One of the questions we ALWAYS get asked is why did we move to Croatia from Australia. For many people in Croatia, Australia is the Shangri-la, the promised land or Utopia if you will, where all your problems disappear, and there are untold riches available to everyone. OK, I’m exaggerating (slightly), but in general, most would agree that there is this perception that life is so much better in Australia.
Well, I disagree.
Croatia may lag in economic development and bureaucracy, but it’s miles ahead in the art of living. Here’s proof. It’s Springtime in the village, and the village has been brought to life. Everyone’s gardens are teeming with activity, including my own, in readiness for the summer crops!
Something I really wanted to do when moving to Croatia was to have an amazing vegetable patch.
This year, I made a real effort and planted as much as possible, including peas, potatoes, a huge variety of tomatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, chili, capsicums, broad beans, and the list goes on…
Now we are well and truly into spring, and with help from the Little Donkey, we are starting to see the fruits of our labor. Yesterday the Little Donkey got to try his very first fresh pea straight out of a pod that we had grown.
Yesterday the Little Donkey got to try his very first fresh pea straight out of a pod that we had grown.
He loved it!
Over the weekend, the Little Donkey and I visited our local organic farmers market, which is our usual Saturday ritual (waves to all the regular readers who see us there!), where we pick up our fruit and vegetable supplies.
We both love meeting the local growers, and the Little Donkey particularly loves selecting the exact piece of fruit and vegetable himself. This can sometimes be a bit time annoying time consuming, but I let him go for it.
On the way home, we also have a ritual where we explore the undeveloped coastline between our village and Zadar. Today we found this lovely cove out the back of an abandoned military base. A marvelous find if you ask me.
Every so often, we find something new to enrich our lives, and they have nothing to do with money, high-paying jobs, designer clothes, or anything else materialistic. It’s about family, food, and nature. This simple Mediterranean life really is special to me.