A panoramic view and DIY ideas

 A week ago I had lunch with my friend and I gave her the advent calendar I purchased from Lala. She loved it. She appreciated every small detail. I was so happy she liked her gift.

 This little guy is soaking in the sun and he has the best spot in town!

 A week from today Beli and I will be flying west across the Atlantic Ocean to see family and friends.  I have been busy cleaning, packing, buying gifts, doing laundry, and visiting friends.  Like this bird I'm also trying to soak in as much sun as possible, when it's not raining of course( which has been almost every day) On the other hand I'm looking forward to playing in the snow, making snowmen  and baking cookies with my nephews.

I have been thinking of some activities to do with the boys (5 nephews ages 6,5,3,3 and 11 months) and Beli. So far I'm loving these DIY Holiday Series from Kitchen Corners: hot chocolate pops , snow globes made from stained sugar cookies and nutella play dough. If you have any ideas please do share, the more the merrier!

Scenes from the weekend: cakes, lasagna, vino and more cake

                           Baking, creating new recipes and spending time with friends were all necessary ingredients for a fun filled weekend.

 My friend's daughter celebrating her 3rd birthday party. The kids loved all 3 cakes that my friend baked. Isn't she talented?

 I tried all three of them, but you only see two pictures, that's because I ate the third slice so fast (it was chocolate) then realized it was all gone and I didn't take a photo. It was that good!

At home

I made French lemon cake with only 9 ingredients, you can find my recipe here.

Baked vegetarian lasagna in a skillet

and while the lasagna baked here is a view of the sea (picture taken earlier in the week).

The lasagna turned out delicious.

 I was so surprised that Beli took a nap two days in a row this weekend. The last time she took an afternoon nap was about a month ago! And while she slept I enjoyed watching all the boats out at sea. Fishermen working on Sunday.
                                                    

How was your weekend? Have you started any Christmas shopping? Don't worry, you still have about a month before you can start panicking like me. I have no idea what to get all my 5 nephews.

A Castle.........

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We said farewell to our friends and headed north to the nearby town of Krapina. This small town north of Zagreb and not very far from the Slovenian border is known for its archaeological discovery of over eight hundred fossil remains depicting Neanderthal individuals. The discovery was made in1899 by Dragutin Gorjanovic-Kramberger, a geologist and paleontologist. We arrived and found it was closed. Something about being Monday. I was disappointed and only hoped that our next destination, the Trakoscan castle, would greet us with open arms. So we took a few pictures in the rain, the scenery was beautiful.

I see the castle in the distance!!

And many thanks to Jimy for the link to this great photo of the lake and the castle.

You see that winding and narrow gravel  road below? Well, we soon learned it's only meant for pedestrians.  It was raining and we had Beli plus we thought the castle was not open since it was Monday, so hubby drove the car all the way up to the hilltop and through the castle gates.

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We parked the car and we took a few photographs and then we noticed a security guard and he did not look happy! We gathered our coats and camera and walked under the castle's arch and into the office.

 There were security cameras everywhere and the guy behind the counter had been watching our every move! He reprimanded us that driving our car was not allowed and hubby explained that he thought it was closed since the information desk and souvenir shop at the bottom of the road were closed despite having working hours of 9-4 posted on the door and there where no indications of anybody working. We offered to go back but the guard told hubby it didn't matter since we were here already plus we had a small child. Whew, thank you Beli! for a moment I thought we would get arrested for trespassing!

Can you see the guard by the stairs?

And just so you know, the castle is open every single day, year round. Unfortunately no photos were allowed inside the castle and I was NOT about to disobey that nice guy behind the counter, plus I did notice more security cameras. But you can click here and here for some photos some visitors took inside the castle.

Afterwards we were hungry and since the coffee shop on the premises was closed, we followed a sign along the highway for a restaurant nearby. Look at the amazing countryside, breathtaking! 

Following directions to the restaurant and we arrived and guess what? It was CLOSED. Hmmmmm starting to notice a pattern.

So we turned around and stopped at a small grocery store  but not before taking a few more photos, this view reminds me of  our road trip to the Tuscany region.

 I will have to admit that despite the rain, despite being Monday and the museum and restaurant being closed, I had a wonderful time on our road trip. Visiting friends, making new friends, discovering that butter-cream Castle and driving along the countryside, well it was the perfect way to spend the weekend. 

Visiting friends in Zagreb

We knew there was a 99.9777778% chance that it would rain during our stay in Zagreb, and guess what it did! But  that didn't put a damper in our mood and we enjoyed it for several reasons: not only was it my first visit to the capital city, but it was also a reunion for hubby and his friend Iv. (will explain shortly) and we celebrated Iv's  birthday on Saturday night with music, wine and lots of food.

So this is the story about the reunion, 17 years ago there was a music competition in the town of Kastela, there were 48 participants, amongst them  hubby's band. And it came to the final day of the competition when the finalists were to be announced. It was a bitter sweet night for hubby's parents, not only were they proud that their son was amongst the finalists but they also thought about the following day; they were sending their son off to school in the States. So third place was announced, then second, then first place...Hubby's band won! My in-laws  cheered, yet they also  felt a lump in their throat as this was their last celebration before it was time  to say farewell. Hubby went to the States to finish his last year in high school, and the band disintegrated when they lost their lead singer. So fast forward to the year 2010 when Hubby and Iv. (one of the members of the band) reunited to play that special song (for their lovely wives) that placed them in first place when they were juniors in high school. I'm not sure what happened to the other band member? hubby lost contact. So as you can see, it was a very special weekend.

The next day, we woke up to rain but we faced the morning with umbrellas and jackets. Our friends gave us the tour around the downtown area of Zagreb. 

One of the main streets, ILICA street.

As I was walking and looking at the architecture, Mrs Iv. began to tell us about how every day at exactly 12 noon the city fires a cannon. I looked around me and I asked, "where?why?" She  was about to explain when.... BOOM we heard the cannon go off. It caught me off guard and I trembled at the sound of an explosion in the distance.

We got distracted by these pigeons flying above us that we didn't get to hear the details behind the firing of the cannon, but I did a bit or research and here is the scoop, according to history the origin of the reason behind the firing of the cannon varies depending on who tells the story but one thing is for sure, 

every day since 1877 the cannon is right on time at 12 noon, so be prepared for the sound! You can read more about the the Grič cannon here.

 Changing of the guards at St. Mark's square

 Beli enjoying chasing pigeons and stepping on leaves with Luka.

How I had to convince Beli to put on her jacket when she cried and she screamed, "NO JACKET!"

Afterwards we headed back home with two very happy children.

These are some photos I captured from the  road. Tomorrow we're planning to visit the Neanderthal museum in the town of Krapina and hopefully visit the Trakoscan  Castle!