Heavenly Hvar, and Beyonce.

Hvar Town captured from the vantage point of the Fortress. 

Words cannot express the enticing beauty of the Dalmatian island of Hvar, Croatia. We parted ways with our friend, Reece; he headed north towards Germany and Chris and I followed a winding, Croatian road south towards the city of Split. We gave Split a little "shout-out" and hastily drove our car onto a Jadrolinija ferry  bound for Stari Grad on Hvar Island. The two hour trip passed fairly quickly, and after a final 20-minute drive, we found ourselves navigating the car down a steep road into Hvar Town.

Hvar Town is comfortably nestled at the base of some pretty big hills. The craggy hillside is dotted with pine trees, olive groves, vineyards, fruit trees and of course a whole lot of lavender fields. Once an important port town within the Venetian Empire, the architecture and elegance of Hvar are unmistakably Italian. The food is a marriage of Croatian (or Balkan) and Italian flavors, and even their alcoholic beverages are a blend of two cultures. The popular pre and post meal brandy (rakija as we've come to know it in Serbia) is served in Hvar right alongside a glass of local Plavac Mali red wine. We fell in love with the hospitable people and indulged in the wonderful flavors of the island, and that may be saved for another post. For now, enjoy a few pictures from our Hvar holiday. 

   

Picture opportunities around every corner. 

Croatia and Ireland's soccer teams played each other  - He was the biggest fan. 

The setting sun on Hvar port. 

Maybe my favorite Hvar, Croatia harbor picture. 

Hvar Fortress at night looking out for the harbor below. 

We hiked to a hidden cove with the clearest blue-green water. Breathtaking. 

Wine and the Hvar sunset before dinner.

Can we go back?!

The Hvar Fortress illuminated behind The Palace Hvar Hotel.

Setting sun over Hvar Town.

I just had to buy some to take home. 

The locals said that huge yacht is Beyonce's; no star sightings. . . but just maybe she was there too!

I'll tell you all about our Hvar excursions and the amazing food we tried in a later post. I will leave you with this final picture. While we were in Hvar Town, the most lavish yacht pulled into harbor. I asked Chris if it was a mini-Adriatic-cruiseship because it seemed too massive to be a private boat. Nope, that huge, floating mansion belongs to someone. She is called "Romance" and three cabin crew personnel guarded her back deck at all times. The locals said that a year ago, Beyonce and Jay-Z rolled into Hvar on that very yacht. There were no star sightings while "Romance" parked her huge booty in Hvar harbor, but that power couple could very well have been looking out onto the same Adriatic Sea as us.

Does this count as a star sighting? I think not.

Hvar on Dwellable

Catan - Meet Serbia.

Settlers of Catan That is. 

Oh the wonders of modern technology! While we use our little, silver ipad to check email and Facebook and Skype with family and friends, we have also found another fabulous use for it. 

The Settlers of Catan ipad app, duh?! 

Do you know the game? It is (in my opinion)like the perfect marriage of Risk and Monopoly, but it isn't tedious and the board always changes so your strategy must change with it. I am not one for strategy, and Chris is; but I find that every so often I can still eek out a win (when I'm lucky). I am fiercely competitive though, so I am known to jump out of my seat, throw my hands in the air, and dance around when I manage to beat my strategic husband. When I cook at home, without fail, The Settlers of Catan come to dinner. The game just sort of shows up on the table without discussion or warning. 

We are nerds, it's fine. 

I find playing the game a better alternative to sitting in front of the TV. 

We recently introduced the game to Marko and Lela, and they loved it! Finally, we had new opponents, and Chris had a little more competition. Marko and Lela told their friends about the game, and the "Settlers" started making friends in Serbia. 

We were invited to hang out at Darko's house, so we arrived with the Settlers of Catan and our game faces.  Slaga slaved away in the kitchen while Marko distributed drinks. Naturally, we started with a shot of Darko's apricot Rakia. Apricot is my favorite so far. 

The TV broadcasted a Serbian singing competition similar to American Idol, but traditional songs were performed rather than overplayed pop hits. Darko's cousin is one of the 34 contestants on this show, and she will hit the big stage in the next few weeks. I am sure that there will be more of these evenings to come as we cheer her on from our comfy couches. 

Darko was a great host and he kept trying to feed us more and more. All of the food (and rakia) was wonderful. 

No party is complete without little bit of Catan, so here we are teaching our new friends how to play the game. Marko and Lela helped translate when needed, and everyone seemed to enjoy the game. The evening was a jumble of Serbian, English and a singing competition playing in the background. At 2:30 a.m., Milan (on the far left) had won the game, and we said goodnight with promises of a rematch.