Adventures of a Wandering Thirtysomething

After our amazing time at the Plitvice Lakes, we headed to the Istrian Coast to squeeze the last drops out of summer before working our way inland for the final days of our trip and then back home for the start of fall.

View of old town Rovinj

Of all of our coastal stops in Croatia, Rovinj may be our favorite. Because of its heavy influence from Venice and its history as a poor, working class town, it has an authenticity unlike the other coastal towns we’ve visited. From its brightly painted old homes (our room was in a 16^th century house) and use of Italian as a second language to its colorful farmers market and modest, fishing-boat dotted harbor, it was incredibly charming.

With such a great ambiance, we didn’t end up doing much of anything during our stay besides walking along the cobbled, twisty streets and taking it all in. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll up to St. Euphemia church where we climbed the rickety stairs – I use the term “stairs” here lightly as they were 300-year-old 2x4s that had me so terrified I crawled my way up at a granny pace shaking the whole way – for some beautiful photos. We did some shopping in the farmers market, picking up snacks of dried figs and the best fresh strawberries I’ve eaten all summer. And we enjoyed drinks on the rocky cliffs of Valentino Bar, one of Europe’s top 10 most picturesque bars, as the sun set over the Adriatic Sea.

Rovinj is also known as a major foodie destination with fish and truffles its main draws. So, we capped our time in Croatia with an absolutely fabulous meal at Monte restaurant. To call it a meal is really selling it short. It was an experience.

From the moment we sat down, servers started placing creatively designed, super artistic and unique amuse bouches in front of us. We enjoyed three different early chef courses before we even headed in to our starters, main courses and dessert. And, to top it all off, they sent us home with breakfast pastries for the following morning. It was easily one of our top five most memorable meals of all time.

The next morning, as we headed out of Rovinj up to Slovenia for a hike through the Skocjan Caves and then on to Lake Bled, it was a bittersweet goodbye to the end of summer. The beach, the seaside food and the gelato would have to make way for the fall flavors and weather. Rovinj sure had us going out with a bang.