by Helen | Jul 29, 2017 | Italy, Travel
Capo Testa is located in northern Sardinia and is a wild and pretty remote part of the island. For thousands of years, the powerful wind over the Mediterranean has shaped Capo Testa, into an unreal world of lunar rock formations. Smoothed from the sea breeze, the huge, imposing rocks have been contorted into curious formations, almost as if they were formed by mythical giants, making this place a really mystifying sight and ensuring that it very popular with visitors, who also come to swim in the crystal clear waters.
As the closest Sardinian shore to Rome, the peninsula where Capo Testa is located, was at one point used for mining granite, by the Romans, who set up a small town around the mines, extracting large amounts of the stone for many of the buildings in the Italian capital. The caves where the stone was quarried were last used as a source of building materials in the early 20th century. The rocky, granite peninsula, which is attached to Sardinia’s mainland by an isthmus, is only about ten kilometers (6.2 miles) across. So, pull on a pair of sturdy shoes with a strong grip and hike around the eroded rocks to admire the formations smoothed and shaped by the wind. When you’re here you also realise how close you are Corsica, as the shoreline of the French island is clearly visible, even on a day like the one we visited, which was grey and at times, misty.
Sardinia really is an island of stark contrasts, from the bustling and cosmopolitan city of Cagliari to the more sedate northern port town of Alghero. From the remote, deserted western beaches with huge sand dunes, to the glitz and glamour of the Costa Smerelda. And from beaches of golden sands, which stretch fro miles and slope gently into azure blue waters, to the other-wordly rocks of Capo Testa. The northern coast of Sardinia is like no other coast we have ever visited – and this was our first experience of this area…
The sheer scale and size of the rocks can be easily seen, above – look at the people clambering over the tops of the rocks!
Capo Testa is easy to get to by car, but be aware – parking is at a premium and you will get ticketed if you’re not obeying the parking rules. It can also be very cold if you’re out of season, as we were, as the wind does whip in from that strait, so make sure you have more than a T-shirt to wear. Also, and I can’t stress this enough – FOOTWEAR! Flip flops will not see you across those rocks – they can be slippery and they are riveted with cracks and dips and loose stones. Sturdy trainers, all the way. Or, as a lot of people were wearing – hiking boots.
by Helen | May 24, 2017 | Lifestyle
In a few days time, we go on holiday. Our holiday this year will be a bit different, as we’re flying back into Manchester to visit family and friends. Returning to the city that has been our home for so many years, has made us reflect a little bit on the last five months – and although we are still (and will be for a long time to come) grappling with many of the nuances of Croatian life, we reckon we’ve made a pretty good job of settling in…
We’re onto unpacking the very last boxes of everything we brought over from Manchester. On 2nd March, we were a little bit overwhelmed when every last thing we owned, arrived on a lorry and was deposited in front of the house. Five months later and everything seems to have a found a home – most temporary as we renovate, but at least we’re rid of packing boxes and bubble wrap…
We’ve negotiated the complexities of car buying in Croatia. I’ve blogged about this before, as it’s just not as obvious here, as it is back in the UK, how to actually buy a car. Although there are plenty of new car garages, here’s no obvious second hand dealerships, no obvious Exchange & Mart publications, internet searches throw up confusing results. As with most things we’ve discovered here, it’s not what you know here, it’s who you know. (Top tip – make it your business to get to know good people!)
The buying of the car is the least confusing thing – you’ve then got to negotiate the paying for it. We now live in a land where cash (or cash transfers) is king and so you need to factor in numerous trips to the bank. And work out which branch has the best English speakers – very important for key financial transactions. Insurance is another thing that we’d have fallen foul of, had we not had the advice from the garage owners. Our years of no-claims in England would have counted for nothing out here, if we’d taken out our own insurance. A way around this, thanks again to our garage owners (remember, it’s not what you know, but who you know!), was for them to initially insure in their business name and for us then to transfer into our names. We are now fully insured and the owners of two Croatian registered cars! Handy if you come to visit, as we have a nippy little Fiat Punto ready and waiting for guests to use.
Sorting utilities and transferring into our names has made me yearn for the head-mash of the UK utilities companies. Although there only seems to be one electricity company – the national HEP – and one water company, we’re sure that there must be more providers. It’s just that we couldn’t find them – and it just seemed easier to transfer the accounts from the previous owners. It took about three months to finally sort it all out – but again, we are now legitimate in the eyes of the utilities companies. And paying way, way, way less than we were in the UK.
