Winding Our Way Though Tuscan Wine Country

Oct. 2, 2019:

Today, Jim and I have booked a tour to the Tuscan wine areas of Montepulciano and Montalcino. It turns out it is a great day for wine tasting inside, as we had barely started our tour when it started raining. We booked this tour through Viator, and as we have largely learned on past viticultural outings booked through them, what this means is that you will get a driver who takes you to various wineries; not someone who is knowledgeable about viticulture himself.  

Santa Maria Nuova just outside the Cortona city walls

The nice part is that they will usually pick you up at or near your residence, and that was the case here, where we arranged to meet our driver, Andrea, at the Cortona city gate nearest to our apartment.  The good news is that we can drink wine without worrying about driving afterwards. The bad news is that it puts you at the mercy of an Italian driver.  Although Jim has gotten fairly comfortable driving in Italy, what that means is that when someone inevitably starts tailgating us, Jim either pulls off the side or sends us through a roundabout so the obnoxious driver can drive on. As Jim likes to say, “Traveling on Italian roads: where every drive is a competition, and tailgating has nothing to do with a pre-game picnic!”  In short, although Montepulciano is only about a 45-minute drive from Cortona, it felt like an eternity!

In Montepulchiano, we picked up another couple for our tour, John & Rhonda (a couple of Americans now living in North Carolina). Quickly, we seemed to find many things in common with them, or maybe it was that we all liked to drink wine.  Andrea drove us first to Montalcino, where we were scheduled to taste wines at two different Brunello producers.  

The story of the development of the classic wine for this area (Brunello di Montalcino) is an interesting one.  About 150 years ago, a special variety of the Sangiovese grape was developed by Clemente Biondi, which was capable of aging for very long periods of time in a cask. Although a version of “Brunello” (which means little brown in Italian) had been recorded as early as the 14^th Century, Clemente’s grandson, Ferruccio Biondi-Santi, released what he called the first “modern Brunello” in 1888, which had aged for over a decade in large wooden barrels.  However, this grape strain really didn’t take off until after World War II. In fact, the Biondi-Santi family only formally declared four vintages of their Brunello, produced only in exceptional years.  Because they were the only family producing this long-lived Sangiovese, ultimately, they have secured the patent to their grape clone, which is still known as “B.B.S. 1” (Brunello Biondi-Santi 1). Today, the Biondi-Santi family still produces exceptional wines which are easily able to age 50-75 years, and even longer.

In 1980, the Montalcino region received the first DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) for its Brunello, which is the highest level of government classification. All DOCG wines from each producer are analyzed and tasted by government–licensed judgment panel before being bottled.  Vino Nobile and Barolo were the second and third wines given DOCG status at the same time. What this means is that the product in question (here: wine) must meet the highest standards of purity and adherence to the traditional methods of production, and contain only the approved ingredients from the region. In the case of Brunello, there are about 50 distinct requirements to achieve the DOCG Brunello status, but probably the most important are that the wine must be produced 100% of Sangiovese grapes grown in the 17 mile Montalcino region with no additives whatsoever, and aged for a minimum of five years, with at least two of those in oak. The vines also cannot be irrigated. This is a challenge since Montalcino typically has the hottest and driest weather in Tuscany, with an annual rainfall of about 25 inches. Traditionally, Brunello winemasters haved aged their wines in huge casks of Slavonian oak, because it had such a neutral taste.  More recently, the local winemakers have been using some French oak in the aging process, which introduces notes of vanilla to the vintages. Despite all the rules governing the strict production of Brunello wines, there are many differences in the soils and elevations in Montalcino, all of which deliver wide variations in flavor to the finished product.

View from the Capanna vineyards

Our first stop was at a vineyard we had not previously heard about; Capanna. The fact that we were not familiar with this vineyard is not a mark against them, but rather a reflection the fact that we see few of the wines produced in Italy in our local wine shops. Fortunately, we had an excellent guide for our visit, who was very knowledgeable about Brunello in general, and this vineyard‘s wines specifically. We started with a view of the vineyards, but then rushed inside to the production area when it started dumping rain.  Our guide explained that “Capanna” means shed, and that it was named after the woodcutter’s sheds which were previously on the property. This is the third generation of the family making Brunello on this farm. They also make Rosso di Montalcino, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, and Merlot.
Unlike some winemakers, who start their fermentation in steel casks, Capanna starts in oak from fermentation onwards. After fermentation, the wine spends 11 months in big Croatian casks, then is moved to smaller Croatian oak casks for two more years. The wine is then finished in French oak barrels for the last 2 years.

