Co-op taxi from home to YUL. Heavy traffic as usual. Bit of shenanigans checking Sasha in due to her booking being separate and therefore baggage fee applying (which agent waived as it was already held on my credit card, but subsequently disappeared).

Got € currency from Ice. Both airport lounges were at capacity so got some drinks and a muffin from Livia cafe.

Bulkhead seats on plane. Free seat next to me. Uneventful flight. Sasha nearly got a kids meal - only partially ate it anyway. Landed 30 mins early in Rome.

Early flight arrival. Baggage took forever. Followed signs for Terminal 1 to eventually collect a Fiat 500 Sport from Hertz Gold.

The next 3.5+ hours spent on the road, skirting around Rome and driving through amazing Italian countryside. 1 toll payment and a stop for drinks and a mortadella sandwich for Sasha.

Arrived in Castelraimondo to find mapped route to ‘Belvedere’ rented property was blocked off so had to navigate using Phil’s directions. Turned out there was another turning onto what looked like a mini industrial park which brought us back to the correct route. No actual address provided, so using co-ordinates. Finally drove into the driveway of Belvedere just before 3.00pm.

Greeted by Phil and Co. Samuele (Host Hero Marche) arrived at 4.00pm for meet and greet, accompanied by hired babysitter Ludovica. Phil paid deposit and advance payment for babysitting (actually I paid with promise of reimbursement). Sasha went to get some shut-eye before having Phil-cooked salmon dinner.

Awake in relatively good time. Sasha didn’t appear till 1.30pm. Had some pool time before Sasha and I decided to do some exploring, so drove out East to Macerata (about 45 mins away) on very good quality roads. Stopped to get € cash for Phil (to reimburse me) and again for a few drinks/groceries at remotely located supermarket in Villa Potenza. Helped by nice man behind us in the queue as we didn’t understand when the cashier asked us if we wanted bags. Called Mum to offer birthday wishes.

Dinner at Osteria Del Borgo restaurant (while leaving Lia to look after Amber) in the evening.

Lazy morning. Headed out before 1.00pm to Frasassi Caves, once babysitter turned up for Amber. Missed turning so ended up missing our timed tour slot. Lots of shenanigans with Phil buying food which wasn’t allowed on the shuttle bus from parking to caves themselves. Eventually changed to 2.40pm Italian language tour vs. purchased 1.40pm English tour.

Spent a good 1.5 hours in the caves themselves. Breathtaking and very cool. Shuttle bus back to parking. Some light snacks/drinks (loads of food places) before Phil and Co departed to get back to babysitter. Sasha and I took a drive into the National Park (elevated unfinished roads and hairpin bends, etc) which culiminated in somehow ending up back where we started, adjacent to the caves. Returned to Belvedere early evening for another Phil/Jo cooked dinner.

Sasha and I on the road at 9.15am to Assisi. Got to parking/tour meeting point with 5 mins to spare.

3 hour walking tour of Assisi with excellent guide Alessandra and 3 Americans. Walked entire length of Assisi visiting cathedrals, basilicas and crypts of St Claire and St Francis. Got t-shirt for Sasha on way back to car, then headed to Perugia 30 mins away for next tour. Faffed around looking for parking in Perugia before deciding to get lunch at McDonald’s on the outskirts of town (same price, similar menu but no fish, took 30 mins to prepare). Back to Perugia and found covered parking before 10 minute walk uphill to meeting point off Piazza IV Novembre. Loaned pads to be able to follow the tour in EN (Italian tour). Fascinating tour back through time (Etruscan, Roman, Medieval) of underground Perugia. A little short at 35 mins. Back to car and then back on the road to Castelraimondo.

Jo prepared evening meal of fish and potatoes with truffle sauce. Phil managed to cut Amber’s finger which didn’t pan out too well. I washed up the kitchen while they dealt with the kid’s drama.

Most of the day spent by the pool. Different babysitter for Amber (Ellie) who didn’t seem to want to swim with Amber.

Sasha and I decided on a tour (south this time) to occupy some late afternoon time. Drove to Muccia and carried on going to small towns beyond. Took a bad turn, ended up getting stuck on a road being repaved, tried to squeeze past one of the construction trucks and managed to scrape the car on the barrier in the process. Definitely not go-faster stripes that can be disguised/hidden. Back to Castelraimondo wondering how Hertz would react and insurance implications. Not good.

