Rovinj

I landed in Croatia in the capital city of Zagreb.  My first impression of the country was that it is the cleanest place I had ever been, anywhere!  The restroom was meticulously clean and after I finished using the facilities, someone immediately walked in and cleaned it again.  All of a sudden I realized where all my compulsive cleaning habits came from; it must be in the genes.

The airport was very modern and the people were very friendly.  I picked up my rental car and placed bets on myself on how many times I would kill the manual transmission throughout the trip since it’s been a few years since I’ve driven stick-shift.   At the time of this blog, the count is currently at two.  The first time was nearly immediately after renting it when I pulled over to put my new SIM card in my phone.

The first stop on my trip was to the town named Rovinj.  It is in the Istria region which is known for its food and wine.  It is about 3 hours from where I landed in Zagreb.   The highways in Croatia are easy to navigate and in fantastic shape.  The rest stops are some of the cleanest I have ever seen and all of them feature either a restaurant or bar.

When I arrived in Rovinj, there was a big school baton twirling competition going on in town so the city was very electric and there were lots of people on the streets.

My room was very close to the main area of restaurants and shops and just about a 2 minute walk to the sea.  It was very clean and most importantly, on a very quiet side street.

Overall, I loved this little town.  It has so much charm and ambiance.  Everywhere you turn there is a scenic view.  The old town was incredibly beautiful.  The way the coast is shaped in sort of a circle, you can see the city from all sides.

I hope you are enjoying the journey.  Our next stop will be in the town of Pula…