The Labraventures of Carbón, Spanish (ex-) foster dog extraordinaire

[Emily_Babbelhund]

These photos are really so lovely.
So sad if the food is not inspiring cos the photos certainly are.

The food really isn’t that big of a deal as I have to lose another 10 kg before I get back to Germany as I’m trying (again) to qualify for German health insurance.

I’m trying to think of it as helping me here in Croatia because for sure when I hit Italy - which has excellent supermarkets - it will be harder to say ‘no’. I’ve even booked an apartment near my favorite (and the best) supermarket in Venice.

So I should say thank you to Croatia for helping me lose weight!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Those Croatian roads are very twisty. And narrow! The trucks are wider than the lanes. And people drive soooo fast. We rented a car for two days. I drove. It was terrifying! Needless to say, I am impressed that you took your car!

See, everything is relative because I’ve found the Croatian drivers to be sooooo much better than in Italy. The generally low-stress driving experience been a really big plus of Croatia so far. And the narrow lanes are NOTHING compared to Cornwall, though I’m not too keen on being on what feels like the wrong side of the road (my brain now thinks narrow lanes = drive on the left).

Where did you drive? I may have only hit the easy bits so far!

Yesterday was challenging because I get car sick really easily and all those curves. Berk! Plus I did get a tad freaked out by the sheer cliff drops down to the sea. It was beautiful and most of the road had railings, but for the part that didn’t - woo heee! 🫣

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

You spread joy with every step.

Excelente with the castellano, amiga @HAH ! And sí, I do spread my joy everywhere. Ves, you have the proper appreciation for my ability to explore kitchens everywhere I go!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Who was emitting the swear words? The lady in the bed, Floki’s ML, or your ML? If it was your ML, I hope at least she was practising her Croatian at the same time.

So maaaany swear words! All coming from ML in that whisper under your breath way she does so only I hear them! It is wrong, I am a sensitive and classy Spanish gentleman whose poor leeeetle ears do not need to hear that! Pfft! She called me a “terrible, horrible, naughty leeeeetle dog!” Pfft again!

And not even any Croatian! At least that would have been educational.

The lady in the bed did let out quite a loud noise, but I believe it was a shout of delight at seeing such a guapo Señor suddenly come to visit.

And Floki is a leeeetle fat. I was doing him a favor by eating his food, sabes?

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Amigos, a few photos of our adventures exploring Dubrovnik today. It was an interesting day because it started with the TARDIS being threatened to be towed away by the policia, then me not being allowed on the bus, but then we said, “Pfft! Who cares, let us go be tourists!”

We had mucho company in being tourists because Dubrovnik was FULL of us. Soooo many people. But because I am me, I embraced the situation and made many new amigos as we walked the walls and visited the fort.

Here I am doing my best Game of Thrones pose at Kings Landing.


A view of town from the fort. There were a lot of steps. My paws still hurt!


For @Stacia, even ML could not shoot around THIS many people.


Looking guapo on the city walls.



She let me off lead and I did not run into the nearest kitchen. Ves, you see? I CAN be a serious and responsible Spanish gentleman.

 

[M.F.]

lose another 10 kg before I get back to Germany as I’m trying (again) to qualify for German health insurance.

To qualify for health insurance, do they require that you are within a specific weight range?

My health insurance rewards me for losing weight and exercising. I can get up 25% discount at the supermarket and various shops if I keep my points up.

There are some things you can’t claim if you are in a high risk category (if you’re a smoker, have a history of some diseases, etc).

 

[M.F.]

Where did you drive? I may have only hit the easy bits so far!

From Zadar to Plitvice Lakes Park, and then to Split. Getting to the park was frightening. Twisty narrow road with trucks flying past and no shoulder. And I had to drive fast cos it was getting dark and I did not want to drive in the dark (terrible night vision!). White knuckle stuff.

The highway to Split was also an experience. Such fast drivers!

We also took the public transport bus from Hvar to Stari Grad and that was the most terrifying. Felt like we were going to drive off a cliff.

Looking back, I’m glad we went by boat everywhere! Although my cousins hired electric bikes and cycled all along the coast over a period of a week and they absolutely loved it.

 

[Stacia]

Poor Carbon in all those crowds, all he could see was legs, legs and more legs!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

To qualify for health insurance, do they require that you are within a specific weight range?

My health insurance rewards me for losing weight and exercising. I can get up 25% discount at the supermarket and various shops if I keep my points up.

There are some things you can’t claim if you are in a high risk category (if you’re a smoker, have a history of some diseases, etc).

They charge a permanent surcharge if you are overweight at the time of taking out the insurance. doesn’t matter if you lose weight later, for as long as you are insured by any German company, you’ll pay an extra EUR140 per month. I wasn’t having that so knocked out the surcharge in September when I lost 10 kg in 3 weeks (take THAT, insurance scum!). Now they want another 10 kg off (which would put me in the lower normal BMI range) to try to whack out my cholesterol. With high cholesterol there is no surcharge involved, they simply won’t insure you.

