It’s getting  bit cold here these days and the leaves have nearly all fallen off the tress following the recent storms. When I plugged in my phone this morning, the camera uploads flashing by brought me back to my trip earlier this year to Croatia. I had previously visited Croatia in 2003 and spent a week in Dubrovnik. It wasn’t long after the war and, at that time, the evidence of those events could still be seen in the bombed and bullet-ridden buildings up and down the coast. Dubrovnik itself though, being a UNESCO world heritage site, had been fully restored even then.
This time, however, we headed north to the Istria peninsula and we based ourselves in Pula. It was booked on a whim, with little or no research (most unlike me!), but with great anticipation of sunshine, mediterranean seas, Roman ruins, culture, and of course…the food & wine! And we weren’t disappointed.
There are strong influences of Italy, especially in towns like Rovinj, which used to be part of the Venetian Empire at one point. Our our guide told us that her Grandmother had lived in four countries and had never moved house! Such was the history of unrest in the region. The town is lovely, narrow lanes, though hilly. We came across a man grilling sardines on the lane outside his house! We travelled there by boat from Pula, a lovely journey with great views of the coast and islands.

 
So whats Croatian food like? Well, lots of meat and fish, truffles, honey, olive oil and plenty of influences from Italy, as we were in the Northern part of the country on the Istrian peninsula. Ražnjići and ćevapčići are both local minced meat concoctions. Cevapčići is often served with a roasted red pepper sauce and is really tasty – a but like a cross between and sausage and kebab. We first tried it after a long day kayaking up the coast and cliff jumping and we stopped for lunch in the Safari Bar, Premature, which is located within the Cape Kamenjak nature park – fantastic!

 
Wherever we went, every time I ordered fish, no matter what type, it seemed to some with baby potatoes and spinach, although someone did tell me afterwards its not actually spinach! It was mostly seabass or mackerel and served simply. Not much by way of choice to be honest. I was getting a bit sick of fish / spuds / spinach after a few days! And though I’m sure I shouldn’t say so, I’m not really a big fan of truffles. Perhaps they’re an acquired taste.  
Croatia is a wine producer and while I wasn’t familiar with any Croatian wines before travelling, I was really impressed. The reds in particular were great, and such good value!
We stayed in the Park Plaza on the Pula peninsula – a beautiful report with a good range of restaurants. One of my favourites there was the Hugo cocktail – sparkling wine, elderflower cordial and mint, with some sparkling water. Hard to beat looking out over the Mediterranean on a warm evening! So would I go back? Yes, definitely, but I think I’d have to find out more about other local foods – there is only so much fish & spinach or ćevapčići  I can handle!