Started playing Monopoly before heading into Castelraimondo for dinner. Fish restaurant chosen by Phil looked crap so opted for much busier and lively Pizzeria Lanterna instead. With the kids this time so Jo departed on foot as Amber just being Amber. Back to Belvedere for more Monopoly until after midnight.

Up earlier to allow time for cleaning and packing. Job done just before Samuele arrived at 11.00 (asked for an extension from 10.00). Said our farewells to Belvedere and Samuele and opted to head to Samuele-recommended town of Camerino to witness 2016 earthquake damage. Then said our goodbyes to Phil & Co and started the journey to Ancona, us heading for the port while Phil & Co headed for the airport to return to the UK.

Got to the Ancona Ferry Port ticket office/checking in facility around 1.30 and collected pre-purchased tickets for SNAV Aurelia ferry to Split, plus 7 hours of wiffy access for €10. My iphone then crashed which Sasha was able to reset. Next, refuelled the scratched Fiat 500 with diesel (only fill up during 6 days) and then found some place called the Colorado Cafe for a prosciutto sandwich and coke each. Drove to Hertz office opposite station only to find it closed. Parked car outside and had to buy parking ticket valid to when Hertz opened again. No transport back to port so called a can company that didn’t speak English. No obvious cabs around so walked to train station realizing they normally have a taxi rank. Taxi turned up a few mins later and thankfully got backll to the Ancona Ferry Port ticket office/check in to get the shuttle bus #20 to the port. Loads of people arriving for evening ferries. Now around 4.15pm. Didn’t get off the bus at port #11 due to lack of instruction and being sat at the back and blocked by other passengers. Had to stay on bus to do round trip again, eventually getting off bus at passport control area. Then spent +1hr waiting in queue for the customs to open (had been told ferry boarding started at 4.00pm). Hot and sweaty. Easy passage through customs with no bag checks or scans before finally dragging ourselves and bags onto the ferry (thankfully equipped with escalators). Got room key from Reception plus wifi code and thankfully cabin (with double bunk beds) was there to greet us, air conditioning and all.

Decided to explore the ship while Sasha had a shower and also grabbed is some drinks from a very busy bar and corresponding queue. Eventually joined most of the passengers on the upper deck to witness the ship’s departure soon after 7.30pm.

Had been told to get to the restaurant well before it closed at 9.00pm so Sasha and I got a table in the served restaurant (vs self service) and ordered food well in time. Then became apparent that people were still arriving well after 9.00pm anyway. Sasha picked a gluten-free lasagna, while I opted for chicken. Not bad, but expensive (obviously).

Returned to cabin after a quick venture outside. Spent some time farting around with iPhone with guy at Reception manually entering wifi information to get it to connect (since I’d paid for 7 hours of access). discovered at the same time that we were due in at 6.30am and had to be out of our cabin by 6.00am. I then fiddled with Sasha’s iphone wifi which eventually connected but could not log in due to 1 connection limitation.

Sasha went to sleep around 11.45pm and I followed shortly after. Smooth sailing thankfully.

Alarms off at 5.00am. Had shower before packing up stuff and exiting cabin by 6.00am.

At this point, had news from Ghenadie the neighbour to advise electricity had been cut due to massively heavy rains. Orbi router now not working so cameras unreachable.

Disembarked (without hearing any specific instructions) around 6.30am. Sasha obviously suffering from lack of sleep at this point.

Walked from a pretty chaotic port (multiple ferries arriving at the same time and departing passengers queuing) to our first port of call in Croatia, SeaBed Rooms split. About a 10 minute walk from the port. Dumped our bags and headed off in the direction of the town to get breakfast. Found a place very close to the port (other side) called Missy B where Sasha had a waffle and I had a egg/ham breakfast creation. Returned to SeaBed Rooms after 10.15am to find room ready and luggage already deposited. Met with Anna (owner) who gave us the lowdown on all tourist things in Split.

