One unusually warm and sunny day in February, we were anxiously awaiting Dominique. And I should tell you, Dominique was not just any couchsurfing guest. He is, to our great delight, a very talented illustrator from Montpellier, France.

Dom came to Skopje via Sofia after a long trip that went all the way to Armenia....and was going to continue traveling around the Balkans only to end up in Romania, sometime in March, to live and work on a Wwoof farm.

Its so amazing when a) guests arrive on Friday afternoons b) they are extremely talented and c) the weather is great all weekend. Having guests during the work week is always accompanied by a somewhat bitter taste when they leave - there's often simply not enough time to do stuff together...but on weekends...and when global warming gives us a spectacularly gorgeous day in February, just perfect for long walks and outdoor coffees...life is plain awesome. .

As Dom was coming down with a bit of a cold, what better way to help than to take him to a family lunch on Saturday (although one might argue whether you can call it lunch when it starts well before noon) and all but forced him to drink Rakija to cure it.  Or in Dom's words: "I never drank so many degrees of alcohol so early in the morning."  What a good sport.

Most of our couchsurfing friends come bearing gifts; even those that don't bring anything have a way of leaving something unique behind, even if it is just a lingering atmosphere of coolness. But Dom's gift is special to us in ways more than one. First of all, we had the privilege of participating in its creation. Then, it was sent to us about a month later and the anticipation made it even sweeter. And third - it will soon be a part of our living room decor, once we find a suitable frame for it (of course).

So without further ado, we present to you, directly from the fingers of our friend Dom, an illustration of the two of us on a Saturday morning (prior to the previously mentioned "lunch"), one in pajamas, the other unshaven, both hunched over laptops, posing unconsciously (in the beginning at least) for the French master.

Thank you Dominique for this wonderful gift and the crude hints to a) a wardrobe made largely of striped clothing and b) the desperate need to shave:)