Miracles in Istria

Ahhhhhh finally!

So from Plitvice we decided to take the advice of a new Croatian theatre contact of Morgan’s and go to Bale in Istria (the peninsula at the north part of Croatia). We had to rent a car to get there which was a pain and involved getting a bus back to Zagreb and then driving back the way we had just came. I was the only driver since Morgan can’t drive stick (and I failed to teach her back in Seattle like I was suppose to) and it was a lot of extra money for an extra driver anyway.

So anyway, we are finally on the road and decide to take the coast road down the peninsula. It was gorgeous! It was passing these hotels and sobes (rental rooms/apts) overlooking the sea that I made my first wish…I want to wake up to a view of the ocean.

Finally we get to Pula (the largest town in Istria) and I don’t like the look of it at all. We continue onto Bale but Karen (Morgan’s GPS device…she’s Australian) gets us lost. But I refuse to turn around. I don’t want to go back to Pula. I want something amazing for my mom. Finally mom spots a restaurant. We stop and when the owner doesn’t speak English I start to loose hope. In a last ditch attempt, I ask the guy smoking outside if he speaks English. He does. And then we find out that he and his wife have an apartment we can rent for a cheap price by the sea…and they will lead us there! WHAT?!?!?

We try not to get too excited before seeing the place…it is incredible! It’s an apartment with kitchen, amazing bathroom (good showers are so incredibly appreciated after traveling for a while), a washing machine, a balcony…and a view of the water that we won’t be able to see until morning.

Morgan and I go to the pizza place nearby and they open back up from closing to make us 2 pizzas. We can hardly contain our glee. This is exactly the kind of thing that I always want to happen when traveling and leaving the itinerary open. It was incredible.

Pizza and beer for dinner and a wonderful night in a great bed.

The next morning, out view is exactly what I imagined.

We spent one day in Rovinj exploring the town and taking a swim at the beach by our apartment. In the afternoon we headed into Pula and found the Amphitheatre. It was basically the coliseum except in better shape, and with no tourists. I mean we were 3 or probably 10 total in the place. It was wonderful! And you could go under the amphitheatre and see where they kept the animals and corpses…now just full of pots. Dinner and back home to our cozy place.

Our last day in Istria was spent exploring the peninsula. We started off in Bale to find these Celtic circles that Morgan’s friend had told us about. We ended up being lead to them by a farmer who spoke no English but understood sign language for circle and lead us there on his scooter. They were these strange cement circles that sounded all echoy (like you were hearing yourself through a microphone) when you stood in the center. After messing around in there for a while, we saw the sign that said “Retainment in the circles is not recommended. The whole area is under research. You are entering on your own responsibility” by The Pennsylvania State University. What? Are we in Lost?

Then onto Beram to see a little church covered in Frescos and have our second miracle. One of the other things I had said was that I wanted to go to a little restaurant and be able to say, bring me your specialty and have the waiter bring me delicious food. Well in this little town, we went in for lunch and the waiter said, I will bring you a selection of pastas for your to try (we didn’t order) and proceeded to bring us one of the best meals I have ever had. I have never had pasta that in itself was so good. YUM!

Last stop was to Porec to see the Basilica which was beautiful. Then back for a swim and seeing one of the best sunsets I have seen in who knows how long.

The next morning it was up early to head down the coast to Split to return the rental car and see more of this beautiful land!