Awesome holiday to Croatia (Part Two)

It's been a few days since I wrote the last update but I need to get this done so I'm going to type this up in free moments I get from now until it is completed.

Rosie is very excited for her Banana Split

Cannot wait to get stuck in

My cookies ice cream was really nice also

Only a little over spill

And done - what an effort!

I left you as we had settled into the French Square (not its real name) in the palace at Split. It was hot and we were well ready for the rest, the drinks and even more importantly the ice cream. Rosie ordered the banana split and when it arrived her eyes went wide. It was huge. My ice cream was pretty awesome as well to be fair however Rosie was the star of this show as she sat there and ate the lot without taking a break. Very impressive and she was rightly proud of herself.

House of a resistance fighter

Beautiful view across the bay above Split

So many lovely narrow shaded streets

Rosie was impressed with these bikes

An old section of the city wall

Split is full of beautiful old buildings

Raising a hat with a statue

Rosie really enjoys fountains

A pretty creative fountain we found

Rosie in Froggyland

Angela in Froggyland

Angela and Rosie in the narrow street

So much smoke from the fires

Rosie is tired but happy with her sweet

Large flames visible above Makarska

Loads of flames on the hill

Following this excellent rest we headed for a walk towards the viewpoint looking out over Split. On the way we saw Palmina's house (see this link, though you'll need to translate the page) and then continued past lots of cats which Rosie loved and finally reached the top after lots of climbing. It was very lovely indeed and the views were amazing however Rosie got a little upset on the way down as it was quite a long walk. We ended up in another beautiful square with statues and fountains and beautiful buildings and the old town walls. Amazing place, Split. It was starting to get to time for lunch and we headed over to a lovely Italian restaurant with great food, good service, and Rosie made friends with a little boy with an awesome bin lorry toy but spent most of the time sat with his parents talking to them. So funny. After lunch we headed towards the highlight of the day - Froggyland. This was incredible and despite misgivings Angela really enjoyed it too. I can recommend it very highly if you are ever in Split. It is just so funny, so cleverly done, and so inspiring. Rosie also loved it and when asked about her highlight for the day she couldn't decided between the Banana Split or Froggyland. Sadly we were not allowed to take any pictures at all. With that done we had a final little stroll around, found the really narrow street, then went for more coffee under water sprays right on the front by the port. Then it was uber back to the rabbit and then onwards towards home. A really great day and we did get some swimming in the evening as well. The fire near Makarska was looking really bad, the smoke was terrible, and while swimming I was starting to see ash on the surface of the sea. Rosie got to enjoy some of her sweets from the classic sweet shop in Makarska but then that evening as I looked across the bay I could see jumping flames on the hills not far from the town. Crazy!

Me and Rosie set off for our swim

We were having a really great time!

Quite a large fish tail

Angela and Rosie rig up the fishing line

Rosie getting her fish on

Loads of fishes (look closely)

Playing with the ball in the sea

My shoes covered in stones

Yes she is excited

Looking across towards where we were staying

The next morning Rosie joined me for my morning swim which honestly to me was the highlight of the entire holiday. She was so excited and had been asking to join me all week. We had bought her a full face snorkel mask after I broke the cheap one we'd picked up in Bulgaria. She was comfortable enough with it from her swimming the night before so we climbed down the steps, with Angela along to watch and be there in case something went wrong. Nothing did go wrong, however, and we had a lovely swim looking at the beautiful fish and sharing that experience together. After another lovely breakfast from the bakery we setup the cheap fishing rod and took it back down to the rocks and sat and fished for a while. Rosie had more fun just throwing the food in than actually holding the rod, but it was cool to see all the fish around. When Angela rejoined us I went in the water again to swim and watch from under the water. Later on that day we were once again down at the beach this time with our water polo ball and had lots and lots of fun throwing the ball around and just generally having a laugh. Angela was not in the water as she had been to the shops but was able to get some really cool pictures and a video. I also took some time to relax and while I was snoozing Rosie covered by shoes with stones which she thought was hilarious. Dinner was up at a lovely restaurant right across the other side of the village where Rosie had the best pork ribs and chips. On the walk back the sunset was beautiful, and also you could see where we're staying so I grabbed a picture and there is a red arrow on it showing the location.

The smoke has really died down now

Fishes jumping (look to the left)

Angela and Rosie having fun

Final few moments at the beach

Looking up at the village of Pisak

A very very tasty final dinner

Double ice cream

Beautiful sunset!

And so finally we were at the last full day of our holiday and it had gone waaay too quickly! I was up, did my swim, and then relaxed on the balcony watching the smoke still around from the fires in the hills and also the awesome fish jumping. I got a good video of this finally as well, including an enterprising fisherman who was chasing around trying to catch the fish. We spent the day on the beach which was a whole lot of fun. The beaches at Pisak really are lovely, if small, and the water was warm, calm and full of fish. It was just a perfect location. It's a really pretty spot as well. For dinner Rosie had asked that we go back to the restaurant from the first night which we happily did. I ordered a stuffed chicken dish which took ages to arrive (because it was cooked fresh, and the chef had only just started work) while Rosie had her burger and Angela had a really nice pizza again - those pizzas were good! Afterwards we had icecream from the little ice-cream parlour next to the restaurant, which was also lovely. The evening was stunning, the sunset was beautiful, however during the night a huge storm came through that was so loud it woke me, Rosie and Angela!

