Vacation to Venice & Dalmatian Coast, March 2004

When we realized that I'd have to return to the USA to find work, we decided to take one last vacation in the Adriatic.  Our route:  Drive from Sarajevo to Split on the Dalmatian Coast, overnite ferry to Italy, and then drive up the eastern coast of Italy, over thru Trieste, and then back down the western Dalmatian coast and home to SJ.  We spent the first 3 nights in Venice, a first for me.  It was lovely as expected, flushed with the spring runoffs and beautifully clean.  We had delicious 60-degree sunny weather with cool aromatic nights.  Expensive place tho. The drive from Venice to Trieste was unremarkable.  The Istrian peninsula was flat and boring, so we stopped only occasionally.  Ditto for Slovenia & upper Croatia.  Aah, but the bottom half was a knockout -- just like the California coast below Monterey.  And you know what?  It's darn near undeveloped.  Sure, there are occasional small villages, but except for occasional guest houses and take-out restaurants, not much else.  Can't even find gas stations for miles.  So if you're looking for a piece of paradise that's not over-run with tourists, go to Dalmatia.  Bonus -- there are lots of nude beaches there!