Expectations for day #2 of any trip involving a big time difference, is always pretty low for me. Jet lag, generally speaking, KILLS me, and it’s never smooth sailing. The kids are all over the map, they sometimes can sail thru, and other times they have weird fits as a reaction to the fatigue feeling. I had a very spotty sleep last night, so there wasn’t much of a catch up from the previous night without any sleep. Then we had a 5.5 hour drive to Vir, Croatia from Venice.
The food so far….well, let’s just say, if it were to continue at this rate I’d be 23 lbs by the time our trip came to an end. I’m sure it won’t, I’m just sayin’. We ate breakfast at the Hilton—a not-so-glorious buffet (because really, I’m not convinced any buffet could be glorious because I’m just generally against them). I skipped it entirely because other than the apple they brought me back, I don’t know there was much I wanted to (or could) eat. I know, I know…I realize it’s only because I have all these annoying dietary restrictions, but I know what I need to stay feeling good, and it includes no dairy, no wheat, and no refined sugar. I’m annoyed just typing that out, but what can I do? My body was breaking down on that cocktail.
In preparation for this trip we were really worried that the car would be super tiny. Every time we’ve been to Europe we rent the biggest car, and spent the entire time sardined in because their version of big, is half of the size of ours. We had luggage on the roof last time, no joke. So this time we decided we’d be smart and we’d each pack only an airplane sized suitcase carry on for each person. For 7 weeks, that’s seriously NOT much. PLUS, I had to carry extra crap in my suitcase that didn’t even qualify as “me” stuff. Example: my end-of-days emergency medicine kit put together by my brother in law (who is a doctor and closet survivalist---well, I exaggerate, but he gets excited like I do about being prepared for anything...apocalypse here we come). So not only can I treat an allergic reaction with an Epi pen, I am fully equipped to deal with everything from a bladder infection to malaria. No joke. I'm just waiting for the day I can give an emergency tracheotomy because I'm ready for that too. That took up a good size square of my limited space. So the upshot of that is that I have VERY little clothing. Like nothing. Three pairs of pants, two shorts, two long sleeves…..you get the idea. The irony? John goes to pick up the car and it’s HUGE….like small bus size. I could have taken a MUCH bigger suitcase, dang. There’s a good chance we won’t be able to fit down half the narrow streets in Eastern Europe, that could be an issue.
So our drive was uneventful, and most of us slept thru chunks of it, sprawled out in our spacious ride. We breezed thru Slovenia, into Croatia, and I caught some of the gorgeous countryside, but the rest of the time I crashed. The northern most tip of Croatia looked a lot like Oregon….pine trees and green mountains. We’re on a tiny island called Vir right now, which has the beautiful waters you’d expect, but so far the beaches are nothing to get too excited about (rocky and short). We definitely have to search out the good ones.
We ate dinner along the ocean, and I ordered a green salad thinking ok, that’s something I can eat plus it’s healthy and fresh. Well, it was a completely naked salad. No joke. Just lettuce, N-O-T-H-I-N-G else. They took the green part really literally and apparently couldn’t find ANY other green veggies. Ava asked if I had an eating disorder. I had about a pound of dry salami when I got home because I might not eat gluten, but I definitely eat salami (nitrates and all).
Our little house is darling, just the perfect size for us. The only thing lacking—which is actually a BIG thing—is a washer and dryer. There was only one request I had for every home we stayed at, and that was to have a washer and dryer. We’ve already got at least one load of dirty clothes and it’s only been 2 days. John was in charge of this particular rental (he was the big Croatia enthusiast)….so I’m blaming him. My irritation will grow with each day of dirty laundry.
Tomorrow I’m going to head into Zadar and try to scope out a yoga studio to take a class. The weather might be a little overcast, so our plan is to explore Zadar a bit instead of going to the beach since it might rain anyway. I’m going to search for decent food too….decent food and yoga, is that too much to ask people??
Lastly, I’m super excited about my new book….The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Wasn’t necessarily moved by the description of the book itself, but it won a Nobel Prize and had a long list of people singing it’s praises so I bought it and it’s pulling me in quick...it's going to be great!!
Signed, ME {lv}
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