the_lisbon_connection blog

If you are visiting Croatia’s national park, here are the best tips I can give you: - Go very early (we arrived there at 10.30 after taking the 8.30 bus from Zadar which was the earliest bus available) and even so there was already a huge (enormous) line in entrance 1. - Use entrance 2: most people use entrance 1 as it is supposed to have a better view of the park and because you walk right into the main lakes but, to be honest there is almost no difference except for how long you will be in line to get your ticket J ; - Take lunch/snacks: food inside the park is expensive and not good; - Book your bus ticket in advance because seats do get sold out especially returning from the park. We booked our return ticket at 5.30 (which is the latest) but we finished visiting the park earlier and easily managed to anticipate our return); The park is incredible but the herd of people visiting is a letdown. I felt more like I was in a famous museum, say the Louvre, in line to ...

I have to say I was positively surprised with Croatia. As you know, travelling Europe in August can be scary if you are the type of person who hates crowds of tourists. I thought Croatia, being such a famous destination these days would be super packed, so I was preparing for the worse! I couldn’t be more wrong! Our trip was amazing! Here are a few things which will help you on your trip to Croatia: -        -  If you are travelling in August I recommend planning your trip and booking both transportation and accommodation in advance. It will avoid you a lot of time in lines and internet searching when you are already there. Plus, having to change your plans because there is no ferry or bus seats can be a bump. o    You can buy all ticket online but be careful as some bus companies ask you to print out your ticket and charge you an extra 2/3€ for taking your luggage or other “weird internet expenses”. Just go with it and don’t tr...

Today I leave you with an interest opinion from this nice shop owner we met at a store in Amman, about why Jordan manages to keep peace while most of its surrounding countries face war and social crisis. In his opinion it's all about the monarchy. I was surprised but he explained that Jordanians, as most people from countries around that area, all come from “tribes” that inhabited the deserts for centuries. Most families still trace back to some tribe from the desert and old tribal disputes and alliances still apply (a bit like Game of Thrones I guess).So even though they share the same country, doesn’t mean these people feel they have the same identity as a nation. Long story short, in the beginning of the twentieth century (1921 precisely), the Saudi Arabian king - Sherif Hussein   sent his children to become kings of the lands that were going to be divided from the old Ottoman Empire: Syria, Jordan and Iraq. This means that the Jordanian kings don’...

Jordan is lovely and our trip the loveliest! We got one of those pre arranged trips that included dinners, breakfasts and a guide to tour us everywhere! I must say that Petra is  probably one of the most amazing places I have ever been! It seems that we spent the whole trip climbing and walking everywhere. Each single night of this trip I felt completely exhausted, but so alive and full of energy! The great thing about this arranged trip (I am not a big fan of arranged trips) is that we got to see not only Petra but almost everything touristic there was to see in Jordan. Located in the middle east, Jordan is not a very big country and through the years, it has managed to keep out of the massive conflicts happening around. Its mostly a muslim country, though its known for not being as extremist as others. It has no sea connection and it’s situated between deserts so water is very scarce. People are taught from a young age how to preserve and reduce ...

Going on a trip with a professinal fotographer has its pros...the amazing pictures you see are from my wonderful experience in Jordan: Petra and the desert of Wadi Rum...which I will be writting about shortly! You can follow more of Juvenalia Oliveira's amazing work on her facebook page .