BAY OF KOTOR + BAR, MONTENEGRO

The first and only time I'd heard of Montenegro before this trip was when James Bond vacationed there, so I'd seen the beautiful scapes on the screen. Montenegro was every bit as beautiful and breathtaking as it was in the movies.

Pattie and I arrived at golden hour on AirSerbia to the one-gate airport in Podgorica. Jeff found us easily in the crowd of maybe 20 people and we drove some of the most incredible mountain roads I've ever been on, and I felt a little crazy and had to stop myself from asking to stop every five minutes to take pictures. After passing Skadar Lake and driving into Bar, we stopped at a little lit up roadside restaurant to try a Balkan favorite, cévapi. Imagine a sandwich of sorts with sausages, peppers, pickles and a spicy paste. Amazing.

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In the morning we saw more of Montenegro's best: food and views. We feasted on kiflice and palacînka for breakfast, the former being crescent yeast rolls filled with cheese and ham, the latter resembling but beating a chocolate crêpe.

On our way to Croatia, we traveled down the coast toward the Bay of Kotor. We stopped to take pictures of Sveti Stefan, a former village that's been a resort for the hi-so in some way, shape, or form for over the past half century. Can't get over those roofs.

On our first way through the Bay of Kotor, we ferried across to shorten the trip, loving the sunny, windy ferry ride and marveling at the deep blue of the water. On our way back, we drove around, getting to see more details and gaping in awe of the churches basically floating on the surface of the water. Our Lady of the Rocks, and St. George's Benedictine monastery.

I never thought I would ever get to say I'd been to a place like this. I mean, who in the world has been to Montenegro? I will forever be thankful for our extremely knowledgable hosts who made absolutely sure we saw every bit of richness this country had to offer.