Inland Istria
It was time to say goodbye to beautiful Rovinj
and drive inland.
That day we visited 4 walled towns/villages perched on top of hills. All of them were ruled by Venice for about 4 centuries so they look a bit Italian architecturally.
The first stop was Grožnjan / Grisignana, a small town that was almost abandoned (2/3 of its population fled to Italy when it became part of Yugoslavia in the early 1950s) but was reborn in the 1970s as a village of artists.
It is rather picturesque and in a lovely position
(the homemade plum cake was yummy!)
Next stop was Oprtalj / Portole, smaller than Grožnjan and, sadly, not in very good condition. A number of houses seemed to be abandoned/almost in ruins.
There's a lovely Venetian loggia opposite the town's gate
Next stop was probably the most popular of the inland Istrian town, Motovun / Montona. The town is high up on a hill and it is quite a steep walk up to the city gate. It is famous for a film festival.
Here we had a toasted sandwich as a late lunch and then had a look around and a short walk on the walls
We then drove to Buzet/Pinguente a small town that is renowned for truffles. Here we stayed for 2 nights at Vela Vrata hotel, where we also dined.
I had a look around town while Adrian was unpacking
then we had an aperitivo on a little terrace opposite the hotel and overlooking the city walls, from where we admired the sun disappearing behind the hills
This was followed by another short walk
and then dinner.
and drive inland.
That day we visited 4 walled towns/villages perched on top of hills. All of them were ruled by Venice for about 4 centuries so they look a bit Italian architecturally.
The first stop was Grožnjan / Grisignana, a small town that was almost abandoned (2/3 of its population fled to Italy when it became part of Yugoslavia in the early 1950s) but was reborn in the 1970s as a village of artists.
It is rather picturesque and in a lovely position
(the homemade plum cake was yummy!)
Next stop was Oprtalj / Portole, smaller than Grožnjan and, sadly, not in very good condition. A number of houses seemed to be abandoned/almost in ruins.
There's a lovely Venetian loggia opposite the town's gate
Next stop was probably the most popular of the inland Istrian town, Motovun / Montona. The town is high up on a hill and it is quite a steep walk up to the city gate. It is famous for a film festival.
Here we had a toasted sandwich as a late lunch and then had a look around and a short walk on the walls
We then drove to Buzet/Pinguente a small town that is renowned for truffles. Here we stayed for 2 nights at Vela Vrata hotel, where we also dined.
I had a look around town while Adrian was unpacking
then we had an aperitivo on a little terrace opposite the hotel and overlooking the city walls, from where we admired the sun disappearing behind the hills
This was followed by another short walk
and then dinner.