Weekly, day-to-day blog following my hectic expat life in Istria.
Not sure who the people are? In theory there’s a ‘hover’ over everyone’s name (so hold your mouse over a name & a box will pop up telling you who they are). If it doesn’t work, have a look in ‘Who’s who’, under the ‘About’ menu.
If an item is underlined but not clickable, it means an article is in preparation. I’ll add the proper link when it’s ready for you to read. Bear with me, this all takes time!
Have you dreamed of quitting the big smoke and escaping abroad to the sun – but wonder what it’s really like? Well we did, and I started the ‘Living Istria’ section of Live Istria to show the realities of living and working in a sunnier climate – and a surprisingly different Mediterranean culture. ...
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In my hectic expat life in Istria a quiet, relatively uneventful week makes a nice change: I managed to spend quite a bit of it in bed. When I finally got moving, I pottered in the garden, clattered at the typeface and pondered ‘The Arrival of the Two Poles’. Monday 14 November The...
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Revisiting one from the archives, with a trip back two years which shows very little has changed! Tired after our UK trip and, with a few guest-free days, our plan was for a lazy week. As usual, played ‘catch-up’ instead. But did get time for dinner with friends, the Porec ‘end-of-season’ party and a...
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After twenty episodes, I’m taking my blog on our expat life in a new direction. Gone is the regular, day-to-day ‘diary’ format and weekly post. Instead, it’ll be a more free-wheeling, ‘as it happens’ affair. But don’t despair, my lone, dedicated reader, I’ll still be covering those crazy events that make life in Istria...
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In the last week before I sign off for our Christmas & New Year break, Autumn suddenly turns decidedly to Winter. We sign the pre-contract on Kaštelir (hooray!); my Autumnal, garden cutback programme drags on; a seemingly stalled Live Istria leaps forward; and we get our first really bumper kiwi harvest. Monday 12...
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This week was a momentous week for Croatia as a whole, Istria in particular … and us too. Croatia finally signed the EU accession treaty on Friday and on Saturday, Istria got a new Bishop. All this happened unnoticed by us, as our house hunting took an unexpected turn. P also finished his wood...
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While keenly awaiting a building quote, I amuse myself with some high-wire antics. Then find I’ve not been as clever as I thought I was, having to solve the mystery of the ‘missing Updates’ … and go into battle, yet again, with Facebook. Monday – Tuesday Quiet start to the week, pootling at...
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This week it seems our property hunt may be reaching its end, or it could equally be just another twist in the trail. I continue the Autumn clean-up and P chops yet more logs – there’s a lot of wood in that pile. Pip joins the Live Istria team, I try to catch up with...
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Our first week back sees me making the most of beautiful sunshine in the garden and starting up Live Istria again, after a dormant few weeks while we were away. We evict a couple of animal interlopers, plan Christmas and try moving our latest property project forward. In other words, get life back to...
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We left Istria on Monday, October 17th. After a 19-day journey involving ten countries, a 3500 km drive, and voyages by plane, ship and coach, we arrived home very satisfied, but exhausted. A weekend sorting ourselves out was in order, before heading back into the fray. Friday, 4th November At last we are...
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Tying up loose ends, arranging cat-sitters, booking hotels, setting up meetings and generally making sure nothing’s forgotten: the week before any big trip is always hectic. I made this one doubly so, with last-minute house-hunting, car chaos and a haircut, all ahead of a three-week jaunt to the UK, New York and Belgium. It...
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With bad weather forecast, we put the summer kitchen, pool and garden to bed – always a sad day. I take the cats for their jabs and make new internet friends, the gardeners attack the lawn, P hunts a leak, and we have our first fire of the season – which means Autumn’s finally...
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There’s a lot in this week’s blog – but then it was a hectic week. We ate out four times in five days and made a mad dash to Trieste – twice. Live Istria acquired a (future) new contributor, its first few back-links and its first sponsor! I gave the garden a short back...
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After an Autumnal start, sun makes a welcome return. We focus on spreading the word: P battles with Facebook and I collect Twitter followers, but Google’s page one remains a distant dream. Get our first rental booking for next year, see friends and even get a swim – but our oven and my computer...
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In a hot, sunny week, I start promoting Live Istria, P tackles the water feature and the wood pile shrinks. We worry about Tally, then send her to the dog-house. I go grape picking and we drink the mušt – juice from the first pressing. The week then ends with a bang! Monday...
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