Holistic Vacation Retreat in Croatia

Adriatic Sea - Porec - Pula - Plitvice

and including
Postojna, Slovenia & Venice, Italy
 
Summer 2008

Sunrise on the Ancient Adriatic

 

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Itinerary Overview

Nature seeks no compromise, limitations, nor doubts. Nature is. She displays
her bounteous beauty, everywhere, all the time, endlessly capturing the hearts
of billions of her human expression. Nature is divine. Nature expands. These
are also our human expression and divine gifts.

On this Vacation-Wellness Retreat, you and your partner will explore your
human potential with regards to your natural expression of Intimacy. In as little
as 7 days, your knowledge of your intimate-selves will be greatly enhance.

Each day, planned activities will enable you and your partner to become more
aware of your own intimate attributes. You will share, relax, play, learn, and
enjoy exploring your each other's intimate nature.

Porec-Euphrasiana

Sight-seeing and Holistic Vacation Retreat Schedule:

1st day / Saturday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "Down to Earth"

  * Arrival to Croatia
   * Tour guide, transfer by bus to hotel in Porec. The rest of the day is
free to start exploring this beautiful city.
   * Afternoon guided tour through Porec: a 2000 year old Roman Seaport.
   * Free time till evening.
   * Meet in the early evening for an optional group welcome.
   * Dinner, introductions, welcome party and dance.

2nd day / Sunday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "Exploring Self"

   * Morning meditation at beach.
   * Breakfast.
   * Bus excursion to Pula, guided tours to second largest Roman
Amphitheater, Roman Arches, buildings, streets, shopping.
   * On the way back, stop at the old medieval village, miracle church St.
Foska and Lim Fjord, pirates hideout.
   * Back to hotel.
   * In the afternoon free time, swimming and bathing.
   * Dinner and free social evening, hotel dancing.

Pula-Amphitheater

3rd day / Monday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "Exploring Your Relationship"

   * Boat excursion to Venice, Italy.
   * Early breakfast.
   * Transfer by bus to Porec Harbor, 2.5 hour boat ride to Venice.
   * English guided tour of Venice including: San Marco Plaza, Rialto
Bridge, Murano Glass Factory, view canals and gondolas.
   * Return to Porec.
   * Late dinner, free social evening.

4th day / Tuesday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "Improving Communication in Your
Relationship"

   * Breakfast.
   * Enjoying the Green Lagoon.
   * Wellness morning and afternoon Seminars.
   * Swimming, bathing in the breaks and in the afternoon.
   * Dinner, free social evening, hotel dancing.

Porec-island St. Nicolas

5th day / Wednesday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "Exploring Intimacy in Your Relationship"

   * Excursion by bus to Plitvice Lakes, recognized by UNESCO as one of the
world s greatest natural inheritance: 16 lakes, lots of waterfalls, forests,
hiking nature trails, boat rides and natural adventure.
   * Early breakfast.
   * Lunch package.
   * Enjoyable beautiful coastal scenic ride into the Plitvice Lakes.
   * Enjoy scenic stops along the way.
   * Lunch on Lakes and guided tours.
   * Return to Porec and hotel late evening.

6th day / Thursday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "The Psicho-Chemistry of Intimacy"

   * Breakfast.
   * Enjoying the Green Lagoon.
   * Wellness morning and afternoon Seminars.
   * Free time for swimming during the breaks and in the afternoon.
   * Dinner, free social evening.

Porec-Green Lagoon

7th day / Friday

Holistic Program Activities Theme: "Intimacy in Every Day Life"

   * Breakfast.
   * Trip to Slovenia, Postojna Cave, by bus.
   * Wellness Program Activities.
   * Return to hotel in the afternoon.
   * Free rest of the day for swimming.
   * Dinner, farewell party, social evening.

8th day / Saturday

   * Early morning meditation on the beach.
   * Breakfast.
   * Return to USA.

