It's Christmas Time -All over ... Again!!

What a great song that is. I am almost in the Christmas spirit. The tree has been dressed, the lights have been strung, the poinsetta is on the table, and I even created a Martha Stewart inspired card holder involving ribbon and thumb tacks. I can hardly believe it's been a year since our cross European winter vacation. I keep thinking Toronto should adopt the Christmas Market tradition of Europe and sell mulled wine on every street corner. Although, I think we're a bit too anal as Canadians to allow drinking in public even if it's in reindeer mugs. I the spirit of National Lampoons, and Home Alone, I figured it would be nice to revisit last year's trip with a few photos.
It's obvious I'm feeling sentimental for Bosnia, and missing my friends there. Here's to a beer can tree, and meals of cheese fondue, tarte eflete, and wine wine wine... did I mention cheese fondue?

MO money Mo Mos

November 25th kicked off the end of this months prostate cancer fund raiser. Paul successfully raised over $350! Thank you all for your support, and cheers toPaul's wicked awesome mustache growing skills.
The Mogala was full of stache aficandos ready to showcase with pride the growth they were able to attain in just one month. Some were more impressive than others, but the winner or the MO bro competition went to a little dude with glasses, who could scarcely grow a mo. I must say, however, there was something endearing about his dorkiness, which made this underdog the favourite.
Favourite Mo Bro ensemble went to a group of cowboys, who in my opinion were not all that cool and won simply on the fact that they had more friends in the audience to cheer for them. Paul and his bros came as second runners up. I think I lost my voice cheering as loudly as I could for their sexy 70's get ups, and cheesy chest hair. Awesome is a world that can barely scrapes the ice on this one. They were beyond awesome and should have gone home with the title. Dispite their loss, the boys gained the attention of a Mcleans photographer who decided to do an impromptu shoot for the magazine. Hopefully next month Paul's mo will be famous.

The Mo comes off this Friday, and a part of me will be sad that it is gone. I think a mustache gives a man a certain ability to get away with many things they would never otherwise dream of doing. There is a certain je ne sais quoi? to the mo. ( I have never seen Paul dance as much in our whole relationship as he did on Mo Gala night) One may argue the mo gives one a bit of hair to hide behind. I, however, disagree. I think the mo gives men the chance to be someone they are not, and with that fantasy comes an attitude to boot.

MOVEMBER - Week Two

CHILLIN MO

CUTE MO

ANGRY AT CHICKEN MO

SANDRA'S MO
As you already know MOVEMBER is well under way and Paul is freestyle mustache growing to raise money for prostate cancer research. Thank you to all those you already donated. If you have not yet done, but would love to help Paul reach his goal, you can do so by going on to the Movember website.
To sponsor his Mo please go to http://www.movember.com/ca/donate, enter his registration number which is 168904

I will be posting weekly photo updates of his progress. As of today Paul's mo has raise $153 CND. That means there will be a few more happy prostates.

WELCOME BACK

The CN Tower

Our camera was high jacked by James Foss in the summer. ( Excuse no.1)
We have been busy setting up our life back in North America, and much to our surprise this does not happen over night. ( Excuse no.2)

After several months of neglect to our blog, SarajevoPlus has gotten a face lift. ( Or maybe just a little botox in the corners). I have changed the name to more appropriately suit our current situation since we are no longer dwelling in Sarajevo. Although, we have relocated back to Canada, our hearts are still in TransAtlatic mode. So in the spirit of being away, but not being away I though I'd rename her Trans Atlantic Toronto.

As you may or may not know, Paul is back in school. He is taking a PR program at Centennial College , which to those of you who are trivial geeks was the filming location of Degrassi High. I can picture Joey in the atrium and Wheels leaning on the ramp when I enter the building. He is working hard with his nose constantly in a pile of books- making him the cutest student ever.

I myself am taking a few night courses in Design, trying to locate some temp work, and working on illustration and art. Some days are more prolific than others. Right now you can find me in a pair of jean, having finished a bowl of PC Mac and Cheese, slightly rumpled and not showered. I do not try to evoke this image to get pity. Life simply has a different flow when you are not on the run.

