Trip
Notes # 3: Croatia and Slovenia
May 1, 2018
All trips do not always lead to Rome.
Some times, the roads lead to Pula! Where in the world is Pula? And, what is so
unique about this place? Polynesian island? Tropical paradise? Not quite!
One Of Best Intact Arenas
Where are the gladiators?
A special time ------>
Underneath the arena was a very large underground chamber carved out of solid rock. Part of the area was used to "cage beasts." There was a so-called locker room for the gladiators, a storage area for the weapons used for fighting and areas sets aside for shops and buying food. Today, the underground chamber is used more for exhibits.
Each amphora (regardless of the shape and purpose) had an imprint of the designer's (or manufacturer's) name: ----->
At the turn of the century - not the year 2000, but completed in 68 AD (the other century), Julius Caesar's nephew (Octavius and later known as Augustus Caesar and also is credited for the "Golden Age of Rome") turned this northwestern Croatian coastal area into a thriving economic center.
Pula is a unique town. In such a small area, everywhere we walk there is something interesting and historical to see:
There are Roman temples, archways, statues, etc. This town (almost) looked like a Hollywood movie set.
Temple of Augustus
This Is Only A Portion Of The Floor
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Our boutique Pula hotel is situated in a residential
neighborhood, high on a hill and overlooking red, tile-topped roofs with pretty
vegetation with the sea is off in the distance.
Jerry decided to try out the hotel pool. The manager indicated that the water temperature was "normal." Jerry is smiling for the picture. The water temperature was in the high 60's / low 70's! This was a quick, one-timer photo shoot!
Our dinner plans had a surprising twist. The two
top restaurants were fully booked. We wandered down to the beach area and found
two (very) local restaurants. One of the places had just opened for the season. We were
probably the first foreign customers. Besides the fresh fish and local wine,
the manager served us a "welcome treat" at the end of the meal: Some sort of berry
liquor. Nice touch!
The second night was a really "up
place." We met the owner's wife - had some great conversations - made the
evening special. Yes, we had local fish and wine for dinner.
* * * *
Our next day plans were scheduled for touring
two Croatian coastal towns before returning to Slovenia. At the last minute, we
decided to take a chance and look for truffles. Jerry found a person on-line
who offered insight into truffle hunting. So, off we went, over the hills and
through the woods to a forest village located in the middle of nowhere.
Europe's highway system starts with
"A" (meaning a freeway) and alphabetically works its way down to
"D" and "E" for the smaller country roads. Driving to this
village took us on a road that was labeled "Z 5242."
We met Nikola at Livade (which is near Motovun - a mountaintop village)
Learning about truffle hunting was interesting. Nikola spoke about the mushroom quality, differences between the black and white ones, price variation, the black market, hunting dogs vs. pigs and the extreme difficulty of trying to find these things.
Dogs (difficult to see in this picture) go into the thick underbrush sniffing for truffles. Okay for the dogs, not so much for us!
Did the dogs find anything?
Our experience was cut short: There
has been an infestation of mosquitoes and there were plenty of them - the
"B-52" type.
Mosquitos On Dog's Back
* * *
Our beautiful and easy country-side drive from
the Livade forest area to our next stop - Izola came to an abrupt stop about
20 miles from the coast. It seems that May 1 is a major holiday (Labor Day) for
this area as well as for the surrounding countries. Between crossing the
borders (border control and passport checks), we were stuck in bumper to bumper
traffic for about two hours. Yuck!
In any event, we crossed (again) back into Slovenia and finally reached our destination - ended up with a great room. Our hotel sits on a hill overlooking the Adriatic with a breathtaking view of the Izola
town, its marina, the local mountains, snow capped alps in the distance and
to add to the ambiance. a variety of birds were chirping away.
By the way, a complete meal (entree, soup, salad) with wine
and bottled water ranges between $45-$55. An ice cream cone costs about $1.50.
We have a brand new rental station wagon
(started with 35 miles). Uses diesel. Fuel costs about $7.00/gallon. However, went
abut 500 miles on 2/3 of a tank before filling it up. Our car, like others we
have rented in European have engines that turn off when stopping at a signal.
Car starts up immediately when the foot comes off the brake. Probably good for
the environment and saves gas consumption. Takes a little getting use to this
feature.
* * *
We discovered a great alternative to olive oil: Pumpkin seed oil, Yum!
We got a little lazy - decided to eat at the
hotel. Normally, this is not our style. We tend to take chances, have
experiences but also look for good food and wine (or beer) at the same time.
Dinner was quite a culinary experience. As an
appetizer, we went for "Muscles for two." The wine, butter and garlic
sauce (with some sort of secret ingredient was delicious. But, more interesting
was that the muscles came with normal clams and (somewhat) rare razor clams -
an elongated clam about 1/2" x 4."
The entree was "Fish for two" - This
fish is called St. Peters fish - essentially, no bones other than the back
bone. This fish is part of a larger group of fish that includes John Dory and
Tilapia.
We wanted wine. The manager steered us a way
from the house wine and brought us a "good bottle" and told us that
we would only be charged for what we drank. Okay! so, we drank the whole
bottle! Price was very reasonable!
More soon!
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