A big day for many young kids on Hvar today - the first day of school.
The end of the summer affects us all, but in some ways it is a little more brutal on Hvar for the little ones. After a daily summer diet of hours on the beach, it is suddenly time to put away the swimsuits and shorts in favour of more serious clothing and activities - like education.
This year's new intake included one special lady - Total Hvar Most Junior. Her excitement in the days before her first day were palpable, as was her disappointment that she would not be getting homework until Day 2 - I wonder how long that will last...
No stranger to the school itself, of course, having been there many times to wait for Total Hvar More Junior, she nonetheless took a step back to take it all in before joining her friends.
Mums and kids congregated in anticipation of this new phase in education, having last been together for kindergarten farewells in June.
A school career began with an introduction to their new teacher, and some welcoming songs from some of the older school kids.
The new arrivals were then introduced, one by one.
The introductions done, it was time for the important stuff, such as where is my desk. All were nicely labelled by name. A secret tip - if you want to cause confusion in the Croatian education system, give your child a middle name...
There were some brief paparazzi moments for the parents, and then the classroom door was closed, for about about 20 minutes, before our young heroes and heroines emerged smiling from their first taste of school, which was celebrated with ice cream on the main square.
Tomorrow will be different, however, with a full four lessons in Croatian, Mathematics, art and nature. With homework.
Summer is over, and it will require a few days to become accustomed to things. Over the post-school ice cream, I invited my wife out for a late lunch after her shift, which perhaps we could have on the beach with the kids.
"The kids will be in school, remember?"
"Oh yeah."
Summer, as we know it, is over.
