Timing is Everything!

My apologies in advance for starting this entry with a cliche but truly, this is the perfect way to describe my last two weeks. So here goes......"Timing is Everything in Life" (specifically when it comes to the following; sailing the Adriatic Sea, passing 5 cars on a one way highway alongside a cliff in Bosnia, going through border security in Bosnia, Paris real estate and last but not least, taking a pastry course at Le Cordon Bleu and living in the pastry capital of the world when your dear friend who you admire and respect has just convinced you into going on a 21 day plant based/non dairy diet.)  Should make for an interesting week ahead with school starting.

First off, I miss Texas Y'all.  Last week I made the mistake of ordering nachos at an Indian Vegan Restaurant in Croatia.....I took a photo and quickly deleted, it made me nauseous just looking at it...so no post. I had another "hermit crab" day today where all I wanted was to go out for a good margarita and chips/salsa.....I tried out the local Parisian version of Tex-Mex at Le Perla....not bad but it will have to do until I am back home.

Margarita at La Perla near my new apartment.

We will always have Dubrovnik (Jen, Jen, Jen and Gargi).
Wow, what do you get when you travel with 4 girls who were born in the same time frame as you???? You get at least 3 out of 4 Jennifer's in the mix...LOL. I took a little side trip with a few home girls from Dallas, Austin and NYC. We had a fabulous time despite the challenges along the way during our 11 day adventure. I can't put the whole experience into words so this is just an overview of a wonderful and priceless experience.

Off the beaten path in Bosnia???? Or not, actually let's go with not.... So according to Frommers (where I get all of my political and international news...lol) we should probably not go off the beaten path because of land mines. The drive was going great until we hit the border patrol from Croatia into Bosnia (apparently, we had some explaining to do at the border in Bosnia). We soon discovered that the border police did not find it amusing as we did that all three of us in the car were named Jennifer. We were promptly directed to pull over for questioning. I, of course, get out to meet with the police to start the vehicle search. The officer gives me that "what the hell are you doing in Bosnia look" and I promptly make a joke that what we are not doing is "driving off the beaten path" which did not translate well.  I transitioned into the, "we are touring your country" bit which he and the other officer also did not find to be amusing..two strikes.  They decided to search our car, that was fun....we passed the test and were on our way to Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Zagreb, Croatia

Amazing view from restaurant in Sarajevo, Bosnia

Sarajevo Tunnel from the Bosnian War.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Tunnel

Beautiful Mostar, Bosnia. Home to the oldest mosque in Bosnia, which we walked up to in the rain.

Sailing Croatia (not a good idea during torrential rains)
So we checked the weather several days in advance before heading down to Split, Croatia to catch our sail boat to the Croatian islands. We discovered 2 days in advance that the forecast predicted torrential downpours in the area. We called our sailing company who stated that we were set to sail rain or shine. "Note to my friends" who plan on sailing Croatian Islands in the future, don't book too far in advance, they don't regard safety concerns when it comes to weather. I would highly suggest taking day ferries out from Dubrovnik , Croatia to the islands versus chartering a sailboat (unless of course you have Beyonce/Jay Z kind of money to spend on a yacht).

This was a mild cloud, we spent the majority of our time down below  in the boat.

What our trip was supposed to look like...LOL.

Got one evening of no rainfall on the island of Split, Croatia. 

Somehow we talked our way into the VIP table at 360 Dubrovnik Restaurant. this is the same table where Beyonce and Bill Gates had a meal. I am sitting in Beyonce's chair which makes me smile as a fellow Houstonian.

My one day of gorgeous beach time on Lapad Beach in Dubrovnik, Croatia.