I write this from the sofa in our apartment overlooking the semi-crowded beach near Budva, Montenegro. The apartment is modern, styled in slate grey and white with mirrors on the bare walls to make the rooms look larger. The large kitchen/entryway makes an L-shape into the lounge, which is lined by two large couches, end tables, and a muted cranberry coffee table covered in silver coasters and a deck of cards I previously used to entertain myself when I last procrastinated writing this very entry.
At the end of the kitchen/dining room, at the opposite end of the door, is the large balcony that does most of the overlooking onto the what is now a sleepy Montenegrin beach town. There are four faux-wicker chairs around a glass covered table of the same design meant to be some sort of tribute to rustic, tropical furniture (decidedly failing), one ashtray (filled with water from the torrential downpour of yesterday morning), and a substitute ashtray used last night and this morning.
The balcony is where most of the discussing goes on and not too much of the lounging, as it gets quite hot in the sun and the decision to spend time in that sun is usually enacted on the beach or by the pool, just out the front door of our apartment.
Whether or not our vacation is relaxing has yet to be determined. I’ve found that a life of partying, getting up late, eating big meals with friends, and trying to make it on time to the next party is generally self-perpetuating and, even when the decision is made to do nothing but relax, we all fall directly into the behavior of the office-worker or hard-studier on their Friday night vacations; more partying, more adventures, and more dinners.
Understand that it’s not that we don’t enjoy relaxing, I think, but that relaxation is built into the schedule in small increments inherently, like microsleeps or powernaps curing the small cuts before they become infected and grow into large, scarring abrasions that those who need to power-through their own emotions to accomplish a job or show up on time must cure with a week of doing nothing at all.
The schedule is simple and flexible: Mix one (1) lazy morning with coffee or tea and orange juice – the earlier the morning is after a party, the more you will need juices; getting vitamins at every opportunity is important. This morning generally doesn’t include a large breakfast, as it’s function is mostly showering, hydrating, and dressing. Your group (women and men) will generally convene in the kitchen or lounge at different times. Some are early risers (they will wake up before everyone else, on their own accord), some are people that will wake from the noise of those early risers, and the rest are those that are catching up on much-needed sleep. Note: It is often necessary to leave someone in bed for the morning/afternoon so that they can pay off their balance with the sleep bank which may have accrued over the past few days or weeks. It is never wise to purposefully disturb someone’s rest unless there is a large, scheduled event taking place that you know he would not want to miss. Today, we are renting scooters and driving off into the Montenegrin countryside. It would be remiss to allow someone’s slumber to step on this activity, although, plans are always subject to change.
Once everyone has had their coffee, tea, juice, and small fruit pre-breakfast, everyone will shower and dress (depending on the activity of the day), and a group decision will be made to wander out to a restaurant for a proper breakfast. In the states, we refer to this as “brunch” (breakfast/lunch), as it usually happens about midday. Mimosas and Bloody Marys are generally the drinks of choice on two specific occasions; the night before wasn’t a late night (there are inherent alcoholic nuances in the word ‘late’ from here on out), or if the night before was a very late night. These drinks will serve as the first catalyst of the fun, quickly changing the meal from a ‘recovery’ purpose, or they will serve as what is fondly referred to as ‘hair of the dog’. Drinking, of course, is not required and often one’s experience from the night before will encourage a day of rest on this particular subject. There is no shame in that, as it shows one already knows how to make good use of an evening’s opportunities.
Brunch will be large (like most meals) and filled with greasy breakfast foods; eggs, bacon, toast, homefries. These act as hangover cures and energy-givers for brunch usually precedes the first activity of the day. As I said, today is scootering off into the hills day (so far). At times, the women and men may break off to do different things (sometimes the women will shop while the men engage in some sort of athletic activity – one which I can clearly hear from our balcony taking place on the beach), but group activities are always the best, as the colloquialism “The more the merrier” always applies. Always.
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Once the meal is finished (it is not a large or lengthy meal, but usually lethargic towards the end), the natural fatigue of the day sets in and we all return to our abodes around 7 or 8pm. Once home, it is disco nap time. This is to say that everyone has a two-hour window to do as they please, provided it includes relaxation of some sort. Most choose this as a time to nap and then refresh themselves. Some, those owners of businesses or those with financial interests that need to be attended to, will use this time to get that dirty work done so that it’s not constantly gnawing at their brain during the rest of the day or night. In cases of couples, this is often a time for sex followed by a tiny nap (or not). Whatever it may be, this is a time to catch up on anything your mind or body has developed a need for during the course of the day.
Depending on the nightlife in whatever area you’re in, you’ll want to wake up early enough to schedule time to shower, dress, and begin the largest meal of the day. In Montenegro, the nightlife doesn’t get busy until midnight, so we all wake at 9:30pm, dress, and taxi off to the restaurant to sit down by 10:30pm. This allows us an hour and a half for a large meal with drink and merriment. We will be the boisterous table in the back laughing, clinking glasses, and being generally inappropriate. While we will not begin the meal with others in mind, if we happen to upset some people along the way with our frivolity and personal-enjoyment, we will apologize and try to bring them into our circle to be entertained and enjoy our experience with us. We will not change our philosophy. Generally, a restaurant we have frequented in the past will know to put us in the back, away from the masses.
Drinks are had all around. In most cases, dinner will start with wine or beer for all parties and then gradually increase in strength. Cocktails are had by the ladies and the men move on to stronger drinks like gin or scotch. If the dinner is a true success, deserts will be accompanied by ports or desert wines and, in the case of our Montenegrin experiences; schnapps or more Rakija.
Once we’ve filled ourselves and grown tired of the fit of our chairs, it’s out to experience the nightlife, energized and excited. The club or bar experience is typical to any other nightlife outing and needs not much explanation aside from the inclusion of the concept of what is most important to us: giving value. We are there to have fun for ourselves and everyone else, it is our first goal and is second to nothing.
At times when the nightlife is lacking or the company is so good that any addition or deviation from the current proceedings would be unnecessary, the dinner will last well into the early morning, closing down the restaurant, and will end with hugs from the staff, the owners, and all parties involved. The ability to spread good will and fun throughout a room is an ability that all participants relish, and the world around them embraces.
Back home to bed to sleep for a few hours before the day begins again. Maybe a lounge by the pool, maybe a day of hiking through the mountains; whatever the next day holds promises a cycle of happiness, excitement, and pleasure-seeking designed to spread good feelings everywhere they can be indulged in.
