June Update

I'm shocked it's already June. This summer is passing quickly. Daniel and I are working on a new side project with a tight deadline on top of our regular work. At work we're both on deadlines too. 

Our days consist of sleeping late, walking the dogs, working second shift hours for our American time zones jobs. Except for Tuesday and Wednesdays when I work first shift hours so I can update state associations while the US is asleep. 

We walk the dogs two or three times a day depending on the weather. Our afternoon walk usually ends up spending half an hour in one of the neighborhood dog parks. Cirrus has been very helpful making friends in the neighborhood. He's got a few besties, a three month old puppy and another two year old puppy who's pet parent is another software developer. Magnus isn't as into making friends, but he enjoys watching Cirrus and the other puppies play. 

The flowers here are amazing. I've never been anywhere with this many roses. Every time one flower starts dying off we discover another one blooming. It's absolutely one of my favorite things. 

Daniel is getting eaten up by bugs, but they don't seem to like me as well as they do him. The snails and slugs here are crazy. There are SO MANY and they get so big. 

Summer here is hot. The temperature isn't that high, but the sun seems hotter. Our first walk of the day is the shortest because it's so warm. The dog parks are shaded so our afternoon walk there keeps us a little cooler. Our evening walks are better because once the sun is down it's more comfortable.

We're still looking for a bike I can ride. My balance is not the best, so we either need a tandem or a trike. Tandems don't seem to be a thing here, so we've not been able to find anything. We have found a few family trikes we like that the pups could ride with me, or Daniel could peddle and we could all ride, but we can't find one narrow enough to get into the garden to park. It's very frustrating because it would make traveling around the city much easier for us as a family. Daniel is still taking regular rides on the rental bikes. He rides to old town and to Marjan Park. He really enjoys riding along the beach.

We've discovered a new favorite restaurant, Kebasito. They have the most amazing kebabs. I get what they call a kebab salad and it's just a giant pile of beef kebab meat, feta, and sauce. Daniel gets the same thing, but in a wrap. We've also ordered KFC a few times. It doesn't have soy here like it does in the US, and it's such a trip down memory lane. I get the same thing I did as a kid, drumsticks and french fries. 

We went shopping at the end of last month and I got some great new linen clothes. One of my favorites is a pant suit with a vest that reminds me of an outfit Keeley wore on Ted Lasso. I'm excited to wear it out. I am in love with the store I found it in. It's called Mango and has lots of linen options. Linen is the most comfortable thing I've worn here for the weather. 

Hopefully we'll be able to turn over our side project soonish and get back to a normal workload. We're still loving living in Split. The beach is a walk away. Our neighborhood is beautiful, and we're loving exploring it. 

We recently purchased a Peka Bell from a craftsman near our friend Lucija's home village. It's a traditional Croatian method of grilling on the Peka in our garden. We're very excited to try it out and mix our grilling experience with this new tool. 

We're still waiting for our application to be in process. There is a huge backlog currently because of how popular Croatia has gotten for digital nomads. It might take several more months before the process even starts. That's okay, because we've applied. We can stay in Croatia until it's processed and approved, then our 12 month residency permit will officially start. This is just additional time we get to live and stay in this beautiful country.

Next month we're planning a week-long vacation in Plitvice Lakes National Park. It's on the UNESCO World Heritage List and was Croatia's first National Park. It is also Croatia's largest National Park at almost 30,000 hectares (around 74,130 acres). It's around a 3 hour drive from Split and we'll be renting our first car in Croatia for the excursion. We've found a hotel in the middle of the park to stay in, the park and hotel are dog friendly. We're excited to explore this beautiful area that's around 20,000 acres larger than the Mammoth Cave National Park, the National Park we grew up near. 

We're also trying to find time to plan a visit to Klis Fortress. It's just outside Split and is the location that they filmed the Game of Thrones scenes in Meereen. It was likely built in the 3rd Century BC. It has been a small stronghold, a fortress, and a castle since its creation. We can see it in the mountains overlooking Split from several places in the city and are excited to explore. It's mostly dog friendly, and close enough we can Uber. So all we need is a day it's not too hot to make the trek there. 

Another thing we're preparing for is a day at the beach. We can walk to Žnjan Beach and are excited about spending a day there. We have a few more beach supplies we need to purchase to make sure it's an enjoyable day. Things like a picnic blanket, swimming gear, a second dog life jacket, some shade, and maybe a little wagon to haul it all. We have walked down and spent an hour or so there a few times. It's absolutely beautiful. It's a stone beach and we've found so many beautiful rocks.