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.

Dubrovnik Take Two

So there you have it- the new hair cut. None of the 4 year olds seemed to notice. Often they comment on change in a very honest way. I'm happy it didn't offend them.
We had to climb all of these stairs to get to the apartment we rented. At the end the Adriatic.
I wish we had a boat to float in.
The road into old town.
Who can resist cotton candy?
The flags or Croatia and Christianity as part of the parade in old town.


Last Friday 2:15 pm rolls around; Paul, James and Myself are promptly fitted into the szkoda as it screeches out of the school parking lot en route to the coast. Our minds not yet made up as to whether or not we should stick to the original plan and head north up the coast to a mellow town called Makarska for hiking and relaxing, or to take a left on the coast returning to Dubrovnik for the Dubrovnik Day Festival. After a stop at Zdrova Voda the famous lamb roast on the side of the highway restaurant for some roast sandwiches our ideas of health and exercise quickly get side swiped by promises of Marti Gras like festivities in Dubrovnik. As I lay in the back seat of the car, James taking over my very important role as navigator, all I can see is the big dipper coming in and out of my view as we wind down the coastal highway.

Dubrovnik as beautiful, sunny, and breathtaking as always proves to be in the thick of St. Blaze day the patron Saint of Dubrovnik. Needless to say the streets are full of families in their Sunday best and processions of Catholic Croatians in their national dress and outdoor masses. A very surreal and 'local" experience compared to the usual throng of tourists the town tends to see in the summer months. Perhaps not the wild atmosphere we were hoping for but still lovely and enchanting in a surreal hyper sensory kind of way.

Back in Bosnia Paul has now moved both the ironing board and the drying rack into 'my make-up room". Which means we now share the room since Paul is the only one around here that touches the laundry.
Back for another week of school. Happy Valentine's Day to all of you lovers out there. Also good health to our dear friend Denny who just got out of the hospital from a bout of pneumonia. Good to see him back in the hood.