Dubrovnik date night

My mom very generously offered her babysitting services so Geoff and I could enjoy a night out by ourselves.  We took a little walk through the city before finding a seaside restaurant to eat our fill of seafood.  We loved our appetizer clams so much, we ordered another serving and had that as our dinner.  Here are some lovely shots of our evening.

 On our way down from our apartment

 The harbor

 One of the gates

 We discovered a cool hidden cove.

 St. Blaise is the patron saint of the city.

 The view from our restaurant just outside the city

 Night views from our apartment

European vacation, post 4, our first trip into Dubrovnik

I won't dirty this post up with words.  What is the saying about a picture's worth?  See for yourselves.

Liam would not put down the binos.

See the blue covered boat on top of the garage?  That's where we parked our car.  Our apartment is below the garage and to the right--the duplex looking building with dormer windows.

Again with the binos

There were some gorgeous Catholic churches.

Geoff took some amazing shots.  He's got skills!

Liam found the only playground within the fortified city.

Another cool shot, huh?

Dubrovnik Informational

Here is a link to the Wikipedia page on Dubrovnik (it looks accurate based on my skimming), and here is a Rick Steves' video.  He's the Canadian traveller from Washington state (thanks for the heads-up Bridgette!) with his own PBS show.  Please disregard his "no tourists" comments at the end.  The cruise industry has rediscovered Dubrovnik.  We hear summer can be a nightmare and that the city powers-that-be are considering limiting the number of people allowed inside.  Glad we visited in September!

European Vacation Post 2, our apartment in Dubrovnik

Back when we were considering where to stay in Dubrovnik, someone at the Embassy suggested we look into privately owned apartments instead of staying in a hotel.  We'd save money, have a kitchen, AND most likely have an owner who would look out for our every need.

Geoff did a LOT of research.  We knew we wanted a spectacular view in addition to a usable kitchen, so finding the right match was tricky.

But boy did we get lucky!  We rented an apartment owned by a a former cop name Mato.  Mato was a superb host!  He helped us take our luggage down from the garage at the top of the hill and then offered us wine on the patio.  He drove Geoff to the local grocery store to get some basics, and he even picked us up from our excursions into the walled city so we wouldn't have to walk up the millions of stairs!  His daughter washed our clothes for us, and they even took out our trash!  Upon our leaving, Mato gave us 2 beautiful pomegranates and 2 HUGE lemons from his garden.

While we did have some issues with our coffee pot, we enjoyed our stay at Mato's immensely.  Just take a look at our view and outdoor space!  These were taken our first (and only overcast) day there.

The view to our left

 The view to our right--Dubrovnik, the fortified city

 Our patio

Kiwis grew above our patio (along with grapes), offering lovely shade 

 Cool boat

Some of the millions of stairs leading down to the city

Sarajevo Half Marathon

I interrupt the vacation postings to bring you photos of my first long-distance race, the 4K Fun Run that was a part of the Sarajevo Half-Marathon.  Those of you who know me well know that I have never run for distance in my life.  I always joked that I would run bases in a softball game or run away from bad guys, but I would never run for any other reason.  That changed when we moved here.  I wanted to  challenge myself in some new way and decided to try the Couch to 5K running program.  It's a basic 9 week system that allows you to gradually build your endurance so you can run a 5K.  I began this program 7 weeks before the race, hoping that my competitive spirit and the fact that it was ONLY a 4K would help me reach my goal in time.  My goal was simply to finish without walking.  (Geoff also suggested I add "to not finish last.")

Before the race began, two announcers (one in Bosnian and one in English) explained the history of the race and said there were participants from almost 30 different countries.  Then the countdown began and we were off!  The course took us by some of the most beautiful and meaningful sights in Sarajevo--through old town, along the river, and by Baščaršija.  I was hurting quite early on (due to Geoff pacing me faster than I have ever gone so we could beat the 30 minute time limit), but Geoff kept reminding me to look around and take it all in.  So I did.  And it helped (a little).

I am proud to say that with Geoff's help and unwavering support (to those who don't know, Geoff has always been a runner), I was able to reach both my goals of running the entire time and not coming in last.  It was a very moving moment for me.  I know it may seem small...to run 2 1/2 miles in less than thirty minutes without any walking breaks, but it was hard for me, and I am very happy that I set a physical fitness goal and achieved it.

Attached are some photos that one of the Embassy employees was kind enough to take and share.

 Setting up the start/finish line.

 Before the race

 And we're off!  Marathoners under the blue, Fun Runners under the red.

(The girl in yellow had a London runner's bib attached to her jacket.  So we ran with an Olympic runner!)

 These guys were a blast.  Young guys who play on a local club level American football team ran in their full gear.  They still beat us.

After the race!  

That's Scott and his family.  Scott was a beast and ran while pushing his two daughters (ages 2 and 4) in that monster stroller!  He beat us too.

Howard European Vacation, take 1

While Mom was in town, the Howards took our first vacation since moving to Sarajevo.  Geoff had an extremely busy summer, what with there only being two people in his four-person office, so as soon as the two new folks were settled into their work routine, we headed toward Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the Adriatic coast for some well-earned R&R.  But more on Dubrovnik later.  Our first stop was for lunch in Ston, a beautiful, fortified bayside town on the way to the more popular Dubrovnik (please click on the link to learn more).  We found a restaurant next to the harbor where we could try Ston's famous oysters as well as see some of the beautiful sights.

 Part of the harbor

 A tower on the wall

 Time for lunch!

 Ston oysters (which Geoff and I both agreed are not as good as Apalachicola oysters)

 Mom got a gorgeous shrimp cocktail

 Family shot minus Geoff

 Family shot minus Mims

A picture I forced Geoff to take because I liked this archway, the flowers, and the stone carving

Proof of Mom in Europe

My mom is not a fan of flying.  So for her to cross the Atlantic to come see us was a huge deal!  I wanted to reward her bravery by posting some of her photos to the blog so everyone could see evidence of her success!  Way to go Mom!

 Mom in the Tunnel of Life under the Sarajevo Airport

 Mom at the old market in Stari Grad (old town) Sarajevo

Mom at Pigeon Square in Baščaršija