The Capanna cellars

Then we moved on to tasting in the lovely tasting room inside. Our 1st wine was a white blend called “SanGioBi”. It is a white wine made with Sangiovese grapes, which spend no time on the skins. I found it very citrusy, but quite dry and floral.  

Our 2nd wine was a 2017 Rosso di Montalcino. Basically, this wine must also be made of 100% Sangiovese. Think of it as the baby Brunello which doesn’t make the jump to the major leagues. Usually, at the end of the first year post-harvest, if it lacks the qualities judged to make a good Brunello (mostly, whether it is capable of aging for long periods of time), it is shunted off to Rosso di Montalcino production, and typically bottled soon thereafter.   The production of Brunello is totally dependent on the quality of the grapes, and some years, the wine malers do not make any Brunello for that year’s harvest.  Nonetheless, Rosso di Montalcino is still a good wine, and is often an affordable choice for a good table wine.

This Rosso was the product of a very dry summer. The wine was just bottled 5 months. I found it very tannic, but with good black berry taste although dry. Our guide told us that it is expected to last 10-12 years, and will become much less tannic during that time.

The third wine we tasted was a 2014 Brunello, which was a hard year because they had a very wet summer. The winemakers decided that the wine should spend much  less time on skins because grapes so bloated with water, and because the skins were thinner. We found this wine to be more drinkable now, as opposed to the typical Brunello, which you want to put down for at least five years following its release (making the wine at least 10 years old at the time of drinking).

The 4th wine was a 2013 Brunello which by contrast, was a very dry summer. This produced a much more tannic wine, with higher alcohol content, but the winemakers predicts that it will last longer than the 2014 vintage. Our group’s consensus was that this wine needs to nap for a few years longer, but will then be excellent.

Our 5th and final wine was a 2013 Riserva Brunello. To qualify as a Riserva, a Brunello must be at least 6 years old, and age at least three years in oak.  We all agreed that the extra year of aging, and in particular, the extra year in the cask, allowing for greater oxygen exchange in the wine did wonders for this vintage!

The second visit in Montalcino was to the Solaria di Patricia Cencioni. This was an interesting choice of a second visit, as the owner and winemaker is the third generation of the same family which makes Capanna. However, she obviously has some strongly held opinions about how to make wine that differ from her family. We had the privilege of being guided on our tour by her daughter, who appeared to be a very knowledgeable young vintner in her own right. The Solaria brand has existed since 1990.   The vineyard started with 3 hectares of vineyards from the original Capanna farm. Over the years, Patrizia has added to her farm and it now encompasses 10 hectares of vineyard, and 8 hectares of olive groves. This is somewhat remarkable in that after the explosion of Brunello producers following the DOCG designation, Montalcino is now closed to new farms, and you can’t buy new Brunello or Rosso vineyards. Just in time for the rains (which are disastrous to the harvest), the vineyard finished harvesting yesterday.

Solaria estate

We moved into the very modern fermentation sheds to continue our tour. Unlike Capanna, the grapes here ferment for 20-25 days in steel vats to better control temperature during fermentation.  Solaria also adds some yeast  to start the fermentation process (which is apparently OK since it is a natural product, and not considered a forbidden additive).

Our guide, Patrizia’s daughter)explaining the fermentation process.

Solaria uses different types of oak for its different types of wine. They use both Croatian and French oak barrels and casks of differing sizes. The Solaria Brunello ages 3 1/2 years in oak, instead of the minimum 2 years required. The winemaker uses all the kinds of oak and sizes for the standard Brunello. For the Brunello Riserva, Solaria uses just French oak barrels, and the wine spends a total of 4 1/2 years in oak.  With that, we moved to the tasting room.

The 1st wine we tasted was their 2017 Rosso di Montalcino, which only ages in oak 1 year. Here at Solaria, they use the youngest grapes in their fields to make their Rosso, because they believe it contributes to the fresh taste one naturally associates with Rosso di Montalcino. We found this wine to have a more juicy flavor, and much lighter color. It was not tannic at all, and made a good table wine.

The second wine we had was a 2014 Brunello (from that very wet year). I thought this wine was very drinkable now, and not tannic in the least.

