Monday, November 25, 2013

Motuvun, sun, and the Huskies won!,

Much better day today even thought we got up at 4:30 am to watch the UW-OSU game streaming live.  Amazing that it is possible to watch a football game being played in Corvallis, Oregon in a small town in Croatia.  Heartened by the Husky victory, we set  out to visit Motovun, supposedly the "best" Istrian hill town.  Unlike yesterday, we found the right road immediately  It was raining in Rovinj, but we drove into bright clear sunshine as we climbed a little. Motovun is beautiful, there are wonderful views of the countryside, and it is deserted at this time of year.  We walked up the steep hill to the walled city, through the city and then took a walk on the ramparts, stopping to have a drink at an outdoor cafe next to the ramparts.  A very pleasant Sunday in Croatia, topped off by a Skype call from the fabulous Kelly.  Who could ask for more?

Motovun



Entry to old town, Motovun

Motovun town crest:  5 towers guarded by angels


View from town walls



Bar where we stopped for drinks with a view


Saturday, November 23, 2013

(Trying) to visit the hill towns in Istria

The hill towns of Istria are supposed to be like the hill towns of Tuscany according to the guide books, so we reserved a car for three days to explore the hill towns and Pula, a nearby city with many well preserved Roman ruins.  Our host, Zjelko, kindly offered to show Tom the way to the rental car office, and they set off at 9:30 as the car was reserved for 10 am.  Unfortunately, they didn't get back until 11:30 because the car was late being returned and they had sent it to the carwash to be cleaned.  Then there were issues about the payment, and having to stop by the bus station, so it was 12:30 by the time we left town.  Dark clouds and light rain lent a foreboding aspect to the drive.  Things continued to go awry.  First, we didn't find the A9 road which was supposedly nmissable, but all three of us (Laura was along for the ride) failed to see it.  We followed what we thought was the main road from town to town, hoping to see where we were, but none of the tiny towns we went through were on the map, even though Tom, a known mapaholic, had purchased a ginormous and incredibly detailed road map.  Finally we found our way to the A9, drove through one of the little towns we wanted to see and looked for a recommended restaurant which we never located.  Finally, we stopped in Buje at 1:45 fearing everything would be closed if we waited any longer for lunch.  We went into the only open place we found ( other than an unappetizing bar) and weren't expecting much.  However, the very cute waiter led us to a back room with nice views of the valley and gave us menus listing all of the delicious Istrian dishes we wanted to try, including many with truffles.  This area is known for truffles, in fact the world's largest truffle was found in Istria and we wanted to try some.  Turned out to be a great lunch spot and  Laura explained the various choices for us.  We ended up sharing 2 appetizers, three primi piatti, and a side order of swiss chard with potatoes that was delicious.  I picked ravioli with goat cheese and truffle sauce, Tom picked beef with truffles, and Laura chose gnocchi with a special kind of beef that is grown only in Istria.  Her croatian teacher had told her to get it if she ever saw it on a menu.  The appetizers were cheese with honey and walnuts, and a special Istrian prosciutto with figs.  Following are the before and after pictures of the feast:

antipasti

Laura looks at the array of food

gnocchi with istrian beaf

beef with truffles

I can't believe we ate the whole thing!
After lunch we walked back up the hill only to find that someone had parked behind us blocking us in!  We walked around trying to find a place someone might have been going to but nothing was open in the area.  We decided to honk if see if anyone responded and indeed, someone popped out and moved the car, but not before we wasted another half hour.  We headed to a nearby town but of course got on the wrong road.  By the time we finally got to one of the hill towns we wanted to see it was dark, but we looked around that town and another nearby, then headed back to Rovinj to get Laura to the 7 pm .bus.  We were afraid she was going to miss it, so she and Tom ran ahead to get her bags and get to the bus stop, only to return 15 minutes later because the clock in the car was wrong and they were an hour early!  Just one of those days when it would have been better to stay at home in front of the fire.  At least the lunch was good, and we did get a nice shot of the "postcard view" of Rovinj.



Back in the apartment, no need for dinner after that lunch, time to nurse our colds and hope the huskies win tonight!  

Friday, November 22, 2013

Lijepa, mirna Rovinj

That is beautiful, quiet Rovinj in Croatian--thank you google translate.  We arrived in Rovinj, in the Istria section of Croatia, via bus from Trieste last night.  We had arranged to rent an apartment and the hostess, Zjelka, said her father would meet us at the bus and show us the way to the apartment, which was only a few minutes walk from the station.  Zjolka did meet us and was the friendliest, nicest welcoming committee we have ever had.  Rovinj is a small  nearly deserted town now that tourist season is over, and he easily was able to point out many of the key sights on our walk to the apartment, including the best bakery, good restaurants serving local cuisine that are still open, the harbor, the main piazza, and the entry gate to the old town.  When we arrived, he showed us all the features of the apartment, including a huge stack of literature about what to do in Istria, how to operate the washing machine and jacuzzi tub, all of the light switches and plugs and heaters, even the air conditioner which we surely wont be needing.  The apartment is great and really has everything you could possibly need.  It is nice that it is stocked with some basics for cooking like vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, etc. as well as a full range of pans and dishes.  Unlike Italy, the stores here are open late so Tom dashed to the market for ingredients and made a delicious chicken and pasta dinner.

