Skip to main content

Croatia: The Magical Istria

After the short stop in Trogir we drove to Pula where booked accommodation for 3 nights to explore the city and surroundings. 

The country side on the way to Pula
The drive took around 6h with some stops on the way. After we checked in we went directly in the city center for dinner. One speciality I saw it on the menu in the area is grilled squid with Swiss chard and potatoes. I was hesitant with the green leafs because they waiters were saying it's like spinach and I'm not a big fan of it. But this one was really tasty!  

Grilled squid with Swiss chard and potatoes @ Kantina Restaurant
The next day we went to one beach in Pula in the morning, another beach in Rovinj in the afternoon and stayed for dinner in Rovinj and explored a bit the city center.

Hawaii Beach 
Hawaii is a pebbly beach, with big rocks but it's worth it! The water is crystal clean and a good spot for snorkeling. It also has some high cliffs that attract the adventurous ones who want to jump in the water.

The beach is situated in a small peninsula with a resort and surrounded by pine trees. I went exploring a bit to see how the nearby beaches look like.
In the afternoon we drove towards Rovinj (~40 minutes from Pula) and enjoyed the sunset from Mulini beach.

Mulini Beach (Rovinj)

The magical sunset

After the sunset we went to explore a bit the old town in Rovinj and had dinner. Rovinj is a charmingly picturesque town with narrow, cobbled streets.
It must look so pretty also during the daylight!
I can endlessly wander on these cobble stone streets
Balbi Restaurant
We had to wait a bit to get a table at the restaurant but it was worth! The food was amazing, the ambience, the company! We even assisted at a marriage proposal. When we were on the beach there was another one, someone proposed by having an airplane flying with a banner on which was written "Marry me?". The city has something magical that makes it an attraction for loving couples.  

Seafood pasta

I couldn't resist the temptation to have a lava cake
Night walk
    




The city harbour

Rovinj is a must to visit when in Istria. I wished we could have stayed longer there, but who knows what the future has in its cards.
The second day we took a boat tour in the nature reserve Kamenjak and we spent the afternoon exploring Pula.
I am super proud of myself that I managed to swim to the cave hidden in between the rock walls without life jacket. Okay fine, they didn't have any life jackets on the boat (maybe that's not okay) and I didn't have any options. I didn't want to stay on the boat and miss all the fun. In the cave I didn't enter because it required to swim a bit underwater and I'm still uncomfortable with that. One fear at the time!

A lighthouse in the middle of the sea

Ceja island 
We also had lunch on the boat and afterwards we were dropped on Ceja island. 

The island has a small harbour, a beach bar and a small restaurant. We spent there 2h30'. I went also on a walk around the island. It took me 40-50 minutes to do the tour.
After a short stop at the accommodation for showering we went exploring Pula. First stop was Arena Pula, the most preserved Roman amphitheater to have four towers intact.

I'm not sure how busy it is normally but when we went, around 5pm was perfect: the light was good for some instagramable photoshoots without any tourists in the background.




We left the amphitheater behind and went finding the other ruins of the Roman era.
The Arch of the Sergii is also impressive. It dates from 29 BCE and it's onetime city gate.
Meow! Feed me

In the city Forum there's also the majestic Temple of Augustus.

Temple of Augustus in the sunset lights

For dinner we went to Veritas Food & Wine. I highly recommend it, the service is impeccable. We had to wait 15 minutes for a table and they brought us some honey liquor. 

Impressive architecture found random on the way back to the accommodation
The next morning we decided to go for a few hours to another beach in Pula before driving to our next destination: the famous Plitvice Lakes.
Valkane Beach

This beach is also accessible for people with disabilities. And like the majority beaches that we've visited so far they have changing rooms and showers which are very practical.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Croatia: Dreamy Northern Dalmatia

We spent the last days of our holiday exploring the classic Dalmatian cocktail of historic towns, jewel-like waters, rugged limestone mountains, gorgeous climate and Mediterranean cuisine of the Northern Dalmatia. Plitvice Lakes In order to have a full day to spend exploring Plitvice Lakes we stayed overnight in the area. It was so quiet and peaceful there! I wish we could have stayed more days to enjoy that serenity state of the place. Being in some way a remote place it wasn't easy to find a restaurant to have dinner, but when we did it was the best. Cevapi, traditional grilled minced meat with ajvar (roasted red peppers sauce) I don't have a sweet tooth but I enjoy trying local deserts. Traditional strudel with cherries - a touch of chocolate makes this simple desert in a delicacy  Morning coffee with a view Love is in the air! From the accommodation we had 15-20 minutes drive to the Entrance 1 of the park. We have researched which trails to take and the best views are star...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Unforgettable Journey Through Indonesia: From Volcanoes to Coral Reefs

I have just returned from a 3.5 weeks unforgettable journey through Indonesia, from Jakarta to Bali. Our 3.5 weeks itinerary started in Jakarta , where we stayed for 3 nights . We were a bit dissapointed about the condition of the Indonesian capital, overcrowded and sinking. The highlights of this city were the stunning colonial-era buildings in the Old Town. In retrospective, 1 or 2 nights should have been sufficient, just for landing and continuing the journey towards more fascinating locations. From Jakarta we took the high speed Whoosh train to Bandung . The Woosh train was honestly “whooshazing” – super fast and comfortable! With 350km/h we were in Bandung in 40 minutes. The Grab from the train station to the hotel took longer. Get used with the traffic in Indonesia! While in Bandung we focused more on exploring the nature around. We had one tour to South of Bandung where we visited Kawah Putih crater, tea plantations, Rengganis natural hotspring and an old Dutch railway bridge wi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chasing Sunrises and Hidden Falls: An Unforgettable Journey to Mount Bromo and Madakaripura

November 9, 2024: A Long Travel Day and Off to Mount Bromo We woke up again at 5:00 for the sunrise… and once again, it was cloudy! Fortunately, we had to get up early anyway, as today was a big travel day: taxi to the Karimunjawa harbor, boat to Jepara, taxi to Semarang, train to Surabaya, and finally a taxi to the hotel. Luckily, everything went smoothly; we even managed to change our tickets to a cheaper option and arrived earlier. Lunch at Indonesian KFC while waiting for our train Very comfortable seats Trying to eat at the hotel turned out to be less successful: both restaurants were full, so we were directed to a strange spot at the front entrance. There, we had a mediocre meal at relatively high prices (and both Bintang and Coke were sold out—HOW?!). I even looked up how long Bintang stays good—9 months from when we drank it—making it even less excusable that they were out. After a quick one-hour nap, we’re already on our way for an excursion to Mount Bromo! November 10, 2024: ...
Post a Comment
Read more