Sasha saying she wanted to have a rest (play on phone) so I went for a walk to see the city beach (eughh) and what’s left of the palace of the Roman Emporer Diocletian, which has been commercial to death with shops and stalls selling tat and all other spaces occupied by ice-cream places, restaurants or tourists. Went to the local ‘Tommy’ supermarket on the way back to SeaBed to get some beers, nibbles, fruits and veg for Sasha which was incredibly cheap and illustrated how much food outlets rip off tourists. Sasha showered and basically spent the entire day on her phone (no catch-up sleep), while I populated the last 8 days of my ‘traveller’s diary’.

Reached out to Ghenadie to look in the house to see if there was an water infiltration and messaged Cynthia to ask if she could stop by 213 to check if all was okay. She eventualy replied that she would pass by later on.

Decided on Lola restaurant for dinner as closest to Seabed. Sasha had a large chicken salad and I opted for meatballs and fries (more like meat rolls). Excellent.

Woke up at 7.15am and was greeted by Cynthia’s message that the basement was flooded and tree was down at the side of the house. Next 5-6 hours was spent calling Air Canada to see if return flight could be changed (on hold for 1.5 hours and then got disconnected) and leaving messages for 5 ‘emergency’ companies. Insurance company out of hours line not answering. Seriously considering re-arranging return to leave immediately. Texted Franc to ask if they could do a cursory visit to inspect and take more pictures.

Decided that Sasha and I would do our pre-arranged boat trip regardless so headed off to Booker travel agency on the other side of the palace to check in.

All groups met in close-by square before walking down to water’s edge to ‘speedboat’ with a crew of 2.

20 minute fast boat ride to UNESCO town of Trogir. Went directly to restaurant on waterfront for late lunch and drinks. Spent most of the allotted 1 hour on the phone to Franc and Mel who were inspecting 213. Back on the boat for a fast ride to the Blue Lagoon for another allotted hour. Looked like Cabo on Spring Break so Sasha and I went to sit on concrete jetty far from the madding crowd. Another 20 minute boat ride to a beach bar on Ciovo Island. Crammed full with bar/beachgoers, so Sasha and I got drinks and went to sit on our own. Back on the speedboat for the 20 minute ride back to Split.

Walked back along the port to do a reccy of the Supetar feery boarding point.

Back to Seabed. Spent some time outside with Anna and other guests before deciding where to go for dinner Eventually headed to the Soul Kitchen very close to Seabed and had a superb dinner (pulled chicken shawarma wrap for me and chicken salad for Sasha) . Excellent food and super-friendly staff in a restaurant only open for 11 days.

Packing up to move on to Brač. Got pastries from place around the corner and realized we were not going to make the 11.15am ferry. Decided to walk to the palace to kill some time and found the cellars of Diocletian’s palace, so paid to do the self-guided tour. Back to Seabed to say goodbye and collect bags for the walk to the Supetar ferry, aiming for the 12.45pm departure. Easy boarding. Took refuge in the inside seating area and got some drinks. 50 minute ride to Supetar. Disembarked very busy ferry (thankful for elevator) and found taxi at port side who wanted €20 to get to Labranda Velaris Resort. Walked off port and found a taxi for €15. A few minute ride to the resort. Golly, topless woman by the pool!

Villa #2 provided in ‘Villa Luka’ (older building by the beach) was a far cry from the Deluxe with balcony and sea view that I had booked. No balcony and sea view through frosted glass door and window obstructed by hedge. Room also not very \240clean and beds in double formation. Mini-bar fridge not working, squashed mosquitoes all over the walls, dated, etc. cleaners turned up to split the beds and promised to come back to vacuum. Complained at reception and was advised we could move the next day. \240Sent message to booking.com. Lady from bar turned up later with bottle of red wine. Nice thought, but no corkscrew to open it.

By this time it was after 3.00pm. Unpacked and whatnot. I went for an exploratory walk around the resort. Lots of people on pebble beach and every square foot of concrete that was available.

Went to Olive buffet restaurant for dinner. €30 per person plus drinks. Very good selection but you need to be a chubby to get your money’s worth.

I was up in time for the included breakfast. Sasha wasn’t so went on my own. Very good buffet spread (without flies experienced in Cuba).