Our third wine was Solaria’s 2013 Brunello (from the very dry vintage year,). While it was not as tannic as Capanna, there was more chocolate and tobacco on the tongue than the 2014.

Our 4th and final wine was the 2013 Brunello Riserva. This wine was produced solely from the grapes in “Vineyard 123”, and then only the best grapes from that vineyard, in which the vines are 32 years old. This wine was aged only in French oak barrels of the medium 750 liter size. We all found this wine to be much more smooth,  with its tannins restrained, and an elegant finish. Pleasantly, this wine is drinkable now.Andrea then drove us back towards Monepulciano.  But first, we had a brief stop in the cute medieval town of Pienza, which is right in the hill country between these two wine regions. If you didn’t know, Pienza is the home of Pecorino cheese, and cheesemongers about in the old town; all willing to give you free samples. Jim and I had visited here before, but we walked around longer enough to buy a small pecorino with truffles, and then we dashed back to the car. No historical commentary was provided, but the rain would have made it a bust anyway.

Andrea then drove us back towards Monepulciano.  But first, we had a brief stop in the cute medieval town of Pienza, which is right in the hill country between these two wine regions. If you didn’t know, Pienza is the home of Pecorino cheese, and cheesemongers abound in the old town; all willing to give you free samples. Jim and I had visited here before, but we walked around long enough to buy a small pecorino with truffles, and then we dashed back to the car. No historical commentary was provided, but the rain would have made it a bust anyway.

Entering Pienza just ahead of the rain

View from Pienza’s city walls to the west back towards Montalcino

Cheese, glorious cheese!`

Finally, we ended up back in Montepulciano to taste at our third vineyard; Ercolani. Because we are in town, there was no visit to vineyards, but it’s raining buckets again anyway,  The Ercolani tasting rooms combine their shop, which sells not only wine, but also quite a variety of typical products from Tuscany (many of which we will later taste), but also their cellars.  We went first for a quick view of the cellars, and learned a cool fact: the thing on top of the cask where wine is slowly added as it evaporates over the aging process, was invented by Leonardo da Vinci!

In the Ercolani cellars

Another brilliant creation by Leonardo da Vinci

The huge oak barrels contain 4000 liters of wine, and are made of Croatian oak. These casks are used over and over again because they have a very neutral effect on the wine. The Ercolani cellars are actually very interesting as they were used in both Etruscan and Roman times, as well as though the middle ages. Our guide showed us a stone bath which was used to wash sheep and card wool.  But enough of the tour; let’s get on with the wine tasting!

The Ercolani wines we tasted in the order they are displayed )l to R)

The 1st wine we tasted was a 2015 Vino Nobile, consisting of 70% Sangiovese, and 30% other Italian wines. As the wine ages, it is moved from the large casks into smaller French oak barrels, particularly for their more prestigious wines such as those destined to become Riservas.

Our 2nd wine was a 2014 Vino Nobile Riserva, from that very wet year. It was probably our favorite wine at Ercolani, and was perfectly drinkable now. Fortunately, though, Ercolani provided us with some food paired to complement the wines we were tasting, as their wines in particular seem destined to be paired with food.

The third wine was a 2013 Riserva Vino Nobile 4 star vintage. This has been a highly rated vintage, and we were accordingly only poured a small taste (ironically served in a very big glass). It looked brownish color, and smelled of somewhat like port. Candidly, we did not think it was very good, and not characteristic of Vino Nobile at all.

The 4th wine was a 2014 Brunello, because Ercolani also raises grapes in the Montalcino area.  None of us liked it as much as the Brunellos we tasted at Capanna and Solaria.

Weirdly, Ercolani reverses the normal tasting process, and has you taste the white wines at the end. The 5th wine was a white blend, consisting of Trebbiano, Malvasia, Grecchetto grapes. This wine spends no time in oak, being fermented and aged solely in stainless steel.  Actually, it was a very drinkable white, and would be perfect for a hot afternoon, but it seemed silly to ship any home when we have such great whites at home in California

Our 6th wine was a Vin Santo, a fortified wine which is great with desserts. The Ercolani version is a Riserva, and quite expensive in comparison with other dessert wines, but it paired nicely with the “Pan Forte” cake from the Siena region which is studded with drink fruits and very moist.

