The Istrian Peninsula - Day 6

The Istrian Peninsula - Day 6
We started the day in the mist. The bus climbed put the mountain behind us in Opatija and then through a 3 1/2 mile tunnel. On the other side, the weather had changed, and it was much brighter. Not sunny (yet) but looking up.
We made our way to the bottom of the Istrian peninsula which separates the Kvarner Bay from the Adriatic. This town, Pula, was an old town, but was at its height in Roman times. There is a fairly well preserved amphitheater with essentially the entire outer wall still intact. We walked in and there was some ceremony for a international youth soccer tournament. Noisy, but we could mostly hear our guide, Sondra, with our portable earpieces. Underneath, there was an exhibit of olive pressing and old amphora, which was interesting. There was a reproduction of an old roman map of the area, showing the distances not in miles or kilometers, but in days of travel. Interesting that Venice was not on the map, but it wasn't founded until about 400AD.
Then up the western coast to Rovinj, a pretty old fishing town with windy small streets leading to the church at the top of the hill. Think Montmartre, but smaller. Multiple little art shops and restaurants.
Most of the afternoon was spent wandering Ravinj, then back to Opatija for a nice dinner at a local restaurant. Ann had grilled "fish of the day", I had roast lamb. Somewhat more importantly, they gave us some wonderful olive oil to go with the salad and bread.

Ann's Notes

Travel for me is a lesson in geography and this trip is no exception. I actually had no idea how close Trieste and Venice are to the coast of Croatia and the Istrian Peninsula. Opatija, which is on east coast of the peninsula is 2 1/2 hours from Trieste and 5 hours from Venice. I did some quick research last night to see if we could escape for a day or so to either, but alas it would not work out. But the rest of our trip traveling down the coast of Croatia and finishing up in Dubrovnik should be great. And the weather may even cooperate a bit more.

Delicious lunch of pizza and salad in one of the cafe's in Rovinj. Being so close to Italy really does mean delicious pizza and gelato everywhere. And then a good dinner in a restaurant in Opatija of fried calamari and a local white fish, with delicious garlic spinach and roasted potatoes. The pastries, chocolate mousse cakes and chocolate is also quite good here.