We’ve now got residency status in Croatia, again making us more legitimate. This was a fairly simple process, involving visiting the local police station with our documents, answering a few questions and proving that we had bought the house. (Although another blog post will explain the issue of BOUNDARIES – oh, yes. Boundaries are a major issue out here, and could scupper potential property purchases if you’re not aware of the complexities…)
We’re getting used to crossing borders and remembering what we need to do at each one and always having our documents with us. We now understand that if we go over into Slovenia we need to buy a vignette to display on the windscreen – necessary if you’re going to be driving on the motorway, as you’ll get a hefty fine if you’ve not purchased one. We’ve made some fab friends already, who have greatly eased our transition into a whole new way of life – and who have recommended brilliant people to work with us on the renovation of the house. People have been extremely kind, too – a very common trait here – bringing us gifts to welcome us into our new home. We even had a recent delivery of wild boar steaks & locally produced wine from our builder.
It’s been a roller-coaster five months, and looking back, we can’t quite believe the progress we’ve made. We’ve still a LONG way to go – fixed line internet is still to be resolved, the Croatian language (beyond “hello” and “thank you”) needs to be tackled, the renovation of certain parts of the house needs to begin – but we feel at home. And when you can easily get to places like this, we feel very, very, very lucky in our new Croatian home…
by Helen | May 11, 2017 | Renovation
So, this was the first glimpse of our third bedroom, when we did the initial viewing in July 2016. Suffice to say, as with every room in the house, we really need to stretch our collective imaginations and see past the cheap wooden doors, bare floors, unplastered walls and bare stone. But, we definitely had a vision and we knew that eventually we’d restore this house and breathe life back into it. It just took a little more grit and determination than we anticipated…
To be fair, the rear of the house was as dismal as the interior – but again, we felt that there was more than enough potential. Bedroom Three is at the top left of this photo – the view did leave quite a lot to be desired in the early days, but we knew that this was about the worst it would ever look again.
The people we were purchasing from, did offer to sell the house furnished. Unsurprisingly, we declined the offer, not really being able to imagine too many of our visitors bedding down for the night in these conditions. So, all was taken away and we did begin with an absolute canvas of a house. As all rooms were empty, the advantage of this, was that once all of our belongings did arrive, we had ample storage space, for the furniture which wouldn’t be being used for a while and for boxes which we weren’t ready to unpack. This meant that Bedroom Three did begin life as a storage unit, but it also meant that as we worked on various parts of the house, we were able to hide away a lot of our belongings, behind a closed door.
For a good couple of months, we rarely ventured into this room as it was full of boxes etc, but slowly but surely, it started to empty and the space gradually reveal itself again. We had been focusing on the two other bedrooms, trying to get them into some kind of order, both for ourselves in the main room, and in Bedroom Two, as visitors had started to arrive! But, with the exciting news that our next set friends were due to arrive – with their teenage boys! – we had to get onto Bedroom Three pretty quickly. And, that meant not only decorating, but also sourcing beds, suitable for teenagers. The next phase of the renovation had started…
by Helen | May 4, 2017 | Lifestyle
I think my blogs about things which cause us confusion, will go on for some years to come. Because, at the moment, just about everything is causing us to be be confused. We are muddling through, with the help of new found friends, the internet & just generally having to deal with daily cock-ups when they happen.
So, what’s been confusing us lately? Cars. That’s what. In England, when you want to buy a car, you have a number of options :
- Go to a garage
- Look on E-Bay
- Buy one from a friend
- Choose one from Auto Trader
As literally everyone in Istria has a nice car – ranging from the super-duper to the cutesy, vintage Renault 4s – we thought it couldn’t be that difficult to buy a car. In fact, we were so confident, we decided we’d buy two – one as a runaround and the other a more powerful, solid, reliable 4×4 type which would take us on long journeys. But we just couldn’t crack the code for buying a car. We’d see garages with cars outside, but it wasn’t clear if these were for sale or in for a service. We searched online – nothing in the vicinity and we didn’t fancy our chances heading to Zagreb to buy from a stranger. We headed to the big city – Pula – and hurrah, we finally found garages. Lots of them. But we still felt out of our depth as a) we don’t know a huge amount about cars, apart from what we like and b) it’s difficult enough to negotiate a car deal in English, let alone Croatian/Italian.
