Bun and Bud's Excellent Adventure!

Mama: We packed up and said good bye to Croatia! The flight was quick and on time. We landed in almost 40 degree heat! It cooled down a tiny bit and we walked for pizza and a quick look at the Colosseum! Kinda bonkers.  Papa: We can see the Colosseum from the hotel. That’s pretty cool.  Bud: I’m excited to something new! The Colosseum is pretty crazy. I can’t wait to see inside.  Bun: Going to Rome is super exciting because one of my friends did her expository on Rome and she was right! I love it in Rome, even though it’s hot 🥵. 

  Mama: Good-bye Korčula! We packed up the car and plotted the road to the Eye of the Earth - a really cool freshwater spring - at Bud’s request. And after one ferry, two giant bridges, seven u-turns and 200 km, we arrived! It was really cool. And really cold!! It was unexpected, but was probably 5 C! We checked it out and then split for Split! (Great mama joke!) Papa: Google maps has not perfected Croatia. The highways were great, but as soon as you exited, all bets were off! The eye was cool, but definitely needed a drone. It was nice to get to Split. We arrived and unloaded and then found a delicious Indian restaurant in the old town.  Bud: It was a really long and tiring car drive, but it was worth it to see the eye! We don’t know why, but the spring was really cold! Colder than the hotel pool. We weren’t allowed to swim in the spring, but I don’t know if we would have anyway. It was that cold! It was nice to get to our hotel in Split.  Bun: It was a long day in the c...

Mama: We had a slow day! The most exciting thing (aside from doing all our laundry) was seeing a Praying Mantis! I didn’t believe it when the kids said they saw one, so I sent them back with the camera! We also got a closeup of a cicada. The noise they make is aggressive. Papa: A nice slow day with pools, beaches, ping pong and dinner. All organized and ready to go to Split. Bud: We didn’t do anything today. But I spotted a Praying Mantis! Mama didn’t believe it, but I was sure. We played at the pool and the beach pool and got ready to leave. Bun: We had a chill day at the pool, then got organized to leave tomorrow. We got snacks at the grocery store. Then we went to the beach for late afternoon play and dinner. The tooth fairy finally came! I got five euros and a two euro coin for Bud. But she left me tooth. I wrote her a note to remind her take it tonight.  

Mama: We took a ferry to Hvar for the afternoon. It was a lot like Korčula, but with a bit more party vibes. We had drinks at Splash beach restaurant and bar. I wouldn’t mind if we had one or two of these at home! The kids played in the water. We ferried home in time for another dinner at our new favourite place - Silk.  Papa: I made Indy try some Rosé. The face was worth it. We made up a fun game of Pictionary on the ferry. It was a good exploring day! Bud: We took a ferry into Hvar. It had another old town with walls around it. Mama and I bought some jewelry. I HATED the Rosé. Bun and I played in the water. On the ferry home we ate Dorito, cheese, bun sandwiches. You haven’t lived until you’ve had one of these! It was delicious.  Bun: The Croatian tooth fairy didn’t come! Mama said to try again tonight - maybe being away from Canada confused her. I left another note asking for a cool coin for Bud. I played in the ocean and Bud was my life guard. I also tried the Rosé. I spit...

  Mama: We were all happy to have a big sleep in! Then breakfast at the beach. Lattes in style! They also came with straws. I don’t think they respected our coffee order… We played in the FREEZING cold pool and tried an apple as big as Muniya’s head! Then we golf-cart-taxied into town for a delicious Asian dinner at Silk. We were SO happy it wasn’t pizza, pasta or French fries. There was a beautiful sunset on the way home! A lovely lovely day.  Papa: Dinner was a real treat after too much pizza, pasta, and fries. And yes, the pool was cold! Bud: The pool was freeeeeeeezing! It was fun. We played keep-the-beach-ball-in-the-air. Dinner was sooooooooooo good!  Bun: The was pool was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally cold! I lost a tooth today. I wonder what the Croatian tooth fairy will bring me. I’m going to write her a letter. Dinner was amazing and the sunset was beautiful!

  Mama: We went to Bosnia and Herzegovina for lunch today. (Another thing I never thought I’d say!) We are on the move from Dubrovnik to Korčula - a smaller town on the islands. We could have stayed in Croatia for the transit, but why would we??! Neum was really nice and bigger than I was imagining. The guide yesterday told us about why B&H got that sliver of coastline. Very interesting! Then a ferry, our hotel, dinner (of sorts) and bed! Papa: Travelling is easier this way! One road, no turns, no traffic and no one at the border. Perfect. We finally had a great pizza! Found our ferry, watched a tow truck take 5-6 tries to get on - I was filming in case both vehicles fell into the drink. Found our hotel and called it a day.  Bud: We had breakfast and a quick dip in the pool. Then we got a rental car and drove to Bosnia. We had lunch and had ice cream! Our new hotel is super nice. Bun and I get our own room! Bun: We played pool before we left. Papa and I were on a team and ...

