…And We’re Back!

July 11, 2017

Wow, two weeks went by so quickly! It’s hard to believe only 18 days ago I was boarding a plane to Croatia, and now I’m back to the daily grind. Believe it or not, I missed the routine: Workouts, cooking, and of course, blogging!

I went to Croatia for a friend’s wedding and it was amazing. We started in Dubrovnik, on the southern tip of the country. Why does that sound familiar? Because Dubrovnik is where the Game of Thrones TV show films for Kings Landing (and a few other things)! It’s a medieval walled city the country has continued to rebuild and restore over time. It’s pedestrian traffic only and absolutely beautiful.

Our travels continued to Montenegro, the small country south of Croatia. A day trip showed us miles of beautiful coasts, amazing cities, and spectacular vistas. A recent addition to NATO, Montenegro hopes to join the European Union in the future.

Returning to Croatia, we drive up to Split– the location of Diocletian’s Palace. It was Diocletian’s retirement home built at the turn of the 4th century. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site this “palace” forms about half of the old town of Split – the ruins are still in use for some buildings today.

Heading north we reached Zadar, the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. We spent a day checking out dozens of ruins and tons of art. One of our best meals of the trip came from here! But really, we were in Zadar so we could travel to Plitvice Lakes National Park: one of the oldest national parks in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This park consists of 16 descending lakes connected by small rivers and waterfalls. It’s the most beautiful park I’ve ever visited. By far.

After Zadar, we headed to Motovun, on the Istrian peninsula. This beautiful city rests on top of a hill, hosts a population of 500 people, and was the location for my friend’s wedding. Using Motovun as our home base we visited Pula, Porec, and Rovinj during day trips. The Istrian peninsula is known for its food and beaches, so we obviously checked them all out in between visiting ruins and ancient churches. Again, an amazing meal or two was had and we learned how to properly taste olive oil. Sadly, I also realized that all olive oil I’ve ever had in the United States was just… BAD.

It was an incredible trip, and I couldn’t be happier that I was able to attend my friend’s wedding. It was worth every moment and every penny– even the horrible flight experiences (I’m never flying through Charles de Gaulle in Paris EVER again). Oh! And I even found a Little Free Library in Porec during our trip! All the books were in Croatian, but at least I knew I was with my people. There are always readers everywhere. Speaking of…

In my On Hiatus! post, I identified 5 potential reads for this trip. Here’s how it went:

Completed! This was a great read for the flight out – an easy read with quite a bit of suspense. Good characters but I was never super invested in the overall plot. 3/5 stars.

DNF at 49%. I just… I know that Albert Einstein wasn’t the goofy scientist we expect from the photos. He’s self-centered and neglectful. But reading about how self-effacing, foolish and dull-witted his first wife is… I just couldn’t keep watching her throw her whole life away. Particularly when this book isn’t really that well researched. Oh well, sorry Big Library Read!

THANK YOU, AMANDA. This book was devoured in barely over one day. Completed and adored – 4/5 stars for capturing a single intense moment in the life of a town. Compelling characters, forward motion, but only a vague plot. It felt like eavesdropping on life for a few months in an almost perfect way.

Well, I did start this book… It’s certainly not a DNF! It will just be slow going for a while – not a great beach read book. In Progress it is then. After all, I’m only at 2%. O_o

The third Anne of Green Gables novel really caught my heart. A strong showing after Anne of Avonleacompleted and given 5/5 stars for experiencing 1900’s college life and romance.

 

I discovered this series on some of the Top Ten Tuesday lists from the week I left. It’s a snarky Irish novel about a mage detective skeleton. That’s the exact line I used when my friends asked me what I was reading. Seriously. Now imagine each word coming out more and more slowly as I realize the ridiculous things I’m saying. Well, Skulduggery Pleasant was an amazing beach read. Completed with 3/5 stars. …and I will definitely continue the series.

[sigh] As some of you might recall from my May Month in Review Throne of Glass didn’t really do it for me. That said, some of my great bookish friends encouraged me to keep trying. The best suggestion I received was to read The Assassin’s Blade – the novella collection which proceeds book 1. I struggled in book 1 with Maas’s writing – I was told in this book it improves and I get proper character development. And, if I didn’t like this, I should walk away.Well I complted it… And I’m conflicted! 3/5 stars. Full review to follow for sure. I’ve got feelings to fuss out.