But then we had a breakthrough – and this is where the old adage, “It’s now what you know…” is so true. We visited one of the local restaurants in the village – Agroturizam Nežić – and met the wonderful owners, Paolo & Nadja. They assured us they would help sort out our car situation – and true to their word, their friend Denis, who owns a garage not too far away, sourced for us a runaround Fiat Punto and by far the best car we’ve ever owned, a Honda CRV. Nothing has been too much trouble for Denis and his wife, Rosanna – and we will be eternally grateful as they helped us to navigate the tangled web of car buying.
Our purchases were relatively straightforward as both cars had all documentation completely up to date, with full service history. Getting the insurance and road tax and breakdown cover was also quite straightforward – as Rosanna essentially did it all for us. Insurance would have been more tricky if we’d done it ourselves – although we have many years of no claims in England, that counts for nothing here, so we were starting from scratch. However, sound advice from Rosanna means we have good insurance – but definitely not something we’d have worked out ourselves. The paperwork is endless – again, we would have been completely lost as you have to register with a number of authorities, including the police. Not something we would ever have known – but definitely something which now makes sense to us.
We did, in the early days of our car looking, spot a reconditioned Renault 4 which was for sale. These retro cars are still driving the roads of Istria – but as funky as it would have been, we think we did the right thing in not buying from a stranger in a supermarket car park, and instead going with Dennis and Rosanna. And, it’s not every day you pick up your new car and the garage owner has picked wild asparagus for you…
by Helen | Apr 30, 2017 | Renovation
We’ve never had huge outdoor spaces anywhere that we’ve lived previously. In our last house in West Didsbury, we managed to create quite a funky little haven, out of scaffold planks. But it was still a bit of a tight squeeze and although we loved it, we never had a feeling of space. Well, we’re now discovering we have space. More space than we’ve ever known! And as spring continues, we’re also discovering just how beautiful, and filled with all kinds of nature, it actually is…
When we viewed the house initially, we just didn’t appreciate the land outside the house. Perhaps it was because nothing had really been done with it, that we didn’t see its true potential.
The trees were quite bare and the grass uncut and the steps and patio were ingrained with dirt and mud. There was just no colour. However, now that spring has sprung, we’ve made a determined effort to spruce up the outside – because we do hope to spending quite a lot of time out here! The first job was the powerwashing of the steps and the patio area. It was a big job, and all told took about three days but that’s a lesson learned right there. Keep on top of the jobs!
We hummed and haa-ed about transporting our potted bamboo trees and bay trees from our West Didsbury garden – but with the help of friends who stored them for us and the brilliant company who moved all of our belongings, they are now with us. It’s taken a while to work out where they are best situated, but they now form a natural wall, giving us quite a lot of privacy. And, the natural curve they follow, will soon become a natural stone wall – so they’ll be on the move again.
We’re not experienced growers, so have had to rely on a local garden centre to get the much needed initial injection of colour and nature going. Lots of rain and lots of sunshine seem to be doing the trick, as the front of the house now looks so much more lived in and colourful…
We want to create different areas to the garden and so have sourced furniture which will enable us to do this – important, we think, for guests and visitors who may want to have some privacy, too, and not always be sitting with us. There’s quite a large area outside the door – perfect for a small table & chairs for two. The patio area (which we hope will also eventually house a pool – yipee!) is the perfect place for a larger dining table and chairs and sun umbrella, and at the far end of the garden, under the shade of a large, mature tree, we’re trying to create a bit of hideaway. I’ve been searching for weeks now for a vintage wrought iron garden set, but nothing was ticking my boxes. The tables were too small, or they were too new or they were poorly made. Until last Sunday when we drove through the nearest small town – and there it was! My perfect vintage French-style wrought iron garden furniture. Original, too – with bits of rust to prove it…
There’s still a very long way to go – the side of the house and the back of the house need to be tackled, although we hope that these areas will be the subjects of some very exciting blogs as plans are afoot for developments here. Because summer is apparently very warm here, we are planning the installation of a swimming pool – in the meantime we have a big blow up one, so visitors can cool down. The wall for privacy needs to be built – although we’re not overlooked by anyone, the road isn’t too far away. It can also get quite windy and we think the wall, wrapped around the pool – eventually – will be a natural windbreak. And, out door lighting needs to be carefully planned and installed. But, all in all, we don’t think we’re doing too badly, only two months in…
Oh, and by the way, if you think the sun shines all the time, here – think again. Every day last week was a day like this – but without it, we wouldn’t be surrounded by such lushness.
by Helen | Apr 19, 2017 | Lifestyle
Our last cause for confusion centred around the Croatian banking system, which admittedly is getting a little less confusing as we just keep returning to the bank. We’re sure that one day all will slot into place and we’ll be glad of the multiple bank accounts we seem to be acquiring. But banking has led – inadvertently – to another area of confusion. The numbering of houses and addresses, in general.
