Croatia - Rovinj

Rovinj is a picturesque town located on the western coast of the Istrian Peninsula. Rovinj was originally settled by the Illyrians and later came under the rule of the Roman Empire. During the medieval period, Rovinj was part of the Byzantine Empire, the Republic of Venice, and the Habsburg Monarchy. Its strategic location and maritime trade led to its growth and development over the centuries.

What did we do?

Old Town (Stari Grad): The historic center of Rovinj, known as the Old Town, is a maze of narrow cobblestone streets, colorful buildings, and charming squares. The most prominent landmark is the Church of St. Euphemia, a stunning Baroque church that offers panoramic views of the town and the Adriatic Sea from its bell tower.

Church of St. Euphemia

Balbi's Arch: This impressive stone arch, built in the 17th century, is one of the main entrances to the Old Town. It is adorned with the coats of arms of the Balbi family, who were influential during the Venetian rule.

Stancija Collis Winery: Stancija Collis was located about 10 minutes from where we were staying. It is known for producing high-quality wines using traditional methods and indigenous grape varieties. The winery is situated in a very picturesque countryside. We sampled four different wines: two whites, one rose and one red. They also press their own olive oil. We learned that true extra virgin olive oil come from one and only one press of the olive. And it is spicy. If it is sweet, it is manufactured. Some unscrupulous restaurants add spice to make it seem like they are serving true EVOO. They also made their own meat and cheese. We sampled donkey sausage (it was ok) and prosciutto along with cow and goat cheese (delicious!).  It was a really nice way to spend the afternoon.

Olive Oil Tasting

Istrian ham, donkey sausage, goat cheese, 
olives, cow cheese

Mamma giving a sample of rajika

Mulini Beach

Nap Time

Notice the blue water?

Salsa Dancing 🕺💃 

Laundry: The only downside to where we stayed was no washer (no one has dryers). We had to drive to a laundrymat. Not a big deal but a minor inconvenience. 

Waterfront

Denkmal Gefallener Soldaten (German)
Monument to Fallen Soldiers

Where did we stay? An AirBnB, Graciljela's Place, about a 10 minute walk from Old Town.

Where we spent the majority of our time.

Where did we eat? Mostly at 'home'. I love when we have a place that Sharon wants to cook and we want to eat in.

Pre dinner drinks

Breakfast

Studnec (their version of Wawa).

Paprika Chips

They were okay would not buy 
again.

Restaurant Maslina was the closest restaurant and our host recommended. The food and service was good. We ordered a pizza and they split between two plates. It rained during dinner and luckily we were under cover and didn't have to move as other gusts.

Istriana 
Prosciutto and olives 🫒 

Rainbow 🌈  

Mlinar the bakeries have the best lunch items.

Meat

Cheese

How did we get here? Drove from Njivice. First we stopped at a few stores to buy matts to make laying on the pebbly beaches a bit more comfy. Why we didn't think to do that weeks ago still puzzles us. Next we stopped at Pećine Public Beach in Rijeka to kill a couple of hours before our check-in.

Follow the path

What goes down must come
back up!

Is it really worth it?

You got it, nap time!

 

Pajol bar Pecine

When did we visit? 13 - 17 June 2023

Rovinj was well worth the visit. If this would have been our first medieval town, it would have been awesome. But it was about our 10th and we only spent one day exploring preferring the beach, our comfortable balcony and a winery.

"We don't always need a plan. Some days we just need to go with the flow and see where life takes us."