German insurance is more expensive than what I have now but has other advantages which somewhat balance out the cost, plus it may play a role in my citizenship application, so I’m doing my best to get coverage. My first exam was in September - nailed the weight, heart, and physical exam but had other problems in my bloodwork. Next try is December - fingers crossed!

That’s a great benefit to actually reward you for healthy behaviours. I love a discount, so that would motivate me!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

From Zadar to Plitvice Lakes Park, and then to Split. Getting to the park was frightening. Twisty narrow road with trucks flying past and no shoulder. And I had to drive fast cos it was getting dark and I did not want to drive in the dark (terrible night vision!). White knuckle stuff.

Ok, I’m not doing that! 🫣 With the exception of the stretch between Pula and Zadar, I’ve stuck to the non-toll roads (so no motorway) because (1) I’m cheap, (2) I have time, and (3) I like to see all the little towns along the way and not just see the motorway. The local roads rarely get above 80km/hr and a lot of the time they are 40km. Even the stretch of motorway I did had massive roadworks and mostly crawled at 30km/hr.

So maybe I’ve not had the REAL Croatian driving experience yet!

Sympathy to you on the night driving - I’m the same way. It’s especially bad in the UK with a left-hand drive car. @kateincornwall knows - in the winter I have to leave her place by 16:00 so I don’t murder someone on the roads getting back to Padstow!

We also took the public transport bus from Hvar to Stari Grad and that was the most terrifying. Felt like we were going to drive off a cliff.

.

Ooooo, this sounds like my experience on Capri. Never again! Though I’m glad I did it once.

I’m not going to Hvar but headed to Korčula (a neighbouring island) tomorrow. I mainly picked it because the car ferry is only 15 minutes long, and it’s less popular than Hvar so I’m hoping it will be fairly empty. Carbón and I have a tiny studio with a sea view terrace. The host seems very nice. Fingers crossed!

 

[Cath]

to try to whack out my cholesterol.

First well done you for losing all that weight

I have high colesterol. I now do the 2 5 diet and it has worked wonders for me. I had put on weight and my colesterol went up, so I took myself in hand and its worked for me so far. Thanks to the late Dr Michael Mosley. I find this easy now, I have lost a stone and a half. I have my cholesterol tested next month so watch this space.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Poor Carbon in all those crowds, all he could see was legs, legs and more legs!

Yeah, it’s really no fun for him. I took him in at 7:00 this morning to avoid the crowds but instead we had torrential rain, which he hates. It lessened but by that time the crowds were back. It’s such a pretty town but I’ve never been someplace that felt so overtouristed - and that includes Venice during Carnaval.

I finally just admitted defeat and we came back to our studio. It’s a 45 min walk each way into the Old Town (busses won’t accept dogs including assistance dogs) and we’re both beat, so I think we’re done with Dubrovnik. Overall we’ve had very positive experiences in Croatia and you can’t win ‘em all: on to the next spot!

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

First well done you for losing all that weight

I have high colesterol. I now do the 2 5 diet and it has worked wonders for me. I had put on weight and my colesterol went up, so I took myself in hand and its worked for me so far. Thanks to the late Dr Michael Mosley. I find this easy now, I have lost a stone and a half. I have my cholesterol tested next month so watch this space.

Congratulations! I’ll have a look - I’ve never heard of the 2 5 diet.

 

[Jacqui-S]

I’ve never been someplace that felt so overtouristed - and that includes Venice during Carnaval.

 

[M.F.]

I prefer driving little roads from town to town. But we were told this park was a Must See, and with our limited time, we took the most direct route. As for the park. Meh. It was pretty. But soooo expensive. And we got there so early that the sun wasn’t at the correct angle to make the lakes that turquoise colour. By the time we left, it was teeming with tourists. The lake colour was beautiful, but you had to inch along narrow paths with the hordes. Either way, it wasn’t worth it.

 

[M.F.]

Korcula is lovely. Perfect town planning in a herringbone design to allow breezes on one side and no wind on the other. I was so impressed!

We went up the tower. More terrifying than the roads! A staircase that ends in a potential death fall if your foot slips. And a tiny area at the top with a balustrade that I didn’t trust! And blowing a gale. I was so terrified, I couldn’t care less that my dress was flying up for all to see, I just hung on for dear life. Meanwhile, others were loving the view and being up there. Me and the fear of falling.

There is a bar along the cafe strip that has a scary ladder to reach it. I said No! Happy to miss that experience!

Btw if you plan to use the laundrette, ask for a written receipt. We were almost conned in Korcula. Quoted one price. Left our laundry. Came back. New person. Double the price. Wouldn’t give us our laundry. Then someone else came in. Same deal. When we threatened to call the police, all was settled as if it had never happened. Laundrette close to where all the boats moor.