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Published: September 21st 2022
Greetings from Hvar!
We had an extremely early start to the day, getting up not long after 4:30 am, to shower and get our things together ready to leave at 5:30. I went out on our terrace to see what the weather was like, and the sliver moon and the stars were bright and beautiful. We hauled our bags down the very steep and narrow flights of stairs, and met the group around the corner at 5:45, at the foot of yet more stairs. I wandered around a bit in the faint hope that a cafe might be open to get us a coffee, but as expected nothing was open that early.
Our ferry from Korcula to Hvar left promptly, and we settled in the the 1 1/2 hour journey. Thankfully the coffee kiosk was open, so I got us a double cappuccino each. We shared a borek that we got at the bakery in Korcula yesterday (they are better when fresh and hot). It was a comfortable ride, although the Adriatic was quite choppy, and the sun rose as we zipped along. We arrived in Hvar about 7:30, and had a short wait at the harbour for our
hosts to take us to our apartments. We followed our host along the harbour and through St. Stephens Square (the main square in Hvar), and turned down a little street right off the square, then went up, and up, and up, quite a few sets of stairs before finally coming to our apartment. I was proud of myself for carrying my wheelie bag up all those steps, though I was huffing and puffing by the time we got there. We have another very nice apartment in Hvar, complete with a spacious bathroom, and little kitchen, and wifi too.
We settled in for a bit, then met Zigi and the group in St. Stephens Square for a short orientation, followed by a walk up (lots and lots of steps plus a zig-zaggy path) to the Fortica, the fort on a hill high above Hvar. Construction of the Fortica began in 1282, by the Venetians, and it was completed in its present form in the 16th C. The views of Hvar and the Pakleni Islands from the hill and the fort were just magnificent. We admired the views from the different vantage points, explored the prison dungeon (accessed via very narrow
steep steps), and checked out the gift shop (ok, I got an overpriced t-shirt, it was cute). We spent quite awhile at the Fortica, then walked back down into town. We stopped at the Benedictine Convent, which has been the home to Benedictine nuns since 1664. The nuns are expert at lacemaking (using fibres from the agave plant). We checked out the small museum, stopped in a few cute shops, then then walked around the harbour to the Franciscan Monastery.
The Franciscan Monastery dates back to the 15th (the pretty bell tower was added in the 16th C). It contains lots of religious paintings, including a painting by Venetian Matteo Ingoli “The Last Supper”, from the late 1500s or early 1600s (that‘s what Lonely Planet says, but the sign by the painting says it could be Matteo Ingoli or the School of Palma il Giovane). The adjoining church, Our Lady of Mercy, was quite lovely inside, with some beautiful artwork and unusual stained glass.
It was about 12:30 by the time we finished at the Monastery, and we were ready for lunch. It was a lot busier on the streets at that point. It had been very quiet
when we first got here earlier this morning. We wandered around for awhile, and ended up at one of the cafes on St. Stephens Square. We had a draft beer and shared a salad and a cheese platter with bread. It hit the spot after all our stair climbing! After lunch we climbed the stairs back to our apartment, checking out a few of the nearby streets. They are cute, winding, narrow streets, and I spotted a bakery and a restaurant nearby. There is also a restaurant located close by we may try tomorrow (traditional Dalmatian food). I‘ve been working on the blog and Susan had a rest. We will meet the group in the square at 4:15, to go out to Stari Grad for a dinner at a farm-style restaurant called Hora. They serve a traditional peka meal (it’s meat so I‘ll be having a vegetarian or fish meal). I think it will be a very nice evening and I’m looking forward to it. More to follow after dinner …
Ok, it’s now almost 10 and we are tucked up in our apartment. We had a lovely dinner and evening. We met the group, and walked a very
short distance to the bus station, where we caught our bus to Stari Grad. The drive was very scenic, passing rocky hills and many olive groves and vineyards, and the dramatic Adriatic coast. The road was quite windy and twisty. Later the terrain flattened out, and we got off at the bus station in Stari Grad, and got on another bus for the short ride out to Hora. This is a real farm to table place, which produces lavender products, wines and rakija (similar to grappa, but there are also flavoured varieties), and olive oils. We had a very delicious dinner, starting with a small glass of cherry rakija, which was excellent (not too sweet). We then sat down at our tables, are were brought starters of homemade cheese, salami, anchovies, peppers, tomatoes (and a vegetarian version for the non meat eaters), which were excellent, along with fantastic homemade bread and a selection of olive oils. This was followed by a delicious salad, and then the main course of peka (slowly baked mix of lamb and veal with vegetables), and grilled fish for the me and the other non meat eater in our group. The fish was sea bass and
was very good, and included garlicky yummy potatoes, and grilled zucchini, eggplant, and peppers. We had a glass of very nice white wine which was included in the meal, and also tried the red wine (similar to a Zinfandel or Primitivo).
Following dinner, we got our bus to the town of Stari Grad, and walked along the promenade by the Adriatic. It was windy and quite chilly at this point. It was cooler today than it has been the last several days, and it generally has been quite windy in Croatia. It was particularly windy this evening. Zigi said it was the “bura” wind, which can be quite cold (much colder in the winter). It comes from the interior of Croatia. The wind that comes from the Adriatic is called “maestral”. We stopped at a kiosk selling lavender and other natural products (Zigi knows the owner who is extremely knowledgeable about her products), then we caught two taxis for our return trip to Hvar.
After we got back we popped into a little convenience type shop and picked up some packets of 3 in 1 coffee for the morning. We will meet the group at 8:50 tomorrow morning
to take a van to the interior of Hvar Island, where we will hike through the abandoned villages of Velo Grabjle and Malo Grablje, to Milna Bay, then walk on a goat path back to Hvar. We will pick up some supplies before we head out, for a picnic to take with us. It should be another fun day!
(And please feel free to leave a comment or two! It‘s really nice to get comments so I know someone is reading the blog 😀).
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Susan
non-member comment
Hvar
Great read Lori, thank you so much for doing this. Love you Baby❤️