Finally, as a special treat, we were given a taste of a 2007 Brunello Riserva, which had aged 5 years in oak because the bottle had just been opened the preceding day for evaluation.  Unsurprisingly, it was the best of the Ercolani Brunellos we tasted.  

Our tastings concluded, we bid a fond farewell to John and Rhonda, who were staying in Montepulciano.  Then Andrea drove us home. This time the 45 minute drive thankfully seemed to go much more quickly.We wrapped up the evening at another of Cortona’s great local restaurants; this time, La Locando di Pozzo Antico.  Jim and I both enjoyed their tagliolini with fresh truffles, but we were happy to head home.

Cooking with Elena in Cortona

Oct. 1. 2019:

Today, Jim and I spent a blissful morning in a Tuscan cooking class with Elena Baracchi  (www.borgoelena.com).  We found her through Viator.

Elena picked us up at the entrance to town, and greeted us with her typical boundless energy.  Our cooking class took place in the countryside right outside of the old city at il Borgo di Elena, which is her one-woman hospitality business, at her “villa” which has been in her family for generations. The cooking class took place in what used to be her grandmother’s farmhouse high up on a hillside overlooking Val di Chiana.  Elena also operates a bed and breakfast on the property, in several separate buildings (with a pool!) Elena’s family is still very active in the community, and operates a vineyard, farm, local product store and bistro (Bottega Baracchi) in town.

The view from Elena’s terrace

Elena in her kitchen

Today we learned how to prepare four dishes with Elena, which we then consumed in a lovely late lunch on the terrace overlooking Elena’s grape vines and olive trees. The menu was as follows:

Antipasto: Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

Primi: Tagliatelle with Ragú

Secondo: Pollo alla Contadini

Dolce: Tiramisú.

Vino: Baracchi Syrah

Here are the recipes (which we never saw until after we were done cooking):

Here we are cooking:

The ragú sauce for the pasta

Preparing the tiramisú

The stuffed Zucchini blossoms

Slowly stirring the pasta dough together.

Jim making pasta

The pasta and ragú sauce

The epic meal:

The zucchini blossoms

The pasta and ragú sauce

The chicken with peppers

We were sad to say goodbye to Elena after such a fun day in her kitchen! Fortunately , we were smart enough not to book a reservation for dinner tonight. Hours later, we enjoyed a few slices of local salami and cheese (and vino) in our apartment.Stay tuned as tomorrow we go to explore the wine country of both Montalcino and Montepulciano on a local tour.

Finding the Fortress of Girifalco

Sept. 30, 2019:

This morning, Jim and I awoke eager to engage in our first scheduled activity of the trip. Or so we thought … We had scheduled a traditional Tuscan cooking class online through Viator (a TripAdvisor company), and had received an electronic ticket and everything. However, when we showed up at the meeting point in town, they had no record of our reservation. They were very nice about honoring the reservation, but the chef wasn’t ready to do the class today. Instead, we rescheduled for tomorrow, and decided to hike to the top of the town, where the Renaissance era fortress was located.  One of the wonderful things about traveling when you are retired is that you have the flexibility to roll with these little travel hiccups without losing your composure.  As difficult as it is for “Our Lady of the Aggressive Schedule” (me) to admit, sometimes it pays to schedule some down time in order to absorb these hiccups!

View of Piazza Garibaldi at the entrance to Cortona

Anyway, the ladies in the travel office who were handling Viator’s bookings in Cortona gave us good directions to hike to la Fortezza del Girifalco, and what we could see on the way.  However, they told us that the hike to top would only take 15 minutes. Even though the day is young, we have already learned two valuable life lessons: 1. Always confirm your Viator reservations with a phone call to the actual tour provider at least one day before your tour; and 2. When Italians give you an estimated time, you need to double it or triple it; at least!  “AFOG”=Another Freakin’ Opportunity for Growth!

After we changed our shoes, Jim and I set off. The weather is still really lovely and warm here, but the hike was pretty much a straight climb uphill the entire way. However, the views out over the Valdichiana Valley of Tuscany and all the way to the north shore of Lake Trasimeno were really lovely. There is also an official penitents’ trail with the stations of the cross in pretty little mosaic stations. On the way up, we saw the lower church of San Marco, and then passed this huge palazzo which belongs to the University of Georgia. Wow! If I were one of their donors, I’d really want to know why they own a huge palace in Tuscany!

