Hvar you kidding me?
A tease. That's what you are, Hvar. It was Saturday at 8 AM and I awoke to a slight headache, thanks to our idea of drinking and singing on Friday night at the workspace. When I woke up, it was a BEAUTIFUL day. I had to get outside, so I went for a (hungover) bike ride along the coast. And then suddenly the rest of the week happened, so fast and yet so slow that I'm not sure it even happened at all. I:
- went on that bike ride, obviously, with these views. The fresh air and sunny days in Split were unlike any other. I can't wait to go back in the summer.
- went to Hvar, at 2 PM that day. We arrived to a coooold port but beautiful sunset. At 4 PM. Always.
- took an expensive cab to our AirBnB where the lady promptly laughed at how stupid we were for coming to Hvar at "this time of year". Being the first weekend of November, we thought we were getting in early. However, that definitely wasn't the case and we were, indeed, a little stupid. Once we got settled, we found place in the "town" for dinner. It happened to be the only one open, and it was their last night before the restaurant was closing for the season. BUT we got an amazing meal out of it and a bunch of weird free shots because we were 4 girls and a staff of Crotian men - 4 of among, maybe 12 people left in this ghost town.
One of them was purple. Every one was "herbal". They all tasted like clippings from a lawnmower, but they were free, so.
- went to a bar (the only one open) in Hvar (seriously why has no one opened HVAR BAR) where our waiters recommended we go for "Scorpio night" aka if you're a scorpio you get free shots of this green stuff all night. Knowing how hard it had been to find dinner, and the fact that it was across the street, we obliged. We weren't disappointed, and even made friends with the bartender who didn't end up caring that only one of us was a scorpio - plenty of shots to go around. And then we played zero to ninety-nine and I lost. If you don't know what that game is, I'll save it for another post.
The bar! I forget what it's called but it's tiny.
- went to bed, woke up, and tried to find breakfast but failed. We couldn't even get anyone on the phone. Then we tried to rent a boat to go to these amazing islands nearby, but also failed. Because EVERYWHERE WAS CLOSED. We ended up finding a place that offered to make us eggs and bacon and were very happy. After, we realized that we needed to go to the other side of the island because we had a separate AirBnB for the night. Solely because there was a really cool winery over there, and, well, obviously we were going to situate ourselves nearby.
- took a cab to the other side of the island and failed miserably at bargaining. Whatever.
- made it to our new AirBnB, walked into yet another "town", found yet another dead town. SO DEAD. We found a bar that looked like a ship until we could figure out what to do. Finally, we decided to grab a snack and just go back home. We found one restaurant open and...
- heard some spontaneous a capella singing thanks to a group of old men. No idea how this happened. But I liked it.
- watched three movies and went to sleep. Took the ferry back in the morning, got home, and did laundry. My world is sometimes normal. Some photos below of the sheer DESOLATION: (dramatic)
Walking around in between towns...there was this.
The vineyards were dead...just like this town. :eyeroll emoji:
Ferry views!
- worked from home a lot. My place was far from the workspace and it took a lot of effort to get there. Then, the sun would set every day at 4 so I'd have to either bike or walk back in the dark. A lot of time I was here I worked from my kitchen table and saw this view every day. Wasn't horrible.
Hashbrown no filter
- climbed the bell tower and explored Old Town a little more. Amazing views from the top.
Gettin' dizzy?
- went to an Irish pub and met a friend's Tinder date, who was pawned off on me and another gal at the last minute. The guy was very nice though, and showed us to a donut place at 1 AM that apparently had these amazing donuts. Spoiler: they weren't great. BUT, we ended up passing this while walking home. It signified the lives lost in the war with Yugoslavia that happened on this very street. Super incredible to stop and take a moment in the wee hours of the morning just thinking about the things that happened on the ground that we were standing on.
- celebrated DIWALI! Some amazing remotes rented out an Indian restaurant and taught us about the holiday, as well as provided a TON of amazing food. I'd be lying if I said I didn't take home leftovers and eat them two nights in a row.
I pondered life a lot this week. I spent a lot of time alone this week (though it may not seem like it). And I just breathed. I often find it hard to face my thoughts about the things happening; in my life, the entire world, or even just in our little bubble of people. But I got all iNtRoSpEcTiVe, MaaaAnN, and took time to reflect. All I can say is that I'm still shocked that I'm on this adventure. I have to pinch myself constantly, and I can't think of a better way to spend my time.
Pondering views. Made me think that everything's just going to work out, ya know?
Up next: Giving thanks in ITALIA!
Professional writer, designer, and do-it-aller. Remote Year citizen/alum. Currently living in San Francisco and probably trying to avoid the terrifying amounts of pigeons.
