Where Are You Going: Iceland?

I learn the neatest things on BBC's Where are You Going? So, fancy a handbag made from fish leather? There are souvenirs and then there are souvenirs. Leave it to the Northern Europeans to not throw away anything. Eco-living is a thing. Head to Iceland for a fish leather handbag. And head over to Atlantic Leather to read all about it.

Netflix and Chill

It's my birthday amd I don't mind that the number's creeping up to 40. What I do mind is 20-somethings running circles around me with urban slang...not knowing what the hell people are talking about because I am not in sync with the latest lingo. So I was chilling by the pool at Vytautas Minseral Spa in Birstona and reading a book when I came across "netflix and chill" and it made me wonder: at 38 years old, just what I else don't I know...? While growing up, I hated it when my aunts couldn't relate to my life and I really don't want to be able to communicate or even understand Hazel when she is a teen. So, how to keep up...or do I need to keep up? Do I really need to know what "netflix and chill" means at the age of 38? My feeling is yes. Right up until about 55 I want to know what it all means. You?

I had a lovely weekend at the Spa. Such a charming and unspoiled town is Birstona. It has the prettiest, little houses, a beautiful forest, a yellow dude statue (maybe Dali...lol), exercise equipment in the forest and a river running through  the town.. And mineral water. You have to go!

I spent the weekend in mud wraps, Himalayan-type and mineral water saunas, jacuzzis and massages. We bicycled through the forest and along the lake and enjoyed the cool breeze and sun above (btw I now know I am allergic to the European sun--I break out in red, swollen rashes. It's why I am covered in a blanket). But it was lovely, I couldn't ask for a single thing more for my birthday. It was so lovely.

CAVTAT

It's our last day in Croatia. We decided to move closer to the airport which is about 30 km away from Dubrovnik. We are in the sweetest little bay town called Cavtat. It's sleepy, quiet and sits right on the bay. Lots of little Villas, boating and fishing and waterside dining, plus there is a cute little town with a maze of uphill cobblestone streets to explore.

It's rare when I don't buy anything on a trip. But the shopping is not great. Lots of lavendar, some ok wines and basic liqueur, but nothing really special. The shopping experience, I think, is the most under-developed part of the tourism in Croatia. But the views and the service are spectacular.

The Prettiest Sunset

Living in the forest in Lithuania means that we are cut off from the state-supplied infrastructure services like gas heating, sewer lines, water supply and garabage collection. My water is from an underground source, I have to pay for the sewer truck to come three times per year to extract my sewer and also for the garbage truck to come once per week to collect my trash. As for my heating---it's coal. I have a giant coal machine in the basement and I have to dump two bags of coal into it every other day. The coal gets delivered by the tonne once every two months or so. Well, a month ago the machine quit, and the technician has no clue what's happening with it. So sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. So I was miserably cold for three weeks prior to coming on vacation. We have an electric boiler that supplies hot water and we were using electrical heating fans but these things are not a great substitute for centralised heating. 

I say all the foregoing so that you know just how much we needed this vacation to Croatia. It's so warm and lovely here. It's around 68 F most days and sunny with a lovely cool breeze coming off of the sea. We started out with a two-night stay in Split at a pretty little boutique hotel  called Heritage Hotel which is at the edge of the waterfront promenade in Split--just a 10 minute walk from the old town. We also spent a day in Trogir which is a UNESCO heritage site. Then we took a Catmaran cruise from Split down to Dubrovnik and on our way we stopped in at Korcula and Hvar.

If you plan to come to Croatia expect great/fresh seafood, Italian-like cuisine (pizza, pasta and seafood pasta dishes), lots of stonework architecture and old castles . Dubrovnik is the ideal spot, actually--we prefer it to Split. It looks a bit like something between Nice and Monoca--except nicer and less pretentious. We are staying at the Hotel Durbrovnik Palace.

I head home on the weekend. I hope my cell phone dries out by then so I can post pictures of Dubrovnik. It seems to have died after a couple drops of drinking water got into it.

On Vacation

We're in Split. We also spent part of yesterday in Trogir. I'll be blogging from Croatia all week. Such a big change from our cold forest in Lithuania. It's sunny and warm with a cool Spring breeze.

The Illusion Museum and Snow Fun

It's minus 2. What do you do in a cold country in the winter? Stay in doors all day? Absolutely not! It's been fun so far. At the Illusion Museum in the old town in Vilnius both the young and old will be facinated by the tricks to the naked eye. My daughter and I walked on the ceiling of a bedroom, sat underneath a toilet and robbed a bank.

Then it snowed. So we made a snow man with carrot for a nose and lumps of coal for his eyes. Problem is Fred (our dog) kept snatching and eating the carrot and we kept replacing it. Two carrots in we started to chase him away.

 My daughter started her ice skating lesson. Also great linen. I head out to work in three weeks. So I bought a pretty dress to wear to work in the Caribbean. There are great linen shops for both men and women in the old town in Vilnius.