Croatian addresses don’t seem to follow any kind of pattern. We’re used to odd numbers on one side of a road and even numbers on the other, and that the numbers follow sequentially. Or, the house has a name, which is recognised as being part of the address and mail will arrive at that named house. We’re used to moving into a property that has a pre-designated address. I know you can choose a name for your house, but NEVER have I heard of choosing a number. Until we arrived in the Land of Confusion.
Early on in the house buying process, we established the address of the property, with the people selling. It was number 63. Of course it was – the seller, over a few bottles of wine in a lovely local restaurant they took us to, even regaled us with a little ditty about the house, which he said he often sung. “Pici 63”. So, of course our house was number 63. How could it not be? It did seem a bit strange that not one of the official house purchase documents, mentioned this bit of the address, and we did question it. To be told, that in Croatia, it is the PLOT number which is important, our plots being 59/1 & 56 – and which were clearly marked on all documents.
So, at least we knew we had bought the right house. But we still needed a postal address and so merrily set about sorting everything to be sent to/registered at number 63. Insurance, Royal Mail redirects from the UK, the address we gave to the bank, so that they could send our PIN numbers. We even went to the local police to register ourselves as now being the owners of number 63 – thankfully, with hindsight, we needed more documentation, because we now have discovered we are not number 63 at all!
We thought our postman was just being a bit tardy with our post – we knew we were due some, as a friend was forwarding it from the UK, but it just wasn’t arriving in our bright yellow post box. Until the local builder arrived one morning with a big parcel of mail, which had been delivered to…Number 63. But we’re 63, we said. The previous owner even made up a song about the house being number 63. No, you’re not, he said. You’re 64. And that house there (the one in front of us) is also 64. But 64B. And the one over there is also 64. But 64C. And the restaurant is also 64… Ah, we thought, we might have the hang of this – the restaurant must be 64A. No, he said, the restaurant is 64C. So the same as the house, we asked? Yes, he replied. We opened our post with a glass of wine each.
When we next met up with Marin – who shall henceforth be referred to as our Croatian saviour as he is a lawyer and translator and now generally helps us when we get overly confused – he looked into the address issue for us. And yes, indeed we are Number 64. Just 64. No letter. But, he advised, if we fancied changing it, we could. Yep, that’s right folks, you can almost make up your own address! As much as we liked the idea of going back to number 12, having brought with us our number plate from West Didsbury, we felt that explaining this to the number of authorities we were now going to have to contact to change our address from 63 to 64, would be a step too far… (And don’t be thinking that the numbers of houses run sequentially – no, they do not. In the village we have 57, 59, 60 etc – absolutely no idea where the houses numbered below 57 are, however. Perhaps they are the #abandonedhousesofistria, I’ve started instagramming, but that’s a blog for another day).
So, we now have to embark on the process of trying to get lots of Croatian people to understand that yes, we have a bought a house but no, we don’t actually know for certain what its address is… #tricky
by Helen | Apr 17, 2017 | Italy, Travel
A double header of an Italian trip meant that we could visit Florence and Pisa in one trip. We travelled independently and so our schedule was very flexible. The main stay was in Florence, with a train journey to Pisa. At just over an hour and less than €15 for return tickets, it was well worth the journey. Standard tickets on Italian trains generally are a great deal – uncrowded carriages, plenty of trains, usually bang on time and clean. For just a little bit more you can travel the equivalent of first class – although not all routes/companies offer this option on all journeys. However, well worth it if you can book first class.