Finally, I started to read some of my HUGE ARC backlog! A short story collection featuring Djinns, I am only at 36% at this moment. The stories have given me a lot to think about, and they aren’t all winners in my eye – which means it’s a good collection for me. I can’t wait to finish it!

So, in the end, I completely read 5 books, but two weren’t on my original reading list. I DNF’d one book and I’m working on two more. Not bad reading progress for vacation! All completed books will have future reviews. Keep an eye out.

Whew! That was quite a bit. Now it’s time to do some real catching up. A HUGE thank you to everyone to read the measly two posts I managed to schedule and get published when I was gone. I will be catching up on comments and feedback shortly. 

To all my blogger friends– you were quite busy in my absence! As the amazing Melanie @ Grab the Lapels suggested, I won’t try to catch back up with all your posts. But I hope to see you all soon. Keep writing. Keep reading. Keep being AWESOME.

And for my readers who aren’t bloggers, I hope you’ll also forgive my absence. I hope you bring you more book recommendations soon. Keep watching and, as always:

Keep reading,

Jackie B.

Jackie B Forman

65 Comments

  • moonlightlin July 11, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    Awww Jacjie this was an awesome post! I am soo happy for your friends and so glad that you enjoyed the trip it looks amazing and now I want to visit those places too!!

    As for the books thanks to you I am not totally interested in Anne of Green Gables and Stella by starlight. I have seen the 5th wave movie and I remember I liked it and ever since I got the books as far as I remember they are 3 and still have to dive into them so I would totally love to read a full review on it once u post it.

    And ohhh dear I know what it is to have a terrible flight been there done that and some companies just need to be demolished lol. Regardless we have a saying herr in BG “every bad for good” meaning if something bad happens another good thing will compensate for it and I think your trip did that ^.^

    • moonlightlin July 11, 2017 at 2:16 pm

      Damn I am sorry for the typos *Jackie!! Writing from a phone can be a pain in the fingers and the eyes…

      • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 12:31 pm

        Preach. This is why I try not to respond on my phone! I find the app a challenge to use, honestly. No worries about the typos! I know you know my name. 😉

    • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 12:30 pm

      Thanks, Lin! I’m sure your flights would be a bit easier to coordinate, and certainly shorter in length, to Croatia! I strongly recommend it. It was lovely plus I learned a ton.

      I totally forgot there was a 5th Wave film! I think I’ll stop reading the books after this first one; some internet research shows me that this book was originally a standalone. Often, I find when I continue series the author expanded after a book became popular I don’t really take to them. I’d like to preserve my love for The 5th Wave as it stands.

  • KrystiYAandWine July 11, 2017 at 3:39 pm

    Jackie, your pictures look incredible! I’m so, so happy you got to go on such a wonderful adventure! That’s is fantastic. And you got a lot of reading in. I get zero reading done on vacation, and I always plan on doing so much. LOL.

    • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 12:25 pm

      Thanks, Krysti! It was certain an adventure, but I’m glad to be back. 😀

      Haha- I completely understand on getting reading done (or not!) on vacation. It helped that we have a total of ~52 hours of travel time I needed to fill in. Plus, I’m a really active person and those I traveled with were not. So, there was a lot of downtime where I scarfed down some fun novels. It was pretty low pressure since I selected easy reads.

      • KrystiYAandWine July 12, 2017 at 11:58 pm

        That’s awesome! So glad you had a great experience and got reading done! You’re a total wonder woman! 🙂

        • Jackie B July 17, 2017 at 11:10 am

          D’aw. Thanks! 😀 I like that image… Perhaps some Photoshop skills will be needed for me as Wonder Woman. Hmm. 😉

          • KrystiYAandWine July 17, 2017 at 1:58 pm

            LOL. I have zero photoshop skills, but you can totally rock Wonder Woman! 🙂

            • Jackie B July 20, 2017 at 8:45 am

              Haha. I don’t have any photoshop skills. But that doesn’t mean I won’t try. 😀

              • KrystiYAandWine July 20, 2017 at 11:46 pm

                Definitely. It’s on my list of things to try to figure out this year. LOL. At least some basics anyway.

                • Jackie B July 27, 2017 at 9:22 am

                  Good luck! If you learn anything awesome, please share back. We’d love to pick up any tips you have. 😀

  • Sarah @ Reviews and Readathons July 11, 2017 at 10:31 pm

    Your pictures are amazing. I’m glad you had such a good trip (and got so much reading done!). Glad to have you back!

    • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      D’aw, thanks Sarah! It was easy to take amazing pictures when everything around your is gorgeous. I almost might have curated those out of ~2,000 photos. O_o It’s good to be back!

  • Grab the Lapels July 12, 2017 at 7:19 am

    I definitely recommended not trying to keep up with a backlog because I did that over the last two semesters, and I ended up writing on blog posts that, while loved when posted, had gone cold. Besides, if other bloggers are like me, they also forget all the details of their own reviews because they’ve moved forward and are thinking about new posts! I also made sure early this summer that I went through and unfollowed all the blogs that weren’t really helping me create a community. For example, if someone likes my post but never comments–especially someone who likes my post within a minute of it publishing! Literally one minute! Urg. It’s made my blog reading MUCH more manageable and personal.

    What I want to know is how in the world you read 5 books in two weeks ON vacation?? Many of us don’t read 5 books in 2 weeks, period.

    Your photos are really gorgeous. I love how you pay attention to middle-, fore-, and background. It makes the images more lively and life-like. Missed you! Are you going to write a review of Anne #3 for the readalong? You could do a bulleted list, instead of a full review, like some people do when they get pressed for time.

    • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 12:14 pm

      I should definitely take a page from your book about curating the community of reading I create. I’m struggling a bit right now because I want to build a meaningful community, but I don’t want to stagnate. I feel like I need to thoughtfully consider criteria for the reading community I want — but I also don’t want to cut people out too soon. I know I’m not steady about my blog commenting; I tend to review a few posts at once from a single blog every week or so just because that seems to fit my lifestyle and focus best. I just don’t want to give up on people too early– because I know I’d want the same consideration. Does that make sense? I completely agree with you about the likes and no interaction– it’s just… strange. What’s the point?

      Haha– well, I did spend approximately 52 hours of the trip travelling. It’s a huge pain the butt to get from Madison, WI to Croatia and back. So, I read quite a bit during the flights and when my travel partners were having lazy mornings. If I had been home I would have used that time to write some blog posts instead of reading, I think. Plus, I picked really easy reads. Certainly none of that challenged me.

      Ohmygosh! Thank you soooo much for the feedback on my photos! A huge shout out to Evelina @ Avalinah’s Books for giving me some tips before I went on my trip. I’ve never really gotten into photography and I struggle to use my Insta. I feel like I’ve made a ton of progress even over the course of the trip. Hopefully I will be brave enough to start taking photos with books in them soon! XD But seriously, it’s easy to take photos when everything around your is *gorgeous*!

      • Grab the Lapels July 12, 2017 at 12:53 pm

        My rule for the bloggers I follow is pretty simple: check once per month who made a comment. If they’re commenting, they can stay. There are a couple of people who I know come and go every month or so, and I leave them on my “roster” because I love their posts and know they are committed when they are present. Just because someone gives you a like doesn’t mean they even READ your post. And you and your work deserve more respect than that. That’s where I got caught up when I first started blogging. Also, when you cull the blogs that don’t communicate with you, you’ll find you have more time to focus on the blogs that DO. Every so often, you’ll see someone else comment on a blog you read and respond to one of their comments, and next thing you know you’ve got a new blog friend. Be patient. It will save you time, headaches, and the desire to quit blogging because it doesn’t seem worth it.

        • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 4:10 pm

          [Sooo embarrassed to have missed this. O_o]

          This is some great advice. I love it. “…you and your work deserve more respect than that.” I know that I’m one of those people who sporadically come and go with commenting on posts. I struggle to stay on top of all the posts for all the bloggers I want to follow.

          You’re right, I definitely need to be more patient with myself. It’s hard to find people that are willing to develop a sense of community who write posts I also enjoy reading. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a brat, but I am particular about how I spend my time. There are only so many posts a day I can read.

          • Grab the Lapels July 31, 2017 at 6:30 pm

            True, time is important. Sometimes I stop following people I’ve followed for years if they aren’t so active or don’t reciprocate. It hurts, but most bloggers make it 1-3 yesterday and quit. If I follow too many blogs, I’m not as attentive to everyone.

            • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 7:29 pm

              That’s a really good point– it’s important to be attentive to what matters. That’s actually a really great life lesson. I should take that to heart on so many levels.

              You do this once a month? I’m impressed at your diligence!

              • Grab the Lapels July 31, 2017 at 8:37 pm

                Sometimes I skip a month if everything seems par for the course. If it’s like, “hey, I haven’t heard from so and so in a while,” I investigate.

