The trip

From LA to Heathrow to Belgrade; I survived it. Vanja picked me up at the airport and we went back to her apartment for dinner; then went walking around the city. Belgrade is absolutely beautiful. The streets are full of people walking around, having coffee, even in the middle of the night-- and this is vacation, when everyone is gone! On the side streets there are big wide sidewalks mostly taken up by outdoor seating for the cafes, so we walked in the little narrow streets, which are paved with tiny bricks that apparently date back to when the Turks were in Belgrade. There are several different parts of town, none of which I can remember the names of, except for "the fountain" area (by the big fountain) and "silika", where all the BMWs and Audis are parked. Apparently this is where all the gold digger girls go out looking for rich husbands, and they all have implants, hence the name "silika".

OK, so then today I bought a cell phone and caught a bus to Cacak. No windows. Stifling heat. I was reading Lance Armstrong's first book, all about winning the tour de france after cancer and all that, so I can't complain.

After getting off the bus I started talking to a Dutch couple (thank god they all speak english) and we decided to get a taxi together to Guca. I spoke more Serbian than them so I talked to the guy. I didn't do much negotiating, and I'm pretty sure 700 dinars was too much (I only paid 400 for the 3 hour bus ride from Belgrade) but I didn't care about a few dollars.

When I got to Guca I told the nice people at the Dom Kultura that I was Amerikanka. This one lady let me stay in her family's apartment. Rent is cheap; I think I just have to marry her son or something.