Blogs from Rovinj, Istria, Croatia, Europe - page 3

Days 21 –23 Plitvice Croatia – Rovinj Croatia We have been on the road for 3 weeks and the Eastern European leg of our journey has now started. Why Croatia, why Plitvice? Bits & pieces of what we call Croatia has been batted back and forth between foreign powers for nearly a millennium and it is hard to believe that it was only in 1991 that it gained its independence. We all remember ‘the war’ and when travelling through Croatia there is still evidence of that terrible struggle. Perhaps because of its history (excluding the last war) Croatia has always attracted tourists, it has Roman arenas, Byzantine mosaics & Venetian bell towers coupled with predictably balmy summer weather and a coastline that beggars belief in its rugged beauty. We have been to Dubrovnik and wanted to ... read more

Rovinj - Day 13 (September 4) It was an early start, 6 am to catch the Catamaran ferry to Rijecka which was the largest town we’d seen in Croatia. From here we caught a bus to Pula, where we elected to spend a couple of hours on the way to Rovinj, so we could see the Roman Colosseum here. It was about a 10 minute walk from the bus station where we had stored our luggage. As we rounded a corner a mostly in tact Colloseum towered in front of us. It was the most impressive ruin I’d seen to date, and made up for the ones I was missing by having to leave Italy out of my travels. It was slightly eerie walking around this ampitheatre imagining this stadium as it was used for gladiatorial ... read more

Cobble stones + luggage = not much fun finding our way to the old town centre and our apartment on "Art Street". Luckily we would only have to repeat the cobble stones + luggage once more when we left. In the mean time we had a great stay in Rovinj. Our apartment was in a narrow street in the postcard perfect old town centre, the street was filled with art galleries, plus a smattering of restaurants. A short walk up the hill was the main cathedral, an even shorter walk took us to some rocks where we could sun ourselves and swim in the Istrian sea. Magic! We got out and about on a boat tour and also bicycles during our stay. We met up with some friendly folks from Tilburg, the town where Lorenza was ... read more