half way through the Big Birthday Year

 

So here we are, nearly  at the end of June and half way through the big birthday year ( although I can see this going on and on).

So here are the firsts for me and ticks in boxes.

November 23 ( start of the BBY)  Torremolinos holiday ( loved it)

December 23 Visiting East Hampstead Park in Berkshire and East Lutton in Yorkshire

January 24  went to see the Flying Scotsman

February 24 Visited Krakow ( want to go again)

March 24  Visited Bratislava (really want to go again)

April 24 Visited Keighley and flew  Newcastle to Heathrow and back in a day ( never done that before and never do again)

May 24 Holiday in Mljet Croatia ( trying to book for next year already)

June 24 Sprained my ankle, damaged the ligaments n my foot!!!!! ( not intending doing this again)

Oh the excitement!

So lets see what the rest of the year kicks up.

I am currently  trying to jiggle around some plans to see if I can fit more in. 

The only problem with wanting to do lots of things in a year, is the day job!!!!

Island living dream

 

The sense of calm that  descended on my life, during my holiday and since I returned from Croatia, has shocked me a little. Especially when I realise the chaos  that my life seemed to be in. Endlessly trying to be all things to all people whilst not really being true ( or kind) to myself.

I couldn't believe the power of nothing to do but eat, drink, read, swim and sunbathe. The swimming part with no chance of tiptoeing into the water flapping my arms around trying to get used to the temperature. Oh no when in Mljet, just get in!

With no beaches, and access to water from your sun terrace down a ladder ( like the one at your local swimming pool), going for a swim usually meant total immersion in the cold, crystal clear  Adriatic waters. Refreshing, exhilarating and flipping nippy! Worth it though for the feeling as you surfaced.

And then I read an article by Helen Russell, author and journalist who decamped to Denmark with her husband for a year whilst he was working for Lego. 13 years and 3 children later she is still there, and writes brilliant books about life and all things Danish.

Strangely the thing that I never realised is that in Denmark you are never more than 32miles (52 km) from the ocean. And that they have  more islands than Greece.

The Danes seem  to believe in the power of water (my ex CEO, a Dane loved to paddleboard),  like the Danes I am less than 32 miles from the coast, unlike the Danes, I do not make use of it.

Yes I do live on an island, but sometimes it feels more like a prison, time to break free!

And with this in mind, I intend to visit the sea as often as I possibly can, to top up my Croatian calm.........................until I can go back for a real top up ( without the horror boat ride).

What to do June?!!

 

Well here we are on the 3rd of June, and I have ticked another thing off my 'things not done or places been to' list.

Yes the 1st June dawned with me looking forward to shifting the cold that had plagued me for the last week of May. The sun was shining so I went to meet my friend for lunch, and that is where it starts.

Wearing  a pair of not high sandals, I set off. You've got to love an uneven pavement.

Going over on an ankle is usually  fine, I'm sure we all do it. Carrying on the day, going for lunch and sitting down for a good three hours not so good. I found walking back to the station, eye wateringly painful, I headed straight to A & E.

Now before anyone gets all uppity about strain on the NHS, those of you who know me very well, will remember 5 years ago, when I went through weeks of the is it/isn't it a broken foot and the long running trauma that caused including  nearly 4 months later being hospitalised as I was unable to walk.

As this was the same foot I thought it best to have it looked at. And the doctor agreed that I had done the right thing.

So here we are 3rd June, I've got my feet up, I do have to carry on as normal, I need to keep moving, but also resting it.

And that a tick off my list, because despite breaking many  bones over the years I have never sprained my ankle!

Happy June

Mljet the debrief

 

Ahh Mljet, what a surprise. I chose this holiday simply as I hadn't been to Croatia, I leave this holiday knowing that at some point I will come back to this island.

My holidays and city breaks are usually quite busy as I push myself to see everything and do everything that I have on my self written itinerary. Here I had one idea, which was to go to Dubrovnik for the day, this turned out to be very difficult as it would only be two hours in the city, so I shelved that plan very early on and concentrated on eating, drinking, sleeping and sunbathing. And I stuck to this plan. 

Also Dubrovnik old town is absolutely rammed with tourists from early morning to late evening, and every day the local news showed pictures of the crowds. I would not have enjoyed that one bit.

There are things to do, hiking in the national park, visiting the monastery and boats trips around the island, anything to do with a boat was not high on my agenda obviously.

