Eat, Drink, Drink Some More,
Then Swim in the Adriatic
What a delight the Milenij Hotel had in store for breakfast this morning! It was just like being in a countryside home - yogurt, butter and cold milk in a cute refrigerator; a counter top loaded with pastry desserts; a beautiful slicer just waiting for the ham; and even a stove with sausages sizzling in the frying pan.
Our cute refrigerator, complete with food sketches on the door.
Our pastry desserts table - just pull up a chair - it will save you multiple trips.
The cute inside dining room with al fresco dining just outside the doors.
The spotless, old-fashioned meat slicer - mostly for ham or prosciutto.
The stove top (on the right) where the frying pan of sausages
was kept to a simmer.
We depart this morning for an optional major foodie tour of some of the hilltop villages and towns that surround the region of Istria. Our local guide for the day is Ivana. She is hilarious, has a real handle on English - including most of our slang and colloquialisms, and is very educated. She and Vlatka make a great team - making this particular trip memorable. My favorite phrase from her occurred when she was trying to describe the communistic, boring architecture as "Tito baroque."
Our fantastic bus driver, Darko, who always accommodated us for Kodak moments, circled this roundabout at least twice so we could all get a photo of the seaside in Opatija on our way out of town. (ha ha)
Istria is one of the three richest regions in Croatia, and much of that is due to the abundance of truffles. Istrian forests produce 3 kinds of black truffles, as well as the big white truffle - priced at 34,000 KN per kilo ($2380 per pound)!
Most of the truffle hunting is done using a highly-trained dog (pigs can be used also) whose sense of smell is so developed they can sniff out the delicacy up to 2 feet below the soil.
Truffle hunting season starts in October and continues for approximately 3 months, during which time at least 3000 people and 9000-12,000 dogs wander around Motovun forests in search of the subterranean fungus. The hunter must be quick to respond to the dog's initial digging, yet he or she cannot dig too quickly for fear of damaging the truffle while attempting to remove it from the soil, thus seriously impacting the price it can be sold.
We leave the forest after our truffle-hunting demonstration and head to Motovun, one of the region's 136 medieval hillside towns.
Motovun from about a mile away.
View from inside Motovun to the countryside below.
Entry gate to the city.
Enemies were forced to retreat when the citizens poured
a mixture of sharp pebbles, stones and their urine
from just above the center of the arch.
More views from inside the walls of Motovun...
Time for food and drink sampling - if we must...
So many truffle combinations - black truffles with black olives
(toward the back of the tray) was my favorite.
More brandy - choice of blueberry or honey.
I liked the blueberry because it wasn't so strong.
Time to try another local beer - Istarsko.
Very good!
Amazing typical Istrian lunch - bean soup, gnocchi with 2 different sauces
(white truffle sauce & red sauce with free-range chicken).
Susan is not one to let the homemade white wine go to waste
so she refills her water bottle with the far more superior liquid.
Our foodie and drink day continues to gain momentum as we visit Destilerija Aura, a local rakija (Istrian brandy) distillery in Buzet.
The distillery room.
Our guide stirs the vat holding mistletoe brandy -
obviously made with the leaves of the plant and not
the berries, which are poisonous.
Mary and Sandra look horrified when they see
the mistletoe debris in the vat.
The finished product, ready for distribution.
Once we return to the hotel from our excursion, Heather, Mike and I hustle to change into our bathing suits for a quick dip in the Adriatic. We discover a wonderful sliding board that zips us into the wild waves for a mouthful of incredibly salty water. I can feel the rip tide trying to pull me out to sea, and I'm already in over my head, so I get on to my back and try to work my way back toward the stairway.
Rindy joins us later - just before Heather decides to go head-first down the slide (instead of in a seated position), cutting the bridge of her nose somehow in the process. As with most head wounds, it bleeds somewhat profusely, but not to worry - Rindy is a pediatrician and she not only knows what to do, but is also carrying the necessary supplies.
Photo credits: Mary Keever
No comments:
Post a Comment