A Bit of Italy in Croatia

Today we explored the Istrian Peninsula in the city of Pula and the seaside village of Rovinj. Although now Croatia, this area belonged to Italy for centuries, and still has a strong Italian minority. Pula is the site of the sixth largest existing Roman amphitheater, but the most intact and best preserved, built by the Romans in the first century (as in the year 80 AD). It was easy to picture the gladiators fighting wild animals in the center of the arena. It is interesting that our modern football and soccer stadiums are much the same design. In fact, the amphitheater in Pula is still used for concerts, etc; Sting recently performed here.
After a lunch of "frito misto" (calamari, small fish and huge prawns), we drove on to the charming Venetian town of Rovinj. We spent most of our time just sitting in a cafe near the marina, enjoying lemonade and espresso and watching the people passing. By the way, lemonade is fresh squeezed juice in a glass. accompanied by a bottle of mineral water to mix as you like; no sugar, but there are packets on the table. As it is Saturday, there were many locals out and about. We wandered the colorful little cobblestone streets and alleys for a bit.
Our final stop was in Brtonigla for another delicious dinner. We worked off some of the pasta on our walk up the steep hill to our hotel in Motovun.Read more