Days 28 and 29

Croatia/Italy 2010

Days 28 and 29

Rovinj - the name is unknown to +99% of Americans, but this is great place for a vacation.

Our apartment is along the water and looks out on boats of all sizes, except cruise boats.

From our room with three large windows that open to the sea, we look upon . . . this view.

We completed a guided walk of the town as we do most everywhere we go, with Jan as our leader. We are on the Istrian peninsula that sits on the east side of the Adriatic Sea.Venice, Italy, is due west of Rovinj. The major landmark is the bell tower, which has a statue of the patron saint Euphemia. The statue moves on top of the bell tower and is actually a weather vane that the fishermen monitor.

The tower is a great place to get a view of the surrounding area, and there is no tower we won’t climb. This one did have rickety wooden steps . . .

but great views.

This country was part of communist Yugoslavia until the 1990’s, so there are still some symbols of the era when Marshal Tito ruled this and four other countries. Our teachers were happy to pose in front of the com-u-NEES-sta statue. Is the teachers’ union one step from communism? Just kidding for those who would really ponder this.

There is a community market not far from this statue, and if we would have been inclined to cook in our apartment, we would have bought much of our food here. If we really wanted to bring home truffles, this would have been the place to get them. Like Italy, this is a great place to buy truffles or olive oil at bargain prices!

The town has the narrowest streets we’ve seen so far in Europe, and the town is oriented to food, fish, gelato, and art. Down one of these streets, the ladies found Murrano glass necklaces from the Venice area and were very proud of their discoveries.

The men were pleased with the pizza found in the same area of the old town. The place is called Pizzeria Da Sergio, and we found out later that the locals think it is the best place in the whole area for pizza thanks to the Italian influence. BTW, the one shown here has four anchovies, the perfect number for a pizza you eat by folding a quarter piece in your hand.

We checked out the kitchen to see if there was anything to learn from the chefs. Sorry, we cannot discuss the results until we try out some of the information in our own kitchen.

After a fine pizza meal, we rented bikes to ride the trails along the coast near the town.The bikes rent for 75 cents per hour. We rode on a path that went through a big park for miles along the water. There were no cars, so people rode bikes or walked to get to the rocky clothing-optional swimming places. Along the path were stops to rest and get drinks. We stopped and sat at a table under the trees to drink wine and listen to music and then moved on. SO RELAXING.

The next day, Day 29, we took a ferry to a nearby island. There are many islands, but the one we visited is called Red Island.

We thought it was named after the administration prior to the 1990’s, but the place was probably named after all the sunburned naked swimmers who forgot to use sunscreen.The facilities on this island were deluxe . . . not quite Four Seasons deluxe, but close.

Our lunch and dinner meals were always excellent in Rovinj. For those truly adventurous, grilled fish such as calamari was an option.

This is not the place to be if hamburgers are your favorite food.

Our time as a foursome has sadly come to an end. Roberto and Shari take a quick trip to Slovenia tomorrow, and Dan and Jan fly to Budapest, Hungary. It was great having a joint adventure of languages, foods, wines, cultural discoveries, and fun moving from place to place and country to country. It’s time for another sunset picture!