Living Life

Split has been a perfect place for us to wrap up our Europe travels.  The combination of not having a long list of activities to check off our "must do" list and being in one spot for more than a month, the pace of life has been excellent.  When it has not been raining the weather has been amazing.  I know scientifically sunshine does amazing things for your mood, but after this trip I feel it in my heart too.  The sunshine here penetrates my soul.  

In any direction you look, you see God's beautiful creation.  The Dinaric Alps, the Adriatic Sea, and Marjan forest surround the city.   I realize that Split is a really beautiful city, but I remember feeling this same awe of my surroundings at certain points in my life.  For instance, when living on the beach, or rock climbing in the mountains, or camping in remote areas.  I love being in and around nature.  Bobby and I have been talking about the places near home we are excited about taking Amelie and Liam.  Some of the places we have talked about going are Cumberland Island, Rock town (where we used to go rock climbing in college), Rock City, and more.  In moving around, I have seen that there is beauty in all cities.  I am determined to be appreciative of the beauty surrounding me wherever we live (busy city or otherwise!).  

Amelie and Liam keep us laughing.  Liam is talking more and more each day.  Lately, he has been telling us, "Be quiet!  Liam talking first!"  Although this might sound rude, it is almost essential in order to get any voice in our family as Amelie talks non-stop.  They are playing together more and more for longer amounts of time. They are sweet friends.

This past week we were able to get out of the apartment to do some fun things.  Touring through Diocletian's palace basement took up some time one afternoon after rest time.  We would have enjoyed it more had there not been a modern art exhibition up, but we endured the random sounds and videos and artifacts placed around the rooms.  After hearing the sounds echoing in the halls of someone throwing up coins over and over again, I realized that I really dislike some modern art.  

We did enjoy seeing the ancient architecture composing Diocletian's residential quarters.  The ancient floor plan showcases a mirror image of the emperor’s residence above as this substructure acted as supporting walls. Eventually the basement turned into a water storage facility, but through time the basement got clogged up completely. As additional houses were built above the basement, they drilled holes into their floors in order to use the basement is a sewage tank and garbage dump. Croatian architect and the country’s first conservator, Vicko Andrić who constructed the Riva harbor-front devoted his retirement to the conservation of Diocletian’s Palace and began an excavation of the cellars in the 1850’s. Andrić drained and cleaned the cellars and archeological discoveries are still being made to this day, particularly in the far corners of the basement.  Although we looked to discover something new, we did not unearth anything. ;)

Bobby, Amelie, and Liam examining the map.

Standing in one of the open courtyards.  They were all standing the same way, but Liam was backwards. ;)

Bobby explaining how the press was used.
It probably was used either for grapes or olives and dates back to the early Middle Ages.

We have been spending a lot of time on the Riva since the first of December.  A mini Christmas town has been erected along along the promenade hosting a variety of vendors.  Most are serving food (and it is delicious!), but there are also crafts and other various products being showcased.  One of me and Bobbys favorite aspect is trying the mulled wine at each hut.  Mulled wine was originally created as a way to make "bad" wine drinkable again.   Mulled wine is a traditional winter drink made of red wine and various combinations of nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, sugar, orange zest, local liqueurs and served hot.  We have learned that each vendor is given similar red wine, but provide their own combination of spices.  In my mind, it's similar to a chili cook-off...whoever can produce the best recipe gets the repeated customers.  In the States we didn't see mulled wine often, but it has quickly become a favorite here.  It reminds me of hot cider, but better.  Bobby has been researching recipes to try when we get home. Another winter tradition is fritules (fried doughnuts balls essentially topped with powdered sugar and nutella).  We buy a big cup for around $3 and all enjoy a delicious treat.  Although it is not great for our waistline, we just can't resist! :)

Liam is kneeling against the wall talking to a nearby seagull.
"What are you doing?...Oh, you are swimming?"

Amelie and Liam love to run around and jump off the benches.

Excited about buying fritules.
Liam will stand in line and say, "Fritules, please?"  

The Riva as the sun is setting with the Christmas lights lit up.
You can see the various huts opposite of the palace walls.

I love the reflections on the water.

We have also enjoyed time at the apartment while Bobby and I finished up the Fall semester.  Amelie and Liam both love doing crafts.  We do not have a grand supply of materials, but we did find some fresh markers, finger paint, and play dough.  

Amelie is getting excited about fishing with Bobby again in Gulf Shores.

Hanging out at a local Bubble Tea bar on the company's year anniversary.  Their menu was 1/2 price and they had lots of balloons around with loud music.  We had fun drinking our bubble tea while the kids ate frozen yogurt and played with balloons.

Amelie wanted frozen yogurt over hot chocolate because she wanted to add sprinkles and marshmallows.

We have also gone to the playground.  Here is a picture of Bobby's pants after he tried to play on the monkey bars with the kids.  I heard the sound of the rip across the playground followed by Bobby saying, "Oh no.  NOOOOO!"  He had to walk a mile home with a huge flap opening.  I could not stop laughing!

Eating lunch on the Riva.

Cutting through the Venetian Square on our way home.

We are enjoying this family time.  Normally the Christmas season can be hectic for us, however this year it has not been.  It's nice.  We are excited about being back in the States for Christmas Day and being able to see all of our family.  I am hoping that our jet-lag does not dampen the fun of the festivities for us! ;)  One day at a time...

Bobby's Sick = Park, park, and more park

Being ill is never fun.  Being ill in a foreign country is even more un-fun.  Bobby was sick for almost a week with Strep Throat.  I had him quarantined to our bedroom for almost the entire time.  If you know Bobby well, you know that being stuck in one place with no one to talk to was excruciatingly painful.  I felt bad for him, but I couldn't really pamper him as I was in single parenting mode for that duration.  I even slept upstairs with the kids.   Thankfully our kind neighbor made Bobby a tray of home-remedies after a couple of days of being under the weather.  He polished off the minced uncooked meat, whole bulb of garlic, freshly squeezed lemon water, hot wine, and whisky; he was so desperate to get better.  He also walked almost a mile to the hospitals emergency room to receive medicine and treatment.  Thankfully, the fever broke and he began to feel better again after a couple of days. 

To keep the rest of us sane, we went to the playground everyday and then to the grocery store of the nearby venetian square after rest time.  I also do not do the cooking for our family.  I laughed a couple of times at my feeble attempts of making dinner.  We ate out the first couple of nights hoping it would pass, but not wanting to break the bank I started making food.  The first night was a disaster as I made some sort of bean, rice, pea, and corn goulash.  It was not good.  Amelie would not stop talking about how disgusting it was.  I remember thinking that I have turned into the man of the family in that I cannot cook food any more.  In my defense, we do not have many food options here.  The following night I redeemed my reputation by making eggs, french fries, and fruit salad for dinner.   Don't worry, I have embraced the fact that Bobby is a much better cook than I am.  :)

I love the walk to the playground.  Going from the old city center to the playground requires a walk along the harbor and Adriatic Sea.  You really can't beat the views!

The weekends bring in cruise liners.
Also, a group of children sail boats in the harbor. We love watching all of the little white sail boats.

Amelie likes to get off the stroller and walk up these steps and play while I walk up the zig-zag ramp.

We've made it to the park!  The harbor is behind us and there are more views of the sea ahead.

Marjan Hill can be seen in the background.

By digging in the rocks, Amelie and Liam found an earthworm.
They enjoyed playing with the earthworm and protecting him from the birds.

They are content with playing with a sand bucket, laundry detergent top, and 2 plastic spoons.

A smaller playground nearby that is next to a smaller harbor.
There are mechanical things to ride but we don't pay the money...they just like sitting on them. :)

They love the spinning chairs!

On Sunday (Nov 17th), after rest time we took our snack to the Riva and watched the sunset.  To our surprise we were also able to watch the cruise liner leaving port.  The lights reflecting on the water with the beautiful sky made me wish I could paint....it was so beautiful.  

Watching the cruise liner leave while playing soccer. 

Our apartment is right off this street next to the guys eating sandwiches.
Amelie and Liam enjoy looking in the toy shop window every day.

In the 1400's Split was under Italian rule.  A venetian resident missed Venice so much that they had this square built to remind him of St. Mark's Square.  It opens to views of the sea at the end of the Riva.  We love playing soccer and playing in this wide open space.

Hanging laundry can be really pretty with the right backdrop.  

We all survived.  No one else got sick.  Bobby was happy to rejoin the family again.  It's nice to be a full-functioning family once again. :)  

Enjoying Excellent Weather on Marjan Hill

Marjan Hill is a 178 meter tall hill right next to Split's city center.  It's dense Mediterranean pine forest is completely surrounded by the city and the sea, making it a unique sight.  As early as the 13th century this hill was regarded as a municipal forest.  Cutting down trees from this hill was not allowed way back then, nor is it allowed to this day.  It has served as a retreat for picnics and recreational activities for the citizens of Split for hundreds of years.  

On November 6th, with the sun shining and temperatures in the low 70's we decided to start walking up Marjan Hill to see where our adventure would take us.  Our hike began by walking up through the streets of the city.  We then entered the park area where no cars were allowed, but we were still walking along a paved road.  Shortly after we reached a point where trails led us through the woods to the very top.  At the top of the hill we found a really fun playground.  Since Amelie and Liam had hiked up the hill like champs, we spent time playing on the playground.

Bobby cracks me up.   I was waiting for him to throw up or fall on his head while spinning with Amelie. ;)

The views at the top of the hill were amazing!  With the playground being near the openings for incredible views, I found myself just staring soaking up the beauty and the sun's rays.  There were a couple of joggers at the top and I remember thinking that if I ran to the top, then I would definitely take time to reflect and relax with such incredible scenery!

If you look close enough you can see a white dot of a sail boat in the center of the picture.  

Also at the top of Marjan Hill is Split's claim to Europe's smallest zoo.  It has a sordid past with animal rights groups as the cages were quite small.  This was a very sad zoo.  Amelie and Liam did not think twice and enjoyed seeing all of the animals.  There were hundreds of peacocks and roosters walking around freely.  The size and the melancholy of the zoo led to very few pictures taken.  The baboon was very aggressive and would show it's teeth and growl.  Our only separation from the baboon was an old chain link fence and our desire not to have our fingers bitten off, and I was certain that we were going to have poop thrown on us.  He did turn his butt towards us a couple of times, but we escaped clean!  There was an otter that ran right over to the glass and stuck it's paw through a little opening in the cage to us. We were able to see pigs, llamas, a wolf, an owl, vultures, Guinea pigs, ducks, sheep, bears, goats, and geese.  I liked the view too!  The vultures were sitting at the edge of their cage looking over the mountain...kinda sad though...

This huge brown bear did not have much room to roam.  It paced back and forth. 

Amelie and Liam tickled the pigs noses with hay.

A building at the zoo used for food preparation.
The red vines growing on the building really stood out to me.

Anyone want a bathroom break?
How would you feel if the hole had a bunch of bees inside?
*Note:  no one was stung in the process of taking this picture or using the facilities.*

Liam and I sat to wait for Bobby and Amelie as they were checking out a different trail.

Walking back home through the streets of Split.   Living near the tall tower has been amazingly helpful for me as it can be seen from almost everywhere.  As long as I can find the tower, I can find my way home! ;)

After walking all morning, we sat along the Riva for a pizza picnic lunch.

Amelie and Liam had fun feeding their crusts to the pigeons.