Waking up and walking out the balcony in the morning is my favorite thing yet. I try to wake up before everyone to get my writing in for the day. I quietly climb down my bunk bed ladder and tip toe out of my room so I don't wake up my five other roommates. Stepping out on to the balcony and seeing the first morning view of Dubrovnik brings a huge smile to my face. Cruise ships had come in for the night and lined the canal in front of our hostel. The water sparkles in the morning and I couldn't wait to get going to the beach today. That was the only thing on my agenda today but I planned to tag along with the Canadians. Around 8am, breakfast was served and everyone piled into the communal room. It's different when you go from living by yourself to now eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with fifteen strangers. They didn't even feel like that to me after only one day of living here. I guess when you all share the same common interest of exploring and are willing to open yourself up to another persons life, adventure and culture- you become closer a lot faster. It could be sharing one bathroom with fifteen other people as well. Either way, these people were leaving an impression on me. We filled the others in on our big night out and made plans to all go out together as a house tonight.
After breakfast, I went with the boys to the beach. Mike took the leader spot and Andras and I followed behind while he guided us to the beach. Walking through the backstreets of Dubrovnik reminded me a lot of a blend of several countries. The Promenade resembles the streets of Paris with flowers lining every patio while sophisticated people sip their coffee on patios up and down the street. The coast line of the Adriatic Sea reminds me of The outskirts of Rome. The stone alleyways in Old Town remind me of Barcelona. Croatia is a beautiful country and I was in awe while Mike guided us down the winding dirt path along the coast in search of the beach. There were several beaches in Dubrovnik but Pero told us about one particular sand beach with the best view where locals go to relax. Mike apologized after it appeared me may have been lost but I didn't mind. I was enjoying this. I was enjoying giving my brain a break from reality. To not have my mind bombarded with useless tasks, errands, work stress was great. To have my only worry be about keeping up with the boys along a dirt path along the coast. That was an okay day in my book. Once you are able to break away from all those things in your world that at the time seem so important, you're able to reprioritize with an unscattered brain. I realized on that walk, for once I wasn't thinking about anything. While it's important to stay motivated and have priorities, I believe this trip was designed for me to let go of those for the next two weeks. Put them on a temporary hold while I give my mind a chance to soak in so many other wonderful things. New people, new food, new views, new experiences. All those work deadlines and responsibilities seemed so far out of my mind.
After walking for about an hour, we finally arrived to a stunning view that Pero had described. The three of us gasped at the first view of the beach after turning the corner. This really was the most beautiful beach I had seen. People lay scattered along a little peninsula. White linens waved in the air hanging off canopies lining the beach. We lay out our towels and took our first dip. The boys jumped right in but I was being a baby so laid back down on my towel while they swam. After they came back they peer pressured me to go in the water but I told them it was chilly. They convinced me that I should just bite the bullet and jump off the stone edge at the end of the beach. I walked down to the edge, screamed and plunged into the sea. It really did feel refreshing to be in the water. Mike and I did several more jumps off the edge while Andras took our picture with his underwater camera. I'm positive we looked like fools over and over trying to get the perfect action shot.
We laid out to dry off and I proposed we find food. I was starting to grow hungry and told them I stop talking when I'm hungry. We walked back down the path in silence, I think at this point we were all a bit hungry. Mike led us back to the promenade and we perused menus on the main drag in search of the perfect Croatian meal. We picked a little patio with a swinging bench on one side of the table. I took a seat in the swing and the boys sat at the chairs across from me. We decided it was time for a drink after a day of exploring. I ordered a Pinot Grigio and the boys ordered beers.
Looking over the menu we had a lot of questions. We wanted authentic Croatian meals so decided we each would pick one item and have a tapas lunch. I asked the boys what they thought the Dalmatian style fish, pronouncing it "Dal-ma-tie-an". They gave each other a quick glance and broke into laughter asking if I was referring to Dalmatian. We all started hysterically laughing at my expense. The laughing did not end easily, they did not let that one slide easily. I asked why they would name a menu item after a dog and they explained it was named after a region in Croatia. In that moment, swinging on my bench, drinking wine on a patio in Croatia and making a fool of myself with new friends that I truly considered friends- I was happy. I was lucky to be having such a great, comfortable time and that they appreciated my stupidity. I really got to know Andras and Mike throughout our adventure today. They were good men and they treated me like a sister looking after me last night in Old Town and today at the beach.
Our server came walking over and I asked the boys if I could order the Dalmatian dish the way I pronounced it. It sounded fancier in my defense. Our server was a heavyset old Croatian woman. Andras asked her what seafood was in the seafood risotto. She squinted her eyes and winced in a heavy accent "I don't know, it's seafood!" Andras went to ask a little bit more detail and she threw her hands in the air and said she didn't have time to answer questions and walked away. She walked back a few minutes later and I decided to give it a whirl and ask if she were to pick between the Dalmatian Fish or the Seafood Risotto, which she would suggest. I got halfway through the first option and she cut me off, "I don't know! What you want to order!?!?" I couldn't help but laugh at this point, this woman hated our life. We quickly just ordered a few items and she grabbed our menus and hurried away again. I guess leaving a comment card would be out of the question.