I did watch TV, lots of American series  with subtitles in Croatian, and various others from around the world, Vera was on one day, but my all time favourite  was 'Berg Dokter' which I guess was Austrian or Swiss, I'm guessing this as it was in the Alps and all the women were wearing Dirndls. Couldn't understand a word of it, but I'm not going to the Alps any time soon!!!!!

The hotel, was a little dated but was exceptionally clean and I had my bed changed 3 times whilst I was there and had clean towels every day, even though I said  to leave them. They provided beach towels at the reception if you asked for them.

The food was very. very good, I expect to be needing an extension to my seat belt on the way back.

The art work in my hotel room was by the Croatian artist Armano Jericevic, and I loved that too. He qualified as  a dentist but gave it up to concentrate on art. I'm currently looking for a piece to have at home.

my room was a double as requested, but as I have found on previous holidays, because  I am one person in a room, I was given a very small room with no balcony. My gripe is that as a single traveller, I've paid a premium for that, I then get done over at the hotel. This nearly happened last year  in Tunisia until I had a showdown with the manager. This holiday, I arrived at the dead of night, terrified and just wanting to go to bed.. the room was adequate but a balcony would have been better.

I could see the sea, over the roof.

The restaurants in the village line the one road, which also runs parallel to the sea. No one is competing for trade as they all have something different to offer.

I often had coffee at 'restaurant Melody', but spent most of my lunchtimes at 'Adriatic' . The food was amazing. The prices can be a bit higher than expected but this is due to everything having to be brought in from the mainland.

I often find on holiday, that being on my own, makes people less likely to speak to me and if I speak to them  its usually recceives a strained reply. Here though people  have been very friendly and after having  travelling with Carol and Mick, we often caught up for a drink.

The island is ideal if you are looking to just relax, read a book, swim, walk eat and drink. I've been able to look at things that were troubling me and sort it all out in my head and on paper, I've come home ready to change and improve things. Sometimes, having no distractions, is just what you need to clear your mind.

Watching the sun go down every evening whist having a glass of gorgeous Croatian wine has been a highlight of every day.

I even found a little hidden seating area, which looked straight out to sea. It was at the hotel, but no one ever seemed to sit there except me.

The only downside to this holiday was the transfer. From airport to port, and I used two on the mainland side and two on the island side, travel is restricted to ferry timetables or the hotel pleasure cruiser , not a pleasure.

I think that I was there at the best time too, as it was gearing up for the major  season starting next week. One of the lovely locals told me to come again early May or late September. as they said, the best time.

Would I recommend it, oh yes, it really was wonderful and I loved the laid back routine that I fell into so easily, I loved the people who were warm and welcoming. I loved the hotel, with its canned lounge music and dated decor, but with a good vibe that helped you to relax without even realising.

Mljet, has been a great experience for me, and I really would love to go back.

Note to all travellers, if you chose to decant products into the small travel bottles, always add the little labels that are often provided in the packs.

I did not, and as I usually have serious hair troubles, thought this holiday was worse than normal. Only to find that a small bottle of body lotion I had decanted to take to Bratislava, I had mistaken for hair conditioner. Take it from me, it doesn't work.

another tick off my big birthday list.

my last day

 

I was up at 6am to go and say goodbye to Carol and Mick, the lovely couple who shred the boat ride coming out with me.

We had breakfast together and I waved them off as they set off back to Sheerness.

I had time to kill, and it was slightly overcast so I headed off again to the 'Adriatic' restaurant where I , had coffee and chocolate and raspberry torte. This is made by the wife of the restaurant owner and honestly it was amazing.

I headed back to the hotel and as I had to check out of my room, I was stuck in reception, and as this was where the wifi was, I decided to watch a spot of rubbish on Netflix. I got lost in Bridgerton, which wasted a couple of hours.

I was being picked up at half one to go to Sobra, on the other side of the island to catch the three o' clock ferry.

It was definitely a lot bigger than the one I came on, I checked out the life jackets and sat pretty close to the lifeboat. It was a smooth forty minute crossing, and there was my very own chauffeur waiting as I got off and I was sped off in a Merc, the hour or so drive to the airport.

Wowser, the roads are very high above the sea and its usually a sheer drop over the other side. the views were amazing though and it was wonderful to see this country speeding by, taking in the amount of islands and the beautiful  landscape.

