- Do you like quiet beaches and refreshing water (not cold, not warm) for swimming?
- Do you love the taste of Truffles (not the chocolate ones)?
- Do you like ancient hilltop villages with amazing scenery, charm, history and cobblestone streets?
- Do you like green countryside, fresh autumn colors, gorges spliced by turquoise rivers?
- Do you like art, music, paintings, or handcrafted jewelry?
- Do you like climbing; do you like limestone crags?
- Do you love using the best olive oil when you cook?
- Do you like fine wine; do you like wine tasting; do you like looking at vineyards scattered everywhere with every type of grape?
- Do you like the low season without a million tourists in your space?
- How about strolling, hiking, mountain biking….. Relaxing, perhaps?
If you said YES to any of these questions, then Istra, Croatia in September is the place for you!
Mitch, Will and I desperately needed a motorbike de briefing, a place to call home for more than one night, a chance to slowly assimilate back into normal life. We needed DOWN time, FUN time and ALONE time. We found the Istra Region and hunkered down in an apartment in Rovinj. We are close but not too close to the city or the beach. We are very close to climbing and many hilltop villages of interest and beauty. We have a nice car and can get anywhere, anytime.
“With a strong Italian influence, Istra is a beautiful region of Croatia both along the coast and inland. Bordering Slovenia and with a maritime border with Italy, this peninsula is easy to reach from the rest of Europe. It is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic sea.”
The history is complicated and this is an area that has been pillaged by the Romans and later, the Goths and influenced heavily by the Venetians. The hilltop villages that still remain cover this area and were all built with the same idea….protection. Today, the villages can be visited and they all have different appeal. We had to choose what we thought would be the most scenic drives and select the three villages that would appeal to us the most. We decided to base in the popular coastal village of Rovinj. It didn’t hurt that there were climbing crags close by. A few crags at the seaside of Rovinj and a couple more along a beautiful gorge called the Limski Kanal. Our mantra: climb in the shade, then hit the beach and swim afterwards. Dinner out or maybe cook in. We went into Rovinj one evening and walked the cobblestone streets and alleys. I was looking for particular jewelry shop and found it. Yes, of course, I spent money there. There are many shops mostly owned by local artists. This region of Croatia is known for local and international artisans who have studios above their shops. There were more tourists here than we anticipated, so we did not wander long. The promenade was lit with a glorious sunset and the yachting community was putting their anchors down. It was a perfect time to make an exit.
We spent an entire day traveling inland and chose the hilltop villages of Motovun, Buzet and Groznjan as our targets. Our drive included many vineyards, castle sightings, autumn colors making their debut and plenty of rock and crags that kept the boys gawking for sure. Motovun was high and beautiful and the overlooks were spectacular. We also walked narrow,cobbled streets with fewer tourists and more truffle shops than one can imagine. It is truffle hunting season and thousands of people head out with their dogs and pigs to find this elusive fungi. Usually starts end of September and goes on through October. Apparently, truffles are worth the big bucks….a thousand big ones per one kilo of this special mushroom. But, they are very difficult to find. Trained pigs are the best. The Cappuccino is getting better the closer we get to Italy..so we had to indulge before moving on.
The road to Buzet was green and gold countryside with a grand mixture of rock. The boys continued to gawk at rock and plan the next climbing exploration. We could see Buzet coming into view as we looked up into the clouds. Buzet is a big “normal” city where commerce exists, schools, malls, playgrounds, industry and lots of cars inhabit the space. We took the road up to the old village. No cars in the village so we walked up and entered the very quiet artists haven. We have become accustomed to the astonishing views, narrow cobblestone ( slippery, steep and polished) alleys, truffle shops, cafes, astonishing historical artifacts from the first and second centuries ( mostly Roman) and art studios. We did wander in a gallery and meet the artist who owned the shop and his colorful works were on display. He grew up in the village of Buzet and still lives and works there with his wife and family. The rest of the village was such a joy to wander; quiet and peaceful. Greenery and flowers growing between the crevices in the ancient rock walls provided stunning wall art. Time passed slowly and we just enjoyed the ability to stop and stare uninterrupted. Definitely less interesting than Rovinj, but very quiet, well kept and an artists dream.
On our final leg of the inland road trip, we stopped at a thriving roadside cafe for lunch. We dined outside, next to a peaceful river and a countryside that was turning its’ colors. We were hoping to have our first culinary experience with truffles. We ordered pasta with white truffles (white are more rare, more difficult to find and more expensive). It took us a minute, but yes, we did thouroughly enjoy our experience with this delicacy. The tast is subtly sublime! Now, we just need a trained pig to make our fortunes!
After lunch, we did some countryside exploring and ended up at our final village destination. Groznjan is the smallest village of the three, but the structure is the same. The shops all have working studios attached as this village is ONLY for artists. During the high season, tourists come in droves and purchase a wide variety of art and handicrafts. Jewelry seems to be the most popular. When the tourists leave for the season, some artists stay and work all winter in their village studio while others leave Groznjan to go to their home studio and create more works. I LOVED THIS PLACE. Artists are such interesting people. I would have enjoyed this even more at the peak of the high season when all the shops were open and all the artists were working.
Our last day in Rovinj was a day at the beach for me and a day of climbing for the guys. Dinner at our favorite place and we are packed to leave in the morning.
We spent our departure day finding three more crags and we all enjoyed climbing in the fantastic Indian Summer weather. We ended up just short of the sLOVEnian border for the night. An incredible final dining experience included ricotta cheese spread with shavings of white truffles as a starter. Super yummy!
Now, at the border to return the car, hop a passenger van to airport hotel and we are now in Italy and headed to Greece tomorrow!
Ciao Ciao Croatia, sLOVEnia and Italy!!