Toronto has a way of working itself into your system in a a slow and strategic way. There is not an instant love affair with the streets and the buildings. In time, however, the neighbourhood and flow of life begin to find a place in the heart. .
There is a lot going on in this bustling urban centre. I will do my best to keep tabs.
Enjoy the new blog. cheers Sandra

Ania and Cutis Celebrate Love and Life

On Friday the 20th we pulled up to the Nordegg Hostel where the atmosphere was bustling. The sound of heals was heard clitter clattering across the deck as everyone looked fabulous and anxious to celebrate with Ania and Curtis. Even though the couple tied the knot last year in a private slightly secret ceremony on the river valley, this night was all about celebrating with friends and and family .

Curtis looked devilishly handsome and Ania radiated a beauty that seems to so effortlessly come to her. Curtis wore a rich silk tie and a suit jacket, while Ania opted for a cream dress with embroidered detailing and slight ruffles around the neckline. To accessorise she paired red strappy shoes a matching pedicure and red flower in her hair. Both outfits were very smart and reflected the mood of the evening which was neither casual nor formal.

The dinner presented an array of lovely dishes. Beef, turkey and potatoes shined as the feature items of the evening. A wide array of carefully selected deserts were available to round of the end end of the meal.

A dance floor spontaneously developed on the deck to tunes reminiscent of the couple's sensibility. Latin and Jazz music flowed through the night and the atmosphere was infectious. An indoor sing along erupted after copious amounts of wine and beer, as did a game of pitch black boccie ball. 2am snacks of beef and cheesecake were enjoyed by all. There were laughs and tears, and everyone had am exuberant time well into the early morning hours.

The next morning the breakfast fairy, aka Ania's fantastic mom, had a continental spread ready for all the guest. Although slow on the uptake, some members of the party mustered the energy by 3pm to go on a gentle hike to a beautiful water fall.

Cheers to Ania and Curtis who know how to throw a great party.

The Soccer Game

Two Brave Ladies
Up in Flames
Note the riot police enjoying the game
Pat and Paul
Towards the end of the game



The Europeans take soccer very seriously. Before we entered the Bosnia Turkey Match at the Olympic Stadium we were thoroughly checked. No bottles, knives, or handguns were allowed. Since no trash bins were anywhere to be seen we were encouraged to throw our empty beer bottles on the grass which looked like the city dump. With our Canadian sensibilities we all looked at each other reluctant to add to the filthy mess, but we were assured by our Bosnia friend "someone cleans it up in the morning". A separate entrance was marked for Turkey fans heavily guarded by riot Police. Even though we were seated closest to this entrance the cops would not budge even though we told them we were CANADA fans.

Upon entering the second checkpoint we were once again frisked and then stepped into what looked like a modern Colosseum of cheering, veering, swearing, and the most hardcore set of fans this side of the Adriatic. Myself and Monique looked around and realized we were 2 or 4 women in our section of thousands. We cheered right along as Bosnia scored it's first goal, but as Turkey scored the stadium was filled with anger and flares and toilet papers roles got thrown on the turf, making the masses of riot police edgy. The Plastic advertising banners began to burn up in flames, and holes were burned into the turf and quickly extinguished by the on site firemen.

Bosnia scored again, as did Turkey and everyone seemed thrilled with what was to be a tie, and then in the last 9 minutes of the game Bosnia scored once again. The crowd went wild, and everyone went home happy and safe. The atmosphere in the stadium can only be described as nuts, however, the aftermath- once the fans filled the streets, was nothing compared the the 2006 Stanley Cup finals. There were no women flashing the crowds, no men hanging from streetlights and barely any honks. Just large crowds of jovial men happy that their team was was game closer to the World Cup finals.

Srebrenica

The realities of the war can still be seen and felt here; Srebrenica was a town hit hard by ethnic cleanising. More than 8,000, persons were killed. The citizens of this area , which is now in the Republica Serbska part of Bosnia and Herzegovina want the government to make a special grant to the town, to afford it the status of a specialized free zone. They have come to Sarajevo to protest. We came upon the refugee camp last week. A hudge orthodox cemetary
The front of the camp
One of the many enormous muslim cemetaries. Many of the parks have been turned into make-shift burial grounds.
The newly rebuilt/ reminance of the bombed maternity hospital one of the first targets in the war.

A recent descision from the Hauge stated that Serbia, not Repulika Serbska, as a nation was not responcible for the genocide in Srebrenica
These people have arrived several weeks ago and have set up camp here in this parking lot.

