Westward Ho!

Or back to the lovely Croatian island of Korcula, once again...

First things first. Giggle. Rent a everything.
Dude, sign me up.








So, hub and I are a bit late to the Croatian real estate market. (Thanks, Italy. Thanks a lot for hoovering all the great property at rock-bottom prices). This pretty baby is going for $130,000. U.S. And we can see through the roof. And there is no water. And we almost fell through the floor. But note! What a lovely lemon tree.
And the view. Sweet.
Oh well. Maybe, Montenegro or Albania. Yes, Albania....

Of course, the bonus treat to this real estate adventure was our real estate agent. Her family has lived in Racisce for generations, and, lovely people, we were not only given a tour of available properties (owned by a network of aunts, uncles, and cousins, of course) but were treated to refreshments of Turkish coffee, figs, chocolate wafers, and pretzels. We also managed to obtain a delicious 2 liter Coca-Cola Light sized bottle of olive oil from her cousin. For a reasonable price.

It was lovely sitting there surrounded by family. The pace was slow. There was no rush to do anything in particular. Everything in its own time. Nema problema. I think of how Stu and I race around, trying to cram as much as we can into every day. If I'm not busy, occupied, I feel as though I'm not fulfilling some greater purpose. If I'm not DOING, what am I? I can't sit around here, reflecting, drinking cup after cup of strong-ass coffee, I should be out there...doing...

But what?

I wonder how much this is an American cultural trait, some by-product of the Protestant work ethic. It's certainly no crime to take joy from life's quieter moments, in fact, to step off the merry-go-round. Why can't I enjoy this? Why must I nervously tap my foot and consult my watch? I'm on vacation. Where am I supposed to be? In a culture that demands us to be our fullest selves, to be independent, individuals, at all cost, what have we lost? Our family? Our sense of community? Did we ever have that?

Anyway. Just a thought. Just something that occured to me between our second cup of coffee and our drive back to Korcula town.