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The Package Includes

Transfer, Accommodation & Food:

   * Arrival to Croatia
   * Bus Transfer to the Hotel Porec
   * Four Star Hotel (4****) accommodation with comfortable double occupancy
rooms
   * 7 breakfasts
   * 7 dinners
   * Lunch on the Plitvice Lakes
   * Free and continual access to swimming and bathing, parks, and scenic
nature trails, in beautiful Green Lagoon of Porec, the best equipped tourist
settlements on the Adriatic Coast

Excursions Overwiev:

      1. Guided tour through Porec: an ancient Roman Seaport, Renaissance
Bridge, 2000 year old Street Decumanus, Pentagonal Tower, Gothic Palace,
Marafor, Antique Temple, Romanesque House, Round Southern Tower, and much more
        2. Euphrasius Basilica Complex in Porec with mosaics from the 6th
century, part of the UNESCO World Heritage
        3. Guided tour through ancient Roman Pula and Amphitheater, Roman
Arches, Temple of Augustus, Triumphal Arch of Sergi, Twin gates, Forum and much
more
        4. Medieval Village Vodnjan with old mummies
        5. St. Foska, a place of spiritual healing and miraculous recovery
        6. Lim Fiord, that penetrates the inland for 10 km, with its
untouched Mediterranean vegetation and many kinds of fish
       7. Boat excursion to Venice, Italy: San Marco Plaza, Rialto Bridge,
Murano Glass Factory, view  canals and gondolas.
        8. Travel to the beautiful Plitvice Lakes, Croatia, one of the
worlds famous National parks, part of the UNESCO World Heritage
        9. Visit to Cave Postojna, Slovenia, underground sculptures,
stalactites and stalagmites, human fish
       10. Visit to Lipica, Slovenia, and its horses
       11. Other fabulous sites
       12. All excursions guided by English speaking guide

All Holistic Program Activities
hosted by Robert and Zeljka: seminars,
workshops, activities, dances and meditations

For the details of the Wellness Program Activities see "Holistic Program
Activities Schedule" List.

Optional:
Vendor fees for water sports and recreation
Gratuities and alcoholic beverages
Private Consultations

For US citizens Visa for Croatia is not needed.
100% pre-payment guarantee fixed price.

Porec-Boat Trip

^ top^

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Excursions
(Details)


Porec

The champion vacation spot of Croatian tourism is the ancient harbor town of
Porec on the Istria Peninsula.

Istria has been considered as a strategy location between the lands of
Central Europe, Greece and the Middle East for well over four thousand years. Two
thousand years ago, Roman soldiers built their fortified colony of Parentium
here. They built "villae rustice" here where they enjoyed in divine life stiles,
the sea, sun, wine, olives, good food.

Today, thousands of tourists come to Porec to enjoy in its Divine Life, Blue
and Green Lagoons, pure nature, clean and warm sea.

Porec is one of the rare towns on Mediterranean where the Roman urban
character is still visible. Porec has grown throughout centuries and its churches,
medieval walls, round towers, Gothic and Baroque houses still talk their stories.

Porec is famous around the world because of its historical urban complex,
Euphrasius' Basilica from the 6th century, one of the most important early
Byzantium monuments on the Mediterranean, inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage.

Porec

 

Pula

Pula is situated at the southeast end of the Istrian peninsula and has been
in existence for over three thousand years.

During the Roman reign, the colony was named "Pietas Iulia", and later
Colonia Iulia Polentia Herculanea, under the protection of legendary Hercules. The
town, situated on the main hill, started to expand around the bay and developed
into a cultural and entertainment nucleus for Roman emperors, renaissance
poets and painters, Venetian senators, French generals. Pula's history was
influenced by the Roman Empire, the Eastern Goths, and later by Byzantium. The
Franks, Venetians, Austrians, Hungarians, Italians and Slavs acclaimed the town. In
the 13th century, new political forces emerged. The Venetians gradually took
the western part of the Istrian peninsula.

Thus Pula remained bound to the Venetian economical and political aims for
the next few centuries. During the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries Pula was being
attacked and conquered by Genoa, Croatian-Hungarian and Habsburg armies, causin
g the devastation of numerous medieval villages and towns. Besides the war
calamity, the population of Pula and Istria was reduced by the numerous plague,
malaria, typhoid and chicken pox epidemics. In those past centuries, Pula
became a typical medieval town, in Romanesque-Gothic style.

During World War II, under the fascist rule, Pula was known as an antifascist
town that organized its battle for the future while experiencing bomb raids,
devastation, as well as repressions over the defeated. After the War against
the German occupation, Pula came under the Anglo-American administration. In
1947 Pula finally turned to its natural hinterland - Croatia (according to the
1943 Resolution), and eventually Yugoslavia. This caused still another exodus
of the malcontent Italian citizens. That was the beginning of a new period in
the history of Pula that lasted till Croatia gained independence.

