I have some stevia I’ve been growing in a pot for the last few months outdoors. I’m not too sure how it’s going to handle the heat this summer, so I propogated a few plants in water to see how that does. I am hoping to make some extract to use as sugar alternative.
We arrived to the Dubrovnik airport, rather late, and somehow ended up being the last through a very long customs line. We arranged for a driver to meet us there to take us south to Montenegro. He took us through a smaller border crossing so as to avoid any possible lines. Getting pulled over by the police for speeding was a highlight. Our driver was neighbors with the officer, so that worked out.
We arrived in the dark so really couldn’t see much. We rented a house in Orahovac, which is a small village on the sea between Kotor and Perast. When we woke, we found ourselves in a beautiful area, surrounded on one side by a high and steep mountain range, and the sea on the other.
We rented a small house – single bathroom on the first floor was a challenge.
Most of our time in Montenegro was cool and wet…very much unlike home. Montenegro is not in the EU and only obtained independence 8 years ago, so it’s a bit under developed. The people are somewhat friendly, but for an economy entirely dependent upon tourism, they have a ways to go.
The old town is pretty – but packed with thousands of people from the cruise ships.
Kim brought her heavy camera (as did I), so we’re hoping for some spectacular photos.
Both Kotor and Perast are amazing cities, but small. Two days would have been sufficient, so our four days was a bit excessive. The food was ok, but nothing I would want again. It is mostly overpriced seafood. In the end, we were all pretty eager to move on to Croatia.
While in Perast, Kim got a head full of bird shit which was pretty hilarious:
We toured around various places yesterday….a lot of walking. 13,000 steps, or 6 miles. We started the day at Regency Cafe next to our apartment for what was probably the largest breakfast I’ve ever had. I normally don’t eat breakfast.
That was a lot of fun – it was a local place and quite popular.
We made our way to the tube, which turns out to be a pretty great way to get around. I have no idea what it costs as you just swipe your card to get on and get off.
Kim has been our tour guide as we’ve only been here once briefly and she’s been many times and is familiar. We started the day at this fun market – sensory overload. A lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood, etc. We bought some spectacular cheese from a cheese shop. The lavender infused lemonade was phenomenal. We have lavender at home…I want to make that.
Found an amazing whiskey shop (that had everything else).
The 1974 was one of the most affordable! But we didn’t get it!
We toured around the streets, stopping in to various pubs and restaurants. Despite the rain, it was a fun day.
We arrived to London yesterday afternoon from a direct flight from Phoenix. It was a pretty uncomfortable flight, but it was pretty far, so that worked out. Chad and Bailey offered us to park at their house and they drove us to the airport which was very kind.
London was a bit cooler than I had anticipated. We didn’t bring much by way of warm clothes. Fortunately we have a washing machine.
We flew through customs on arrival so had hours before we could check into our apartment in Westminster. We took the tube to Paddington station and then walked south through Hyde park. That is a beautiful and relaxing place.
We to a nice break on the grass and soaked it all in.
We later found our way to a pub for fish and chips and a point of Guiness. So good!
After lunch we met Kim at the apartment we rented. She arrived a day before us. She was wise enough to insist we not nap, so we went out and toured a few sights. Later we went out for some Korean food and then made our way back for a solid night of rest.
I bought a Tacoma at an auction nearly a year ago. It sat in the driveway for months as I didn’t have a lot of time to deal with that. It then made its way down to Mexico where I had the engine torn apart, some upgrades, and then had the body disassembled and repainted a color I like (from the 3rd Gen Tacoma line: Quick Sand).
Before:
After:
It’s nearly in new condition at this point – mechanically solid (80k miles was higher than we would normally get), new paint, new tires and rims, new stereo system (it’s amazing), and LED inside and out.
I love this thing and though Yun was skeptical, she now has come around.
We bought our little Honda Element about 5 years ago. It looks mostly ridiculous, but was really useful when we were living in Mexico. We rarely use it – so thought it was time to sell it. Like the rest of the vehicles of late we have sold – it went for thousands more than we bought it.
Still, it will be missed.
We headed an hour north of Tucson on Saturday to do a trail ride in mammoth. The trailer itself only took a couple hours and was a scenic ride. We brought the dogs.
We finally had a chance to take the camper out this weekend – with very poor planning and last minute prep. Even so, leaving last night at sunset from the house, we made our way an hour and some south to Las Cienagas and a few thousand acres of BLM. Somehow in the pitch dark, we stumbled upon a pretty spectacular location.
Although yesterday was in the high 80s in Tucson, it was freezing throughout the night. We were somewhat prepared for that, but still a rough night and Yun ended up sleeping the truck.
I’m sitting by the fire while the dogs roam free. I was awoken this morning by cattle traveling through our area.
I’ve been wanting to do this for some time… My hope is within 2 months.This thing will start a blossom.
We have been wanting to travel with Chad and Bailey for a while now. Chad is an old friend and my current employer. We have worked together now since 2004. This is the first time we traveled together and it turned out to be a lot of fun.
We rented a couple apartments in Zapopan in Guadalajara for a long weekend. I arranged a driver to be with us for our entire trip – available when needed. It was a great trip.
We flew in on Friday (direct flight from PHX, 2 hours) – rushed from the airport to a private cooking class where we learned to make a Oaxacan dish.
As we were running late – and the airport was about an hour to our destination, we had to do about twice the speed limit to make it in time. Fortunately, we made it in time (I figured we had a 50/50 chance we’d make it alive).
The meal was great. Also, our class came with unlimited tequila, which probably guaranteed whatever we made would end up great.
Next day we decided to travel north to the little village of Tequila. Yun and I have been here before years ago and it was a lot of fun. We ended up doing the same tour at the Jose Cuervo distillery that we had done before. It was just as much fun as the first time.
We had a great lunch and then toured around the town. There was an indigenous festival where a group of men swing upside down from a pole. Odd, but fun.
Tequila is such a fun place to visit. It’s maybe an hour north of GDL, but with traffic, it can take some time and we mostly slept on the way home. Well, they slept and I kept our driver entertained.
On Sunday, we did some charro lessons. Charros are Mexico’s attempt at a sort of knight class. They look like mariachi on a horse. We got some horse riding and lasso lessons and a lot of history. It was actually fun (I wasn’t much optimistic).
After watching the charro club do their thing – we departed to head downtown and tour around the center of town. I don’t recall ever doing this before – even though I once stayed in GDL by myself for months.
Later in the evening, we ended up going to an Atlas soccer game. I’m not much into the futbol, but it turned out to be quite a lot of fun. We had pretty spectacular seats and it was a great game. I would do it again for sure.
This was a really fun trip. A bit exhausting as no time for rest, but a really helpful distraction.