Mama: We woke up early for a tour into Montenegro! The guide’s driving was a little nerve-wracking. But it was to get across the border as soon as possible. (When we came back the line must have been four hours long!!) It was a nice excursion, but the coastal towns are all starting to look the same. We toured a rock church and made it back to Dubrovnik to see the sun set from the top of the mountain!  Papa: The drive felt like nascar! And the border wait was long. The church and the walled city were really interesting. The lunch was terrible. The kids found 100 more stores. The view of Montenegro was amazing! As was the view of Dubrovnik from the top of the mountain.  Bud: The tour guide was really nice. We boated out to a church. Getting up early was painful. But I’m glad we didn’t have to sit in the car for hours. Montenegro was really pretty and there was another walled city. When we got back we went up in a cable car.  Bun: I didn’t like getting up so early, but the t...

  Mama: We had a nice easy morning. And I am loving the breakfast buffet!! (Something I never thought I’d say…) We had planned an excursion for the afternoon, but they cancelled on us! So we went back through the walled city with Papa. But first a jump in the ocean! Papa: Croatia is really beautiful in the day light! We went into the walled city. It’s intense. And surprisingly well kept. The rocks into the sea were slimy and Mama kept yelling things were touching her. Mama and the kids went into at least 100 stores. We ended the night with drinks while the kids played in the pool. Not too shabby.  Bud: It was really fun and refreshing to swim in the Adriatic! We went into the walls again and bought a frog that croaks. It’s super cool. We also got name bracelets. Then we ate and swim some more in the ocean and in the pool.  Bun: I loved swimming in the sea and playing in the tide pool! We went into the walls again with daddy and got ice cream again. We got bracelets made f...

  Mama: Made it to Dubrovnik to meet Papa!! The walled city is intense! Everywhere could be a Game of Thrones set. I can’t imagine the hubbub filming would have created.  Bud: First day in Croatia - it was great! We went to a giant candy store that had barrels of candy. We bought FIVE pounds! I can’t wait to see Daddy! Bun: We went to an aquarium, but it wasn’t big. I loved the candy store! I can’t wait to see Daddy! Mama is making us do math until he arrives. 

  Mama: I got everyone up and going fairly early. Our bags are (hopefully) going to meet us in Dubrovnik, so we were light. The Grand Bazaar was amazing! It was what I was expecting but also not. They’re also a chance we just went around in circles for hours and only saw a small portion of it! We also walked to the Blue Mosque, which was really beautiful and a castle of some sort. We also got our pictures taken in totally typical Turkish clothing! Oh! And OMG. Both Uber drivers we had did more dialling, talking, texting and social media-ing in an hour WHILST driving than I do in an entire month. Two phones, on the go, at 120km/h. I don’t understand how any of them are still alive??! Then back to the airport where we found a Subway, which Bun happily hoovered and on to Croatia!  Bud: Today is another travel day. We went to the Grand Bazaar, the biggest covered market in the world! I bought a really really fun spinning top toy. It’s super cool. We visited a really beautiful mosq...

  Mama: Travel day! We are on our way to meet Papa in Croatia and decided to do a stop over in Istanbul! Makes sense, right?! I really don’t do a lot of planning in regards to these things! Apparently the Bazaar is an hour away from the airport. So, there may be more of a time crunch than I was expecting! 😬 Bud: The Istanbul airport was super big! It had a giant escalator! We had a hard time finding the Yotel entrance. Thankfully someone posted a photo on Google maps!!  Bun: Good by steaming hot Marrakech! I was happy to leave and go to Istanbul. The Yotel had a giant sign but the entrance was faaaaaaaar away from it! But the hotel was nice and we went to bed. 

Mama: Me neither Yves, me neither. We went to the Yves Saint Laurent garden memorial and museum. The kids were great troopers! Bun even admitted she would wear SOME of YSL’s designs. However, I might have caught a glimpse of how they really felt at the end of the picture burst!! 😂 But that was before ice cream at the museum cafe. Then we went to the Four Seasons for some more traditional Moroccan dishes!  Bud: The museum was really cool and we got to learn about a designer who worked for Dire (Dior). They showed his clothes when France hosted the World Cup. That was cool! Then we went and ate at the Four Seasons.   Bun: Today was super fun. We had another delicious buffet breakfast with mini pancakes. We played in the pool and did some math. After we went to a really cool museum about a fashion designer Eves Saint Lorent. Then we went for a luxury dinner and had couscous. It was yummy. 

Mama: I booked a tour, last minute, online, that had no reviews and looked a little dodgy. But signing up for an hour long drive out into a barren desert in a strange country at night with children at 42C? Really, what could go wrong?? Lol! It was amazing! We rode a camel, ate delicious Moroccan food, watched the sun go down, sang and danced and were returned to the hotel as promised. A night not to be forgotten!  Bud: The desert tour was super amazing. We didn’t go exactly where Mama thought but we got to ride a camel and eat Moroccan food and sing and dance. I made a rock lizard and won the clapping game in the bus.  Bun: Today was absolutely amazing! The breakfast buffet had mini pancakes! We played all morning in the pool. I rode on Bud like a surfboard. Then we went on the desert trip. I got henna and we tried Moroccan tea. We rode a camel - I was really scared - and had the best veggie tagine and soup. We listened to music and danced with the Moroccans.