Hairgrove's in Hungary: Croatia Day 1 and 2--by Ben

The coliseum in Pula.

(Ben wrote this blog entry while we were in Croatia)

We arrived in Croatia after the fun ticket experience. I will go ahead and say it now that Croatia is absolutely beautiful. It feels like a combination of Greece and Tuscan Italy. We arrived in the afternoon and had time to look around. We are staying at the Lanterna Apartments. We did not know this till we got here but it is a resort. There are camping areas for RV’s and other apartment complexes. They have a store, cafe, bar, tennis courts, etc. It is located on a little peninsula so it is surrounded by the Adriatic Sea. It is a nice place and we would happily recommend it. We have an apartment with a kitchen and an awesome ocean view from our balcony. However, the best part is that it is only $75 a night! It was a little funny getting here because our GPS did not accept the address. Therefore I had to find the little peninsula from the hotels.com map and mark it as “destination.” So now it is saved as “unnamed road near Porec.”

After arriving we walked around the shoreline and looked at the crystal clear water. The beaches are white rock. This is good because sand doesn’t get on everything but bad because you need sandals to walk. The water was very calm and inviting but we had to get some dinner. We found a seafood restaurant not too far down the road. Dana and I ordered shrimp. Dana was a little surprised when the shrimp came out with head and everything. She isn’t a fan of looking at the face of the food she is eating :). We then left and headed into Porec which is only 15 minutes away. It was dusk so the coastal city was beautiful. We love this little city. It has a pretty square and small streets made of huge stones. It is a beautiful old town on the coast. We then came back and got some much needed sleep.

The next day we wanted to chill on the beach. The sea was not as calm as the previous day and it was a little windy and chilly. Therefore we decided to head to Pula for the morning and try the water that afternoon. Pula is a large coastal city on the tip of the Istra Peninsula and only one hour from our accommodations. It is neat because it has a more intact coliseum than Rome. Dana has seen the one in Rome but I haven’t because we ran out of time while there. The coliseum is made of white rock and is pretty large. Dana said that it seemed bigger that the one in Rome but not as tall. I loved it and thought that it was an incredible sight. We then went around the city looking at the marina and other parts before having a sandwich from a bakery.

Ben in the coliseum.

Where are the gladiators?

You could see the Adriatic through the windows of the coliseum.

Under the coliseum.

Wine jugs under the coliseum.

The harbor at Pula.

Cheesy bread sandwich. Only about $3 U.S.
Travel tip: to save money go to the bakeries for lunch.

We then came back to the beach and the weather was much warmer. We laid out and tried to get a little sun despite our paranoid sunblock covered bodies. The water was a little rough but we braved it and got in. Now when you ‘get in’ you have to go out a little ways until the rocks drop off. So you walk about 15 yards in knee deep water and then jump into 10 ft deep water. The waves kept trying to slam us into the rock so you have to time it to where you sit on the rock to get up. We then headed back into Porec for a nice meal and called it a day.