9/29-9/30/19 Pula and Rovinj Croatia

After a fantastic time in Trogir we headed east then north to our next stop in Pula and the Istrian Peninsula. It’s an easy drive on the Toll highway, up the center of Croatia up and over the mountains, then dropping back to the coast, six hours total.

Arrived safely, thanks to our GPS, at our Airbnb on the top floor of a Condo building in the suburbs. Cute space and a much needed washing machine 😜

Simple dinner on the balcony and a little research for tomorrow and catching up on paperwork! Ok it’s a 40 minute drive to Rovinj from our home base, so we head out early 7:00 to beat any crowds. Map of the area.

Rovinj is the center piece of the Istrian peninsula. It’s an island that was filled in over the century’s to become a peninsula. Very small and quaint. Great walking with easy parking✔️

Fun place, notice the marble cobblestones🧐 Rovinj’s language is both Italian and Croatian. It’s industry is tourism and fishing, with lots of folks still living in the city. It’s not a tourist trap. We are very close to Italy, and it’s Italian influences are everywhere. You can find pizza and gelato stands all over.

Back to our Airbnb for a quick bite then down to the old town of Pula. It’s a mid size town, 300k with a very long and complex history.

Greeks brought civilization to the nomadic tribes here in 300 BC, then the Romans came around 50 AD and made Pula a very important colony. The harbor here is huge.

Old town Pula.

Pula doesn’t seem to be geared for tourists. The beautiful buildings are in bad shape and the Soviets built several ugly apartments in the historic old Town😳

The shipyards and huge harbor were empty of cargo ships and the huge ships under construction looked abandoned😳

Sorry, Pula’s not on the return list.

Headed to Venice, Italy tomorrow, with a stop in the Vipava Valley in Slovenia for some wine tasting 🍷🧐

P.S. Tour director Cindy was nice to me today, only 8 miles with stairs and cobblestones😜

Italy, wine, pizza and gelato 😎✔️

Ciao! Ciao! 🍷