Saturday, June 13, 2009

Dinner at Sunset

Vacation time is so different from daily life, and we were able to have a couple of rest times during the day that allowed the girls  to be able to stay up for the late sunset.  2009-6 cro (114) 2009-6 cro (120)

I’d forgotten how wonderful it is to watch the sun set into the water, and to have the feeling of salt on your skin all day long (even the pools are salt water here). 

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We found a great restaurant on the resort at the water’s edge where we could watch the sun move during dinner, the girls loved the play at the waters edge after dinner, and then collapsed before we made it back to our villa…

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Rovinj for a morning

We thought after our day of relaxation we would be ready for a bit of touring so we drove an hour south to the “most romantic city” on the Istrian Coast for a morning with 2 little girls. 

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The town was beautiful, but not entirely stroller friendly, and after walking up to the church, around the pedestrian zone & on the marina for a bit, we decided to head back to the pool & beach where we belonged.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Evening swims & shadows

The inner lagoon of the resort was perfect for throwing rocks, wading in the water, and seeing how long Sophia could make her shadow in the fading sunlight…

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Relaxation in Istria

We stayed on the northern part of the Croatian Coast, and the sunshine was very welcomed!  After the long (horrible) drive thru the hailstorms, we had dinner on a terrace overlooking the beach & watching the sunset.  Sophia complained about the sun in her eyes, and we realized we forgot Alexandra’s seat, but Troy & I loved it.  It was nice just to feel like relaxation was taking over us…

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The next day we really fell into vacation mode.  The girls (sharing a room for the first time) were up at 7, with Troy, while I had a bit of a lie in, then when I got up, Alexandra & Troy went back to bed for the first nap of the day while Sophia & I scouted out the resort, the pools, and the closest cup of coffee.

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When we all managed to get up & out the door together, we headed for the pool on the beach, and lunch in the sun.

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2009-6 cro (24)  2009-6 cro (29)Alexandra collapsed from exhaustion and fun… 2009-6 cro (30) After hours of swimming, and attempts to swim without water wings, Sophia found out one of the pleasures of vacation being almost endless hydrating treats (Fruit pushups being my personal favorite) and lots of late nights watching sunsets.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Croatia for a long weekend

Sophia had one last holiday weekend before the end of school for a German only holiday (no one else in Europe seemed to have the day off?!? But no one can tell me what the holiday is?) Since Troy’s travel has been so random lately & has included some weekend days (grrrr) we decided it would be a good idea to get away from Munich & have some really great family time before the summer travels start.

Originally we were looking at Ljubljana for the weekend, but the hotel that Troy wanted to stay at was full, so we decided just to drive the extra hour to get to the Croatian coast. We actually had a horrible drive thru Austria & Slovenia, lots of thunder storms, rain for most of the time, HUGE hail storms that had us driving 40 km on the autobahn, but once we got thru the mountains – and there are a lot of them! – we found sunshine & the temperature increased 20 degrees.

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We stopped in Lake Bled for a very quick visit to the castle, and a small view of the lake, but pit stops with 2 kids dying to get to the beach doesn’t work out very well. It made for a couple of quick photos, and then back to the car.

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After lots of tunnels, a new highway in Slovenia, and a very funny border crossing (Croatia isn’t yet in the EU), we arrived at the resort. A little odd, lots of Communist Era Apartments, and pools that have seen better days, but the new villas where we stayed were wonderful, had a terrace with curtains to die for, and had no stairs for Alexandra to play around on…

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Alexandra's big steps

It is still a bit early, and she can't go more than a few steps at a time (especially when her big sister blocks her in) but slowly Alexandra is walking more & more!