons is, not surprisingly, sports related.

ANDOOOOORA! This is the reason we wanted to come here - to salute the little country that could.

If you have ever watched the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games, you will remember that the athletes and coaches from each country enter the stadium behind one of their athletes carrying their national flag. Of course there are the big countries with hundreds of athletes like Germany, France, Russia and the USA but I have always been intrigued when tiny Andorra, who often enters first after Greece marching with their handful of athletes.

So, when we decided to go to the south of France I suggested to Debbie we make a detour to Andorra and I was happy when she said it sounded good to her. Before we went, we checked and found out that Rick Steves (the European travel guru from Seattle) had a video online about the five Micro-Countries in Europe: Vatican City, Monaco, Andorra, Lichtenstein and San Marino.

The Micro-Countries. We've now been to three out of five.

We had already visited the first two and after watching the video we were excited to be adding Andorra to the list - and of course adding another country. Our current total is 48.

The bus ride from Barcelona to Andorra de Vella (that's the name of the capital city) was a short three hour trip on a comfortable bus. It was a beautiful day and the views were stunning, especially as we got closer and closer to Andorra and into the mountains.

The view from high above Andorra de Vella as we drove along the twisting roads.

We couldn't find an Airbnb in the center of the village in our price range so we opted for sharing a room rather than an entire home. https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/7742165 We got super lucky because our hosts turned out to be perfect for us. Monique and Henri are French but live in Andorra. They are about our age and have sailed around the world for four years so we had lots in common. We hit it off in the first few hours and by the 2nd day, we were part of the family, even celebrating a granddaughter's 5th birthday with the rest of the family around the dining room table. They even took us out for a day to tour the countryside. What a beautiful country.

Our fabulous hosts and new friends Monique and Henri.

After just three short days we jumped back on the bus back to Barcelona to catch a flight to our next destination.  I'll pick up the story there when we leave Spain for 5 weeks in one of our favorite countries - Croatia.

Thanks for following along,

Michael Campbell
On behalf of the Senior Nomads

Michael Catch Up!

As Debbie wrote a couple of weeks ago, she is passing the Blog Baton to me until she has finished writing our book for Airbnb. It's been a month since we got the green light to proceed with that and ever since she has been writing, writing and then writing some more. My role is "Research Assistant" and "Project Manager" which has kept me busy, too. The book will go to the printer later this summer and be delivered in the fall in time for the 2016 Airbnb Open in Los Angeles in November. In the meantime I will write a few blogs and Debbie will keep our Senior Nomads Facebook page and Instagram accounts updated.

To Market, To Market in Aix-en-Provence!

We haven't stopped traveling so my assignment for today and tomorrow is to catch you up on where we've traveled since leaving you after our Cuba adventures! I'm going to break it up into two posts and cruise at 10,000 ft. So buckle-up as I hit the highlights and bring you up to speed.

Sunshine in Miami - good to be back in the USA for a couple of weeks.

We arrived in Miami at the end of February after three weeks in Cuba and it was a huge cultural shock. We were stuck by the incredible affluence in America and the abundance of all things material. From the grocery stores to the glittering marinas, from the freeways filled with sleek and modern cars to the expensive outfits that everyone seemed to be wearing - the contrast between Miami and Havana could not have been any greater.

Carol and Kent in their lovely home in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Yet, there was no doubt we were happy to be back in the USA. From Miami, we headed west to Santa Fe, New Mexico for most of three weeks to be with our new friends Carol Franco and Kent Lineback who will be helping with our books. It is a city and a state we hadn't visited before. If you have never been to Santa Fe, put it on your list.

By mid-March we were on a plane again, this time heading like homing pigeons back to Paris where we checked-into the same Airbnb https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/608289 we had stayed in last November during the 2015 Airbnb Open. This was the first time we stayed twice in the same Airbnb but we could not resist. Not only is our host, Gaelle wonderful, the flat is in Montmartre just three blocks from Mary and Gregoire's flat which allowed us to see them, and our three grandchildren daily. We even had them most days after school at our place.

Little Jacques learning Backgammon from the Master.

A fun day for Debbie (Mooma) coloring Easter eggs with Coco and Marcel.

Face Painting is a family affair.

Marcel enjoying his first PEEP!

We celebrated Easter in Paris and that meant we could attend Easter Sunday service at Sacre Coeur. It was very beautiful and moving. But before that, Debbie and Mary spent a day dying Easter Eggs with the kids, and planning a really fun Easter Egg hunt for Sunday morning. If Easter and being with family was a happy highlight, the flip-side was the tragic bombing at the Brussels Airport that happened the same week. So sad, and for us it brought back memories of last November when we were in the same Airbnb during the Paris terrorists attacks.

Easter Sunday service at Sacre Coeur

A beautiful Easter morning

Sometimes we are asked if we feel safe in Europe. We can sense the person asking the question would not, but for us, it seems like tragedy and troubles can be found almost anywhere in the world today so we don't let that keep us from the enriching rewards of travel. Or as Rick Steve's says, "Don't be Terrorized!".
 

Michael playing ladie's man at the Airbnb offices in Paris.

We also had a chance to spend an afternoon at the Airbnb offices in Paris and share our story with the staff. It is always a pleasure to meet the hard working and mostly young people that keep this dynamic organization running so smoothly!

Debbie in heaven at the daily market in Aix-en-Provence.

We enjoyed fresh delights daily.

As March came to a close, we left Paris, via Gare du Lyon where we caught the fast train (TGV) to the south of France and the beautiful city of Aix-en-Provence. We've spent time in the south before but this was our first trip to Aix (Axe) as it is known locally. We ended up with dleightful young couple as our hosts and a lovely Airbnb in the old town just a block from the Cathedral. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/507037 While we were there we spent a memorable afternoon touring galleries and art museums and a special evening at the theatre where we had tickets to a sold-out performance of the opera Madam Butterfly live from New York City courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera. (We only learned recently from Carol that the Met is broadcast to 2,000 cinemas in 70 countries. Amazing!) Of course, Debbie was at the market every morning and was dazzled by the colors and the bounty of Provence.

Debbie and I with the reporter, our interpreter (cafe owner)  and our host during the interview.

The finished article. It was much larger than we anticipated!

Another highlight in Aix, besides celebrating our 1,000th day as Senior Nomads and just living day to day in this picture-perfect city, was an interview we had with a reporter from the regional newspaper La Provence. Our hosts had contacted the newspaper to see if they were interested in meeting us. Turns out they were, but their reporter did not speak English and our host did not feel her English would stand-up to a one-hour interview so between the two of them, they arranged for us to meet at a cafe where the owners are a French and American couple. Lisa, the wife has lived in France for twenty five years so she joined us for coffee and did the translating.

Next I'll take you to west to Pezenas, France and beyond!

Thanks for following along,

Michael Campbell
One half of the Senior Nomads!