August 1, 2025
I took the boys out on an early morning walk today to give Kyle some peace and time to catch up on a few blog posts. We walked another Pokémon route by the water and traded gifts with someone from China. Our walk ended at the coffee shop, Tinel, and we picked up coffees for Kyle and I and Dalmatinski rafioli (traditional ravioli shaped Croatian cookies) for the boys. Ollie scarfed his cookie but after one bite Len proclaimed, “Not for me!” and instead brought the cookie home for Kyle. Our morning coffee runs have been vital because the only coffee available at our apartment and even at the stores is instant. We’ve tried a handful of brands at this point but have struggled to get used to it— Nescafe tastes like hot chocolate and the local brand tastes like dirt to us (sorry!).
After a homeschool session and a few chapters of Sideways Stories from Wayside School, we walked down the steps to city centre in search of a taxi or Tuk tuk to take us to the beach. After talking up “a car with no doors” to Len, he was super bummed that we ended up taking a taxi instead of a Tuk tuk so we promised him we would take one on another day. The ride was just ~10 minutes by car to Kasjuni beach but over and through the hilly roads near Marjan park so walking was out of the question for our group.
Kasjuni beach is much longer than the small pebble beach we visited a few days ago with a few beach clubs nearby for food and cabana rentals. However, it was extremely crowded and narrow with nearly zero spots left when we arrived. Kyle raced to rent a cabana but the guy ahead of him booked the last one. We instead rented one of the last chairs available so we’d have somewhere to leave our stuff and benefit from the bit of shade a nearby umbrella provided. We grabbed an inflatable raft and swimmies for Len yesterday in town and both massively improved the fun factor for the day. Len is a much stronger swimmer now than he was at the beginning of the trip but still needs support when swimming for more than a few minutes.
After a few hours of swimming and standing contests on the raft, we took a break for lunch. There was a family with two young boys next to us on the beach and they appeared to be without any beach or water toys. Ollie was keen to let them borrow our raft while we went to lunch but Len was more hesitant to share, “my new favorite raft.” We convinced Len that it was a kind thing to do and Ollie walked up to the family and told them they could borrow the raft while we went to lunch. The boys and parents were happy to accept our offer and we saw them playing on the raft from our lunch table for nearly 2 hours. When I went back to our chair to grab my wallet mid-lunch, the mom was sitting on her chair reading a book while her boys played on the raft and she thanked me again.
The beach club did not have a great selection of food— prepackaged salads and wraps and tiny pizzas made in a toaster oven. We obviously opted for the pizzas and since it was so busy it took ~45 minutes for our food to arrive. Without Uno to pass the time, we let the boys play extra PokemonGo on our phones which they loved.
We took the raft out again after lunch to for more standing and earthquake contests. The earthquake contest was where the boys would lie on top and Kyle would shake the raft to try and flip it. Despite wearing my cheekiest bathing suit, Kyle still called me the “nun of the beach” since nearly every other woman was in a thong. After putting on my rash guard after lunch, I was far and away the most conservatively dressed person at the beach. Our kids were also the only ones in long sleeves but we love not having to put sunscreen on their entire bodies.
I lasted about an hour in the water while Kyle stayed out with the boys for over 2 hours. We were able to WhatsApp the driver who brought us to the beach for a quick return trip to our apartment. The taxi situation at the beach was incredibly chaotic so we were grateful to have had his number. Despite the short ride home, Len passed out in the taxi and claimed to be too tired to walk the 100 feet to our apartment.
Despite Len’s obvious exhaustion from the beach, an early bedtime was not in the cards. Oliver also showed no signs of fatigue per usual. We considered going out to dinner but knew we had a ticking time bomb in Len so instead decided to eat in. I ran out to grab ingredients for another easy pasta dinner this time pappardelle with zucchini, corn, tomatoes, beans and grana padano cheese.
While I cooked dinner and Kyle worked through another China travel issue, the boys started to watch Iron Man 2. All dinner they asked questions about the movie and the characters. I know nothing so I watched the last of Kyle’s energy drain from his body as he answered their endless superhero questions.
While eating dinner, Len asked what was for dessert. Tired of being asked the same question on repeat I told him it was “to be determined.” Half listening to my answer, Len replied, “Great I’ll have some termint.”
After dinner and more convenience store ice cream for dessert, the boys watched a bit more Iron Man 2 while I hung up some laundry. We’re grateful to have a line to hang the laundry here as the 2 in 1 or exhaustless dryers we’ve encountered in Europe kind of stink and leave a faint musty smell on our clothes. The view while hanging clothes is also incredible— definitely my favorite chore!