MB Rentals arrived shortly after 11.00am in a Golf diesel convertible and drove us to their office right by the port (noting very long queue of cars waiting to board ferry). Office was somewhat chaotic. Signed a contract which included €1000 liability for any damage. Took about 2 mins, plus an overview of the car we’d just been picked up in. Got us back to Labranda Velaris resort following our noses as no phone signal. Parking €5 per day, they said.

Waited for a short while before being given the okay to move rooms to Villa #11 just before 1.00pm. Moved all of our stuff to ‘villa’ in the same building but a tad more modern with an actual balcony. All of that messing around ate into the afternoon. Decided to go to the beach bar alone as Sasha preferred to ‘chill’. Sasha arrived a couple of beers later to have some fries and a virgin pina colada. Went for a walk around the resort before returning to room. Too late to do anything constructive. Already booked the Garden Grill restaurant (extension of the resort 6 mins drive away).

Headed out passing Mirca to the Garden Grill restaurant, which was just off the main road but located on a hill which offered amazing views across to Split. Salmon and shrimp meat gnocci for me and greek salad without cheese for Sasha, followed by tiramisu.

Short drive back to Labranda around 10.30pm.

Moving on today to Bol. Managed to co-erce Sasha into joining me for the included breakfast before 10.00am.

Cleaned ourselves and packed up in time for checkout at noon. My case just the perfect size for aged Golf Cabriolet. Just about a 45 minute drive south got us to Bluesun Holiday Village Bonaca, via gas station outside Supetar for comparatively cheap cigarettes.

Usual check-in process and getting a pass for car parking was relatively painless. Found ourselves in the promised accommodation which was a short drag of luggage to room 6110. Ran for lunch before deadline of 2.00pm, managing to lock room key cards in room in favour of same-looking card for parking. Back to Reception for more room key cards. Then managed to lock passports in safe so another visit to Reception to get safe key.

Sasha wanted to ‘chill’ after showering so decided to embark on walking ‘tour’ of Golden Horn Beach, which included a passby of the nude beach and an extra-long walk along beachfront, not aided in any way by Google Maps which didn’t know the quickest route. Lots of eating places and whatnot and lots of people. Golden Horn Beach was jammed. Back to room by about 5.00pm.

Sasha still wanted to chill so decided to hit the pool #2 bar alone for several Mezcalita cocktails, joined later by Sasha for a couple of Virgin Mojito’s. More journal catch-up before buffet dinner.

Croatian harmony singers doing their thing by pool number 2. Made some calls to insurance a tree fellers while enjoying another cocktail.

Both of us managed to get breakfast before the 10.00am deadline.

Decided to make use of expensive hire car, so embarked on a mini ‘road trip’ around Brač, starting with a stop in Pučišća on the north coast, about 30 mins drive. Lots of hairpin bends with steep drops at the side of the road. Sasha not looking very impressed. Bought a limestone fridge magnet from one of the stalls close to our choice of place for some soft drinks at Caffe bar Škarpelin.

Research unearthed 5 gas stations on the entire island, so decided to head due west on very quiet road with many twists and turns and sheer drop edges passing Postira and Splitska. About a 40 minute drive arriving at Supetar to the same gas station where I bought cigarettes the day before. Filled up with too much diesel (€42) and placated Sasha with some Bueno and yet more obligatory bottled drinks.

Kept driving West past Mirca and on to Sutivan. Went off track a bit to explore Bobovišća before rejoining the ‘main’ (but pretty much deserted) road heading towards Nerežišća. Exited off the main road heading to Bol to join deserted road heading towards the highest point in the island, Vidova Gora. About a 5km drive through pine forest until reaching a small parking area with few people and a food ‘shed’ selling drinks, ice-creams and knickknacks at inflated prices. A 5 minute walk up the hill took us to the viewing point which provided fantastic 360 view as far as the eye could see.

Bought some overpriced ice-creams before heading back the way we came and returning to the hotel as Sasha needed to pee and wasn’t really engaged anyway.

I opted to return to the cocktail bar at pool #2 for Mezcalita cocktails and send out messages re ongoing issues at 213 and catch up on my journal.

Dinner in the buffet restaurant, managing to get there in time for ice-cream this time.

Up in good time as the sad reality of vacations is that they have to end at some point.

Cleaned up, packed up and left our room, managing to get to breakfast at 9.50am (left bags in reception). Express breakfast - I went off to pay our resort costs (parking only) and brought the car to Reception.

Managed to pack the car and depart Bluesun Holiday Village Bonaca by precisely 10.10am. Roof down and headed up the zig-zag road heading North. Arrived on the outskirts of Supetar at 10.50am only to get stuck in traffic due to cars waiting for the ferry. Drove on the wrong side of the road at one point (oops) then met police who were controlling traffic and needed several levels of persuasion to allow us to take the road back to the car rental office. Fortunately arrived at M&B rentals just 5 mins late after calling them to forewarn them while stuck in traffic. 3 minute return (no damage thankfully and filled up with too much diesel) at €80/day.

Decided to board the waiting ferry right opposite the M & B office, thinking it was leaving at 11.45am. Very random boarding process as no queue and only person checking tickets was checking cars vs. foot traffic. Boarded easily (no escalator this time) and opted for a spot on the first deck, where it was quieter. Interior was packed with a bar/cafe offering bottles of vitamin water at €4.50. Surprisingly, ferry departed shortly after 11.15am. Perhaps they are adding additional sailings due to volume of cars (note to self: thanks for not renting a car in Split and then taking it to Brač).

Uneventful sail back to Split, the sea as smooth as a millpond. Arrived in Split (busy, two cruise ships arrived) around 12.15pm and disembarked at different point on the port (due to cruise liners arrival).

Decided not to hang around due to heat and found taxi rank where everyone was disembarking. Opted to pay €60 for speed vs. getting an Uber. 45 minute right through not very attractive area on Split and almost as far as Trogir. Checked in for Vueling flight and dropped bags despite being 3 hours early.

Not much entertainment after passing through security, so got sandwiches and yet more bottled drinks from ‘Bistro Jug’ cafe. Killed time doing admin catch-up and playing games on Sasha’s iphone.

Split airport very busy, but only one terminal serving EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz etc.

Uneventful 45 minute flight to Rome, landing around 5.15pm. Bus ride from the plane to the terminal. Bags appeared pretty quickly (wheel on my case now disintegrating), then walked to Terminal 3 arrivals to find transport shuttle to Tiber Hotel. All looked familiar after 5 years passing since last visit. Found place to catch shuttle which left at 6.15pm for 10 minute ride to the Tiber Hotel.

Checked in, got room 308 with a balcony and 2 single beds. Just as warm in Rome as Split except cloudier. Cleaned up and whatnot before deciding to go to the hotel’s ‘T41’ restaurant, despite the mostly fish menu. Sasha has a cheeseburger without cheese and I had a chicken caesar salad, neither of which were particularly inspiring.

Back to room around 9.30pm for admin etc.

Early start on our final day. Cleaned up and made it to breakfast by 9.15am. Pretty good spread available (included).

Packed up and checked out by 10.15am. Shuttle bus arrived shortly after 10.30am and took us back to Terminal 1 at FCO.

FCO absolutely packed. Dropped bags at Luftansa check-in (charged €95 despite ticket being purchased via TD VISA). Through security, got some cigs and a hoodie for Sasha in Duty Free, then found airport lounge that wasn’t at capacity and made the best of the included food and drink.

Bit of a walk to the gate but LH233 left on time at 1.20pm for 90 minute flight to Frankfurt.

Good job we had plenty of time before the next flight as quite a walk to concourse B, despite being in the same terminal. Smoking booths all over the place too.

Got German sausage and beer as pre-flight snack while Sasha had a chocolate muffin.

Air Canada flight 847 to Montreal departed around 6.00pm. Uneventful flight except told flight crew engine seemed kind of noisy (sounded like a ferry vs. a plane). Watched ‘The Burial’ movie, got pasta dinner which was supposed to be chicken, slept a bit and wrote journal. Arrived a bit early at 7.30pm (or 1.30am for us).

YUL completed congested, so had to wait for 45 mins before aircraft could go to gate.

Baggage took some time. Joined a large group of people waiting at the (moved) Uber pickup in arrivals and had to wait for 15 mins. Eventually got back to 213 to face eternal hell around 10.00pm.