16 Vegetarian Water Taxi

For dinner Petey & I took a Steves’ recommendation and went vegetarian at a place called Nishta. The restaurant was packed compared to its competitors next door. With only three open tables, all of them inside, we picked the table closest to the kitchen. We gabbed with our server who was the co-owner/wife. We flashed our tattered Rick Steeves book and dropped his name. "Rick told us to see you." She was a delight. Her husband actually met Rick when he passed through on his last tour; his book put them on the tourist map. They used to rent a flat inside the Wall but it was too expensive so now they live just outside Old Town and walk to work. The food was delicious. Petey enjoyed the tofu chow mien and I downed a meatless burrito. We both used chopsticks … sort of. We loved the little touches adorning this place. The tiny bathroom was decorated in a Ken & Barbie theme, the plate setting and plates were unique with real cloth napkins, and we received our bill in a decorative tin box, which the credit card didn’t fit inside but the plastic still worked.

The water taxi back to Cavtat was triple the price of the bus but worth the joy to travel the 12 mile coastline. The cool breeze, the illuminated ships, the islands silhouette against the moonlit sky, the quiet air all surrounded us with a warm joy. We looked at each other and smiled ... then I pinched Petey to confirm reality. Ouch! Not my best romantic move.