September Report Cards

From Auckland, NEW ZEALAND, April 30, ’06. . .
• I spent 10 days in a lovely B&B in an Edwardian-style house called Epsom House (18 Crescent Rd., Auckland, 1003, New Zealand; phone 025-834-779, e-mail kathy@epsombb.com or visit www. epsombb.com), located just a block down from One Tree Hill Dominion (park) in Auckland.
Kathy & Rick Van Bokhoven are delightful hosts and more than helpful. My room had a beautiful 4-poster bed and an adjoining marble bathroom. The cost was US$68 a night for a single.
— Ellie Johnson, Santa Barbara, CA

On SLOVENIA & CROATIA, April ’06. . .
Penzion Bledec (Grajska 17, Bled, Slovenia; phone +386 04 5745 250, www.mlino.si), also a youth hostel, is not far from Castle Bled. Recommended by Rick Steves.
Nice, large rooms and the nicest bathroom we have seen, with a glass-enclosed shower. Advance planning can get you two bunk beds and only two in a room, with bathroom en suite. Room for two persons was SIT5,175 ($28).
Has Internet service.
Breakfast comes with the room, but dinner can be purchased at the restaurant on site. Lovely restaurant with great food. Dinners €7-€10 ($9-$12) including dessert.

Gostilna pri Križmanu (Tublje pri Hrpeljah 24, 6240 Kozina, Slovenia; phone +386-5 680 0700 or e-mail gostilna.krizman@siol.net). The town of Kozina is west of Postoja on the road to Koper.
Our very good room there cost €32 ($41) for two persons plus $5.50 for breakfast. Full meals €4-€8 ($8-$10) and breakfast, €4. Very good food.

Villa San (Tiha 2, 20000 Dubrovnik, Croatia; phone +385 [0] 20 41 18 84 [ask for Almira], www.villa-san.com) — located outside Pile (gate) in Dubrovnik next to the wall.
Very quiet rooms. You can rent a room or apartment; choose from 60, 52 or 38 square meters in size. All are spic-and-span. Price depends on the season. We paid 300 kunas ($50) for two for a room with a private bath. The price includes a place to park!

Villa Ivanka (Hrv. Zrtava 123, 21218 Seget Donji, Trogir, Croatia; phone +385 21 88 0109, www.inet.hr/~svukman) — located about one mile from the center of Trogir.
Rooms and apartments. We had a nice room with balcony and a separate shower/bathroom. The rate was 250 kunas ($43.25) for two. You can rent with the use of a tiny kitchen also.
During the war, the owner hosted United Nations staff who took food and blankets to Sarajevo.

Restaurant Sampion Brela (owner Roman Celic, Stjepana Radic’a 21, 21322 Brela, Croatia; phone +385 [0] 21 618 680, www.sampion-brela. com) — located just north of Makarsk (between Split and Dubrovnik) on Rte. E65.
They speak English. We had hot tea, a large cup of tomato-with-rice soup and seasonal salad (lettuce, tomato and cucumber) for a total of 30 kunas ($4.95). They also have a full menu.
— Cherie Scudder, East Bethany, NY