            • Jackie B August 4, 2017 at 11:31 am

              You’ve given me a lot of reflect on, Melanie. I appreciate that. It’s been hard for me to find the right balance, but I have many ideas now to consider. I expect to change some of my habits soon. Thanks for all the nuggets!

              • Grab the Lapels August 4, 2017 at 12:01 pm

                You’re such a good blog friend that you really should have more people on your site. Maybe I can recommend some folks who are established and devoted? We could DM sand talk about who you’re following and not following Saturday swap notes! I also like email.

                • Jackie B August 6, 2017 at 10:34 pm

                  D’aw. Thanks, Melanie! That means a lot to me. I’ll be reaching out– I would love more blog friends! 😀

  • Karen July 12, 2017 at 8:09 am

    I’ve been wanting to go to Croatia for awhile! I’m kinda disappointed GoT is filmed there, though.
    Finding a Free Little Library anywhere is cool but even better in croatia!

    • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 11:26 am

      Not all of GoT is filmed there– and it’s only in a few spots. Why is it disappointing to hear GoT is filmed in Croatia? Certainly, there is much more going for it than that. 😉

      I love finding Little Free Libraries! They make me so happy. I can’t wait until the day I can have one on my own property.

  • Birdie July 12, 2017 at 9:44 am

    Wow, everything looks so beautiful! I can only imagine how much fun it was to tour such amazing locations. And you still found time to read. Just like a bookworm! 🙂

    • Jackie B July 12, 2017 at 11:25 am

      It would have been impossible *not* to find time to read! I’m a fairly active person, so a lot of my reading happening during travel times and before bed. But a few mornings when we were feeling lazy, I would read while my fellow vacationers lazed around in the sun. It was totally worth it. 😀

      • Birdie July 12, 2017 at 12:34 pm

        LOL! Absolutely. Reading is my favorite thing to do on any kind of vacation. 🙂

  • Anna @MyBookishDream July 12, 2017 at 8:33 pm

    Welcome back! It seems that you had an amazing time, which I’m very glad to see. 🙂 Your pictures are really beautiful as well!

    • Jackie B July 17, 2017 at 10:49 am

      Thanks, Anna! It was definitely a ton of fun. 😀

  • KrystiYAandWine July 12, 2017 at 11:58 pm

    That’s awesome! So glad you had a great experience and got reading done! You’re a total wonder woman! 🙂

    • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 4:20 pm

      [Sooo embarrassed to have missed this. O_o]

      D’aw. You make me blush, Kristi! It helped that I had almost 4 days of my 2.5 weeks where all we did was travel. Flying on a plane for 10 hours will give you a lot of time to get tons of reading done. Plus, I was traveling with some friends who were lazy morning-types. I’m not, so I got up early and read while I had breakfast. There was more downtime for reading during my Croatia trip than there has been since I got back. Irony. 😉

      • KrystiYAandWine August 1, 2017 at 4:03 pm

        Oh, no worries! I’ve been so buried lately, I’ve been much slower to respond then I’d like to be. 🙂 I hope you get some more reading time in soon!

        • Jackie B August 4, 2017 at 12:20 pm

          Thank you! And I hope you get unburied, too!

          • KrystiYAandWine August 4, 2017 at 2:58 pm

            I think we’ll be able to see the light towards the end of September. I hope? LOL. 🙂

            • Jackie B August 6, 2017 at 10:50 am

              Fingers crossed!

    • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 4:21 pm

      Oh! I *did* reply! This comment just appeared twice! Silly me. Hahaha.

      • KrystiYAandWine August 1, 2017 at 4:04 pm

        Hahaha. See! I can’t even remember. I was thinking I vaguely remembered a similar conversation, but wasn’t sure. 🙂

  • Novels And Nonfiction July 13, 2017 at 9:34 am

    I’ve been to Dubrovnik but had no idea that they filled part of Game Of Thrones there. So cool! Really impressed by your reading progress during the trip – did you have some pool/beach time to read or just in the evenings? It’s great to have you back! 🙂

    • Jackie B July 13, 2017 at 11:35 am

      We had a ton of travel– it’s a huge pain in the butt to get from anywhere in America to Croatia. For example, our flights home were Pula –> Zagreb –> Frankfurt –> Paris –> Detroit –> Madison. It took 1.5 full days of travel to get back. I did a lot of reading on the flights and also as you mentioned: beach time, and in the mornings/evenings. The people I traveled with love taking photos and they used that time to post photos to FB/Insta/Snapchat. I used that time to read. 😀

      • Novels And Nonfiction July 13, 2017 at 1:23 pm

        That sounds like a perfect use of time! I actually can’t wait till my flights home to Milan in August, even though I’m scared of flying, because of all the reading I hope to do.

