14. UNDER THE TARTOSA SUN

The Drozd family continues their vacation, avoiding the Laurents as best they can. Fortunately, there are other families in Tartosa.

The next day started with exploring the area. It turned out that the scenic route in the Terra Amorosa district was truly breathtaking.

To avoid encountering the Laurents, Anna and Filip went to one of the wild beaches today. While Maja played in the sand...

...Anna decided to pull a prank on her husband. Little Maja had a good laugh at her dad afterward.

Maja: Daddy tiger! Hihihi!

Filip: I’m going to strangle your mom.

When the sun was setting, the family reached an old, local lighthouse that hadn’t been used in a long time.

Lucia: Oh, how lovely to see new faces here. Tourists?

Mateo: You’ve come to the right place. This is the best spot in Tartosa for active recreation, with something for everyone—young and old alike.

Anna: We can see that! Finally, a little playground for small children too.

Lucia: We’ve been trying for years to create a proper community space here—a creative corner.

Mateo: We’ve got pretty much everything now, even a flower-arranging table.

Anna: You can feel that this place has soul.

Tomi: Mom, I’ll show Maja the playroom upstairs.

Tomi: Can I help you with the blocks?

Maja: No, mine.

Tomi: Ok, ok, I see you’re doing great anyway. Well done!

Soon, Maja got tired from playing and took a nap on the cushions.

Lucia: Does anyone know how to play this game?

Filip: No, but I’m clearly winning.

Anna: It looks a bit like dominoes.

Lucia: We’ll have to get going, but maybe we could meet for lunch tomorrow?

Anna and Filip stayed a little longer to complete their first puzzle and take a photo from the lighthouse’s viewing terrace.

Filip: It’s a shame we didn’t have games like this when we were kids.

The next day, the Drozd family spent the morning exploring the rest of Tartosa, this time in the Porto Luminoso area.

Anna: I didn’t see this hedge maze last time.

Filip: And here we got interrupted by that downpour—remember?

A bit more sightseeing and even more family photos for the album :)

Today also included some sunbathing, far from the Laurents’ grand estates.

Filip: Maybe I’ll finally even out my tan—I still look like I’ve caught an itchy plumbob.

For lunch, they had plans at a restaurant in Piazza Amoroso.

Anna: Well, look at that—there are restaurants here that aren’t owned by the Laurents.

Mateo: You know the Laurents?

Filip: It’s hard not to know them around here.

Mateo: What unpleasant people. They dominate the wedding industry and act like they’re better than everyone. But the Markovic name means something in Tartosa too!

Tomi: Because we dominate the music industry!

Lucia: Exactly, sweetheart—that’s right.

Maja: Omnomnom.

Mateo: But those Laurents are always getting in our way.

Anna: That definitely sounds like them. We didn’t like them either.

Nothing beats karaoke to end the evening on a high note.

Anna and Lucia: So tell me what you want, what you really, really want...

Filip and Mateo: Darling, you got to let me know, should I stay or should I go...

Maja: We sing too?

Tomi: Unfortunately, little kids can’t, but we can dance instead.

The group had so much fun that they stayed a bit longer to listen to a street performer and dance to some club music.

Before they knew it, it was morning. Fortunately, the Watcher knows how to use cheats, so no child was neglected, and no needs dropped too low.

Today’s the day they leave Tartosa. And since it coincided with Cookie Day, the Drozd family couldn’t resist one last visit to the famous café in Porto Luminoso.

Filip: Ugh... I didn’t sleep at all.

Anna: Omnomnom. None of us slept. Stop complaining—look, we’ve all got green energy bars.

And that’s the end of Anna and Filip’s honeymoon. To wrap it up, here are the last two photos from Serena Winery.

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