After Plitvice and a fantastic dinner experience and stay at the Miric Inn, Jasko took us on a really interesting road trip as we made our way to the hilltop town of Motovun. Narrow highways (some of which you had to pull off to the side for two cars to pass) and thru towns that had seen the war tear their country apart. Luckily that was followed up by some lighter conversation as Jasko and Graham discussed their favorite soccer teams:)
Motovun was as amazing as what we'd read about it. We had lunch at restaurant Konoba Mondo - which featured fantastic dishes highlighting the local truffles. Our quest is now to try and replicate the truffle, olive and caper tapenade that they served!:)
Next was on to Rovinj and a couple of beautiful days...with good food and wine on the Istrian Coast before our 3 1/2 hour ferry ride to Venice.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Plitvice Nat'l Park
We made an ultra smart decision by hiring a driver for our adventure to Plitvice and then to Istria - including Motovun and finally to Rovinj. I'm not sure we would have made it out of Split - which is where our island hopping came to an end.
Our driver Jasko was great - and took us on some great roads with some amazing views!
We arrived in Plitvice around 2pm and I think we spent a good 4 hours walking the 8k boardwalk in the park. Place was spectacular - turquoise pools and lakes and an amazing number of waterfalls! You can hardly believe that there are that many...and we only saw a fraction of them!
Our driver Jasko was great - and took us on some great roads with some amazing views!
We arrived in Plitvice around 2pm and I think we spent a good 4 hours walking the 8k boardwalk in the park. Place was spectacular - turquoise pools and lakes and an amazing number of waterfalls! You can hardly believe that there are that many...and we only saw a fraction of them!
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Korcula and Hvar
Two of the biggest islands of the Dalmatian coast and we got both of them in as part of our trip. Korcula was the quieter of the two...having been there a touch off season - as well as during the weekend. We still managed to fit in a full day and 1/2 of wandering around the city, taking a 'hike' and getting in some reading. Then our apt owner took us to a restaurant called Zure - in nearby Lombarda for a seafood feast with freshly caught fish, shrimp and lobster. And btw they source everything locally including making their own wine! Talk about an experience we'll never forget!
Caught the very early ferry to Hvar the next morning and decided that we probably should have stayed two nights in Hvar vs Korcula. Loved Hvar! We had a nice apt with a stellar view (and balcony) so of course that didn't hurt. And was fun to walk the boardwalk, the marina and do some window-shopping. Was sad to leave this beautiful place this morning!
Caught the very early ferry to Hvar the next morning and decided that we probably should have stayed two nights in Hvar vs Korcula. Loved Hvar! We had a nice apt with a stellar view (and balcony) so of course that didn't hurt. And was fun to walk the boardwalk, the marina and do some window-shopping. Was sad to leave this beautiful place this morning!
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Montenegro and Peljesac Peninsula
It's been a busy couple of days! Would recommend that anyone visiting this area take at least a day trip to Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor. It was a fantastic time...and the bonus was our driver gave us not only a great commentary on the area, but also a first person account of the Siege of Dubrovnik (defending their city from the Serbs and Montenegrins) in 1991 -1992. Pretty powerful stuff...and not something I would want to experience.
Pepo (our driver) also took us to an awesome restaurant - in the middle of nowhere (at least one in our opinion) where we ate too much, and drank too much - and laughed till we about cried (ok - maybe that was just me; )
We said goodbye to Dubrovnik and the Hotel Excelsior this morning and had Pepo driving us this time to Orebic to catch the ferry to Korcula after first stopping at a couple of wineries (vinerijas), including Grgich (yes the same winemaker as Grgich Hills in CA) and Matusko. Totally believe that we will be hearing about Croatan Wine soon in the news!
Made it to the island of Korcula, and ready for bed.
Pepo (our driver) also took us to an awesome restaurant - in the middle of nowhere (at least one in our opinion) where we ate too much, and drank too much - and laughed till we about cried (ok - maybe that was just me; )
We said goodbye to Dubrovnik and the Hotel Excelsior this morning and had Pepo driving us this time to Orebic to catch the ferry to Korcula after first stopping at a couple of wineries (vinerijas), including Grgich (yes the same winemaker as Grgich Hills in CA) and Matusko. Totally believe that we will be hearing about Croatan Wine soon in the news!
Made it to the island of Korcula, and ready for bed.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Dubrovnik Highlights
Weather has been awesome and scenery stellar!
We've scouted 'Old Town'...sampled some Croatian wine and beer...taken a ton of pictures...walked the city walls...had dinner on an amazing rooftop terrace...taken a dip in the Adriatic Sea (ok - maybe that was just Kent & Jan;)...enjoyed a seafood lunch experience in the Dubrovnik Port...mastered bus #6....and spent a whole lot of time laughing. Tomorrow - Montenegro day trip with our driver Pepo. Hoping to get another new stamp in the passport!
We've scouted 'Old Town'...sampled some Croatian wine and beer...taken a ton of pictures...walked the city walls...had dinner on an amazing rooftop terrace...taken a dip in the Adriatic Sea (ok - maybe that was just Kent & Jan;)...enjoyed a seafood lunch experience in the Dubrovnik Port...mastered bus #6....and spent a whole lot of time laughing. Tomorrow - Montenegro day trip with our driver Pepo. Hoping to get another new stamp in the passport!
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