In Croatia, each morning begins with a burek, a traditional Bosnian phyllo pastry, tightly rolled and filled with spinach and cheese, similar in consistency to ricotta. They are also served with just cheese or meat filing, but I prefer the spinach, adding a bit of nourishment to my day. The weather in Croatia has been warm and humid. Unordinary for this time of year. Since arriving, we've been averaging 35ºC. Most of our sight-seeing is accomplished between the hours of 8-12pm and 6-11pm. The rest of the time is spent napping and eating ice cream. Since we last spoke, I have explored and wandered, taking in as much as possible. We took a bus from Zagreb, the capitol, to the Istria Peninsula. Similar in landscape to the region of Tuscany, olive groves, vineyards, rolling hills, and tiny castles. We rented a car for a day and toured the area, visiting the smallest town in the world, Hum, small villages, the beach. We had a brilliant day.
The second language in the Peninsula is Italian, and everyone greats and says goodbye with a simple 'ciao' unless you are on the phone, and then it is four 'ciaos'. People are vibrant and full of energy. The pastries and ice cream are spectacular. I tend to gravitate towards dark chocolate and cherry. Beer is cheap and delicious, although I cannot pronounce a single name if my life depended on it. Yesterday, we took a scenic nine-hour bus ride from Pula to Sibenik, following the coast on a very narrow and windy road. Today, to reward ourselves, we spent the day swimming and bathing at Krka National Park, in a spectacular set of waterfalls. Turquoise water, clean, fresh, amazing, and no sunburn thanks to an amazing La Roche Posay Anthelios
I was recommended to buy in Paris. Tomorrow we are headed to Split, a gorgeous coastal town, and then we plan to island hop all the way to Dubrovnik in the south. We fly to Istanbul next Thursday to meet up with a friend. I will hopefully have one more post to include the Croatian Islands.