A quick look at the beach in Pisak

Final breakfast is out the way

I treated myself to some Peach Cobbler

This was a pretty little bench

Sat with Rosie on the bench

A final look at a wonderful view

A bad picture of a beautiful view

Lots of waiting in queues on our return journey

Xena is so happy we're home

Rosie gets her lolly

Despite the slight disturbance from that storm we did sleep well and were up at normal time. I was going to swim but decided against it and I'm glad I did as it would turn out to be a super long day. I walked down to the bakery for the final time and got a picture of the little beach there (this is the first beach we went to, and also the last beach) and picked up a load of supplies for breakfast and also to feed us on the way home. After breakfast I straight away started loading the car and again I'm glad I did so as the temperature rose fast so I was able to get most of it done and avoid sweating. We were ready to leave by our target time of around 9am and Rosie and I sat on a little bench for a bit before we finally went in the car. We were super careful about the satnav this time and made sure we went the route up the length of Croatia then across into Serbia and back down. On the way we went over the new bridge we had gone under on our boat trip, though the pictures were rubbish. The rest of the journey was long and awesome at times and then tedious. There was a lot of traffic at times and the Croatian/Serbian border was a little slow however everything was looking good until we reached the Bulgarian border. This was incredibly slow. There were crowds of immigrants harrassing cars in the queue to wash windscreens (doing so without even asking unless you yelled at them) and it took about two hours to crawl up to the checkpoint. We got there and were through pretty quickly once we were seen and I got to about an hour away from home before I woke Angela as I thought she'd have to take over the drive. As it happens just chatting a bit woke me up and I was able to complete the full 19.5 hour drive on my own. It was 5:30am when we pulled up and after unloading the food only I went to bed and slept for 5 hours. The girls were super happy to see us, of course, and Rosie was very happy to get to start on her huge lolly she got at the shop in Makarska.

So there it is. Thank you so much for reading it all. I hope you enjoyed. I'll be back at some point, not sure when yet though.

Back to Greece

Today has been a long and awesome day as we headed back down to the Greek coast for sun, sand, swimming and sea food. It was lovely.

"Take a picture, Daddy" - Rosie

Sat in Maisie waiting for Angela so we can GOOO

Straight in the sea and it was lovely

Very pleased Angela got to snorkel today

Rosie playing while the wave breaks

Rosie went and offered to share her toys with this boy

Rosie filling up her bucket and watering can

And then dumping the water into her hole

The day started early as alarms went off and we gathered ourselves, woke up (mostly) and got into Maisie for the drive down. Talking of Maisie it was very comfortable and lovely to drive in her to Greece so that was great; lots of space and the aircon worked great and she was very comfy to drive and be driven in. We got to the beach by about 8 or just after, once again, but this time we were far from the first and the recliners were all full by mid morning; the difference just two weeks can make. I was in the sea with Rosie pretty much immediately and we spent the day swimming, playing in the sand, swimming and playing in the sand. Angela got to snorkel this time as well which was a great thing, and Rosie got to sit and play very briefly with another boy on the beach before he was called away by his mum. Ah well. Rosie had a great time and we were sat next to some very nice English speaking Bulgarians who come from near where we live, and now live in the UK. It was a really lovely morning indeed. The sea was far choppier and had quite a swell compared to last time round but Rosie did very well after some initial reluctance and even though she got splashed in the face multiple times she was very good with it.

Rosie was most amused at the seagull on the umbrella

We are happy to be at lunch

Post-beach Rosie

Cheese and Honey and Sesame Seeds - lovely!

Angela with her Seafood Spaghetti

Rosie exhausted from the day

Once again at lunch time we packed up and drove from the beach back into the town and found ourselves a little cafe on the sea front. It was a great spot with a lovely fresh breeze blowing in and we could sit right overlooking the sea. Rosie was again looking at seagulls and counting them. We ordered a little too much again, but weren't quite as over the top as last time. I was mostly pleased that the place we chose did serve the amazing cheese and honey dish which I just love. Angela was very pleased with her seafood spaghetti and it was truly scrumptious. After dinner I went and had another nap under some trees while Rosie had some ice cream and then they did a wander around the town before nudging me to come drive home. Which I did, and again it was super comfortable. Rosie was awake all the way until past the border and then passed out and I was able to lift her out of the car and settle her on the sofa for more of a sleep.

Bekir still twisting barbed wire

Getting to the end of the day and the task

After we got back we all fell asleep but the workmen were still at it doing the barbed wire, working in the heat to get it done. When I woke I got them some ice cream to finish the day up. They had been looking after the puppies (though apparently Xena never wanted to go back inside) so they were really awesome today. They have finished all the barbed wire apart from the returns back to the walls. This needs a little work for something to attached the barbed wire to so that's for tomorrow. Then it'll be repairing the actual building and this project will be complete. Finally!

So there it is; another day, and what a great day it was. Thanks for reading. Back tomorrow.