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Showing posts with the label Smrikva

Donkeys, Olive Oil, and Smrikve Return – Day Two in Istria

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When we were heading to the Porer Lighthouse to spend the night, Goran, our Visit Istria guide had told us that the island had been rumored to be haunted. I don’t put much thought into those things, but there was a bit of doubt in logic by morning. At 12:45 am, all six of us in the lighthouse woke with a startle from the loud banging of doors and windows. At first I thought it was the wind, but then realized it was coming from two different directions. A few minutes after it stopped, an alarm started sounding. It quieted down for a bit, than the sequence started again about an hour later. The lighthouse keeper had no logical explanation except wind and, quite frankly, I was too tired from two nights of not sleeping to even care.  Lynn was ready quicky and I tried to get a little work done on my photos before we left. While I have to admit that staying in a lighthouse on a private island was intriguing, the actual place – with no air conditioning and these creepy

Chosen to Join and Share Istria!

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It was 2006 and I was ready to take my first trip to Europe by myself. I had only been once before at that point and, as a single mom, I hadn't thought about going back. Just as my daughter was about to turn 21, the opportunity presented itself to cover a tennis tournament . I also had enough miles for a first class ticket to Europe. It didn't take me long to make the decision. The tournament was a special one. It was the Smirkva Bowl , a competition in Pula, Croatia, for 10 and under kids. They had teamed up with "Little Mo," a similar organization in the United States founded by the family of Grand Slam champion Maureen Connolly Brinker, to bring four players from the U.S. to Croatia for an exhibition event. I planned to spend time in Paris and Rome too, but it was Croatia that would take most of my time and attention. Three weeks before the trip, I developed shingles. If you've seen the television commercials for the shingles vaccine and wonder