If your prime reason for visiting Pisa is the Leaning Tower, and you’re arrived by train, it’s an easy 20 minute walk along Via Roma, almost in a straight line across the river. We visited in late October and this was a great time to do this trip – far fewer tourists than in the height of summer, and sufficiently chilly enough to be able to be quite wrapped up without melting. The lack of tourists was the main thing for us though, as it meant we weren’t jostling with crowds and trying to avoid people taking the very obvious photo with the Leaning Tower in the background.
the leaning tower & cathedral
If you want to know about the tower and its history, this is quite a good summary. The Torre Pendente really does live up to its name – I definitely hadn’t expected such a lean. The 58m-high tower, which is officially the Duomo’s campanile (bell tower), took almost 200 years to build, but was already listing when it was unveiled in 1372. Over time, the tilt, caused by a layer of weak subsoil, steadily worsened until it was finally halted by a major stabilisation project in the 1990s. It’s now said to be about 4 degrees on a lean, from the vertical.
Access to the Leaning Tower is limited to 45 people at a time, and it’s probably good to know, that for safety reasons, children under eight are not allowed in/up, and children between 8-18 can climb the Tower, but only with an accompanying adult. To avoid disappointment, book in advance online or go straight to a ticket office when you arrive in Pisa to book a slot for later in the day. Visits last 35 minutes and involve a steep climb up 251 occasionally slippery steps. All bags, handbags included, must be stored at the free left-luggage desk next to the central ticket office – cameras are about the only thing you can take up. You need a good head for heights and not think about how easy it could be fall over the edge…
The Leaning Tower is actually the campanile of the cathedral, a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli. It’s architecture is quite unusual in that the interior is reminiscent of an Islamic mosque, thanks to the use of raised arches, the alternating bands of black and white marble, and the unusual elliptical dome. The entrance to the Cathedral is free, but you still need to collect a ticket and book a specific time. 90 people are allowed to enter every 30 minutes, and when there’re too many people, they only let you in if you buy the ticket for the Baptistry or the Cemetery (to the rear of the cathedral).
the baptistery
The Battistero di San Giovanni is the largest Baptistery in the world. You can visit the white 12th century building from the outside for free and from the inside for an entrance fee. It is famous for its acoustics, and if you time your visit right, you will experience, every half an hour, a guardian comes in to intonate a few notes, to shows just how well the sound resonates around the space.
A bird’s eye view of the lean on the Tower.
Our top tips, from when we visited, would include :
- try and go out of season
- leave the under eights at home (or the hotel) if you want to climb the tower
- wear trainers as you’ll do a lot of walking
- make sure you have charger packs for your phone as there are a lot of photo opportunities
- combine Pisa with a trip to Florence
- use the good Italian rail network
by Helen | Apr 10, 2017 | Italy, Travel
Our trip to Florence was pretty whistle-stop as we also wanted to tie in Pisa, and we only had a few days. So, every time we return to Italy, if we are in the region (or thereabouts) of Florence, if we’re in a car, we intend to revisit. It’s not happened again yet, as there are just too many places we want to see, but it will, as we know we definitely didn’t see everything. We also didn’t stay in the best hotel or find great places to eat – and I think this has coloured our perception of Florence. So, we need to put it right. And hopefully, sooner rather than later.
The name of the hotel escapes me – such was its impression on us – but what I do remember, is that it was located very close to Piazza del Duomo. A fantastic location, BUT we also stayed when a morning market was held and which started being set up at about 2am. The shouting and noise of trolleys being pulled to and fro over cobbles was just unbelievable. So bad, that we requested a room change, so lost our view of the Duomo but did manage to get some sleep – as the market seemed to be a regular occurrence. So, there you go – you may want a room with a view in Florence, but unless your room has super sound proofing, you’ll also get a room with lots of noise.
However, even with little sleep, you can’t fail but to be completely blown away by the pink and green marble duomo. Inside it is beautiful, but sometimes you can be a bit overwhelmed with the interiors of Italian churches and cathedrals – I know that I always miss so much, and it’s only when I read up on something afterwards, I wish I’d either taken more notice or known before what treasures could be viewed. With Florence, I kind of felt the same way with the interior, but the exterior could definitely not be ignored.
Formally the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, the Cathedral of Florence was begun in 1296 in a Gothic style, and was structurally completed by 1436, with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi.
The famous Baptistery bronze doors, known as The Gates of Paradise, in front of the cathedral were actually made by the winner of a citywide competition in 1401. Before the dome itself was constructed, a committee in Florence held a competition to decorate the east doors of the baptistery, giving each contestant the same materials and amount of bronze, allowing them to submit their ideas within the guidelines. The two finalists were young 23-year-olds Fillippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti, who were both trained metalworkers and goldsmiths. Ultimately, Ghiberti won, due to the judges favouring his classical style. Michelangelo commented that the doors seemed like the gates of paradise, thereby giving them the name by which they are now known.
