I GO where YUGO

In Pula, Croatia - August 2010

No trip to Croatia would be complete without a snapshot of a YUGO.

These are especially for "Bibi" in Belgrade and "B SQUARED" in Ft. Lauderdale.

Import/Export (PVDP on Vacation)

On Ivo Zaninovic street in Šibenik, Croatia

Not much of a photo, but it's full of symbolism. N. (our travelling companion and my close friend's daughter), was born in Croatia and came to California when she was 5 months old (export/import). We have a red Jeep Cherokee just like the one in the photo (import/export), and N. owns a white one... My son and I came to see the street that has my surname - my father's paternal relatives were all from this neighborhood.

On Sept. 7th, I will have been a US import for 40 years. I feel I have the best of both worlds.

On the "Autoput" in Croatia (PVDP on Vacation)

Croatian highways (Autoput) are just great. (Althought, during summer, huge traffic jams occur as many native and foreign tourists head to or from the coast.) This very scenic stretch is about half way from the coast toward Zagreb. Sveti Rok tunnel passes under the Velebit mountain range and is 3.53 miles (5,679 meters) long.

Weekend Reflections in Croatia (PVDP Vacation Photos)

My very pretty friend N. from San Pedro, CA observing the St. Eufemia church in Rovinj.

"Riva", Sibenik in Dalmatia, Croatia

Adriatic Sea ("Jadransko more") with a few islands from the beach at Solaris Resort in Sibenik.

Join James' Weekend Reflections at Newtown Area Daily Photo.

Selling like hotcakes - Medulin, Croatia (PVDP on Vacation)

"Placinke" (crepes) + a handsome young man (or woman) = lots of sales

Medulin is a popular tourist destination near Pula, known for its sandy (and shallow) beaches. It's a fun place for an evening stroll.

Watching the people watching the artist at work.

Medulin has lots of nice restaurants (including Mexican food) and trendy bars. While I did not drink my favorite Croatian beer Karlovacko at the Blue One, I did have a bottle in the city of Karlovac.

Medulin has a lovely old section (where the buildings are of traditional Istrian stone construction) and is crowned with this church on the hilltop.

The church from my past - Pula, Croatia (PVDP on Vacation)

The saying goes that you can't go back home again, but one can certainly visit them and remember the past. This was the view I saw during summers all through the '60s that I spent in Pula with my grandmother and aunt. I remember running outside and saying that I'll be playing by the church ("bicu kod crkve"). From this view, Mariner's church ("Mornaricka crkva") is the same. But when I was a kid during SFRJ (Socialisticka Federativna Republika Jugoslavia), the church was not in use. As kids, we'd manage to sneak in thru some temporary opening and look at the dusty benches, the remainders of an altar and then to frighten the resident pigeons. But throughtout the years, the bells always rang at 6 pm.

Now, Church of Our Lady of the Sea is fully and beautifully restored. "Very interesting and picturesque is the navy Church of Our Lady of the Sea (1891-1898) located on the hill of St. Polycarp. It was started by the architect Von Schmidtand continued by Victor Lunz. But it was Natale Tommasi, a builder from Trident, who did the greatest part of the work, particularly as regards the appearance and decoration.The church is three-nave basilica, it has plan of a Latin cross with a semi-circular apse, and it was built in mixed neo-Romanesque and neo-Byzantine styles." (Ref. virtualtourist.com) The above photo shows the exquisite interior chapel on the right, and one of the lion's with a reptilian tail which flanks the enterance on the left. I checked for a hidden treasure I may of left 40 years ago in the pocket formed by the tail, and even though the objects were not there, I knew the treasure was.

From Golden Gate to Golden Arches - We've come a long way, baby??? (PVDP on Vacation)

The splendid Golden Gate ("Zlatna Vrata") or Triumphal Arch of Sergius, Pula, Istra - Hrvatska/Croatia

(1 August 2010)

The Golden Arches of McD's, in Šibenik, Dalmacia - Hrvatska/Croatia

(7 August 2010)

(Yes, we did eat at McDonald's TWICE - the first time, to have my Croatian friends try the food -- ratings were low on burgers and fries, very high on strawberry sunday -- and the second time, for the same reason we eat fast food here - convenience when hungry. The restaurant just opened the week before we got there and is much more stylish and posh than the US ones. The servers were just wonderful.)

Monument of the Ancient World (PVDP on Vacation)

Temple of Augustus, Pula, Istrian peninsula, Croatia

Wikipedia - Temple of Augustus
Nowdays, these wonderful buildings serve as museums and galleries throughout Croatia.

Views at and from the Top -- Rovinj, Croatia (PVDP on Vacation)

At and from St. Eufemia bell tower...

The Beauty of Rovinj, Croatia (PVDP on Vacation)

This panorama was taken at sunset from the top of the bell tower of St. Eufemia (Sveta Fuma) church which crowns the hill of the old town in Rovin on the Istrian peninsula. You can see why this was one of our favorite stops on the Adriatic coast.

Two of my favorite things... (PVDP on vacation)

Mikado chocolate bars - milk chocolate over puffed rice. Yum!

... to eat in Croatia ... and at home. As you can imagine, I now need a few months at a weight loss spa!

The unauthorized photos are from Plodine super-market in Pula.

Verudela rocky beaches in Pula, Croatia (PVDP on vacation)

I think this is one of the older buildings on this stretch of the coast...from the '60s when the area outside of Pula was being developed for tourism.

Adriatic Sea (Jadransko more) from Banjole, Istria/Croatia (PVDP on vacation)

Morning on the blue, clear Adriatic as seen from our balcony at the Aparthotel del Mar. We had a wonderful view from morning till night. Banjole was a sleepy little village with a couple of pretty bays when I was growing up. The newly opened hotel draws a lot of guests from all over Europe -- we saw lisence plates from Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Slovenia, and Croatia, with more guest from UK and 3 guests from the US!

The display shows a couple of local products: "Medenica" is a brandy sweetened with honey, and the olive oil was with black truffle ("maslinovo ulje s crnim tartufom"). The grapes were locally bought and the apple was picked just before we started for the coast in Pozega in Slavonia, the plains of Croatia.

SkyWatch in Sibenik, Croatia (PVDP on Vacation)

The beach at Solaris resort complex in Sibenik in middle of the Dalmatian coast was the one we enjoyed the most on the trip. The crystal clear water, the easy access to the water from the pebble beach, and it not being too crowded was appreciated by all. My enjoyment was topped off by the spectacular cloud display.

Join SkyWatch Friday.

The Narrow Streets of Rovinj, Croatia

From the narrow streets of Rovinj, which was once an island, there were steps leading down to the water where the goods were delivered to the storerooms in the basements of the buildings

My pretty young friend Daria by the shop located in the old storeroom.

I left my heart in Rovinj, Hrvatska... or Rovigno, Croatia

... and so would you if you've seen its beauty.

I am back from a wonderful trip to Croatia and will post some of the highlights of the trip, of which there are way too many... Maybe a separate blog is in order for this trip.

The "arena" from a two posts back is in Pula, Croatia where I spent summers as a kid with my grandmother and aunt. I also had another aunt who lived in Rovinj and was so pleased to see this old picturesque city again.

Hrvatski-Americki Mladi u Sibeniku

On the beautiful Adriatic Coast, my son and his distant cousin are exploring the coast and their Croatian heritage.

Greetings from Abroad

I am travelling in Europe in the country of my origin ... Can you guess what country and what city??