Croatia's Istrian peninsula
Motovun
We stayed 2 nights in the castle at Hotel Kastle. This little hill town was the home of Mario Andretti. The bus parked at the cemetery and we had a hike up a cobblestone hill to the hotel. Magnificent – but HOT! But mercifully a van took our luggage. Had about a half hour to regroup then hiked halfway back down to a lovely restaurant with a terrace overlooking the valley. Here we had a wine and truffle tasting. We found a shady spot on the sunny terrace and were served three kinds – a white (good) – a red “Tehran” (like we sampled at noon) – the last was a very sweet Muscat. The truffles were served on small squares of bread with truffle oil and chopped olives or mushrooms. This was the time we were to introduce our Buddy and tell three things we had learned about them. The stories were told with much laughter.
Pula
Our guide local guide in Pula was wonderful. We got a brief tour through the Roman amphitheater – actually two amphitheaters. The two halves were placed together to make an oval structure. Since we were so late after the bus got lost, we were really rushed through the amphitheater, which was too bad. It looked pretty well preserved. There was a fancy gate further in the town. After the description, we broke for lunch here instead of the scheduled town.
Rovinj
This town was an old world break. At one time it was part of the Republic of Venice. Later it was part of Austria. It has a very modern monument and the ancient Balbi Arch. The harbor can be seen from Tito Square. A church is on top of the hill for the hikers. The bell tower calls the ambitious. The heat made an ice coffee or gelato sound great.