Lower Church of San Marco

Explanation of the stations of the Cross

First Station of the Cross

View back towards Cortona

View of Lago Trasimeno to the southwest.

Yikes!

First view of the Sanctuary of St. Margaret

Finally, with some diligence (and multiple stops), we reached the Sanctuary of Santa Margarita. Construction on this building began in the thirteenth century to honor the patron saint of Cortona, Saint Margaret. Although most of the church has been rebuilt over the centuries, the original rose window of its medieval construction still remains. Speaking of remains, Margaret’s are still here, too.

The Sanctuary withers rose window.

La Fortezza di Girifalco

After we caught our breath, Jim and I finished the hike up to the fortress. Although it was built in the Renaissance period, it was constructed on the ruins of the Etruscan acropolis, which marked the first settlement of Cortona.  It is also known as the Medici fortress, as it was built by Cosimo I in 1556, to protect his family’s empire. Thankfully, some enterprising person has the initiative to create a tavern and wine bar on the ground floor of the fortress, so you can catch your breath and relax with a beautiful view while enjoying a glass of the local vino before attempting the hike down the hill.

Aerial photograph showing the layout of the whole fortress .

View back towards the Sanctuary.

The Fortress Tower

The remaining walls.

The battlements

The Sanctuary of St. Margaret.

We chose to hike the other path down from the summit which took us through the upper town of Cortona.  This way is known as the Via Cruscis. It was devised by a local artist, Gino Severini, with fourteen niches in the buildings depicting the Passion of the Christ.  Severini was also the artist who devised the mosaic on the Church of San Marco I showed you earlier. All told, the total walking time was one hour.

On the way down, we finally saw the Church of San Francisco, and then re-entered the main town. With such heroic efforts behind us, Jim and I chose to have lunch at a local spot on Via Nazionale called La Botteghina, which specializes in local craft grown cheese and other products from Tuscany. Even the salumi featured on their menu comes from the local white pigs, We didn’t ask, but I’m pretty sure they all had names before they became salami!

Chiesa di S. Francisco

We finished off our day with a truly epic meal on the loggia at La Loggeta overlooking the town. White truffles are in season, so Jim and I had a first course of the local taggliata prepared simply with local olive oil and the shaved truffles. Cooking class tomorrow!

In Search of Etruscans

Sept. 28, 2019:

Dear Readers:

I owe you an apology … three months ago, I left you in Zagreb, Croatia, as we were ending a lovely trip to Croatia, and ready to embark upon the next chapter.

However, as usual, I was behind in my postings for our next chapter; a voyage to the Baltics with a group of friends. Before I was able to post those episodes, one of our traveling companions (our dear friend, S.) died unexpectedly in a car accident, and I wasn’t able to bring myself to write the posts with her featuring so prominently in each day.

However, life goes on, and now the Gringos find themselves in their favorite town in Italy, Cortona. We arrived last night, and settled into our apartment overlooking the Piazza della Signorelli. This morning, our first challenge was figuring out how to use that beloved item of Italian daily life, the Moka Pot!

The Moka Pot on the left, hot milk on the right.

Basically, the Moka Pot is a mini percolator, and we needed a You Tube video to learn how to operate it. However, as you can see, we conquered this challenge and enjoyed some really great lattes.

Then it was off to explore Cortona.

Map of Cortona

Our apartment is off Via Dardano, on the little alley above No. 3 on the map, and we can look out on the square from our window in the living room.

Cortona has been here for over 2,000 years, and was first established by the Etruscans, who ruled this part of Italy from roughly the third through ninth centuries B.C. There is a good Etruscan museum right on our square, and there are tombs of the Etruscans right outside the gates of the medieval town, which you can visit. You guessed it; this is our mission for the day.

We stopped into the museum to get some better idea how to get to the archeological park. The guide told us it was outside the city walls and that we should follow the signs to Sodi. Jm was game, and we extracted our trusty Fiat from the city lot and set off. Almost right away, we found ourselves on a tiny “road” trying to find the signs for the tombs. Even when we found the signs, we never could find the entrance to the park, so we gave up and enjoyed the scenery.

Santa Maria Novella.

We enjoyed lunch at la Loggetta, a very nice restaurant with outside seating on a loggia overlooking the main square in town, Piazza della Repubblica. There, we enjoyed a very nice plate of salami and cheese, and a great Vernaccia di San Gimignagno.

