Blogs from Pula, Istria, Croatia, Europe

It was our third and last day in Pula and it really has been an excellent stopover for us. The apartment has been great with plenty of room to spread ourselves out and has everything that we could have wanted in facilities including a washing machine. So for the first time on the adventure we were able to wash clothes in a washing machine rather than by hand. It was a bit like being Bear Grylls on the Discovery channel finding his way out at the end of the programme and the excitement of being rescued except for us it was the luxury of a washing machine which at home we take for granted. Nearly 3 hours after putting the clothes in the machine they were ready to hang out (these front loaders are so s ... read more

Gelato flavour of the day - GMB - Kiwi (a taste of home) The hotel for the night was situated in a small town about 11km from Pardeone and when we arrived we were the only names the woman on the front desk had on her list so we weren't surprised when we were the only ones at breakfast. There had been a short but loud thunderstorm last night as we went to bed and it had done the trick by clearing the air with the morning dawning fine and clear,well as clear as we have seen in the European smog which is more evident in the northern parts of Italy. The small town was more like a place you might come across in England than in Italy with tidy wide streets and properties lined with ... read more

Colonia Pietas Iulia Pola, name given to Pula by the old Romans, has been writing its history for 3000 years. The city built at the end of a beautiful bay and on seven hills reveals many lovely and interesting stories. According to the legend, it was founded by the Colchidians, after the pursuit of Argonauts and their leader Jason who stole the precious Golden fleece from the Colchidians. Today the city lives in many colours and sounds, perfectly interlacing the variegated exciting past with modern times of its inhabitants and visitors. It boasts perfectly preserved amphitheatre, the largest amphora site in the world, Temple of Augustus, many churches, monasteries, Venetian and Austro-Hungarian architecture, excellent various food specialities and wine in its many restaurants, rich museums, galleries, concert events, great nightlife and many other beauties located in ... read more

Croatia has a warm October this year. We decided to have a weekend getaway in Istria. It was wonderful to be driving in short sleeves with opened windows in October! We left home on Saturday morning, around 9. Our main destination in Istria was Pula, because we were actually visiting a couple-friend living there, although we ended up visiting Rovinj and Opatija as well in our way home on Sunday. This was our first road trip in Croatia, since we got our new car somewhere last month. I have to say that during the trip, I was impressed by the inter city road and tunnel system in Croatia. I didn't expect that from the country. We took non stop toll road from Zagreb to Rijeka that cost us 60 kunas (around 8,5 euros). It took us ... read more