Random pix

I posted these a few days back but just noticed they didn't go through. Here are your Matt pix Mom 😊

Risotto with calamari.....yum!!!

This is St Nicholas' church and the cemetery. Look at this walk! It is quite steep on a uneven stone laid road that these older women walk up and down regularly to clean grave sites and place flowers on them.

The doors of Komiza

Had to include these. I continue to be intrigued by the beautiful doors here.

Nightlife

Today was our first day without Steph's family. We really relaxed and rested today with no schedule but a walk at 9pm on the Riva with cousin Maja and her son Lav.

The boys and I ate breakfast on the Riva and Matthew stayed at the cafe and read while Luke and I tried to find the soccer field. He has been on a mission to find a soccer field as well as a ball since our arrival. Ironically, we are staying at an apartment next to the fire station. The boys walked over there after seeing soccer goals and they invited the boys to go ahead and play soccer whenever they wanted. It was a challenging day for Luke without specific plans since he likes to run and run and run.  I eventually took him down to the beach for awhile and dropped by the park a long the way. 'Park'  is three rope swings hanging from trees but overlooking the sea. He gets a thrill out of the swings. 

Matthew and I had a very nice dinner on the Riva and Luke walked down after to join us for our walk with Maja and Lav. 

We walked and of course had ice cream. They will be lost when we are home and they realize we can't have ice cream everyday!

Although the Riva was quite crowded, we did get to see a section marked off for people who would like to dance. There were a few couples doing ballroom like dancing. Maja then noticed a sign that said a Croatian singer would be performing at the local school and it just so happened she was performing at just that time so we rushed over there. Fortunate for us, we caught her last three songs. Although she usually sings in Croatian or French, two of the last songs were in English!!! Go figure!

Such a nice night. It's beautiful here with pretty mild weather although it was humid during the day. I never need a sweater.  My kind of weather! 

Here are a few pictures. 

Bisevo

What a day! 

We took a ferry to the island of Bisevo (bee sha voe) where the well known 'blue cave' is located. The blue cave is a big attraction and is suppose to be beautiful well worth the trip. Unfortunately, the tide was too high and too rough so once we arrived on the island, we were told that we couldn't enter the cave. I guess when you don't know what you're missing, it's not too much of a disappointment.

Instead, we finished our tour by ending up on the other side of the island. This is a special location because it has sandy beaches which are hard to come by. Most beaches here are rocky and are best while wearing water shoes. We spent the remaining four hours of our tour here with Stephanie and Pete and the kids. The kids are at a good age in that they can swim independently and he fact that there are no waves makes it that much easier.

Steph, Pete, Matt and I were able to take a few minutes to eat at the outdoor restaurant and have some local food. We  chose cevapcici which is a sausage made of beef, lamb and pork along with the tampenade-like side of stewed tomatoes and eggplant. It was delicious!

We climbed rocks and then jumped from them with the kids and many of them snorkeled. The visibility is remarkable. You can see all of the tiny fish going by and sea urchins clinging to the rocks. 

Matthew and Luke are having a fabulous time and speak of what we are going to do 'the next time' we are here.

After relocating to our new apartment, we have taken a quick break before getting ready for dinner with cousins we have met for the first time. This new apartment is adorable and made even more special by the fact the landlady reminds me of my Mother. I see the similarities and it's fun to put the pieces together of where her habits and traditions come from. The land lady's name is the same as my mothers. It is Katica (Ka titza) and she even had fresh hrstle (local dessert) on the table when we arrived. The linens on the beds are too pretty to sleep on; so beautifully crocheted and then ironed. Such detail.

Here are some pictures from our day. 

Meeting the locals

I

What a perfect morning! After a beautiful 4 mile hike with good friends, we sat on the 'Riva' (river front) and sipped espresso while enjoying well earned pastries. We spoke to a local man who is apparently the historian for this town. He spoke Spanish with Stephanie and for the first time while here I understood someone!!! He translated from Croatian to English to Spanish; what an experience. Where else can you sit in an outdoor cafe sipping espresso and speaking to this wordly man?

I asked him if he knew the location of my mothers' family's home and he said that he would just need to know their family 'nickname.' The town is so small, with so many of the same family names, nicknames help differentiate each family. So, tomorrow, I get to meet up with him again with my family's nickname. The last time my mother was here, 10 years ago, she arrived at her families abandoned home only to find her high school graduation picture still on the wall!!!

We then went on to spend the day at one of the only beaches that is sandy instead of rocky, 'Stonjiza.' And now we are home to get ready for a traditional American BBQ since it is the 4th of July!

We finally ended our day meeting our cousin, Maja and her adorable 4 year old son, Lavf. The boys had tons of fun chasing him and racing with him on the Riva. They found a fun new cousin. 

Here are a few pictures from our day. 

Jadrolinja to Vis

I have received so much great advice regarding our travel plans but of the best was from brother Robert. 

'Just write; write from your heart without regard for grammar or accuracy of details.' So here I go.

I'm including some pictures from of course our perfect snack on the our third plane after 17 hours of travel to fun pictures of my boys and our surroundings. 

After arriving in Split late last night around midnight, our very nice landlord Demaria showed us where the local ATM was and then where we could get fast food. As anyone who knows me knows, I eat according to time. I space it out and traveling through different time zones over different days can be confusing for someone like me. So pizza with prosciutto and ketchup, yes, ketchup (I thought she must've meant tomatoes) at midnight was odd but super satisfying.

What a great apartment. I only wish we were there longer but no, up at 6:45 to get ready for our 9am ferry to Vis. This is a two hour journey on a ferry of families and cars to my mothers homeland, Komiza on the island of Vis where friends my friend since first grade, Steohanie and her family will meet us and drive us from the city of Vis to Komiza. 

I have to stop at times and really appreciate the immensity and how fortunate we are to be able to return to the very place my mothers family fled from over 60 years ago. A bit humbling to realize how chaotic it was at times for us to make the journey; me, my husband and two children. Yet, my grandmother made this same journey during war time and with three small children alone.  At that time, her husband had gone ahead to the US to find a suitable location to work and provide for his family when the war broke out.

So here we are, vacationing in the beautiful Adriatic with friends from San Pedro.

As I often remind myself, I'm a lucky girl.

Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Reskusich. 

Hvala puno. 

Boarding in LA!!!

Do not load your kiddos up on sugar and ask them to wait patiently to board 😉