Settled and living like a local, sort of

I’ve finally got my routine going here in Croatia. I wake up tired at around 8:30am PT and make breakfast. I get up and go to the market to pick up vegetables and a protein for dinner. I also pick up something nice from the fish market for some day time snacking. I’m then to my cafe off the Roman Forum to get caffeinated, catch-up on emails, and write. That takes me to about 11am.

From then, I either get another hour of work done or head to the gym/go on a run. Then I grab a nice lunch somewhere and then head to the hospital to see my father in-law during visiting hours of 2-3. From there, I head back to my apartment and get my 2nd workday started. I go strong until about 10pm, sometimes 11pm, with a break for dinner. Then I struggle to fall asleep, and usually end up crashing around 12:30am. Rinse and repeat.

It’s honestly not a bad schedule. I enjoy waking up a bit later in the mornings and having casual mornings to get caught up and work out. I will say that working right up until bedtime has been difficult and has impacted my sleep. That part definitely sucks.

I’ve also really enjoyed the whole, go to the market in the morning thing. Of course, in the U.S. you don’t typically go to the grocery store daily. The whole idea of fresh ingredients every day is pretty awesome. I go to the fish market or meat market and see what’s good for that day. Depending on what’s available, I’ll decide what to buy for dinner. Then I go to the produce section to find some sides.

The thought of fresh fish daily is something that excites the hell out of me. On Monday, I bought some fresh squid to cook for lunch. Yesterday, I bought a few tuna steaks, and also made some tuna sashimi. There’s a stand with fresh bluefin tuna that sells great cuts of fish for 18-20 Euro a kilogram which is a steal compared to Japan or the states.

I’ve become almost a tuna expert at this point and I may end up just getting a cut of tuna everyday just for fresh sashimi. Tomorrow, I got some of the fresh langoustines in my eyes.

There’s admittedly not that much to do in Zadar, especially in the late fall/winter. I’ve made up for that boredom by indulging myself in the local fish. It’s been pretty fun.