#overdressing

I love rich colours and really eccentric outfits, but variety is nice, and above all else I’m looking for quality and vintage flair

Today I wear sunscreen; it’s a beautiful 12° outside. Yesterday was a full day of 17k steps although most of those at a saunter.

Our Go Local tour by Marijana was a hit. She enlightened us to what local food and drink to try and where, including Strukel (kinda similar to soggy cheese filled cannelloni), Cevapcici (sausage or sliced meatloaf bunwich with relish, raw onions and sour cream), cheap local craft beer along with the history of the city. Highlights include two towns (one the church city, Koptol and the other a citizens’ city, Gradec with different laws and administration) setting aside their differences after 300+ years of disputes in 1850 something so they could grow and prosper as one; the stream between them being redirected underground due to public health concerns and is now used for a walking route/road; the surprising frequency of the cathedrals and other buildings being significantly restored because of earthquakes; 3.5 million Croatians live in the country with about 5 million outside with the population declining with the expanding employment opportunities since joining the EU in 2013; the legend of the name “Zagreb”with Manda and the dying knight asking her to grab him (zgrabi me) some drinking water which helped him live on. Our guide noted strongly that there is no real basis for this legend but yet it is reinforced in schools. In fact we saw the puppets being used to tell the story to a group of school kids during our walk.

Today we returned to stroll through the WW2 bomb shelter tunnel which was not open during yesterday’s tour, to check out the museum of broken relationships, revisit the market to purchase delicious strawberries 🍓, wander through the elegant Esplanade Hotel built for the passengers of the Orient Express and skirt the perimeter of the nearby botanical gardens. We were amazed at the overdressed Croats - puffy jackets, boots, tights, leather skirts, pants, and jackets, wool coats abound while I was in shorts and T shirt and wondering why I thought I needed a hoodie.

One last load of laundry to dry before we check out in the morning to begin our group tour. Our stay at The Markiz Luxury Apartments unit #2 was amazing. Now if we can only catch up on some sleep.