Waiting for our food, we discussed what our plan would be for tonight. I told the boys I would definitely require a nap before going out. As we lined up a few ideas, a dark cloud grew over us and we gathered our drinks and moved to a table inside. Within minutes hail began hitting the sidewalks. After the hail, hard rain poured down and we watched people in the side walks running for cover. It rained so hard, the sidewalks were submerged with water, rushing in the direction of the sea. I had not seen rain like this since Thailand. There was a lot of commotion in the restaurant, people were video taping and taking pictures of this crazy monsoon. We ordered another round of drinks and decided we'd have a party here. We clearly were not leaving this bar anytime soon. Our food arrived and we ate through the thunder and lightening. The lights in the restaurants flickered on and off and we looked out on the streets as the sidewalks became more and more flooded.
Our tapas rain party ended up being a fun afternoon. We shared the seafood risotto, which if you're wondering turned out to be calamari, mussels and shrimp. We shared a sardine pizza, the Dalmatian style grilled fish and Cevapcici. The food was delicious and very fresh. I loved our lunch and after the rain died down, we headed back to the hostel to lay down.
On the way back, Mike wanted to stop at the market and grab beer so Andras and I waited outside. In the parking lot, we could see Mike in line through the windows that lined the entire store. I turned my favorite new song Wake Me Up by Avici on my iPhone and forced Andras to start dancing in the window with me. People in line at the register looked over and when we caught Mike's attention, embarrassed he stepped out of line and walked away. We continued laughing and dancing, knowing he'd have to return to check out. An older man in line looked out the window at us and began dancing while paying the cashier. Mike returned to line and made no eye contact. This made us dance harder through the window and we could tell it took every bone in his body not to crack a smile as he ignored us and paid the clerk. He walked out of the store and shook his head at us.
Once we arrived to the hostel, new guests had arrived and Pero gave them the walk through. We opened a few beers in the communal room with the double doors opening to the balcony. Playing cards, listening to music with the bright view of the canal steps away was such an amazing way to spend an afternoon, As we played cards, the boys shared my Dalmatian moment with the group. Everyone seemed to find this funny, while I thought it was an honest mistake. We played for a while talking in between. It was so fascinating to me that I was the only American and that I was playing cards in Croatia with people from Ireland, Canada, Australia, Chile and Brazil.
I was growing a little tired and told everyone I would require a nap before going to the club tonight.
I went back to my bunk and laid down for a bit. The boys came back to wake me hours later and the hostel itself had turned into a club. I walked into the communal room. Everyone had Mojitos with tall straws, music was blaring and everyone was having a great time. They grew excited when they saw I was awake as if I had left for days. This was a fun group. Pero arranged for cabs to pick us up and we danced and hung out on the balcony until our rides arrived.
I got to know the new girls Michelle and Sharon from Ireland. They said they knew I was American right away because of the way we pronounce Ireland. They kind of just spit it out in one syllable and we drag out the "Ire". They were very intelligent fun women. Michelle is a teacher and we talked about her role as a teacher. She was very inspiring to be around. I also met my new roommate Matt. He is Australian and arrived while I was napping. It turned out we are both going to Split on Monday so we'll be taking the five hour bus together Monday morning. I booked my hostel based on Mike and Andras recommendation. They stayed at a nice spot in Split so pulled up the information for me to book and it turned out to be the same hostel Matt booked. This was a relief that I would have a travel companion for my next big adventure. I was not up for getting lost again.
Once the cab dropped us off at Pile Gate in front of the city walls of Old Town, we bought beers from a stand and roamed around the stone alley ways. Within the city walls, a woman had several large parrots. We each took pictures with birds on our arms and became big tourists. It was the first time for many of them so we took them to Revelin, the castle club. We got a table on the dance floor and stayed there the whole night. Toasting each other and celebrating another big night in Dubrovnik. As it grew late, I took the bus home with my new roommate Michele from Brazil. We got to know each other better on the way home. We talked about relationships and how people informally court each other in Brazil. It seemed very different than the states. Being her first night in Dubrovnik, she trusted me to get us home safely. I was beginning to surprise myself when I knew which bus to take and what stop to jump off. Leading her through the dark streets back to our hostel, I realized I had this down now. I knew my way around pretty well and was sad that I would be leaving Dubrovnik just when I get it down.

Moments like these, you can never predict. A day ago, I didn't know any of these people. I've never even met anyone from Ireland. These people are so kind, so adventurous and so brave to travel the world and I was lucky enough to be in their company. I was lucky enough to be able to break away from my own reality and get lost in Croatia with them.
I have no clue what will happen the rest of my time in Croatia but if I had to fly home tomorrow, I would fly home a happy girl. On day two, I already made amazing friends, partied in a castle, jumped into the Adriatic sea, had a rain party lunch and rediscovered how to ease my mind.