Pula-Augustus Temple

 

Vodnjan

In Vodnjan, a town located north of Pula, stands St. Blaise's Church with the
Collection of Sacral Art. Among the numerous paintings, reliquaries, mass
vestments and vessels from the period between the 14th and 19th centuries, the
primary tourist attraction are Vodnjan's mummies (corpi santi). It is believed
that the body of St. Nicolosa, a Benedictine nun who died in Venice in 1512, is
the best preserved mummy in Europe. Bioenergy healers have proved that the
body of Nicolosa Bursa emits a 32 meter ( about 29 yards) bioenergy circle. It
is also said that there have been 50 miraculous healings in the body's close
proximity.

St. Blaise, the largest Istrian church, can hold as many as 5,000 worshippers
there are also mummified bodies of St. Leon Bembo, St. Giovanni Olini, as
well as St. Sebastian and St. Barbara. The collection of mummies was brought to
the church in Vodnjan 180 years ago, when fleeing from the perils of war. It
was brought from Italy by Gaetano Gresler. How these bodies, which were not emba
lmed, have failed to decompose and have been preserved till today (the oldest
dates from the end of the 12th century) - still remains a mystery.

Vodnjan-mummies

St.Foska

The healing Church of Saint Fosca is a small sanctuary in Istria (Croatia)
that people have been visiting for a long period of time. It is a popular belief
that Fosca can heal and help people. People from all over the world visit
this site.

The church is situated on the center of powerful energy fields that have
healed many people and that every individual feels on his way. You can feel
shudder, heat, coldness, pain or something else. Saint Fosca is protector from
headache, rheumatism and arthritis.

Miracles that happened in church of St.Fosca
Many people claim that their health situation has changed here in a positive
way, and that they found peace and strength for life thanks to St.Fosca. Local
papers Novi List wrote recently about some man who claims that St. Fosca
cured him from cancer. First document about miracle dates from long time ago
(1681), and his author was bishop Giacomo Tomasini. Voice of miracles has spread
all over the world.

The story of Fosca, who was girl from rich Roman family. She was born in 235
in Italian town Ravenna. Then, Christianity in Rome was illegal and Christians
were closed in prisons, tortured and even murdered. When she was 11 year old,
Fosca was interested in many spiritual questions as richness and pleasures
did not not satisfy her. Finally, she discovered Christianity and started to
behave by Christian principles and not by Roman. Her father noticed that change
of behavior, so Fosca admitted to him that she was christened and that she will
not give up Christianity. The Roman father (pater familias) was the head of
the family and had power over his family. He could even decide about life and
death of family members (patria potestatis). Fosca's father decided to betray
Fosca, so he told roman authorities that Fosca is a Christian. They took her,
tortured her, and finally killed on February 13t, 250, when she was only
fifteen. St.Fosca was great sufferer and her bravery we remember even today.

Church St.Fosca

Lipica
"The Village of Horses"

The picturesque village of Lipica for more over 400 years has hosted the
beautiful, white, fully bred horses. Because their elegance and graceful
movements, they are called "the four legged aristocrats." A local guide will take you
for a guided tour of stables pointing out different methods of stages of
breeding and training of these noble animals. A special feature and experience is a
show-program featuring the star lipizaner studs performing some of the most
difficult steps and figures they have learned.

Lipica

Postojna Caves

Another curiosity of the crass region is its caves. Some of the biggest and
most renown are Postojna Caves, spreading their monument beauty for more than
20 kilometers of underground passages and caves. Their beauties have been
visited and admired by more than 20 million visitors in the past 150 years and it
is one of the most visited places in Slovenia.
Sightseeing tour includes a ride on electrical train taking visitors deep
into the world of stalactites and stalagmites. Visitors will visit in about one
and a half hour the most beautiful and spacious caves.

Postojna Cave

Plitvice Lakes


The Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia's most popular tourist attraction,
was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. Located roughly halfway
between capital city Zagreb and Zadar on the coast, the lakes are definitely a
must-see.

