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.

Catching up before our holiday

I've been meaning to write this blog for a very long time, but life keeps getting in the way and the past week or so I've been sick. Now suddenly it is tomorrow when we go on holiday so I'd better get to it. Here goes.

A visitor

Here is all the fencing we need for next year

Angela and Rosie getting the fence assembled

Rosie watches me to do the insulation tiles

Tiles being laid out, but there weren't enough

We'll start off way back before even the pool was up. The delay to the pool going up was multiple. First of all we needed to buy tiles to go underneath the pool which took ages to arrive and then, when they had arrived, we realised that Dutch would probably eat the tiles and the pool if we didn't keep him out. After talking to a fencing hire company I discovered it would be cheaper top buy ALL the fencing I'll need for next year when we replace our front wall then to hire the small amount we'd need to segment the patio. When the fencing arrived we unloaded it then set up a zigzag across to keep Dutch out and finally I pulled all the tiles out and got them laid in place ready for the pool to be put up only to find that my maths had been out and I hadn't ordered enough. So back to waiting! What a pain, and the weather was PERFECT for the whole time as well.

Getting ready to clear some invasive trees

40 minutes of effort made a big difference

Rosie helps me harvest, while Dutch hovers

Two big buckets of plums

Time to try remove this tree

More rocks than roots

Halil has not been back since, for various reasons (hopefully he'll be able to come when I get back from holiday) but I have got out into the garden a couple of times to clear some of the invasive trees. I did a load of the very small saplings springing up on the mown area the first time (and pulled lots of stones out as well) which was very satisfying. Later that day Rosie helped me with our next batch of harvesting plums. We got loads of them and these are all now processed and in the freezer. The next day I got out into the garden again and did yet more digging. This was super hard work as the ground here is basically building rubble. There is stones and rocks and bricks and tiles and very little soil. I was exhausted by the time I called it a day.

Just about to attempt the hill

Rosie climbing with gusto

Taking regular rests on the climb

There comes the sun

Sassy Rosie on the hill

We made it to the top

Finding it tougher going to descend

Rosie is proud of herself here

Swinging her legs off a tree bridge

Sliding down the bank from the train tracks

Rosie has been talking for weeks about a hill she saw from the road that she wanted to climb so on the Saturday morning, with Angela out at a friends having some relax time, we jumped in the car really early to try and reach the summit. We went early as the temperature was forecast to be rising to about 37C that day and I'm glad we went as it was hot on the way back down. After managing to park we struck out across a field then reach the edge of the wooded band and ran out of any hint of a path so we stuck with it and kept climbing. The way up as OK and as we reach near the top we finally met up with the sun coming over the ridge of the hill. We couldn't quite reach the exact top as it was a thicket of thorn bushes but we were very close. After a short rest for some breakfast biscuits and a banana we headed back down which was, as I expected, very much more difficult. At one point I took a slightly wrong turn which led us into a dead end and we had to climb back up which upset Rosie a little however then we were back on track and she had lots of fun looking for evidence of our previous climb. She did SO well and by the time we got back to the car I think I was more tired than she was. A lovely way to spend a morning indeed.

This strawberry tasted amazing

Lots of little trees to get rid of

Trees gotten rid of thank goodness

Stubborn stump to get rid of\

This time I succeeded

It's been so hot and dry that our garden has not been productive at all this year. We've had a few strawberries and a few tomatoes but not much else. I did get out into the garden again and removed more of the small saplings springing up next to the driveway, and then went back over to the stump I had tried and failed to remove the previous time and this go round was able to get it out and a few more besides. It's a slow process but satisfying and I'm glad I've got a little more done working solo. Of course then I had to travel and since getting back I've been sick so no more progress there.

Wind turbines from the air as I fly over

Proud doggy daddy

A walk up into the peaks from his house

A really wonderful time with friends

Lurtz is still at Warhammer World

Gathered again for a Rice 'n' Three

This was so tasty!

As I mentioned there I headed to the UK after this. The main reason was to see my very good friend Pixie who emigrated to Australia a year or so before I came to Bulgaria, but as I was over I fitted in a load more awesome as well. I was staying with James, who visited us here last year, and it was a lovely welcome and comfortable experience being in his house. If he ever reads this, thanks again. I got to meet his lovely pooch Waffle, go for a walk with the dog a couple of times, as well as going to the pub with Pixie and James and the next day I went to Warhammer World and met up with another couple of friends which was amazing. Finally on the Monday before I came home I met with some more friends for Rice 'n' Three which was as tasty as it ever is. A good visit indeed.

New basketball hoop up and ready for fun

Rosie has her little hoop as well

Finally ready for the pool to go up

Impressed that Angela and I did this alone

Rosie couldn't wait for the pool to fill

It's full enough to float in now

One thing that James had was a really sturdy basketball net so having seen that I found one in Bulgaria and ordered it, and it arrived very soon after I got home so immediately I put it together and threw some hoops. I don't know why I didn't get one of these a long time ago!. Next up the replacement tiles I'd ordered finally arrived but this time they were very slightly too big!! No matter, Angela had a superb idea for how to make it work and I completed the insulated base then Angela and I put the pool up together, without the men's help! We immediately started filling it and Rose was straight inside with me paddling and splashing around. The next day it was half full and so Angela and Rosie jumped in to cool off and have some fun. It does take a long time to fill up!

Wiring up the first fan

Bekir brought two pigeons to give to a friend

Drilling through to the roof

Guest room ceiling fan

Doing Room 13 now

On the Saturday the men came for the day to fit the new ceiling fans that'd delivered while I was in the UK. It took pretty much all day but by the end of it the two guest rooms and Room 13 now had ceiling fans with a light fitted. I must admit I love my ceiling fan; I just leave it on level 1 and it moves so much air and is totally silent. It's very comfortable indeed.

The pool isn't quite full but still we can have fun

Angela and Rosie enjoy the full pool

Eating plum fresh off the tree

A kiss for Xena

Hot enough this day

Rosie eating her chips

Moon rise while camping

A cloud burst ... is it heading our way?

No, no it isn't

And now we're about to wrap up this epic update. The pool filled over a few days and has been very much enjoyed by all of us over the past few weeks. Rosie really is a little fish and she loves swimming - yesterday she had her first experience with a snorkel and did very well indeed. We also had another plum harvest, this time the plums were so ripe and Rosie ate a few then took one in for Angela. I really haven't been well for the past week, however, so there's not much I've taken pictures of. Rosie came to see me in bed with Xena and was very sweet indeed at one point. I did take her out for her tea one night when Angela was also not feeling well and it has been very very hot until today. Rosie and I camped on Saturday night last weekend but it was not very successful as it was too hot then there was loud music and I did not sleep well at all. Even Rosie was disturbed by it! The last couple of days the weather has changed a bit with some epic storms going past. The one I got pictures of (while Rosie was playing piano) missed us but last night and this morning it rained non stop for a very long time so we finally got the rain we've so desperately needed.

So there it is. Over fifty pictures! Crazy. Tomorrow we go on our holiday so I'll do another update after that I'm sure. Thanks for reading.