Lavender, Dormice and a Donkey Named Mercedes: A Decade of Expat Living on Hvar Paperback – November 1, 2013

A great read about someone who took the chance we all dream of taking, leaving it all behind and moving to one of the most beautiful islands in Europe. The book has many brief stories of the authors journey along with valuable insight of what life is like in Croatia. My family and I visited Hvar island several years ago, I wish we had read this book before our trip it would have helped us enjoy more of the island.I thoroughly enjoyed the format of the book, written in short chapters each an insightful adventure. A quick easy read that gave me much more than expected, highly recommended!

A delightful accurate read capturing the many cultural differences when moving from the refined English manners to Hvar's natural rustic lifestyle. With Hvar being the homeland of my father (who immigrated to Australia at the beginning of the ww2). I have always felt a close connection to the land. Your book was most enjoyable confirming all stories heard as a child and clearly expressed your love of your new home and your love of writing. What a find you are to the tourism of Croatia. You have opened the world to not only Hvar but also Croatia.....you have been busy. Thank you for inspiring me to follow my dreams and explore more of beautiful Hvar!

Island life style, humor, interesting peapol having its own funny stories, and life choises.Hvar is also my town, island is my choise, and it feels good that domestic foreigns have understanding and do accept and are accepted.Nice that Paul - Pol has postive attitude toward island, since island is not just sunny, sea, sunglasses, but much more, which You have to explore by yourself, and Paul gave a hintch how to approach it.Thank You Pol.

A great read for anyone who has been to Hvar or planning to go.Are things changing ? Probably not . . . that is the charm to the place I suppose.Bradbury captures the quirkiness of the Island and the often frustrating bureaucracy its operates under.The characters are great and the stories seem real - the book puts a smile on your face with tales that are hilarious - as long as they are happening to someone else !A really good book that you can fly through and think about after.Hvar ? An amazing place to visit and spend time !

Fun and amusing, a sincere view of life on a Croatian island. Valuable for all who plan to visit Hvar. As the island is worth experiencing for food, wine, nature, adventure or respectable history, equally is Paul’s book worth reading.

An excellent read that is both entertaining and informative. From small cultural nuances, to the outright uncanny I feel as though i picked up a great introduction of the subtleties of both Hvar and Dalmatian culture and lifestyle. Coincidentally, it could probably double as the first lesson in a crash course survival guide for foreigners in both Balkan Business and Real Estate dealings.

The book capture the uniqueness of the life on Hvar. I have also spent a decade on the island, but unlike the author, I have not been living there through the winter, but some time I will give it a try. Like the author has experienced, I have also experienced that the island has a lot of hidden treasures still to be discovered. The book has revealed some new ones to me.

Well written and very funny! I only wish the font was larger, made these old eyes ache.

This book is a great read whether you have visited Hvar or not. It's funny, informative and down to earth. It takes you into the real life style of living abroad and having to work, not people with mega bucks retiring into a life of luxury. I highly recommend having a read, I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Paul has taken the outsiders perspective to view the island of Hvar with a long series of amusing chapters thatchronicle his love affair with Croatia. Bill Bryson wrote his book about England called notes from a small island from his perspective as a foreigner. This book has the same set up and Paul has matched that book's humour and raconteur style. It manages to pull off being really funny and at the same time insightful about a foreigner's life abroad. Highly recommended.

This personal account of a decade of life on Hvar takes you on an entertaining journey around the island. Having visited many of the places, and met some of the characters in Paul's book, I can attest to how accurately they are portrayed. Paul's humourous and easy going style of writing obviously flows from his keyboard as easily as a cold Lasko goes down at Cafe Splendid. A must read for anyone considering a visit to the Dalmatian coast, as well as anyone who has spent time in this beautiful part of the world. Looking forward to the next Bradbury publication.

If you have ever wondered what it would be like to skip the return flight and make a go of it on a holiday island then this book is for you. In 'Lavender, Doormice and a Donkey...', Englishman Paul Bradbury recounts how he built a new family life on one of the many delightful islands strung along Croatia's Adriatic coast. A bit more story-telling and fleshing out of the characters would make this Hvar island tale a best seller.Eamon

Had a great time reading this . Being an Australian Croatian I was able to understand and enjoy this amusing book .My big criticism is that it is not long enough . I was able to read it in an afternoon .I was not not able to put it down after starting to read it .... ...Will Look up the author on my next trip to Hvar this summer ....