Six Years and Counting…

Or What a Great Excuse for a Party

This December 23^rd was our 6^th wedding anniversary.  The modern symbol for this anniversary is iron which is strong, long-lasting and represents the strength of the marriage bond.  To us however we viewed this as a way to celebrate the strength of the friendships we have formed over these past few months.  This party was therefore a two fold event; 1.) It was to help us celebrate the Holidays, and 2.) We used it as a vehicle to invite everyone we knew in Croatia to thank them for their support and friendship over these past few months.

Coming up with a list of 30 people who we wished to invite we sent out invitations and we had a wonderful response.  We planned the party for 1:00pm on a Saturday and 25 people said they would attend.  We found a restaurant to hold the event and hoped for the best.

We had good friends who drove 3.5 hours to attend who came all the way from Zagreb (thank you for driving Slavisa).  Our landlady Nina come over to the house early that morning to fix my hair and even to give me my first dye job (as in…I want to wash that gray right out of my hair).  We bought poinsettias to decorate the tables and they were such a hit since we gave them to some of the woman who attended the party to take home with them.  We had lots of good food, homemade cookies for dessert and dancing in the streets (well inside the restaurant but it sounded better the way I wrote it).

We had also been told that Croatians would stop in for a couple of hours and not to expect the party to go on much past 6:00pm.  By 9:00pm we were still sitting around, dancing, talking, and having a great time.  So yes, we think this was a very successful event.

I am happy to introduce some of the people who have made our time here in Croatia so special;

From left; Slavisa & Lea (owners of Dhar Media), Mike, Manuela and Me. These are the people who brought us to Croatia to film the web series Discover Croatia, and discover it we did.
(click the photo to see all video’s in the Discover Croatia series) © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

From left; Our own Personal Insider – Biljana Lambasa; Tina Vickov, owner of Sibenik Plus Tourist Agency, Mike and Me. We were in good hands with these two who showed us the Sibenik we called home. We wouldn’t have learned as much without them.
(click the photo to see Tina Vickov about.mepage) © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Our landlady Nina is a wonderful person who also happens to be a beautician. She came to the house earlier in the morning to style my hair for the party. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

From left; Me, Mike, Emil Lemac who led a boat tour or two during the filming of Discover Croatia, Slavisa and HD an American friend who happened to be in Croatia for the party. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Tina Bilus and Mike. Tina did a Secrets of Sibenik walking tour for us and imparted some great information. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

From left; Marjan our landlord (Nina’s husband) and Steve Gundic who toured us around Krka National Park and Burnum the Roman gladiator town.
(click the photo to learn more about Burnum) © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

The poinsettias were a big hit with the ladies! © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

As we make our plans to leave Croatia for our time in Spain we know we are leaving behind good friends.  And we are not sad.  You see we know we are not really leaving them behind.  We will be taking our memories of our time here everywhere we go and comparing other countries and its people to Croatia.

The other countries have very big shoes to fill indeed.

Florence Lince

www.6monthers.com

The Siren of Tirena

Planning a summer vacation is always a lot of fun.  Being on a pirate galleon during that vacation is even more fun.

Along the Dalmatia Coast in Croatia you can rent a boat called the Tirena.  This accurate replica of a pirate galleon is only 8 years old and is completely made of wood.  It is placed in dry dock every year and refurbished.  It can hold 200 guests, comes with a crew of 5 and has been the location of many a wedding.  Every year the Tirena is host to over 5000 guests.

The pirate galleon Tirena that sails the waters of the Dalmatia Coast. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Imagine coming into Dubrovnik port on a pirate galleon!  The over 1 million tourists who visit this city will be taking pictures of you as you are taking pictures of the city. This past September on a beautiful day in Croatia we used the Tirena to explore some of the 13 islands that make up the Elafiti Island chain. Only three of the islands are inhabited.

On the Island of Lopud there are several fortresses, 10 monasteries, and an art school for painters.  They also have 36 churches!  Croatia is a very Catholic country and churches can be found in abundance in every city and on every island.

The Island of Sipan is the largest inhabited island of the 13. This island has 42 palaces, 34 churches, a rector’s palace and the remains of Roman villas to explore.  We made brief stops on each island but on Sipan they have two docking ports (one on each side of the island) and it was the second port where we docked and then had lunch at a local restaurant.

Scattered on the other islands, which do not have any fulltime residents are 20 lighthouses which can be rented out and lived in for periods of time. They drop you off; come back every day with fresh food and any other items that you need (and to check on you of course).  Most people rent them out for a week at a time.  They would be considered a little more ‘rustic’ in accommodation standards.

Rent this lighthouse by the week. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Service on board the boat was very good. We had unlimited coffee, tea and other beverages. Around 10:00am or so the cook had prepared apple strudel for us and it was served warm. Yum!

Croatia is a beautiful country and everyone talks about the Dalmatia Coast as being Europe’s playground because of its wonderful beach’s.  Our playground this day was on the Tirena and “Aye mate, it was a right fun day at sea”.

Mike and me with the Captain of the Tirena. © Photo by Florence Ricchiazzi Lince

Florence Lince

www.6monthers.com

(First published in Grandparents Day Magazine (Australia) by The 6 Monthers, summer 2014)