View from bedroom window

View from living room window


Living room left, kitchen above


Second bedroom above, hall on the left


Main bedroom

--
The covered market is right under our window

With the window open, we could hear the waves coming in (and the very loud seagulls).  My cold is still going strong and Tom actually caught it, which never happens, so we slept in, then headed out to explore the town.  All of the main 'tourist sights' are close to the apartment.  We saw the covered market--not too busy this time of year--Tito's square, the fountain erected to commemorate get.ting running water IN 1959! and climbed up the hill to St. Euphemia's church, through winding narrow streets with many art galleries.  In the summer, the artists hang their pictures outside on the walls so you can look at art all the way up the hill, but now there are only a few shops open.
Simply called "communist era monument"

View of St. Euphemia Campanile

Trg Marsala  Tita (Fountain in Tito square commemorating running water in 19059)

Balbi Arch, the entry to old town.  The winged lion is the symbol of Venice and a reminder that Venice used to rule Rovingj




Narrow streets on the way up the hill to the church


Artists  hang their wares on the walls all along the street to the top of the hill

The town hall--it has the Italian flag along with the Croatian flag

View of St. Euphemia 

Views from the top of the hill at St. Euphemia

The Church




Heading back down to the main part of Rovinj
The St. Euphemia story is one I hadn't heard during my Catholic school days.  She was a daughter of a nobleman near Istanbul who refused to worship a 'pagan idol' and was tortured on the wheel and thrown to the lions in the arena as a result.  However the lions refused to eat her, only giving her 'a loving nip' and the Romans had to finish her off themselves.  Years later her giant stone sarcophagus somehow floated to Rovinj, landing on the shore below the hill where the church now stands (there was a different church there at the time).    While the townsfolk were trying to figure out how they would get the sarcophagus up the hill, a young boy showed up with two calves (animals, not the ones in his legs) and said he had a dream about St. Euphemia and he would move the sarcophagus up to the church, which he did.  The church was rebuilt but the sarcophagus is still there and they open it once a year for the faithful to gaze upon the saint's 'waxy face.'

A friend from Seattle, Laura Tudor,  who is studying in Croatia for a year, came to Rovinj to see us for the week-end.  We went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant recommended by Zolkja.  Laura was a big help in deciphering the menu.  I tried broda which is a fish stew and Tom had mixed fish with Polenta, while Laura had risotto with squid ink (better than it sounds).  Obviously a lot of Italian influences in the menu.  Tomorrow, off to see some hill towns in our first rental car of the trip.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Windy, rainy Trieste

Mid-November may not be the be the best time to visit Trieste which is about and  as far north as you can get in Italy and has the weather to prove it.   At least we missed the bora (100 plus mile per hour wind) which was blowing the day before we arrived.  We did get rain and 'normal' wind (which blew my husky umbrella inside out but the sturdy umbrella recovered) which, coupled with my very annoying cold, limited our expeditions around town the first day and a half.

Our hotel room is great, so it was pleasant enough to spend some time resting and recuperating .  We have  a studio apartment, with a little kitchen with the world's tiniest microwave (and a stove, fridge, etc.),  a large main room with a curtained off area for the bed, a desk, table & chairs, and a large (by Italian standards) bathroom.  It is on the 9th floor (10th american) but fortunately, there is an elevator, unlike most of the places we stay.

Bedroom corner of apartment above and little kitchen below


The little box under the cupboard is the microwave--holds an espresso cup, but not a full size cup


View from our room


Our first full day here we ventured out in the rain and wind to see the Piazza della Unita di Italia which would be spectacular in good weather as it opens up on the sea and is reputed to be the site of beautiful sunsets.  Trieste was part of the Austrian empire for a couple of centuries, which is reflected in the buildings which are more like those seen in Vienna than Venice.




 fancy doors in the fancy building

Hi from Tom





Many fountains, many piazzas
After wandering around the shopping area--many bookstores, antique shops, and upscale stores such as Gucci and Armani, we scuttled back to the apartment to dry off and warm up while watching Italia's got talent, always highly entertaining and apparently always attempting to prove the falsity of the title.  Today was sunny and dry so we ventured forth to  walk up the hills to Castello San Giusto and Cattedrale San Giusto, through the medieval section of Trieste.  We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed wandering around the castello, which has been well restored and contains the Museo Civico with bits and pieces of roman ruins, an armory, and furnishings and paintings original to the castello or to the time when the castello was occupied.. You can walk all around the castello on the ramparts, and then go into some of the rooms which are still furnished as they were 500 years ago (although the chairs probably didn't have "don't sit on me" signs back then).  The Cattedrale was built on the site of ancient roman ruins, and was originally two separate churches which were joined together in the 14th century.


View of Trieste from the castello

First century AD roman courtyard in front of castello

On the castello walls


View of the Cattedrale, built on the site of ancient roman ruins

Mosaic in 14th century apse
We returned to the apartment after this outing just in time to talk with Kelly on Skype--first time we have seen her beaming face since we came to Italy.  Tomorrow we head to Rovinj in Croatia, just a 2 hour bus ride away.

Ciao a tutti!