My 32nd Birthday in Croatia
Following in the footsteps of my wonderful friend Beth who recently celebrated her 32nd birthday in Shanghai (where she is currently living), here is a recap of how I spent my big day:
I intentionally left the day completely unplanned and decided to just set out and see what unfolded. All I knew was that I needed to head north, so I left Dubrovnik on a 9 am bus headed up to Split, enjoying the spectacular views of the coast along the way. It was a quiet and peaceful four hours staring out the window at sunny skies, green islands and the aquamarine sea. The journey was highlighted by a quick pass through Bosnia, my 14th country of the trip. During our ten minute bus stop break in the town of Neum I spent a few minutes speaking with a with a Spanish soldier who is currently serving a four month duty in Bosnia. It was fun to practice my Spanish language with him – I was able to utter several complete sentences…and he understood me!
I had decided to head to Split with no accommodations booked in advance, since getting a private room in someone’s home (called a sobe) is usually the way things operate around here anyway. As I got off the bus there were at least six or seven women of various ages with “room available” signs waving at the disembarking passengers. I connected with Antoinetta, a sweet younger woman who did not speak much English. After negotiating a price she passed me off to her husband, who spoke even less English but seemed nice enough. He guided me to their home, just a few blocks off the harbor, where I found a clean sparse basement room and adjoining bathroom. It worked fine for me so I unpacked and headed out for a walk.
At this point I did feel a little lost and lonely. Folks who know me know that I don’t shy away from birthdays…I enjoy celebrating them, nothing big and fancy, but I like to be with people I know on my birthday. So I was missing the fam and friends for a bit…But not having the energy just yet to meet new people, I headed for the Marjan peninsula, in search of a sandy beach. I didn’t get too far, and wound up wandering into Sustipan, a seaside park that is the site of a former monestary and cemetary, where I soaked up some rays and stared off towards the horizon for a while. Eventually, I started talking to myself and knew it was time to go make friends 🙂
Back in town I walked along the Riva harbor-front promenande, wondering who was going to become my new pal for the day. I eventually headed back to the room to shower and decided to put my neighbor on the spot. An Aussie had checked into the room next to mine and I approached him in the hall and asked if had plans for the night and if he wanted to join me for drinks or dinner. I did mention to the poor bloke that it was my birthday, so I really left him no other choice but to join me (!) but James, who is from Brisbane, was really nice and seemed up to hanging out so we agreed to meet up later that evening.
We went to a local seafood joint called Buffet Fife where we dined on fried calamari and shark (called flake downunder) which came served on the same platter, along with some bread and two bottles of the local beer. James has been on the road nine months, spending time working in Hong Kong and on a pig farm in Scotland, and he will soon head to South Africa. Sooooo, needless to say, there was plenty for us to talk about and it was a very nice time. He even sang happy birthday to me, although I did not blow out any candles…so I still have a birthday wish to make!
We met up with some locals afterwards for a few more beers, chatting about language, politics, real estate, travel and all sorts of things until about midnight when we decided to call it a night since James had an early train to catch this morning…and you know, I’m getting older 😉 It was a memorable and enjoyable day, with new friends, great laughs, and a spirit that made me feel more like 23 than 32 for awhile! Another GREAT highlight of the day was all the wonderful emails I got from family and friends…if I have not responded yet, you will probably hear from me today…thanks to all of you for making my birthday another to remember 🙂
Tags: croatia, Europe 2006, split, Tag Index
Kel
June 6th, 2006 at 10:12 am
I’m so glad you had a nice birthday!!! 🙂 Miss you lots and can’t to hear more details later…
love ya 🙂
steph
June 6th, 2006 at 1:55 pm
Happy belated birthday!!! Sounds like you had an incredibly fun time… good for you!
June 6th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
Happy belated birthday!!! I’m so glad you had a wonderful day! I’m looking forward to getting together when you get back from your trip. Take care 😉
June 7th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Happy belated birthday, Kelly! I am happy that you had such a fantastic day!
June 7th, 2006 at 10:00 am
What a fabulous birth-day. Certainly different and more adventurous than if you were home! And you handled it beautifully.
I especially appreciated your sentence, “It was a memorable and enjoyable day, with new friends, great laughs, and a spirit that made me feel more like 23 than 32 for awhile!” How true!
Happy year and may it be a very good one, indeed.
June 8th, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Thanks for all the wishes everyone…and the ecards and emails too 🙂
June 13th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
Great post! So glad you had a good birthday and I’m very grateful that you shared it with us. Thanks!
On another note, Radio Kitchen (the local food program on WYPR every Tuesday) was about biscotti this morning. Joanna and I both thought about you. We have one packet left. We’re going to bring them camping with Troy and Gina last weekend but we forgot, so we’ll enjoy them by ourselves one day this week.
Love you,
MAA
June 15th, 2006 at 10:33 pm
Happy Birthday!
Sorry for being 10 days off, but I didn’t knew your birthday in advance 😉
I read your blog about twice a month to keep updated on your trip. Glad to see you’re enjoying it so much.
I’ve been to NY and really enjoyed it (didn’t make it no NJ, just to Staten Island ferry harbor and back). It’s really a whole different country (BIG everything!).
Hope you continue having a good and safe time here in Europe,
Joao Santos
June 16th, 2006 at 6:17 am
Mike and Jo — I can´t wait to bake more biscotti (and eat some too). We just have to wait till the weather cools off some. I´m not sure how it is there, but it is hot as an oven here in Berlin!Â
Joao — Thanks so much for stopping by…it is great to hear from you and learn that you enjoyed your visit to NY!! Next time you must visit me in Jersey 🙂 Cheers!
ps…I miss Portugal and can´t wait to discover more of it on a future visit…Lisbon is still one of my favorite stops on the journey!
June 21st, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Happy birthday.