Author: Sara

There were no trains connecting Rovinj and Pula, so we took a bus for the 40-minute journey.  We walked to our hotel to drop off our bags, and then headed straight out to make the most of our last day sightseeing.  We saw the Roman amphitheatre, which was very much like the Collosseum in Rome but even better preserved.  After a lot of speculating about what things were and how things were built (as we didn’t have the budget to buy an audio guide), we were about to leave but then realised we’d almost missed the underground museum.  This was quite interesting, but mainly contained loads and loads of pots!  We also saw the chambers where gladiators waited along with the beasts that they were fighting. 

Next, we went to a sculpture garden which was pretty weird, as it wasn’t really maintained by anyone, but contained what most people would probably regard as priceless artefacts just stacked up everywhere.  We climbed up a hill beyond the sculpture garden and saw a Roman theatre, then climbed some more to the Citadel to get a good view of Pula.  After our descent and a rather unsuccessful lunch of stale pastries, we came across the extremely old town hall (1296) and Temple of Augustus in the main square. 

We strolled happily around the old town until we realised we needed to check the bus times to get to the airport the next day, so we walked back through town to the bus station.  We could not believe it when we were told that there was only one bus per day!!! Luckily, the bus was roughly the right time so we decided to go for it so that we could complete the whole trip using only public transport.  It felt like we’d seen most of what Pula had to offer, so we spent the late afternoon having a (somewhat) well-earned nap back at the hotel.

After changing for dinner, we went in the direction of some restaurant recommendations and coincidentally ended up in the one closest to us when the heavens opened!  The food was surprisingly good, and after our previous success with the meat platter we gave it another go, which turned out to be an excellent call!  Once the rain had stopped, we wandered through the old town looking for somewhere to have a drink.  We were really surprised to discover just how quiet everywhere was, even on a Friday night.  In fact, the only group of people we could see were a group of ‘youths’ hanging out on the steps of an ancient temple!  As usual, after looking around the whole town we settled for the first promising place we’d seen – a welcoming cafe-bar with mismatching chairs and tables and murals on the wall.  Oli had a thick hot chocolate with brandy (a combination which surprised the waiter quite a lot!), and Sara had an amaretto floater coffee.  Both were lovely and a nice way to round off the slightly soggy evening.

We started off our last full day in Rovinj with a quick internet stop and some ice cream, followed by a long search for the ferry to Creveni Otok, an island a few miles away.  We finally found it on the third pier we visited and luckily only had to wait a few minutes.  The boat trip took about 20 minutes and we stood out on deck to watch the world go by.  We saw a lot of what we’d walked on the coast path the previous day – we went quite a long way! 

The island was really pretty and green and had one large resort hotel on it.  We walked around the edge to find a lunch spot and stopped on some rocks next to the water.  We decided to move on for the rest of the afternoon though, as we couldn’t reach the water very easily.  We crossed a causeway to another island and found the perfect spot after a bit of a walk.  On the way, we saw some pheasants trotting about, which was such an unexpected sight!  We had a lazy afternoon sunbathing and napping before a bit of a rush to catch the 5pm ferry, and then headed back to our accommodation to change before dinner at one last recommended restaurant in town.  We were given the best table in the house with a view of the marina and old town which was rather nice, and had an amazing meat platter dinner to share, yum!  On it were burgers, kebabs, schnitzel, sausages, gammon, pork chops and chicken kebabs all served with rice, chips, potatoes and salad!

The funniest part was when we wanted to leave.  Oli asked for the bill as the waiter was just bringing over a candle, and was told “Just enjoy the light!” – the bill didn’t arrive.  He then came to chat to us about zebra crossings, London accents and other important world issues, and by this point we were very confused!  After two rounds of (free) shots he came back to ask what we were still doing there, to which we replied “Enjoying the light!”  Finally, we managed to pay and leave, about an hour after we’d intended.  As planned, we headed straight for Valentino for another post-dinner cocktail, which didn’t disappoint –  we were still bowled over by the stunning location and all the fish.

We started the day with a bit of sightseeing around the old town. First of all, we climbed up the steep hill on the peninsula to the Cathedral, getting caught out by a few dead ends on the way. Once again, the town was made up of narrow Venetian streets, just like a maze. It was lovely to wander round but a bit difficult to get directly to where you meant to go.

Outside, the Cathedral was plain and a bit ugly, with mixed architectural styles and windows filled in by concrete. Inside, it was prettier, but we commented on just how many Cathedrals we’d seen this trip so perhaps we were a bit jaded. The best part was the views of the coastline, all the islands surrounding Rovinj and the sea right to the horizon – the weather was still beautifully clear and sunny.

We took a different route down past artists’ studios, and saw flights of steps between houses which led directly into the sea. This looked really refreshing for an impromptu swim, but instead we cooled off with an ice cream! After a quick internet stop, we ate lunch in a busy square next to the bus station and Sara made a friend. He was a big green grasshopper who seemed to like her blue dress, although she wasn’t so keen on him! After lunch we wandered round the coast path south of Rovinj to find a spot to spend the afternoon next to the sea. We walked much further than yesterday and found a lovely quiet patch of rocks where we set up camp. In the bay next to us there was a yacht moored and it was all very picturesque. Oli was also pleased to find crabs in every rockpool, but Sara stayed away! After laying in the sun with our books for some time, Oli convinced Sara to come for a swim. The water was beautifully clear again, but there were lots of rocks and it was difficult to navigate round them without our much-needed jelly shoes (we refused to buy crocs!) Sara got a bit freaked out, and after a lot of splashing Oli came out with the line “I can’t believe you just had a meltdown in a rockpool…” and Sara concluded that “I’d be shit in the Famous Five!”

After a bit more relaxation we walked back on a slightly different route through the grounds of an old estate along paths lined with avenues of trees. It was lovely, shady, cool and easy to walk on, but lacked the views of the coastal path. We changed for dinner back at the apartment, then set off for a meal in a canteen-style restaurant next to the marina with checked tablecloths and rustic furniture. Once again, a successful LP recommendation. Oli had barbequed kebabs, and Sara had yummy seafood linguine (miraculously, her white skirt remained clean!), although as usual we swapped our plates lots of times. The meal was topped off by a shot of grappa on the house. It was very nice of them, but our mouths were burning for a while afterwards! Next, we visited Valentino, a cocktail bar recommended by our B&B lady. It was quite something! We sat on cushions on rough rocks overlooking the waters of the harbour, which were lit by underwater lights, and we could see so many fish. We both had lovely cocktails and agreed it was the coolest place we’d ever been for a drink! It was so good that we are hoping to return tonight.