Obviously, a highlight of any Florence visit, has got to be the Statue of David. The original sculpture is in the Accademia Gallery of Florence, with the second copy of the David being located in Piazza della Signoria (Duomo Square), just opposite the Palazzo Vecchio. Of course, not having done my homework properly, I was quite surprised to see David in the square, open to the elements. Until I realised that to see the real thing, we needed to get our early morning slot booked at the Accademia. Which we did – and once again, we were utterly blown away by the statue.
After the Duomo and Accademia, on such a short visit to Florence, we were a bit over-full of art, but still wanted to experience the Uffizi Galleries. However, when we got there, we couldn’t face another gallery, and so experienced it from the outside – still mightily impressive!
The late October weather did take a turn for the worse and we had drizzle and fog, meaning that shots of the famous red tiled roofs, weren’t quite as vibrant as they could have been. Definitely, another reason to return.
by Helen | Apr 9, 2017 | Lifestyle
You know when things go really smoothly and you get lulled into a false sense of security, that this is how it will always be? Well, that happened to us very recently…
We had arranged with the people we’d bought the house from, that while everything else they had left in the house could be removed, we’d keep the kitchen white goods until we were able to replace. They would then go to family in Rijeka. All great – we were able to cook after a fashion (one electric ring on an otherwise gas cooker, but no gas canister), we’d had the dishwasher serviced and it was working great (a bonus as the kitchen tap needed to be replaced and we had no running water) and the washing machine was about to take its first load. We’d had a text from the brother of the woman who sold us the house – we’d got to know the family quite well by now – and he was going to come over to the house to “help” us. This had all been discussed previously and we were grateful of the offered help, as quite a lot of heavy things still needed moving etc.
He arrived, with a friend and white van, as the dishwasher was whirring away. And that was when it all went a bit pear-shaped. He hadn’t understood that the white goods were to stay until replaced – he had heard the term “white goods” and thought they were to be removed. Now. With his friend who he was paying to do the removal with him. In England, we would have reacted very differently, but already the Croatian attitude of mañana, mañana, mañana was beginning to permeate. Lack of language, of the depth necessary to negotiate the white goods being left, and the fact that we were going to replace them anyway, meant a dishwash switched off mid-cycle and a fridge and freezer being emptied. We had experienced the friendliest heist, ever! So, with a depleted kitchen and fast defrosting food, we had only one answer – buy the white goods we needed!
We’d hired a Fiat Doblo, so figured we could at least fit a fridge and cooker in the back, get them fitted and go back the next day for the dishwasher and washing machine. A good plan, we thought to ourselves as we set off on the trip to Pula, in the south. We’d discovered Pevec a few days before – a heady shopper’s paradise mix of B&Q, Habitat, IKEA and any major electrical store. It even has a restaurant and a bar. A hair salon is the only thing missing to make it quite perfect. As well as the white goods, we spotted a very natty sofa bed which we agreed we’d get at a later date. So, oven (all electric too – the one thing we were told we’d never get in Croatia!) and fridge and dishwasher ordered and paid for and off we went, to the collection point. We knew that we’d only get one thing in the car by this point, so we figured we’d take the oven and have the other two delivered. Cue much Esperanto style discussion as we tried to arrange delivery in English, Croatian and Italian. However, we got there – and even agreed that the the oven should be delivered too, even though it meant another two days of no white goods. We decided to kill two birds with one stone, and as were paying for delivery, decided to go for the washing machine and sofa bed too, as we’d be just be returning at a later date.
