From France to Croatia - First 2 Legs

When we arrived in France, we weren't quite sure how we were going to get our belongings from Montpellier to Zagreb.

When we looked into it all, it was much cheaper to rent a truck (in this case a large van) and so Dave would have to bring our belongings to Zagreb, and come back.   Then we would all go together as a family.  So, Dave ended up going with a friend, which we were sooo grateful for.

In two weeks time, we packed up our life in Montpellier, Dave drove to Croatia and back, we said goodbye to all our friends there, and actually somehow completed all the official things we needed to do before we left.

Then we needed to figure out how to get to Zagreb, which was a bit easier because Dave had just done it.  Instead of splitting the trip into 2 legs - which would've been 8 hours to Venice, then 4 hours to Zagreb.  We decided to take it easy, given the very hectic moving situation we had just gone through, so we went:  3.5 hours to Nice, then 6 hours to Venice, and 4 hours to Zagreb.  After lots and lots of research, we found out it was a huge advantage to pass through these two cities in January, the lowest season of the year.  We found 2 really cheap 1-bedroom rentals each for a night - with great owners and great locations.

I know, I know, rough, huh - Nice and Venice?  I know that's the general consensus, "Poor us!" "What a stressful trip through Nice and Venice!"...on our way to Croatia.

But, while I'm sitting in our rental in Venice, I'm reflecting on how sure, after being at these two places, there were certainly moments of "wow, this is amazing!", but lodging in foreign places is not always magical and romantic, and actually quite hard and challenging at times.  

For example:

• What we saw of Nice was mostly the Picard (frozen food) store and the buildings outside of our balconies.  Did we sit on the beach in the French Riviera?  Nope, we found a gas station and hit the road.  
• Our tired selves also searched and searched for coffee the next morning, but didn't find anything that was open on a Sunday morning, so we waited until we got to Italy and bought cappuccinos at the gas station. 
• The whole way on our drive to Venice, while amazing cars were zipping by us, our car was happy to stay at 120 km/h while we were praying that our 1989 Renault would make it.  It wasn't until we pulled up to Venice that our car started to make a noise we had not heard before.  Let's hope we are problem free to Zagreb.
• In Venice, which is practically floating on water, one has to park their car in a lot and find the water bus which takes you to the part of the city you're staying in.  We tried to use Dave's tickets from when he was there, but they had expired - so Dave frantically ran to try and find more so that we don't miss our water bus.  We did miss our water bus, but no biggie - they come every 10 minutes.   
• A woman kindly met us at the water bus stop and then we wound through the city to our rental - like a very intricate maze of bridges, canals, buildings, and alleys.  We never would've been able to find it without her.   
• This morning we did not have this kind woman to show us around, so we walked around desperately for coffee and food (one of the downsides of staying in an apt - no "continental breakfast").  We made many wrong turns, ended up being starving out of our minds, and finally around 11:00 a.m. found affordable food.  Up until that point, our son had eaten a spoonful of Nutella and a piece of cheese for breakfast. 
• After almost giving up hope of finding our rental again, Dave suggested that we ask a gondolier (fancy Italian word for "taxi driver") for directions.  Luckily, we had written down the address of our rental, and he told us how to wind around the city to find it.
• After spending 2 previous nights together and all coughing through the night, we braved our way in an Italian Pharmacy to purchase cough medicine - 9 euros.  

So, we're back in our Venice rental to pack up our things in order to make the last leg of the trip to Zagreb, where our new apartment and team awaits us!!

Wish us luck.  We hope for a very low key day not filled with too much adventure!

Some photos of our trip from France to Venice:

How JJ kept himself busy in the car

JJ on the Water bus to our 1 night rental in Venice

Grand Canal at night

In search of food and coffee this morning

View from Rialto Bridge

Italian chocolate I bought at a gas station