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Remember when you had to climb mountains and ridges at the age of 40? When I was a kid, I remember 40th birthday parties being themed with those black OVER THE HILL balloons and joking “you’re old now” gifts like a cane with a trumpet attached.
This seems to have died out with the baby boomers as I can’t remember the last time I saw these balloons anywhere.
Today, turning 40 means being better than ever, at the top of your game, and with more exciting days ahead. The celebrations I see my peers do reflect this mentality.
I’ll be 40 this month. This is better than I imagined.
Destinations visited
- Korcula Island, Croatia
- Prague, Mikulov, Novi Pzherov and Pasolavki, Czech Republic
Highlights
This is the best 40th birthday I could ask for. When we last left, we were traveling to the island of Korcula with eight friends to celebrate a birthday.
First, we took everyone on a wine tour of the island with our friend Lea, whom I’ve already written about In my guide to Korcula.
We were half on bikes, half on a golf cart and rode to Lumbarda for a wine tasting at Bire Winery! We bought a case of real Grk, my favorite white wine in the world.
This wine variety is hard to find (and very expensive anywhere outside of Korcula), so buying a case of it directly from the winery for the lowest price you can find feels very indulgent!
We ended the night with a Moreshka sword dance performance.
The next day was my actual birthday and we went on a full day boat trip! What a beautiful day it is! ! We snorkeled among the wrecks, visited the small islands and bays, had a great lunch, drank lots of Grk, and jumped off the boat.
We ended the day with pekka (a Croatian specialty where meat or octopus and vegetables are cooked “under the bell”) and pistachio raspberry cake.
I am very grateful to my friends for coming to Croatia. It was truly one of the highlights of my life.
A fun mini getaway in South Moravia. In an effort to visit a new place in the Czech Republic every month in 2024, this month Charlie and I headed to Mikulov, a small town south of Brno and just a stone’s throw from the Austrian border.
I love Mikulov. It’s a cute little wine town with a gorgeous castle on top. it has great appeal Cesky Krumlovonly a small number of tourists, almost all Czechs.
If you are looking for a great place to stay between Prague and Vienna, I highly recommend Mikulov. From there you can easily visit Valtice (if you want to taste the 100 wines there, I recommend taking a cheap taxi there and back) and Lednice Castle. We also visited a nearby lake and a goat farm.
Great time in Prague. What else happened this month? A little bit of restaurant shopping, a little bit of festivals. Summer is a great time to come here.
challenge
Nothing particularly difficult this month, but there are some challenges:
Our washing machine is broken. It turned out that the culprit was a coin, which over time ended up collecting debris and clogging the hose. This is why you should empty your pockets! On the bright side, we finally got to check out the local laundromat.
The air conditioner breaks down at the worst possible time. It was very hot in Prague at the end of the month, and when we planned our road trip to Moravia, we planned to listen to podcasts during the 2.5 hour trip each way.
After a few minutes of driving, we realized the car’s air conditioner was just blowing hot air. The temperature is 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius). So we closed the windows, turned up the volume on the podcast, and worked up a sweat the whole way!
Bait and switch. I won’t go into details here, but a company wanted to work with me and I agreed because it was an event for a group of local content creators and I wanted to meet new people in Prague and they confirmed there would be five of us Attend, I show up, surprise! I was the only one there.
They claim it’s a “technical error” and honestly I don’t see how that’s possible when you’re emailing five people individually and confirming plans. No one was absent – the person who greeted me was told there would only be one person.
So yes. I feel really salty about this.
Blog Posts of the Month
Most popular reels on Instagram
Only posted one video this month, but it’s a good one – a video about my birthday trip! It’ll make you want to plan a trip to Korcula Island just to jump in that clear turquoise water!
You can watch it hereand the above. Follow me on Instagram: @adventureouskate Check out more fun videos from my travels!
Fashion moments of the month
I’m a big fan of second hand shopping for my favorite French fashion brands and I found this Sandro top on Vinted! Perfect hot pink ruffle magic that pairs perfectly with my beloved black satin cargo pants from Maje!
it is yuwust It’s a bit small, but it’s still ok to wear in small doses!
What did I watch this month?
This month Charlie and I finally caught up on Season 4 Abbott Elementary Schoolwhich I think is one of the two funniest shows on TV right now (the other being what do we do in the shadows). Despite being a typical sitcom, I loved how fresh and funny it was.
It made me think a lot about why I’m angry Bear Consistently winning awards in comedy categories, although it’s really more of a drama with occasional comedic moments.
Abbott Should win all comedies. instead, Bear Constantly winning trophies for obvious dramatic performances, dramatic writing, etc.
I hope Abbott Best Comedy Flower for the next few years. I’m so happy that Matt Berry finally got an Emmy nomination for his performance as Laszlo in “Laszlo.” shadow.
below deck Update: This month Charlie and I watched Below Deck Mediterranean: Season 7. Also known as the Maltese season. And they don’t have commercial yachts there because the weather is so bad most of the time that it’s almost impossible to get a large yacht into that small port!
It’s a pretty miserable season, my friends. below deckthere was so much ugly drama between the actors. Captain Sandy, however, received a very positive cut and is getting more attention than last season.
The best seasons are when the cast is capable, gets along well, and the drama comes from guests and outside forces. This is why Seasons 2 and 3 of Sailing are my favorite seasons.
To be launched in September 2024
This month begins more exploration of South Moravia in the Czech Republic, including Lednice and Valtice. But my big trip starts in the middle of the month.
Charlie and two of my friends are heading to Northern Spain for a wine vacation! We spent most of our time in San Sebastian and Logroño, with a small amount of time in Bilbao and the seaside town of Lecatio.
This part of Spain is new to me – I’ve been dying to visit the Basque Country and La Rioja!
The four of us are die-hard foodies and we are particularly looking forward to the delicious food treasures on this trip. Especially all the pintxos bars.
What are your plans for September? Share it!
