Apologies for the recent lack of posts but I spent the last week holidaying in Croatia and Slovenia where I was warned that my future marital status was at risk if I went anywhere near the Internet…

Hugging the Adriatic coast, grilled sea bass, trout and shellfish appear on every menu in the region and the Italian influence is obvious with fantastic pizza, pasta and gelato. Needless to say, I finished the trip a lot heavier than I started…

This wasn’t a food holiday, but we did visit some fantastic markets (particularly in Pula) and a cheese factory on Pag Island where we shown how they make the award winning Paski Sir sheep cheese.

As well as the lovely food, both countries are also blessed with amazing natural beauty (if you get the chance, you must visit the Postojna caves and try swimming with 4-foot catfish in lake Bled).

It seems a shame to encourage more tourists to flood the Balkans, but I think it’ll only be a matter of time before they start to seriously challenge the traditional Mediterranean hotspots, so take my advice and get in before they become too mainstream.

A week away from the kids was a challenge, but they had a great time with their grandparents, and our travel companions Sue, Sylvia, Brian, Julie, Wendy, Paul, Katrina, Ariana, Martha and Michael made this a really memorable trip. Thanks guys!