Rovinj is Best Served Cold

Today wasn't just hot, it was hot, hot. If thermometers still had needles, they would have been spinning into the red zone. I doubt there was much difference between the temperature in the shade and the temperature in my veins. As a ginger haired, freckled weegie, my resistance to the sun's power is almost non-existent and even factor 50 doesn't prevent me from crisping up, so I normally use factor stay indoors. When I do venture out, I have to chose my moments wisely in order to get away with both minimal exposure and minimal criticism for staying indoors on such a lovely day.

I did however manage a brief dip in the pool in the morning and also inexplicably found myself volunteering to do the lunchtime takeaway pizza run just after the sun reached it's zenith. There is very little shade offered during the 350 meter hike to the restaurant but I hugged every last bit of it. By about 3 pm, collective boredom won the day and we decided to drive to the nearest beach. In any other climate there would be no hesitation in stepping out and covering the 3 km distance on foot, but today Kev was sent out to get the aircon going for a few minutes before we left the house. It is a rocky beach with an easy route into the refreshingly cool water and enough shade to park me under before going in. It will be worth another visit, perhaps in the relative cool of the late evening when the temperature falls to a chilly 28 degrees.

Our evening destination is Rovinj, a fishing port on the west coast of the Istrian peninsula about 25 miles from krnica. The old town stands on a headland, with houses tightly crowded down to the seafront. A tangle of cobbled streets leads to the hilltop church of St. Euphemia, whose towering steeple dominates the skyline. To be honest I wasn't looking forward to the 40 min drive but it turned out to be well worth the effort. It was by far the busiest place we have been to - I believe the correct term is teeming!

Dinner was served by the most enthusiastic and attentive waiting staff. There were 3 of them getting the table turned over after the previous customer and we had barely been seated when our drinks order was taken. The food arrived quickly for such a busy kitchen and the plates were cleared within seconds of the final mouthful. The cynic would say that the quicker we left, the quicker they got the table back for the next customers and there may have been a bit of that, but I genuinely think they were just really happy to serve us.

We had a nice after dinner stroll through the narrow streets of the old town, accompanied by an unnecessary ice cream and watched the sun set behind church of St. Euphemia before walking back to the car for the long drive home in the dark. And just in passing , I'd like to mention Google maps - isn't it just the bee's knees! (I'm now spending too long wondering about the apostrophe placement as it could be a reference to a single bee with six knees or lots of bees each with sets of six knees, in which case it would be bees' knees).Read more