WELCOME TO MY TRAVEL BLOG

I have always enjoyed traveling, even if it meant sleeping in a tent when I was younger. I prefer hotels and cruise cabins now, but the motivation is the same...an adventure waiting to happen. Sometimes you will find me traveling with my husband and/or family. Sometimes I will travel alone, and sometimes I will travel with friends. I hope you find it entertaining to keep up to date with me as I explore the world around me. Warning...I like to take pictures of food so don't read if you're hungry. More adventures await...see ya soon...Amy.

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Macedonia: Day Nine

lunch with Belinda's family. Belinda is on the left at the end of the table.

this little sweet kitten slept in my lap during the whole meal


cucumbers in yogurt

Shopska....tomatoes, cucumbers and white cheese

a tomato type relish that was good on just bread but also on the beans and sausage

Tavche Gravche...white beans cooked with sausage that was like a kielbasa


Tulumba...delicious fried dough with a syrup glaze

iced coffee on the porch with some of the cherries we picked earlier at Kire's. these cookies were my favorite!!

this shop in town has the best baklava!!

a couple of pieces to try....delicious!!

Family night with the Kirkpatricks
Today is our last day here in Prilep. This morning we went to the home of Belinda, the German tutor, at 9.  She wanted us to have lunch with her family but we had a hike scheduled for the afternoon so lunch time wouldn't work. Well no problem, we will just have lunch from 9-11! Belinda lives at home with her parents, her brother and her brothers wife. It is the norm in Macedonia and certainly in Prilep for the son(s) to marry and stay with his (their) parent(s). They usually bunk all together or add on another floor to the house. In Belinda's case, her parents are finishing out the bottom floor of their house while the others stay upstairs. When we arrived, we went straight to the table to start our meal. Belinda's mom did the cooking and the food was delicious. Belinda asked her to make us a traditional Macedonian meal. We started with two salads, Shopska which is tomatoes and cucumbers with grated cheese and also cucumbers in yogurt. After that we ate a relish of macerated tomatoes and peppers. The main dish was Tavche Gravche which was white beans cooked with a Kielbasa type sausage. I am not a fan of beans, but this dish was really good. For dessert Belinda's mom made Tulumba. Tulumba is a fried dough soaked in sugar syrup. We were there for a couple of hours and really enjoyed the meal and the visit. They have a tiny black kitten that slept in my lap through the entire meal. We put Belinda in the car with us to go back to the house so she could tutor Daniel and Josh. Danny and Kyle were supposed to go back to town for coffee with Spire to say goodbye but Spire had to take his dad to the doctor and would just come to the house later. Jackie made us iced coffees and we sat out on the front porch listening to the rain. The rain kept us from our hike on the mountain but let us go back to the hotel in the afternoon to do our packing. Spire did show up for coffee and stayed until Danny and Kyle went to town to finish shopping for Tale and a few things for us. After packing and resting this afternoon we went back to the Kirkpatricks for family night! It was an honor for us to be included. When they celebrate, they get out the "good" dishes, use the goblets for koolaid, and light candles to eat by candlelight. Jackie made hamburger bisquik casserole, cabbage salad, and green beans. We toasted each other and for dessert we had delicious cherry cobbler! We watched an episode of the old series of Mcgyver on their netflix after our meal. They have several series that they watch as a family. We were back at the apartment by eleven. We both took showers and Danny napped a bit until Kyle picked us up at 1:30 am to go to the airport. The airport is one and a half hours away and our flight was at 4:30 am. For an international flight you have to be there about two hours early. Soooo that's the wrap up to a wonderful trip visiting family, making new friends and sharing the love of Jesus through fellowship. We have invitations for next year and have already accepted with big smiles.

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