Mine Awareness

The Mine
Waiting for the police
The address we gave to the police to try to find us

Last Saturday Paul and I took off from our flat in Ciglane for a walk in the sun into town. Ciglane is a very urban neighbourhood situated on a hill facing the city. It is a series of buildings at various points in the hill and it's pretty cool safe neighbourhood.


Nostalgic about our nearing departure Paul and I looked extra closely at the details of our neighbourhood trying to capture them on film and in our minds. Then looking down into the grass, a stretch where the concrete building end, Paul noticed something unusual under the 11th guard rail in the shade of a tree. He called me over and asked what I thought it was. Instantly I flashed back to our mine awareness presentations.

Mines look like small brown hockey pucks that are brownish in colour( check )
Mines are usually found in fields but after rain storms they can be shifted and moved into residential areas ( check)
Do not touch a mine and resist the desire to poke it with a stick ( check )

We looked at the "mine" with a cautious distance. We resisted poking it with a stick We kept walking. Then several meters further over come with strong sense of responsibility and guilt we turned back. If we did not report the mine what if someone got hurt? What if some child picked it up? Or the rain moved it closed to the street and a car drove over it?


Yup it sure looked minesque. Unsure of what to do we called all the people we had logged into our phone. Finally after several calls we learned the number to the police ( something we should have probably known ourselves) . The operator spoke limited English and the word mine had to be repeated 8 times before she seemed to get what we were trying to say. We hung up and crossed our fingers that she understood our location.


1 hour and once ice cream later, the police showed up. They smiled politely as they got out of their car and let us lead them to the mine. Officer one looked at it closely, hesitated for a moment, and then picked it up and threw it in the large dumpster near by. Paul and I stared at each other slightly horrified and embarrassed. The officers took our names as a formality and said something in Bosnia which I could only assume meant " you idiots tore us away from the soccer game for this". Once they pulled away Paul reached back into the dumpster to take a closer look at the plastic 'mine like" object which we can only now presume is the top of a giant water jug.

At least no one got hurt.

Our Love On

Homemade calamari
yesterday's diner
Our basil
Coffee on our balcony
Chicken truck in our neighbourhood
Street Art in Tuzla
A replica of a small village from centuries ago

Paul and Amra in the village in Tuzla


As you are about to approach a time when you know you have to leave a place something in you begins to transform. A nostalgia builds that makes you miss the place you are about to leave before you have left it. Everything becomes more animated, more green, and more fun. It appears as though Paul and I have reached this point in the year, with six weeks left it go. We have finally found a groove, are enjoying our friends, the weather, the people. Last week we even found a fish market in town. Now as you know we struggled to find fish of any kind on the coast, and there in front of our noses, in the city we live in, which is nowhere from the sea, fresh fish of all kinds for dirt cheap prices. The Calamari and Salmon we had been dreaming of is now at our disposal.

Even the last few days, full of intense rain and fog, have felt romantic and enchanting. Perhaps the only way to love a place is to know you are leaving. As you know Paul and I were quite burned out before Spring Break, here is the new list of reasons why we now have our love on for Sarajevo (and Tuzla).
The Markets: The markets are places where food lovers can get their sensory fill. It's all about walking around and to check who has the best stuff out. As summer has gotten closer the market has gotten more colourful. We can now get half a kilo of cherries for a dollar fifty. Fresh strawberries, lettuce, dill, peppers, mean that our fridge is constantly full of amazing produce to munch on. The market is literally down the hill from us. There we can also get our fill of DVDs flowers, and knock-off runners. It's truly amazing.
Bubbly Sarajevska Water:This is a new habit we have developed. Drinking tons and tons of carbonated water. With it's perfect sized bubbles you get all of the "ahhh" of drinking a pop but non of the calories. This habit will drive us into the poor house back at home where gassy water comes only in fancy bottles with expensive labels.
Tuzla: A couple of weekends ago our friend Amra took us to her home town to meet her family. We stayed with her parents who adopted us for the weekend and made us feel loved. Amra's dad magically, on one of his 8 satellites, found the CBC for Paul which was coincidentally broadcasting 2 back to back Hockey night in Canada games. I was so relaxed I feel asleep on their couch. A bit hung over from the barbecue we had the night before which involved her family cooking delicious meats for us, and the kids (us) staying up till all hours of the night playing the guitar. There is nothing more soothing than hearing Canadian TV in the background. I felt like I was at home, and when I woke up I was surprised to find I was not actually on my mom's couch.