        • Jackie B July 17, 2017 at 1:50 pm

          My fiancee struggles with flying. He finds that reading a book or watching a movie helps him ignore the “horrors” of take-off and landing. I hope your flights are easy! How long are you going to be in Milan?

          • Novels And Nonfiction July 20, 2017 at 9:40 am

            I typically only do long flights medicated, but then it does cut into my reading time since it makes me konk out 🙂 lol I’ll be there for just a week and a couple days this time since I just started this new job and have less vacation. Should have plenty of reading time though because it’ll be SO hot and best to stay inside with the AC.

            • Jackie B July 27, 2017 at 9:11 am

              Yeah, you’re choosing to go home during one of the hottest times of the year! Yikes. Good luck with that. 😉 I hope you have a blast!

  • Books, Vertigo and Tea July 13, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    Oh your trip looks so lovely! Thank you for sharing the pics <3 I have certainly been missing you and our chats or very pleasant disagreements over books 😉 I am still looking forward to a potential buddy read! I have to admit that I would probably struggle with The Other Einstein as well. I had no idea of the truth until it came up in a review for this very book, and I am in denial perhaps?

    • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 4:13 pm

      D’aw. I’ve been missing you a ton TOO! I hope that you’re feeling better. We will totally do a real buddy read at some point in the future. Besides, can you imagine what might happen if we have two totally different opinions of the book? That would make for an amazing post. 😉

      It’s easy to be in the dark about Albert Einstein’s character– particularly for Americans. In school, we are just taught about his great accomplishments and are shown all the photos where he is making silly faces. But a photo is just a still moment in time, and we never really talk about who these famous people are under all their accomplishments. …Man, I really need to write that DNF review.

  • Evelina July 14, 2017 at 9:15 am

    I am officially jealous of your trip 😀 looks like you had good weather too? I remember you said there were loads of storms. But the weather looks nicer than over here xD I’m glad you loved the trip 🙂
    I still haven’t started with the third Anne book. I’m so late for that readalong!!

    • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 4:15 pm

      We had *great* weather when we were there. The first few days in Dubrovnik were insanely humid, but the humidity broke and the remaining two weeks were gorgeous. We only had loads of storms during travel. Which was terrible. It’s like the weather knew we had to fly/boat and conspired against us. It caused a ton of delays, sadly.

      You are welcome to read along at whatever pace fits you best. So there! 😀

  • Amanda @Cover2CoverMom July 15, 2017 at 9:54 am

    Welcome back Jackie! Your trip looked absolutely amazing!!! I was delighted to see that you found a LFL. Did you take a book for sentimental value despite the fact that you don’t read the language?! I totally would have as a souvenir 🙂

    Kudos to you for getting so much reading done while on vaca! That is crazy!!! I’ve had my eye on The Other Einstein, so while I am sorry you had to DNF it, I am glad that you gave it a go so now I don’t have to waste my time on it lol Thanks friend!

    I’m also so happy you enjoyed Stella by Starlight. Definitely a wonderful little middle grade book that should be utilized in a classroom setting for many reasons.

    I agree with Melanie! You can’t try and go back to play catch up on posts you missed… You will never get caught back up! I had to make the same decision when I got back from vaca. Sure I feel guilty, but it is what it is.

    • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 4:18 pm

      Oy. I’m so embarrassed that I missed this. <3

      My trip was awesome. I didn't take a book, but you're right, I totally should have! I couldn't find a single English bookstore during the entire trip, which is a bit sad. I didn't even think to not let the language barrier stop me. Silly Jackie!

      Haha-- I'm glad to help you avoid The Other Einstein. I’m working on a DNF review for it to help people understand why I didn’t like it. It’s not that bad of a book… it’s just… yeah. There are a lot of things I want to say about it, hence the reason for a DNF review post. I don’t do them all the time. But I think they are helpful.

      I’m *still* struggling to catch up from my vaca! I just spent a week at home doing wedding prep, too. So, that didn’t help with my back log of posts and reviews. I know I need to let it go. But I keep finding another post someone wrote that I want to love and read and adore– suddenly I’m down a black hole of endless post reading. Oops! This is all your guys’s faults for writing such compelling posts! 😀

  • Dani @ Perspective of a Writer July 17, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    Your trip looks like it was a ton of fun! And your lovely pictures!! Thank you for sharing them! The descending lakes park sounds incredible!! And you got to a ton of books for being on vacation! Are you going to write a 5th Wave review?

    • Jackie B July 26, 2017 at 4:34 pm

      Thank you! Oh man, it was great. I miss it sooo much already. Wisconsin just isn’t as majestic. But, that’s probably because I’m used to the scenery…

      I definitely want to write a 5th Wave review. I have a lot of feelings on this. I’m really behind in my review writing, sadly. I’ve been traveling so much this summer I haven’t been able to keep up with my review writing. Hopefully it will come soon!

      • Dani @ Perspective of a Writer July 27, 2017 at 12:28 am

        Totally understand about the review writing… if it’s not an arc or a post for the blog I struggle to write them… but I’m getting caught up slowly… hence all the reviews on my blog this month, lol. You’ll get there Jackie ♥️❤️

        • Jackie B July 27, 2017 at 8:33 am

          Yes, you are just blowing things out of the water on your blog right now! It’s challenging to keep up. 😉

          • Dani @ Perspective of a Writer July 27, 2017 at 3:30 pm

            Yeah? I just read a post where a blogger explains they are going to dump blogs they follow if they post a lot and review a lot…. *crickets* THAT’S ME! I like a lot of different things that I want to share, but now it feels like I’m just pressuring the people who follow me…. either to post as much as I do or have to read all my posts. Sorry I know I’m ranting rather hysterically but I’m so depressed about it. I even decided not to write 2 or 3 posts this last week because of it.

            • Jackie B July 31, 2017 at 3:04 pm

              That’s great, though! There are so many different kinds of bloggers in the world. You keep writing what and how you want to. You aren’t pressuring people at all– don’t be depressed about it. I love reading your reviews. Keep writing whenever you are inspired.

              The thing is that as a reader you need to find the blogs you connect to the most. I have a small collection of bloggers I follow, honestly. I will never be someone with hundreds of followers because I don’t want to have shallow relationships with the bloggers. I spend time reading posts and writing thoughtful responses. It’s not important to me to comment on EVERYONES blog posts. And read the books I like and write the reviews I want to because of me. I write for me and I network for the meaningful relationships I can cultivate. Just figure out why you blog and who you want your audience to be and don’t let the hater hate. You’re amazing. Keep it up!!!
              #RantOver #MicDrop

              • Dani @ Perspective of a Writer July 31, 2017 at 8:08 pm

                You inspire me Jackie! I admit that at first your comments were overwhelming to me (I mean that in the best way ❤️) as I was used to a line or two quickly jotted off… but now you’re one of my favorites! I can actually say things in comments to you and you respond back! Thinking about that… YOU ARE SO RIGHT! Meaningful relationships should be what I’m aiming for… I do have a tiny group of bloggers I follow to see what they’re up to rather than for comments now that I think about it. I do need to pull myself out of these doldrums… THANKS FOR THE PEP TALK!

                • Jackie B August 4, 2017 at 11:41 am

                  I feel like in order to develop a relationship with bloggers you really need to have a conversation. Plus, I am quite verbose in my reviews, so why not with my comments too?! 😉 We both have a lot to say anyway.

                  I’m always here to pep you up if you need it! That’s what these relationships are all about. 😀

  • theorangutanlibrarian July 19, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    Welcome back!! Ah Dubrovnik looks so beautiful- I so desperately want to go- especially cos of the GOT link!! And wow Montenegro as well!! All these pictures look so beautiful!! hehe Charles De Gaulle can be a pain 😉 And you read so many books as well!!

    • Jackie B July 27, 2017 at 9:07 am

      The GoT tours were really cool. I haven’t seen the show, but the tour guides would hold up a screencpature from the TV show and tell us “look behind me, you can see…” and point out how this was where dragons were freed and the purple wedding happened and all that. It was really fascinating watching the TV show come to life.

      • theorangutanlibrarian July 29, 2017 at 7:33 am

        Oh wow!!! That’s so so cool!! Yes I’ll bet that’s exciting for anyone

Leave a Reply to Jackie B Cancel reply

%d bloggers like this: