Wine and Spirits Travel

Lynn and I left Split for Zagreb in the late afternoon. The drive was a fairly easy one as highways of Croatia are new and very well kept up. Zagreb was unlike any city we saw in Istria, Rijeka, or Split. It was filled with tall buildings and contemporary designs. We arrived at the Doubletree by Hilton Zagreb . It was a beautiful hotel and had a comfortable lobby. It was evening and we had an early flight in the morning so the only thing we had planned was dinner and then an early bedtime. We checked out the restaurant, but didn’t really want a meal. We were both craving pizza and were curious to see if it was as good as it had been in Istria . The staff at the front desk unanimously told us to go into the building next door to Al Metro. The building was modern and filled with restaurants, but we followed the smell to the pizzeria. We picked up a pie and took it back to the room. It had been a once in a lifetime experience in Croatia, especially the first ...

Travel days where I have nothing to do are few and far between, but this one was especially wonderful since I had a beautiful beach and a spa to enjoy for the day. Lynn and I had been traveling through Croatia for nine days. Although I wouldn’t have done anything different, we were still exhausted. The Hotel Split was on a breathtaking beach and, since it was during the week, pretty quiet. We had every intention of taking advantage of that time in  Split . We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel with an amazing view. It was a pretty typical European breakfast for me of yogurt, fruit, cheese, and a croissant.  It’s odd how I like variety so much at home, but always seem to stick to this in Europe. After breakfast, we spent the morning walking and lounging on the beach. The Adriatic Sea was especially beautiful from Split and just gazing at it from different angles was a treat. When we arrived at  Hotel Split , I saw the spa specials and noti...

After an exciting week with our Share Istria group , my friend Lynn and I were off on our own to explore more of Croatia. Our first stop was in Rijeka and we had a great first day there. In the morning, we had another great and filling Croatia breakfast after a good night’s sleep at the Grand Hotel Bonavia in Rijeka.  Before we headed back on the road we also had a chance to spend a bit of time in the Grand Hotel Bonavia Wellness Centre. I was extremely impressed with this spa that was complimentary to all guests. It included a relaxation area with chromo therapy, themed aromatherapy showers, a Finish Sauna, a Turkish Sauna, and a spa area where they offered massages. By the time we left there we were very relaxed and we hit the road to Split. Alenka, our guide the previous day , had told us a lot about the beach town of Krk so we made a short detour to check it out. It was indeed filled with beaches and a quaint downtown area along the water ...

Lynn and I woke up in Istria for the last time. We had breakfast with the group and said as our rental car pulled up to the front of Hotel Lone in Rovinj. The Croatia Tourism Board had arranged for us to have this Audi as we hit the road to check out two more areas of the country neither of us had ever been: Rijeka and Split. Rijeka was first and we had a scenic ride along the Mediterranean Sea to our destination. It definitely looked more city-like than anywhere we had been in Istria, and Rijeka was in fact filled with plenty to. This has made it a very popular cruise port in the last few years. We would be staying overnight at the Hotel Bonavia . It was centrally located and looked quite “grand.” It was raining when Dominik Damis of the Rijeka Tourist Board and guide Alenka Šuljić Petrc picked us up to tour Rijeka, but we weren’t deterred from seeing the sites. As we went through the city, we saw the cruise terminal, and heard about how inexpensi...

I woke up in my suite at Hotel Lone knowing it would be my last morning in Istria. Although my friend Lynn and I would be staying in Croatia a few more days, this was the last day we would be spending with the Share Istria group, a terrific set of guys we had gotten to know well. It was the first place Lynn and I had our own hotel rooms so we met down at the restaurant for breakfast.  The Hotel Lone in Rovinj has one of the biggest buffet breakfasts I have ever seen, and it was included with our room. The rows of fruit, cheese, Danishes, croissants, meats, eggs, yogurt, and covered half of the large dining room. I took my selection of a yogurt smoothies, chocolate croissant, brie and spinach quiche out to the deck. It looked to be another comfortably warm day in this area of Croatia .  We sipped our cappuccinos for a bit before going to our rooms to get ready for a full day. Goran Franinovic of the Istria Tourism Board had been our guide ...