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I'm still here in Croatia. I cant seem to get outa here. Not that I want to but I have been cutting into my Italy time with a tractor-sized pizza wheel here and I have to get going. Its been a very easy country to like all except the swapping of the z and the y on all the keyboards but nobodys perfect. I spent a day or so in the seaside town of Split. It was once a seaside palace of a retired Roman emperor but now its the worlds most beautiful outdoor shopping mall. The buttery marble streets there are a labyrinth of mazes and alley ways all brought up to date with a cute little boutique plugged into it. If your in the market for sunglasses, handbags, or shoes, Split is your town. It was easy to picture the summer time as being a blast to hang in though. There are palms and citrus fruits growing everywhere as well as a green market that would shame any self-righteous New York chef who thought NYC has it all and then some.

I had the great fortune of meeting up with some good traveling mates in Split. Shamyla (sorry love I cant spell my own name!) and Pete. We went to see Saw III (I cant believe they were able to make crap like that and not get thrown to the dogs) and The Queen. They were the easy company Ive been craving and I'm sad that they re gone on their own separate journeys.

Yesterday I came with Shamyla up here to Zagreb which is way up inland and considered my many locals to be a little Vienna. More on that in a minute. On the way here we took a day long pit stop in the woods at a National Park called Plit Vitsa. It was a wonder of nature kind of place that had a series of crystal blue lakes pouring into innumerable waterfalls with wooden bridges and tall reeds. We had that familiar feeling that the place was all our own as the season for tourism is still months away. We didn't see any one else but for the ducks and fish that were lazing in the slats of sun that made its way through the turbulent clouds. When we were able to take some shelter from the wind, I was unable to hear any evidence of the modern world for the first time in months. To think we almost didn't get off the bus because it would have been easier to just continue on to Zagreb and not bother with anything as trivial as a few waterfalls and pools.

So like I said Zagreb was built by the Austrians in the image of Vienna complete with all the chilly stately building facades and cathedrals. I think I could get into the Cathedral viewing more if they sold popcorn or had someone there to try to dunk in a tank with an accurate throw of a baseball. Alas it is not to be and the spires go unvisited by me. Croatia's other claims to world wide fame are being the birth place of Nikola Tesla, who is a virtual patron saint in these parts. In fact the AC power you're using to read this right now is the modern adaptation of an invention of his. Also hundreds of years ago, Croatia has been raped of all it shore line lumber that was used to build Venice when it was under Venetian rule. And now ,Ive learned with a wink and a smirk from my host at the hostel, Venice is sinking! And the neck tie is also a result of Croatian fashion sense as they were worn by Croatian soldiers in the court of Louis XIV. The case of the inventor of the dickey and the sock suspenders is still unsolved. In addition, I'm writing this on my first pay Internet computer where you can plunk 5 kuna coins into the slot for service. Indeed, Croatia is a land of innovation and inspiration, and unfortunately too, of inebriation and regurgitation.

Im off to Slovenia which will put the Balkans behind me for now. Venice after that. Remember to send this email to seven friends in the next seven minutes or get seven years of enui.