Holiday in Croatia - 15/08/06

As you may have noticed I have been away for the last few days, this is because I have been on holiday in Istria in Croatia. We had a nice time although it did rain half the time we were there.

First Day - We arrived in the evening and negotiated the complex parking system. We went to the Hotel Cafe, one of five, for a coffee. They claimed to have 32 types of hot chocolate, the menu included various things like hot chocolate with lemon, or a darker chocolate one. I ordered one with banana. Sadly I was disappointed as I could not taste any banana in it. Everyone else was also disappointed with their food so we decided not to go to that cafe again. We spent some time getting unpacked and then headed down the coast to find somewhere to eat. After a while we found a nice cafe with 'live music'. The food was good but the live music was terrible, but they didn't try to charge us the 10% extra they said they would on the menu.

Second Day - We headed down to breakfast, and were greeted by a massive buffet. There were selections of ham and cheese; seven types of cereal, four of them chocolate; some Croatian desserts, yoghurts and fruit but best of all there was a man cooking pancakes. After stuffing our faces we decided what to do with our first full day. It looked warm but not that hot so we decided to go and see a canyon with stunning rock formations. After travelling through a long tunnel we arrived at a small car park. There was a map and signs depicting a route to the edge of the cliff. We walked down while reading the periodic information boards. Eventually we reached the edge and took a number of pictures of the valley before heading back while the weather got even hotter.

Next we needed to find somewhere to eat lunch, there had been a sign on the main road saying 500m (1/3 of a mile) to a restaurant in the hills so we decided to follow it. After driving for around 15 minutes, and we were beginning to wonder if this place actually existed, we at last found it. It seemed to be modeled on a hunting lodge and had lots of dishes like wild boar, I decided to go for a more traditional option of mushroom risotto followed by a steak. They were both really well done, probably the best meal of the whole holiday.

We headed back along the coastal road and on the way visited a small town with lots of original architecture. As we wandered around we also saw almost 15 cats. My mum had saved some cheese from breakfast which we fed to the cats as they would not come near us otherwise. As we fed three another two arrived until we had the whole cat family of one black parent and one tabby parent; a black, a tabby and a tortoiseshell kitten. They all seemed to be totally starving and gobbled all the cheese we gave them although they still wouldn't let us stroke them. As we wandered through the rest of the town we encountered many more cats many of whom looked very hungry but we had no more food for them.

Third Day - We woke up to a grey day, so decided that today was not the day to go to the beach. We went to a town called Pula to see the Colosseum there. Sadly the traffic on the way in was almost solid so by the time we arrived it was lunch time. We headed up to the Colosseum hoping to find some restaurants there. We wandered around and found a large number of bars and cafes which didn't serve food and a small number of take away pizza places. No restaurants near a tourist attraction?! Does that even happen? Eventually we found a restaurant attached to a hotel just before it started to pour with rain. After eating we headed to one of the cafes we had seen earlier and ordered our drinks. The waitress arrived and placed all but one of the drinks on the table. As she put down my sister's hot chocolate the mug tipped, and flew off its saucer. The cream landed on Evie (my sister) while the chocolate still in the mug smashed to the ground, spraying chocolate and glass all over the couple sitting at an adjacent table.

After our earlier adventures it was a relief to at last reach the Colosseum. We paid the £2 entry fee (much cheaper than the one in Rome) and began to wander around, while still trying to shelter from the rain. On the way around we spotted another cat hiding out of the rain under a stone arch. It was already soaked and refused to come out into the rain even for food, very wise. After looking around the museum and buying a small magnet for James in the gift shop we got back into the car trying to find the other Roman monuments but after getting stuck in traffic and at the end of a no through road we decided it wasn't worth it.

Fourth Day - We woke up to even heavier rain, so decided to head to the large city across the bay, called Rijeka. We parked and headed towards the center. In our path was a massive local fruit market where they were also selling some bags, so Evie bought a really big one for sleep overs etc for only £8, I looked for a bag I could use to carry my books at uni but none seemed suitable. We reached the main street and were amazed to see a branch of Topshop and further along a branch of Lush (which sells scented bath accessories). First we wanted to eat and spotted a restaurant near the main street. After eating we went shopping and after trying on a large number of things I at last bought a pair of jeans, my only pair that aren't too big, but Evie warned that as they are stretch they may get bigger too, sigh.

Fifth Day - At last it was sunny again, we headed to the beach. We were promised sandy beaches on an island called Krk. After driving for over 2 hours and then parking in a flood of water from the previous nights rain we at last arrived. Sadly the beach was stony but there was sand under the water. We did lots of sun bathing while reading and then ran into the water trying not to think about how cold it was. We swam out to some floating 'safety boys' which looked like mini banana boats. After getting my balance I lay on one for a long time before swimming back to shore. We then headed back to the hotel to pack.

I'll be posting some photos here soon once I can get that organised so check back. I hope you enjoyed reading this, if so say hi. I'll be posting again soon about my A-level results due on the 17th which decide if I get into Uni.

If you are wondering who James is all will be explained soon. He told me I should write a blog post after his party and I told him that he should, as we are both much too lazy it hasn't been done yet. I will try and get him write one this weekend but we may get distracted.

See all articles from August 2006.

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