The beauty of the National Park lies in its sixteen lakes, inter-connected by
a series of waterfalls, and set in deep woodland populated by deer, bears,
wolves, boars and rare bird species.  The National Park covers a total area of
300 square kilometers, whilst the lakes join together over a distance of eight
kilometers. There's also quite an altitude difference -- the highest point is
at 1,280m, the lowest at 380m -- although the total height difference between
the lakes themselves is only 135m. (Veliki Slap, the largest waterfall, is 70m
tall.)

There are numerous trails on which to walk and hike, and there are also boat
and shuttle bus services in order to see the Park it all its glory.

Plitvice Lakes

Venice

With 117 islands, 150 canals, 400 bridges, 16th and 17th century places and
churches: Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Piazza san Marco, the Basilica, Doges
Palace, Venice is one of the most unbearably beautiful city on Earth.

Venice, itself, was built upon a series of islands, sand-banks and land
reclaimed from the lagoon. Any sign of those original islands has long since been
lost, the city continued to grow and develop as a sea of stone swept over her
origins.

But, not far from the historical center of Venice, a string of Islands are
waiting to be discovered by the intrepid traveler. Each one has its own
particular attraction:
   * The Island of Murano, Glass factories, Museum, and a church with a
delightful legend
   * The Island of Burano, Lace-making and pastel colored houses
   * The Island of Torcello, Famous for its Cathedral and Mosaics
   * The Island of the Lido, Home to the Venetian Film Festival

A city tour of Venice is a must for the first-time visitor, once you
understand her beauty, mystery and history, you too can begin to appreciate her
uniqueness. The most beautiful city in the world is also the most safest city in the
world. Through which night and day you can walk in complete safety through
the labyrinth of streets, crossing quaint bridges, and enjoy canals that make up
its historical center.

Walking Tour features: San Marco Square and its famous landmarks, The
Pantheon of the Venetian nobility, legends of Casanova & Marco Polo, Paintings by the
great Venetian masters, Sculptures, House of Marco Polo, Merchants warehouse
and the Rialto bridge.

Visit San Mark's square and learn the history that lies behinds the walls of
its most famous landmarks; the Basilica and its Byzantine heritage, the Doge's
Palace and its adjoining prisons, that retain the true secrets to comprehend
how a city built on swamps became one of the most enlightened cities of the
western world.

Then, leave the square to discover the "real Venice" enter a labyrinth of
narrow passageways and alleys where a magical city of meandering canals
punctuated by delicate bridges awaits you......

Journey through the sights and the historical narrations, learn how the
illustrious Venetians, the likes of Casanova and Marco Polo, and more common
citizens made this city of stone a vibrant and magical place. And, of course,
discover how Venice is today and how it is to live in the most beautiful city of the
world, though not the most practical!

Venice

Lim Fjord

Lim Fjord is one of the most beautiful natural resources of the Istrian
peninsula. The geological beginnings are interpreted through the erosive activity
of the Pazincica, a rivulet that now is in its largest part a small gulf.

Lim Fjord is part of the 35 km long Lim Valley (Draga), that stretches almost
to the center of Istria, to the town of Pazin. The Fjord itself is a little
bit longer than 10 km, it is 30 meters deep and its widest part is around 600
meters wide. From both sides very steep mountains rise, in some parts even up
to 100 meters.

Lim Fjord is a well-known fish and oyster farm (oysters, mussels, gilt heads,
sea basses.). All these delicacies can be tasted in two restaurants on the
very coast of the bay.

The bay surroundings are very interesting, the plant covering is lush and
diverse, reaching from evergreen to deciduous trees, where various wild animals
live, such as boars, fox, badgers, deer and birds like hawks, buzzards, owls.

Free climbing lovers will find a suitable cliff on the northern side, where
during the summer time, fans of this extreme sport are doing their daily
climbing tour.

The historical background of Lim Fjord is interesting for various reasons.
Even before Christ, the Illyrians were building their colonies, the Illyrian
forts, on the surrounding mountains. On the southern side, nearby the quayside
and the restaurant, some hundred meters high, Romualdo's cave is located, where
during the 11th century and later church ceremonies were held. Tradition has
it that Romualdo was a priest who lived the life of a hermit, and the
foundation of the nearby located Benedictine monastery, St. Michael, is also credited
to him.

Lim Fjord has protected landscape status and thus the driving of motor
crafts, fishing or diving is strictly forbidden.

Lim Fjord