So much to do so much to see, DBV

The outside of our @airbnb in #DBV!
Wont you ride along with me?
…come along…..
When we walk out of the apartment in the morning taking in the nature around us I can’t help but sing the Daniel Tiger theme song, and I know that Levi agrees.
(a great tv show geared towards kids, by the same writers as Mr Rogers)
We head out of our apartment and now that it is getting warmer out head to a playground. The nearest and bestest places can be 15 minutes walk, but when Levi walks on his own – more often nowadays- it can take up to an hour!
We pass some beautiful sites that I don’t get enough of.

Here are some of my must-do’s in Dubrovnik:
with a strong emphasis on seeking Playgrounds and the best Coffee:

-Walking tour of the old city. I always like to get a good intro by a local. I used from airbnb!
-The playground beside the left by the entrance to the old city
-Nisht: vegeterian restaurant in the old city
-The Synagogue: a must visit, with a remarkable Jewish souvenir store next door
-Cafes in the old city

-Lapad area. Cafes, restaurants, markets, and playgrounds.
Highly recommend: Antika. Cafe with playground next door so can have coffee while Levi plays! Especially loved this playground as it is old school plastic/Little tikes type of play area which is rare for DBV
-If you make a right rather than a left by Sunset beach and continue down the road you will reach it.
-The playground by sunset beach and its surrounding area
-The playground on the walk to sunset beach, by the cafe “with the swings”
-Gruz market – port with markets, shops, a bit of cafes – & this is where many of the local boat tours depart from

 

Nearby Travels I: Split

As most of my posts, thoughts, or conversations start: My life is ruled by Levi’s sleep schedule. I am proud to be a slave to my baby’s sleep because it is the means of survival when living as a nomad!
So we had to plan smartly when taking day trips.
Here’s how we did it:

SPLIT:  The northern coast of Croatia! We woke up sunday morning and took our time in getting the rental car from Sixt, and packing our bags to head to the north. A beautiful drive with lots of twists and turns… Thankfully my husband grew up driving in puerto rico otherwise these European streets would be difficult! He is the best and is the first person other than my dad that I feel 10000% comfortable as being the passenger and not even paying attention to the road. Which means – YEY! – I get to focus on Levi and make sure he eats and sleeps well even whilst a 3.5 hour drive. We play and “talk” for the first hour, then I put some Sesame street on my phone (anti-iPad yet you do what you gotta do)…  then I sing him the usual pre nap songs and he sleeps! for 1 hour 15 minutes! Not his usual nap time, but it still counts, so we are relieved that now the day will be good.
We arrive to the quaint hotel.. “Balatura hotel Luxury suites”. We are pleased to learn it is a family run hotel offering spacious and stunning rooms, of course with crib, so we set up, drop our bags off, and hit the streets!
Split is an old city located on a promenade. It is a long bay with palm tree streets and loads of cafes and restaurants. Josh lets me sit and order a coffee while he takes Levi on a walk around, they come back with popcorn (for the pa) and a balloon (for the babe) and we soak up our new surroundings.
It is completely different than Dubrovnik. It is filled with diversity, buildings, busy people walking fast, and has much more of a city feel. I love learning yet another Croatian town. I REALLY love it, maybe a little too much because my thirst to learn leads me to wanting to stay out late. However nowadays Levi won’t really fall asleep in his stroller for bedtime because he is so curious about the new place, just as we are!
When he was an infant it was easy to stay out late because he would sleep in the stroller and we could hang at a restaurant. But now he is so alert and fun! Meaning that by 830pm we need to get back in order for him to get his full nights sleep. So it works out being Kosher! and thankfully we are on the same page! Plus we love our hotel and are excited to be in the quiet old city. Occasionally on trips like this I would go out at night while josh works on his computer and the baby sleeps, but there was something about the hotel and the balcony in utter silence that I wanted to get back to – plus we had walked a good 11 miles already.
(perhaps last year when we traveled I felt more of a need to get out in the evenings for alone time because I was still a “new mom” and wanted to feel independent. Now I thankfully have other means of that independent feeling such as sitting at a cafe typing on my blog while my baby naps during the day)
So we picked up some bread, kosher cheese, and some other random snacks and fruits of our choice, along with Croatian made Liquour. We head to the room and thankfully Levi is happy to go in his crib. After bedtime Josh sets us up for a romantic evening on the balcony! we love it! It is nice to be here.
The next morning we have the hotel breakfast along with some Germans that are visiting.
The cool part of being in Croatia in the spring is that there are 0 Americans there. The only tourists during the off season are from local countries, so we get to shock people when we tell them our story.
We continue to do a tour of the palace part of the old city. Lots of cool shops and it feels more modernized than what we have seen in Dubrovnik. The key now is to ensure Levi gets his steps in so he is not unhappy for the 3.5 car ride back.
It is a bit colder than anticipated (the usual theme of our travels HA sorry mom!!) but we walk, get some coffee, and slowly make our way to the car.
The drive is breathtaking! I am constantly with my jaw dropped because it is just beautiful to drive through the country, especially on the coast.