Days 19 and 20

Italy and Croatia 2011

Days 19 and 20

Day 19 Today we left Bologna on a train to Venice so that we could take a bus to Rovinj, Croatia. We were there a year ago and really liked it. We were planning to take a four-hour fast boat ride from Venice to get here, but we found out long after we made our reservations that the boat doesn’t run on Sunday and Monday. The only way to get to Rovinj was a bus. It was not exactly a pleasant day. Once on the small, crowded, hot bus, we found out that it wouldn’t stop at Rovinj. Thank God there was a Croatian woman on the bus who spoke good English. At first she told us we were on the wrong bus, but then she spoke to the driver, and they figured out they could drop us off at a certain place where we could catch another bus to Rovinj. Our bus stopped at a few places along the way for coffee/wine/cigarette breaks. We also stopped at two borders (Slovenia and Croatia) where a man came onto our bus and checked our passports. After the second place, when we were officially in Croatia, that’s when the polka music started. We looked at each other and started laughing, wondering WHAT NEXT. At one stop, Shari got locked in the bathroom of the rest area. It was scary, since there was no one who spoke English (the one woman who spoke English had gotten off the bus by that time). After about five minutes she found her way out. Along the way, we said we wished we weren’t spending all this effort to come to Croatia for only four nights or that we had the yacht of our dreams.

It took over six hours to get to the place where they dropped us off. We have no idea where it was, but the driver pointed out where to wait for the bus that would take us to Rovinj. Twenty-five minutes later the bus did come along and took us to our destination. Once we arrived and saw the Adriatic Sea, we had the same feeling that we had when we arrived at Lucca….like we were coming home. Rovinj is a small ancient port town located right on the Adriatic Sea. We are staying in the same apartment as we did last year. It has three big windows that overlook the beautiful harbor. We have a small kitchen, comfortable living room, small bedroom, bathroom, and air-conditioning. 

This is a picture looking at our apartment from the harbor. Ours is on the second floor of the yellow building with the flowers.   

We had dinner at a place called Scuba where we had the freshest of fish. We strolled along the harbor, and we both agreed it was such a good thing we came here!

Day 20 We had the typical Croatian breakfast – coffee and a brioche. It was so good. We then went to a photo museum. There is a photo/art show in Rovinj that is very interesting. Look closely at the following picture and see if you can see a bit of  M. C. Escher. 

There are competitive photos in places all over town…even outside on the wharf in front of our place.  

We had lunch at one of the best pizza places, Da Sergio. We loved it last year, and we loved it today.

We walked a block to a place to rent bikes. In front, there was the cutest boy playing a ukulele for tips.   How could you refuse this cute kid even if he couldn’t strum a single tune?  Roberto is working on becoming his agent.

We got our bikes and road along the bike path that goes for miles and miles through the trees on one side and the Adriatic Sea on the other. There are no cars. After riding for an hour, we stopped and went swimming. The water was so clean and refreshing.

Dinner was at a restaurant along the harbor. We had fresh fish and vegetables. This harbor town is just amazing. Everyone sits outside to eat, and everyone’s table overlooks the walkway filled with people strolling and biking, and just a few feet beyond is the water and many boats.   

        

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!

Days 26 and 27 New Comrades

Italy/Croatia 2010

Days 26 and 27

"New Comrades"

Ready, Aim, Fire! This picture, taken from the south wall of old Dubrovnik, shows one of several cruise ships that arrive and release thousands and thousands of visitors for the day onto this small port city. This and other cruise ship destinations can be overrun, something we’ve tried in our journeys to avoid. It’s hard on the locals and locations they visit, something we’ve been told (unsolicited information) from the locals.

On our last day in Dubrovnik, we took a ferry to Kolocep Island, one of the nearby Elafiti Islands.

We decided to kick back and enjoy the beach for the day. The weather was great, and the water was perfect – clean and the right temperature.

The next day was moving day. Driving from the far south to the far north of Croatia isn’t common, but there are no trains as in Italy. Taking a plane to the northern city of Zagreb, which isn’t real close to where we were going, would still take time and money.

Getting a car at the last minute proved difficult. We’ve been learning over the days we’ve spent here that the Croatians are very friendly, helpful, and funny.

The car was reserved over the phone without any of the usual data collection. They showed up on time with the car and gave us five times the usual help we get at rental car dealers.

We weren’t sure if we could live with the little Opel he delivered, mostly due to our suitcases and backpacks. Rather than wonder, he loaded the car and showed us it would work. Here’s our man Tony after successfully loading the tiny back area.

We started the day without the benefit of caffeine and food, but an hour later we stopped at a local place along the road for breakfast.

Only a couple of hours later, when we’d almost reached the freeway (and Shari and Jan couldn’t take being in the tiny back seat any longer along the winding roads), we stopped for espresso, cappuccino, and cookies. The food looked so delicious that we started thinking we would really like to order our lunch. The “voice of reason” (not Jan, Dan, or Roberto) said we really needed to get going because we had a very long drive ahead of us, but this voice did not prevail. We ordered lunch. Christian, our waiter, was very funny, especially with his impersonations. He kept us laughing far longer than we had planned, and the food was great. We then had to make up lots of time in a small and heavily loaded Opel.

When we finally got to Rovinj (the ‘j’ is silent), it was after the 7 pm check-in time.

The instructions to find the rooms in the old town of the small city were pathetic, and of course we had no cell phones. There were many confusing moments to find the place, and it took almost two hours to finally move in! That said, we love this place. More on this in the next blog.

We did finish the day with a great meal. We are on the Adriatic, and the fishermen bring in a fresh catch daily, and you eat the morning’s catch. Three of us ate the fresh catch with the help of our waiter. None of the three fish-eaters wanted to remove the bones, etc., even the smiling lady shown here: