Amazing Venice

We left our villa behind after a great week experiencing and exploring Croatia. We crossed back into Slovenia before dropping down into northeast Italy at the port city of Trieste.  We reached our hotel in Mestre in early afternoon. After checking in, we headed across the street to the train station for the sort 10 minute ride to Venice.

Departing from the train station Venice immediately overwhelms you.  The buildings and many churches are all masterpieces of architecture. We began trekking toward Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) passing street vendors, pizzerias, trattorias, bakeries,  and all variety of retail stores.

Crossing the many canals and feeling our way through what seemed like an unending maze, we eventually reached the huge square.  We continued on, exploring back alleys and passages of all sorts. After sunset we found a little wine bar to relax and rest up.

While we are only here for the day to ring in the new year,  we have all been impressed with beautiful Venice. You could spend weeks wandering the streets before you would see all of it.

Everybody Get Back! It's a Funeral!

As we drove through the picturesque Slovenian countryside on our way back to Croatia, we passed through the town of Ilirska Bistrica, a few kilometers shy off the border. Sitting atop a hill overlooking the town and surrounding valley was an impressive church with a red roof on its tall bell tower. With the late afternoon sun beginning to fade, we thought we would stop for a picture or two.

We located the turnoff, and began the twisty ascent to the Church of St. Peter. The narrow street adjacent to the church was full of cars, but not too unusual since most streets here are full of parked cars. We had to drive a short distance past the church to park before starting the climb up a rather steep walkway.

Ben was in the lead, several yards ahead of me when we reached the back side of the church. I took a picture and waited for Tammy to catch up.  Over the stone wall to my left was a cemetery, which had probably been there for centuries. Ben had disappeared around to the front to get a picture with the setting sun at his back.

Just before Tammy reached me, the church bells began to clang loudly, but not in the methodical rhythm of bells marking the hour. This was a non-stop cacophony of ringing. I looked at my watch. It was 3:45pm. Hmm. That seems like an odd time for the bells to be ringing.
I looked up to see Ben scurrying quickly back urging us to retreat back down the walkway as quickly as possible.

As Ben had stood at the front of the church with his camera focused on the belltower and the bells echoing through the hills, the doors of the church swung open and a priest in full vestments emerged holding a tall pole adorned with a wreath and the photo of a person.  He was followed by a processional of a couple hundred mourners. It was that awkward moment where being a tourist collided with the real lives of the local populace.

We hurried as fast as we could back down the hill, periodically glancing over our shoulders to watch the somber procession pass the spot where we were standing moments before. Once we were rolling again, we had good laugh about being American "funeral crashers". So, I only have the one photo to include with this post.

Raise the Drawbridge!

For a little change of pace today, we traveled about 40 miles north to the mountainous and sleepy little country of Slovenia, also a former member of the Republic of Yugoslavia. Slovenia is about half the size of Switzerland and a member of the EU.

Our destination was the spectacular Predjama Castle built into the face of a mountain, dating back to at least the 12th century. 

In the 15th century a nobleman named Erasmus used the castle as a base to conduct raids on surrounding nobility. When troops from nearby Trieste, Italy arrived, they decided to wait out Erasmus, laying siege to the fortress for more than a year. They weren't aware the cave behind the fortress led to another way out, which was used to supply Erasmus and his men.  They would throw food scraps to the soldiers below to show the siege was useless.  Eventually, a well placed cannonball to the latrine, with Erasmus inside, literally knocked him from his throne.

After exploring the castle we stopped in Postojna, where we had a delicious meal. We all enjoyed the various pasta, risotto, beef, and calamari dishes we ordered. After some tiramisu and chocolate mousse for dessert, we were ready to say  goodbye to charming Slovenia, except for a little incident in Ilirska Bistrica near the Croatian border.

Back on the Road Again, Pt. 2

We headed north from Rovinj and set out for the picturesque hill town of Motovun. We arrived in the late afternoon as some clouds began to move in.

A steep narrow road took us up to a tiny  parking lot. From there we hiked the rest of the way up the hill.  We passed through two arched gateways that led to the center of the old town.  The two prominent structures on the main square were St. Stephens Church and the Hotel Kastel. The church is named after the patron saint of Croatia.

We found a cobblestone path that led us onto the ramparts atop the ancient stone walls protecting the tiny hamlet from invaders.   The panoramic views from the old town took in the sprawling valley below with acres of vineyards and forests that provide truffles, a delicacy found underground near the roots of oak trees.  Specially trained dogs are able to sniff them out to local truffle gatherers.

The sun was beginning to set quickly so our short but memorable visit to Motovun came to a close.  We curled back down the hill and back to the main road leading to the Učka Tunnel.  As we approached the tunnel we caught a glowing sunset to the west, a fitting close to our day tour in Istria. Two very memorable destinations that will be wanting us to return some day.

Back on the Road Again, Pt. 1

After going to a little pastry shop for breakfast, we headed to the western edge of the Istrian peninsula to take in the magical little town of Rovinj. It was about an hour drive to get there through the Učka Tunnel (pronounced OOCH-ka), a 3-mile long tunnel that burrows underground near Mt. Učka.

Rovinj has a very Italian feel, delightful and romantic amidst cobblestone streets and crumbling buildings. The town was part of the Venetian empire between the 13th and 18th centuries.  The Venetian influence can be seen in the architecture.

Upon arrival,  we headed to the old town (stari grad) and began hiking up the narrow passages to St. Euphemia, a Baroque style church from the 1700s. Its 190-foot tall bell tower (campanile) rises high above the surrounding rooftops. I inquired within and was surprised to hear we could climb the well worn rickety stairs up to the bells for a nominal fee. The views were worth it. After descending the tower we roamed through the streets, stopping long enough to purchase a couple of souvenirs,  and made our way to the harbor. It was full of small fishing boats and larger excursion vessels.

We grabbed some calzones at a local eatery and ate them on benches along the seawall just off the main town square, enjoying some sunshine on a cool day. It was time to say "Ciao" before moving on to our next destination.

Catching our Breath

Today we decided to have a "down day" to relax and hang out at the villa. We were up late last night playing cards as the winds were blowing strong outside, and Ben has been under the weather, so it was a good day to have nothing on our agenda.

I made breakfast for the gang although it was pretty late morning before everyone was up and going.

Ben and I did go out for an afternoon walk to explore a little more of the neighborhood around us.  I  found an old church that was open, so I went in and took a few pictures.  There were some beautiful pieces of stained glass in the sanctuary. I also took some pictures of interesting buildings along the way. I really like the architecture and features of the many villas and other buildings.

For dinner I made chicken and penne pasta in a sauce I created from melted butter, olive oil, and cream cheese with grated gouda cheese on top.  Turned out pretty good since I was winging it all the way.

The evening was more family time playing cards and sampling the various wines and beers of Croatia.  Tomorrow we head to the west coast of the Istrian peninsula to explore some more medieval coastal towns.

Island Time

Our adventure today was to travel down the Adriatic coast.  Our first stop was at a bakery in the town of Crikvenica to get some breakfast pastries and beverages for the road trip. Once we passed the town of Senj, the road became very curvy as it hugged the coastline.  At Jablanac we took a short ferry tide to the island Rab and the city of the same name.

Rab has a long history back to medieval times.  The old town (stari grad) is on a narrow peninsula with narrow streets of cobblestone. In the old town are four distinctive bell towers in four separate venetian styles. The churches and monasteries date back to the 12th century.

We walked through Rab long enough to take in its charms and snap some pictures before heading into the newer part of town to get something to eat. Since the tourist season is long passed, most restaurants were closed with only a smattering of coffee bars open. We finally stumbled upon a restaurant named Bistro Velum.

As in most of our stops in Croatia, the food was excellent. Tammy and I both had steak with truffles, and the boys had squid stuffed with shrimp. Angie had skewered pork medallions. Our waiter impressed us with his fluent English, then went to the table next to us and carried on a conversation in German before serving the folks behind us in Italian.

After eating we began the return journey home. A weather front moved in earlier in the day bringing strong winds and a sharp drop in temperature. A light rain heading north turned into a good storm as we reached our villa. The bora winds were pushing waves into the seawall and spraying water across the street. The boats in the tiny harbor were bouncing around like toys. Time to close the shutters and batten down the hatch as the winds howl outside. We will spend the evening relaxing with some wines by Bruno.

Mon Ami, Part 2

You may recall my earlier post about our scheduled wine tasting experience at the Trapan Wine Station in the village of Siśan. Well, it was an experience alright.

We were warmly greeted by owner and winemaker Bruno Trapan at his winery and right away you knew this was not going to be your typical wine tasting. The winery is just a few years old and the decor is funky contemporary. Bruno is in his mid 30s and began making wine about a decsde ago. His winery produces about 5,000 cases per year. Bruno was very friendly and eager to share his wines with us.

We started with a sparkling wine made from the Teran grape indigenous to the Istrian peninsula. This was followed by a rosé, white wines from the Malvazija grape, and a red blend of cabernet, syrah, and teran.  They were all excellent. And as he poured we got an excellent education in Croatian wine, local soils, and how he got into the winemaking business by accident. We all enjoyed his entertaining and fun philosophy of life and the wine itself.

He then invited us to grab our glasses and follow him downstairs to the barrel room where we sampled vintages yet to be bottled straight from the oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. In a word, "Wow"! This was easily the best wine tasting experience we have ever had. Talk about getting in touch with my Croatian roots. We will remember this day for a long, long time. Here's to you Bruno, mon ami! Zivjeli!!