Es un Mundo Vagabundo: June 2013

His

This last month in Pisak has been quite amazing. We had friends and family visit which made this month very special. April and Peter were our first visitors and next to visit was our Spanish friend Santi. Oh Santi. Santi is hilarious, very loving, and always entertaining. Santi is quite the photographer and has a very fancy camera. We had so much fun taking pictures “all the days”! Thankfully, Santi had brought with him some shows and movies as the weather took an unfortunate turn once he left. Next to arrive was one of my best friends, Alex. The days building up to his arrival couldn’t have gone by any slower. The night before his arrival I felt like a ten-year-old on Christmas Eve! Haha. As soon as Alex arrived, I in a way felt re-energized and was ready to for some adventures. We had promised Alex that if he came out we would save the National Parks and waterfalls for him. We went to Krka and Plitvice, which in my opinion has the most beautiful waterfalls on Earth. Alex perfectly planned his trip to land on my birthday. I had been planning to go skydiving, but Alex admitted he was terrified of the idea and it was something he planned on never ever doing, haha. On the day of my birthday we were in Senj, and we basically conquered that town! I cannot thank Alex enough for making the trek across the world to visit us and for the awesome memories I will never forget. Alex’s stay overlapped a week with the arrival of Jennison’s parents, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Nanci. The seven of us blended together nicely with great conversations, competitive card games, and some awesome Croatian meals. Even though it rained for the two weeks Alex was here and the one week for the others, this did not stop us from having an absolutely wonderful time. We felt real bad for Alex so we offered to pay for him to get a spray tan so he was nice and tan once he got back to San Diego!

Coincidentally, we happened to be on the same flight as Alex leaving Croatia for Munich, Germany. In Munich, we parted ways with Alex as he was heading to the U.S and the now six of us were headed for Istanbul, Turkey!!!

Hers

Our last month in Croatia meant so many things to us. It allowed us time with each other as a young married couple. It provided time to relax, enjoy, and explore the natural beauty of the country that surrounded us. A country, which seemed to engulf us by its towering rock mountains and its crystal blue sea. This last month represented an inevitable ending to an amazing adventure. It represented so many things, but especially love. Standing on the outside, this month was a representation of the amazing community of friends and family who stand beside us. As an outsider looking in, it would be clear how loved and supported Brian and I are- on this continent as well as the continent we have called home for so many years.

April and Peter started off our visits in Croatia. We were addicted. We were excited to make more beautiful memories and share Croatia and our experiences with those we love. One of our Spanish friends, Santi, came to visit for 10 days in May. We spent this time sunbathing and swimming in the sea, cooking together, playing cards, and enjoying each other’s company. I remember Santi saying a couple weeks after he left, “I miss the days of walking to the small market in Pisak, grabbing lemonade beers, and relaxing together at the beach all day”. Santi’s visit was not about adventure, or travel. Santi’s visit was about love. A love of new friends. An appreciation for enjoying the simplicity of quality time.

After Santi left, one of Brian’s best friends, Alex, came to visit for two weeks. As soon as Alex stepped off the plane, these boys were transformed. It is amazing the affect a best friend has on your soul after months of being without each other. I absolutely loved watching these boys interact, seeing the smiles glued to their faces, reminiscing about old memories, while simultaneously building new memories that I know they will never forget. Although I have known Alex for many years, this time was the start of a beautiful friendship for us as well. The first week of Alex’s visit was busy, exciting, and full of adventure. We visited two national parks, Krka and Plitvice. These parks were some of the most amazing places I have ever been and held the most beautiful waterfalls, arguably, in the world. Despite the beauty of these places, my favorite memories of this first week were those made driving through the country together. On one particular day, we decided to delay our visit to the second national park due to a forecast of rain. We looked briefly at a map, searched a few Google images, and selected a random city by the coast. We hopped in the car and set off to spend one night in Senj, Croatia. After the boys visited the castle at the top of the hill, we made our way down to the small harbor, found one of the town’s only restaurants, and asked if they knew of anyone who had a room we could rent. The host walked us inside towards a woman sitting at the table, who phoned her husband, who called his mother. Five minutes later, we were being led towards an adorable Croatian villa where we were rented a room for the three of us, overlooking the sea and the castle. Later that evening, we ended up dining next to this entire family at the same restaurant we initially visited in town. This type of community and sustainability is one of the things I love most about Croatia. At midnight in Senj marked Brian’s 30^th birthday. We celebrated with all the locals in the town that night and made some amazingly hilarious memories.

My parents, Aunt Nanci, and Uncle Jim arrived during the last week of May. I cannot express the feelings of joy, excitement, and comfort I felt as I saw my family walk off the plane in Split. It was a surreal feeling- having “home” arrive somewhere I had just began to think of as our new “home”. It was as if it was all complete now and Croatia meant even more to us now that my family had arrived. We immediately took my family to one of our favorite pizza restaurants, Kristian’s, in Trogir. We sat outside on the terrace drinking wine and eating pizza in this adorable town before driving them down the coast towards our little village, Pisak. That evening, the owners of our flat cooked us a traditional Croatian meal, complete with their homemade wine, which we shared on the terrace overlooking the Adriatic Sea and the islands of Hvar and Brač. It was a perfect night and so special to finally be able to really share our new home with those we love. The weather was not especially cooperative while my family was visiting, but we squeezed in more travel time to make up for the previously planned beach days. We had lunch by the water in Makarska, gelato on the boardwalk in Brela, dinner at our favorite restaurant while admiring the gorgeous mountains in Omiš, listened to live music at the palace in Split, visited the Red and Blue Lakes in Imotski, and traveled to Bosnia to see Medjugorie and Mostar. One of my favorite memories was having dinner with my parents, Nanci, and Jim in Mostar, Bosnia. It was later in the evening so most of the tourists had departed, leaving the city quiet and peaceful. We sat overlooking the Neretva River and Mostar’s historic, Old Bridge. We were discussing plans for our upcoming trip to Istanbul when the “Call to Prayer” began to sound overhead from all the surrounding mosques in the city. It had an immediate, silencing effect on each of us. We sat smiling at each other as we listened to it echo off the cliffs, and fill the city with the sounds of history, memories of struggle, but a signal of peace and acceptance that now permeates this historic city. This was a powerful memory and even more meaningful because of the people I shared it with.

Love. This past month represents a love for travel and adventure, but also a love for people. Brian and I are so blessed to have had this experience the past five months and so lucky to have built so many memories together. What I found as the greatest blessing, however, is having been able to share these experiences with so many others. Thank you to everyone who was able to make the trip out here, but also to those of you who have been reading our stories, following our pictures, and keeping touch over FaceTime and Skype. You have helped us feel as though “home” is really only a touch away, which has made enjoying these experiences across the world, even easier.