Our balcony: We hauled stuff off of it and put it in the storage room. We scrubbed it until you could eat right off of it. We weeded our flower box garden, and brought out our basil plants. Now the balcony over looking the city, with it's little coal barbecue and two lawn chairs, is quite possibly the most perfect place in all of Sarajevo. Here you can sit and have a coffee, enjoy a book and some light conversation and soak up the sun.

Improving my Bosnian and Smiling: Ever since I have been trying to speak more and smile a lot a people, everyone seems to be more friendly back. Maybe because the summer makes everyone inevitably less miserable, maybe because you just have to show overt happiness to get happiness back. Smiles are infectious.

6 more weeks:Officially there are only six more weeks of work left. And perhaps in the end it is this that is keeping us pumped. When we began this year, it was impossible to separate our life from work. Some nights we would stay till 8pm, only to go home eat sleep and do it all over again. We have finally found the balance, and leave our work for the most part at the school, which we leave promptly after it is time to go home. This separation between work and LIFE is what makes being here so much more rewarding.

So now with all this new found optimism, which might make some of you pessimist want to vomit in your mouths, we are ready to enjoy the next little bit like it's the last little bit we will have here. Which it is.

Still No fish

Zippers
Pastries at a place called " Butter King"
Paul looking for fish in Diocletian's Palace

It is Monday and we are giving up! Again we woke up early. Again a couple of Sardines at the fishing table that the man in front of the line beat us to. Today was our final attempt. After the failure of the "fish table" we got in the car at 9:00 am and drove to the second largest city in Croatia, Split. Surely this coastal port would have some fish for us to purchase. Aimlessly we walked around town once home of Diocletian and the centre of civilization. We had a pastry, popped into the ridiculously priced Diesel store and eventually headed to the market (a bustling meeting point of smells and sounds). We bought some steaks, artichokes, asparagus, home made olive oil sold in a plastic water bottle that could possible be the best olive oil I have ever tasted, and homemade cheese.

We also found zippers, plants, imitation sunglasses and just about everything else under the Adriatic sun. Except for fish! What gives?

* Disclaimer: We were thinking maybe it's not fishing season, but plenty of restaurants serve the catch of the day. We could eat fish if we wanted to but we don't love the way they prepare it here. It's heavy and greasy and takes away from the delicateness of the fish. We are not sea food snobs- we just think we could do it better.

No Fish on the Adratic

Not the FISH BOAT
Hello Crystal Clear Waters
Ready to jump in.
Palm trees!
Paul, Palm Tree, 80's beach hair


Paul and I are determined to become Master Chefs. Coming to the Adriatic we had visions of Jamie Oliver frying up some fresh fish with herbs and butter.

"Make sure to check for clear eyes" , Jamie's brightly obnoxious British accent keeps ringing in my ears...

A fish market is situated 5 minutes from our apartment here in Brela Voda. We made sure to be near fresh fish and to make Jamie proud. The market operates from 6:30-8:30 am. Too early of a wake-up call for vacation but alas anything for freshness.
"Freshness can not be compromised", Jamie chimes.

On our first morning we arrived at the "market" at 8:00 am with a bounce, surprised to find it to be more of a fish table, rather than the bustling fish throwing market we envisioned.
4 fish were left to choose from and our hearts sank. Disappointed we spoke to some locals who said we got up too late , but to not worry the fishing boats would come it at 5:30 pm to a town about 10 minutes drive from here. Sweet!

At 4:30 pm we put on our let's find fish outfits and headed to Makarska where there were no fish boats to be found on the main Pier. We continued to wait for another 2 hours, harassed more locals in broken Croatian/Bosnia/Polish/English asking where the fresh fish were. Patiently we waited look out from the bay until finally we could wait no longer. With long faces, and grumbly tummies we gave up and decided to head back, put some chicken on the Barby and try again today.

Slightly hung over, we pulled ourselves out of bed at 7am in hopes of the fresh catch of the morning. Sadly we arrived at the fish table to find it empty. Do fisher people not fish on Sundays? Is all the fish on the Adriatic actually frozen inland and then shipped back. What exactly is going on? Still two more days to go.

Our spirits low we decided to deal with our grief by hitting the beach. Paul found a jelly fish and a sea urchin but neither could be consumed. He got a tan in the process.. I absorbed the sun and let my hair get salty from the sea.