As all of this was happening, a very nice couple, who had just bought some palettes of beautiful tiles, drove off with their purchases and behind us, a huge articulated delivery lorry waited patiently for us to drive off. And, although we were leaving empty-handed, despite our high hopes for a car full of white goods, we were happy that two days later, we’d be fully kitted out again. Off we set – although we didn’t get too far, as there was the most horrendous crunching and scraping sound from underneath the car. Panicked staff ran from all directions, and the lorry driver was out of his truck and down on his knees, flapping his arms for us to STOP! The lovely couple, who had bought the lovely tiles, had only gone and left a few palettes of tiles, which they couldn’t fit into their car, right in front of ours. And, because the Doblo has a high front, we couldn’t see them and so had driven straight over them, dragging mangled tiles under the car…
Again, we’d have dealt with all very differently back in England, but it’s difficult to argue the toss about the rights and wrongs of smashed tiles and who is responsible, when you’ve really only got as far as pleasantries in Croatian. The lorry driver was a super-hero however – he rescued all of the intact tiles and the sorry pile of smashed ceramics wasn’t quite as bad as the noise would have suggested. Luckily, also, tiles in Croatia, even very beautiful, design-ery, tiles are quite inexpensive and so we just replaced a couple of boxes. As the lorry guy said, “Sometimes shit just happens…”
All’s well that ends well though, and two days later, our delivery guys arrived at the house and we were the owners of shiny new white goods and a very big sofa bed. Plus, buying household goods out here, is so much less expensive than back in the UK – these purchases in England would have left us wincing at the cost, but not so here. So, although the experience started because of a language misunderstanding, followed by a potential nightmare with tiles and a hire car (which was, unbelievably unscathed), it all worked out rather well in the end…
by Helen | Apr 8, 2017 | Lifestyle
After two days of drowning in boxes and bubblewrap, we finally carved out a tiny corner of normality in the living room – unpacking and putting together our sofa was a joy, as was having some cosy candlelight. This may look very lovely (above), but careful photographing did hide the scenes of utter chaos out of shot. Still, being able to put our feet up has never felt so good.
It didn’t seem like it at the time (and it is only five weeks ago), but we did actually manage to make things pretty ship-shape fairly quickly. It’ll take a lot longer to get everything just right, especially as we have building work planned, but at least we can sort of live quite normally at the moment. Here’s a little retrospective of how things have come on, starting from the pre-power wash in the front garden and the first home for the trees from Didsbury…
On 3rd March, our first proper night in the house, we were delighted to rustle up an improvised dinner – veg soup and parmesan – on the one electric ring we could working on the hob. Candle light kept us warm as we had no way of lighting the wood burner we’d inherited, until logs arrived a few days later. and we had no idea where heaters and adapter plugs might be, in all of the boxes which had arrived.
The 6th March was a very big day – the day we finally got a delivery of logs. Sourcing logs back in England was easy-peasy but we had to work it all out here. Thankfully, we did something right and we were so happy to see the tractor roll up with our logs, sufficient to hopefully see us through to autumn. Our beautiful Dovre stove, however, is still sitting forlornly, uninstalled, in the corner – the flue is proving tricky to source as Croatian stoves are apparently very different to stoves we can buy in the UK. They are generally very traditional here – our builder was genuinely quite baffled and bemused by the design of Dovre. And then he saw the box of Flamers…
After a week of really, really cold temperatures, the house was beginning to thaw as we kept the fire burning and the candles lit – and suddenly we realised that we when we talked we were no longer seeing our breath. A good day!
Because the house hadn’t been in lived for a long time, it really did need lots of initial TLC – and even though we will be having building work done, we just had to get some rooms to feel like “home”. The small downstairs bathroom had always been earmarked as one to be ripped out, but once we’d scrubbed it down, replaced the shower head and toilet seat, white washed it all and started to get our belongings in, we quickly realised that this bathroom will be a god-send when we have guests. So, it’s staying, but will be ripped out and completely renovated.
Making what was a grubby bathroom into something we actually wanted to use, has really spurred us on, and we’ve made progress with one of the bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs. The bedroom will become a guest bedroom in time and the bathroom – which is really small and very oddly laid out – will be knocked through to make an en-suite in our room. We’ll then have the main bathroom moved into the third bedroom, meaning guests will hopefully have a much more pleasant bathing experience. More of these changes, though in subsequent blogs.
Outside the house, as spring has definitely arrived, we’ve been digging and planting. We’re complete and utter amateurs compared to the villagers who have been tackling the surrounding fields with gusto, but we do think our potted flowers and lanterns look very pretty…
The acquisition of a power washer too, has started to make a huge difference to the front of the house. Previously, the steps were black with dirt and mud – now they blend in with the gorgeous stone walls…
Six weeks in and we feel we’ve made some progress. However, as the days begin to warm up and the sun shines, we have a feeling that this progress, if we’re not careful, may slow up. So, it’s just as well our first visitors arrive a month today. Nothing like a visit to get DIY-ing…
