Exploring Istria, part 2

Joe did his (only) second run of the vacation. He found a great running path from our apartment through a huge park to the coast, then along the coast to town. Most of the run was on hard packed dirt. The views were great and the sea was calm: 0" swells--literally. We had another great breakfast on our terrace then headed out for the day.

Then we drove down to Pula to see the Roman amphitheater. It is one of the best preserved in the world--much more so than the one in Rome that is in everyone's vacation photos. It is a bit smaller and sits on the sea. Construction was started in the first century BC and finished early in the first century AD. It is remarkable to see something so old so well preserved, but the history of the battles there and the violent, bloody entertainment are a bit disturbing. We walked around Pula's old town which was much more commercial and less charming than many of the others to which we have been.

We headed into the inland area again to visit wineries. This time, armed with our new maps, we were much more successful. At the fist one, a young man came out to greet us as we drove up. He took us into the tasting room and we sampled some of their wines while he answered our questions on grape growing and wine making in Istria. We bought a couple of bottles then headed out to explore a nearby hill town. It has some newer looking homes and several of the old stone buildings were vacant and falling apart. The church was at the top with beautiful sweeping views of the valleys--we could see forever. We ate a picnic lunch up there and headed out visiting a couple of other wineries and olive oil mills. The countryside is truly beautiful and the people are so welcoming and happy to talk. It feels like it is early in the development of this area, not as slick and sophisticated as Tuscany or Napa.

We are now back in Rovinj for our last evening here. It's been a fun and relaxing part of our trip and we are sad to be leaving the area and our great apartment. We are going out on the town tonight. We plan to hit the new hip hot spot, Kčlvščlx. Kim is fond of the local drink Mcvžđxš and Joe is quite the wqhklžćmvxr !!! :). As you can see, Kim has mastered the local language ;-)

Tomorrow off the Krk to See Irena and meet her parents.

For one of you faithful readers who have made it this far, we have a contest in which you can win a bottle of Croatian wine. Simply be the first to post a comment to this blog posting identifying the most typical Istrian grape/wine variety of the color of your wine preference. That is, if you want a bottle of red wine, identify the most typical red grape/wine. Similarly for white. Only one bottle will be awarded.