Myra and Gerry Adriatic Coast - 2018

T oday we took a three-hour catamaran ferry from Hvar to Dubrovnik.   It was the last day that the ferry ran on a Sunday because it is the end of the summer season for Hvar.   Dubrovnik is a different story.   Their tourist season runs much longer.   We arrived and checked into the Villa Dubrovnik, a hotel directly on the cliff face and a 25 minute walk to the Old Town.  The entrance to the hotel is literally an elevator that takes you down to the floors of the hotel!   What a view!  We have a room with balcony looking over the water with the Old Town in the distance. We walked to the Old Town and experienced a wonderful four-hour food and wine tour within the walls of the old town. Some of the local dishes we tried were: Tuna tartare Fish pate Octopus salad Smoked paprika hummus Prosciutto with local cheeses Spinach & cheese rolls Dirty pasta (Pasta and Beef dish) Bacon wrapped monkfi...

T oday, we had no plans and just strolled around the waterfront area of Hvar.   We thought we would capture some of the messages that are on the back of the water bottles! We had perhaps the best meal since we have been in Croatia at Dalmatino tonight in Hvar.  The restaurant has no phone and only works with reservations through email.  You cannot make a reservation the day you want to go.  Because this is the end of the summer season (and we went early), we were able to walk over and get a table.  Gerry had Steak Istria (which meant it was covered in truffles) and Myra had Black Gnochi with shrimps and a truffle cream sauce.  Delicious! What does the end of summer season mean in Hvar?  We could not believe it given the number of boats and people in Hvar but the place literally closes down around October 15th.  The restaurants and the stores all shut down until mid April.  The younger adults go b...

Our arrival in Hvar by catamaran ferry was beautiful.  The waterfront area was much busier than Zadar with numerous boats anchored next to each other, sometimes four deep.  But, the Hvar waterfront is much less busy than the commercial Split waterfront.  Hvar is another beautiful Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea.  It is busy yet quaint with 13th-century walls, a hilltop fortress and a main square with a Cathedral. The origin of the name “Hvar” is from the Greek word Pharos that means lighthouse. We are all happy to be in one place for three days.   When we met the tour company that was to take us on the water all day they announced that the blue cave was closed (due to high winds and surf) and had been for four of the past seven days.   We could either book for the next day or go and take our chances that it might open later in the day.  We decided to take a chance because the winds the next day were predicted...

Today we drove from Plitvice to Zadar (two hours) and then another two hours to Split to return our rental car and take a catamaran to Hvar where we will stay in the Hotel Adriana for three days. Zadar The main reason we visited Zadar was to “hear” the Sea Organ - a musical instrument, which creates music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps leading into the Adriatic Sea.  Each set of steps holds five organ pipes and is tuned to a different musical chord. As waves and wind push air through the channels, a sound pours through the organ pipes and out onto the steps above. The waterfront of Zadar is peaceful and stunning. The sounds from the organ are hauntingly beautiful! Split is the second largest city (Zagreb being the first) and the largest along the Adriatic Coast. We only stayed in Split long enough to turn in our rental car and have a quick snack before boarding the catamaran for Hvar. The waterfront in Split is ...

Today we visited Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park. This is not our picture - we were not able to capture the beauty of these lakes during our eight-mike hike.  We stayed in the Ethno Houses ehich was our home for one night. P litvice, (PLEET-veet-seh) located in Croatia's interior, is very close to the Bosnian border, and is the location of Plitvice Lakes National Park. The park boasts 16 terraced lakes and 90 waterfalls, all connected with hiking trails and plank walks. There are silent, pollution-free electric boats that take hikers across the park's largest lake and shuttle buses that run between the park’s entrances. The lakes have trout and the woods are home to 50 endangered European brown bears,  deer, wolves, wildcats, lynx, wild boar, voles, otters and more than 160 species of birds.  On Easter Sunday in 1991, the first shots of Croatia's war with Yugoslavia were fired in this park. The Serbs occupied Plitvice and the surrou...

Rovinj in Istria is considered one of the most beautiful towns in Croatia. It is located on the western side of the Istrian peninsula and is one of 14 islands making up a rugged archipelago with and six distinct cliffs.  It, along with Dubrovnik, is one of the two the most visited tourist destinations in Croatia. For several years in a row Rovinj reached the Croatian record of 3 million overnight stays during the summer season. This morning we had a much slower pace, rambling through the old town, relaxing a bit in the sun at our beautiful hotel before leaving to go truffle hunting! While in Istria - go on a truffle hunt!   Istria truffles wer disovered in the Motovun Forest about 80 years ago.  Truffles  are the “fruit” of fungi that live in mutually beneficial symbioses with the  roots  of host  trees . The  truffle  fungus explores the soil for water and mineral nutrients, which it ...

Today we drove to Slovenia’s Postojna Caves and took a 1 1/2 hour tour. The Postojna Caves, consist of a 17 mile system of underground caves, tunnels, and halls carved by the Pivka river for the past 3 million years. The caves are chilly at 50 degrees and have a humidity level of 95-97 percent.  A small cave train took us on a tour around the caves, which are also known for providing habitat for Proteus anguinus, an endemic amphibian salamander (first thought be a dragon!). These animals have adapted to cave living and have no eyes. They can live for 10-12 years without eating! After visiting the caves we drove about two hours, crossed back across the border from Slovenia into Croatia, and drove to Rovinj on the Adriatic Coast.  We settled in and had a wonderful meal in the Old Town area at Restaurant Monte. Restaurant Monte   in Rovinj, Istria was the first Croatian restaurant to receive a Michelin Star. This happened in...

On our second day in Ljubljana, Slovenia, we started the day by wandering through some of the shops and exploring the town. We always love the European outdoor restaurants. Ljubljana is no different. Although it is chilly here, the restaurants have outdoor heaters and blankets for everyone!    We then drove about 45 minutes to visit the beautiful Lake Bled. We sat down, had a picnic of breads and meats and cheeses and just gazed at the beautiful scenery.  Lake Bled is an Alpine lake with an island that has a church in the middle of it.  It is one of the most recognizable places in Slovenia.  Pletnas, (traditional wooden boats) are operated by pletnars who rowed us to and from the island.  Once we got to the island, we climbed the 99 stone steps to reach the Assumption of Mary Church and its famous bell.  Legend has it that if you ring the bell yourself, all your wishes will come true. All four of u...

Today, we rented a small van and drove to Ljubljana, Slovenia to stay for two nights in the Vander Urbani Resort! Well, not so fast - it was quite the excursion. Our 1 1/2 hour planned journey that was to begin at 10am this morning was delayed by 45 minutes.  Our rental car was to be delivered to our hotel at 10:00.  We were in the lobby, checked out and waiting for him  at 9:30 .  We were told it was to be the same guy that picked us up at the airport so we were watching for him. We finally went outside to wait and eventually called the company. They said he was inside waiting but was told we had checked out already.  We must have passed each other three times but though he was wearing a bag with the company’s name on it, he had it turned toward him and not facing out.   After signing all the paperwork and getting started we used Google Maps on our phone for directions.   This became a very funny experience.   First of all, David ...