Toshi Arrives!!

Oh I am so happy!!! Toshi arrived last night (from Boston via Dublin where he toured the city during his 9-hour layover). I waited at the airport with all the tour-guide people with their little signs for "Maureen Keogh" and "Anne Flanigan" (flight from Dublin, remember). I watched happy Irish people with their sparkling (smiling) Irish eyes streaming out from the international arrivals area until I just couldn't stand it any longer. I had a little sign that said "Toshi Hoo" just in case he didn't recognize me (remember he hadn't seen my new hair yet). I looked away from the door for a minute, and suddenly he was there!! I showed him the sign and he laughed because at first he didn't recognize me, because he only saw my head from behind (recall that I was looking away from the happy Irish vacationers). Luckily he recognized my dress! haha.

I had set up a flat rate for the cabbie to pick me up at the hotel, then take me to the airport, then pick up Toshi and return us to the hotel. Smart plan. He was a few minutes early to pick me up and when I came downstairs, he was drinking wine at the hotel bar. Not a good sign. He then proceeded to drive like a maniac (80+KM in a 50KM zone along the coastline, windy roads, and passing cars like it ain't no thing!) despite my assurances that we were in no rush.

So when we arrived back at he hotel with Toshi, he tried to make me pay more than he originally agreed. Thanks to IMPACT training, I held my ground, even when he wouldn't give me back my change. He went to get in the cab and I ran around him and got in the way, refusing to move until he coughed up the correct change (which he even lied and said he didn't have). Toshi was impressed, and I have to say that I was too. Previously I might have been too afraid to stand up to him (big bald Croatian man, very bold and insistent that I overpay him), but I knew I didn't have to take that kind of bullshit from anyone. Of course I would (probably) not kick him in the head for such an overcharge, but having the knowledge that I COULD made me bold enough to stand up for myself! As he pulled away with the correc amount and not a penny (kuna) more, I said to Toshi, "Welcome to Croatia!" and we laughed very hard. Actually this is the first such experience I have had and it is NOT typical of the people or the culture here.

I had arranged for Toshi to have a massage/body scrub and healing bath at the "wellness spa" (at the super-fancy hotel next-door) immediately upon arrival. I got a back massage while all this was going on and the lady said I had very good energy and she could tell I was a special person. That was very nice.

Then we went to a great restaurant where we had a mediterranean salad and fried cheese (picture coming soon!). We also finished a whole bottle of unbelievable domestic wine-- it was a sweet red wine with a lovely aroma. I had never finished a whole bottle of wine with one person before and Toshi's not much of a drinker either... so fortunately we had only to walk (stumble) next door to our room. We also checked out the beach at night (like 2 min form our hotel) and Toshi put his toes in the Adriatic, which he said was quite a nice temperature, even though it was late at night.

He is still sleeping and it is taking every shred of self-control I have (I really don't have that many...) not to wake him up...