I even got to see the old town, from very high up in the hills

I arrived at the airport and checked in, headed through and waited. The Leeds flight was late in and we were late taking off, but landed back in Leeds three hours later,  as the electrics had blown when we landed, we had to wait for them to plug in the aircraft before we could disembark. 

If nothing else, my holidays are never uneventful.

I picked up my car and drove home, getting in at the exact same time, twelve hours later than I had been picked up at my hotel.

I found this mosaic in the corner of the hotel reception, I think it sums up my journey to the island 😂

I'm home safe but tired.

The washing is on and I have been to do the shopping.

This time yesterday I was just chilling by the sea

today I'm just chilling on the sofa.

wowser it was a scorcher yesterday

 

I was up and at breakfast at 7am and then headed out for my morning constitutional. I glanced out over  the islands and realised that I couldn't see  the mainland in  distance. There was a shimmering haze This meant only one thing, heat!!! I raced ( well walked quickly) back to the hotel and getting straight onto the sun pavilion. I had decided that it was a full day of baking my bulk.

By lunchtime, I needed some respite from the now scorching sun, so headed down to 'Adriatic' for my last meal there. 

I was talking to the two waiters who have been so lovely over the past week . They have lived and worked on the island for two years having come for a season from Bosnia-Herzegovina and stayed.

As I was finishing my meal, I was joined by a group from one of the yachts, they are preparing for a wedding today, (the wedding party are in the hotel). I stayed for one more glass of wine with them and agreed to meet for a couple of drinks later. 

then back for another afternoon of sunning myself

The hotel has two sun decks and across the road is the sea terrace, this is a much sought after place and has access straight into the sea (no beaches). I've used all of the terraces and decks, and have found that the one right at the top, the sun pavilion, in full glare of the sun is my favourite.

I left at about 4.30pm, and got ready for dinner, which was again a resounding success. The food in the hotel just gets better. They serve a homemade consommé, which is just amazing and which I have every evening.

I then headed out to meet the yacht lot

well a couple of drinks turned into a few drinks and I was wending my way home, very late.......11pm, every thing was closing or had already closed, its not a party island.

I was watched on the way back by the groupers in the tank at Restaurant Pomena. They've been watching me every night, but after a clean out yesterday they were more visible.

And so my last day begins, I am off to wish 'bon voyage' to Carol and Mick, who are heading back on the early ferry. 

Lets see what I can cram in today.

I escaped from the village

 

Today I escaped from the village  .(pop 120) and went to another village Polace (pop 111), it does however have a bigger mini mart, its about four foot  bigger. I was in there for about fifteen minutes and in that time there was a torrential downpour. It continued all the way  back to Pomena

I did however, get to see the stunning lakes in the national park too and the monastry. I have wanted to go there but had to get a boat and at the moment the thought of getting onto another boat is not high on my agenda. 

The views from the paths above the lakes were stunning

I also saw a wild boar which scuttled out of the bushes and across the road, nasty looking thing.

Most of the wild life that I have spotted has included the Dalmation wall lizard which frequents the hallways of the hotel and scares the bejeeezus out of me. Also iridescent flying beetles, which are everywhere.

Back in Pomena, I decided to go and have a lie down for an hour or until it stopped raining, ahhhh Croation TV, showing James Martin with subtitles, good way to waste some time.

When I got back to my room, my bedding had been changed again, that's the second change since I arrived,  not something you don't get in every hotel.

I had a half hour nap and when I awoke, I could see the sun!!!, I was up and on my lounger in record time.

The wind was blowing, taking the edge off the suns rays,  today I just decided to sit it out. I got talking to a lovely couple from Bangor, we suddenly realised we were all really catching the sun a little too much,so headed under shade and shared the contraband we had stashed in out bags,  1L bottles of wine. it was a good afternoon.

By 4pm , I was  'done', well and truly cooked, so I headed in for a shower and a nap,  another one cant hurt. If I've done one thing well this holiday,it is sleep, I may wake up at around 5am, but I catch up during the day.

Dinner was amazing, there was pasta with black truffle sauce, I had second helpings it was that good.

I wandered up to the pavilion deck to watch the sunset, stunning

And decided to end the evening with a quick drink in the bar, ended up having a couple and sitting with Mick  who along side his wife Carol shared the crossing on Saturday evening.

What a lovely day.

Im getting used to this  doing nothing lark.

Happy Friday