Afterwards, we wandered around town and had fun reacquainting ourselves with this great Italian hill town. Stay turned for more adventures!

Ci Sono Arcieri En La Piazza (There are archers in the plaza!)!

Sept. 29, 2019:

This morning we awoke to a huge commotion in the square outside our apartment in Cortona. At first, we thought it was just pious townspeople gathering for church services at one of the bazillion churches in this small town. But no!  It was so much more! When we looked out our window onto the  piazza, we saw scads of people dressed in period medieval dress, and almost all of them were carrying what looked to be authentic long bows.  With that, we threw our clothes on and headed down to the square.

View out our apartment window this morning.

I walked up to some nice looking women dressed in archers dress, and tried to ask them what was going on. Sadly, their English, and my Italian were both too limited to gather an understanding. But they pointed to the patches on their costumes identifying them as “Arcieri del Lupo Cortona”, which I think means wolf hunters of Cortona.

Arcieri del Lupo Cortona

A little stymied, I went into the bar and ordered two lattes, and we sat a table outside to figure it out (and shoot photos). Finally, I saw a boy with his sister, and I asked them what it was all about. Fortunately, his English was better than my Italian, and I understood that this was an archery competition among many local groups of archers, with different stations scattered around the town where the members of each group shot at each target and scored their shots.  The young man asked us if we wanted to follow their group around the course for the competition, but we declined.  I think Jim secretly wanted to go, but after we had watched the archers attempting the targets at a couple of different shooting stations (one right under our apartment window), I thought I had seen enough. Besides, as we later learned, walking the whole course and staying for the presentation of trophies literally took all day!

Even teenage archers need to eat all the time

The young man who helped explain it to us

Let the games begin!

Banners for some of the teams

One of the targets in the competition. If the arrow strikes the targets on the side, the medieval towers fall.

A different target station; this one spins around and you have to hot the red band

Instead, Jim and I got ready, and went off to explore the town of Deruta to the south of us in Umbria.  Deruta is known as the home of majolica pottery (or maioliche, in Italian). We had intended to visit this medieval town on our last visit to Italy six years ago, but got completely rained out. Luckily for us, today was a much more temperate day, and we set off in the warm autumn sunshine for our exploration. Deruta is not that far from Corona, but it is a pretty drive, which takes you around the northeast edge of Lake Trasimeno.

The road outside Cortona

Approaching Deruta.

We arrived on the outskirts of the historical town and parked. Then we hiked up an unreal set of stairs to get into the old town proper. To its credit, Deruta appears to be a charming town, but it being Sunday, just about every business was closed for the Sabbath. Nonetheless, we wandered around the town, and went into a ceramic workshop called Deruta Placens, where the local artist was busy at work while listening to an Italian soap opera on the radio.  I had fun browsing through her shop, and found a lovely serving piece to bring home. I was even able to get the artist to pose with her work!  Mission accomplished, Jim and I enjoyed a brief repast at Taverna del Gusto, where they feature local Umbrian cuisine. The wait staff were all incredibly attentive, notwithstanding the fact that we had dropped in about 10 minutes before they were due to close for their afternoon break. Thus refreshed, we headed back to Cortona.

Ceramic marker stones in the traditional Deruta pottery leading into town.

The central plaza in Deruta

The shop where we met the maioliche artist at work.

The artist

The artist with her work.

On our drive back, I was even able to find one field which still had some living sunflowers (girasoli) in it, so it was a beautiful end to a great day! We celebrated by having a super dinner at another super restaurant in town, il Preludio.

Greeks, Romans, and Venetians; Oh, My!

June 4, 2019:

Last view of Split

Welcome back, Readers!  Yesterday was mostly a day in transit, as we picked up a rental car in Split (very easily accomplished), and set off for the Istrian Peninsula. Specifically, we will be based in Rovinj for the next four nights.  Our Lady of the Aggressive Schedule intended for us to journey from Split to Rovinj, with a detour to the Plitvice National Park to hike the waterfall trails for several hours.  However, when we learned that heavy rain and thunderstorms were again predicted this afternoon in the Plitvice area (can you say Krka National Park redux?!), and that the drive would take us about five hours, the consensus was to skip Plitvice and just drive straight to Rovinj.  If you would like to read more about Plitvice, visit our earlier post on this gorgeous national park from 2015 here: https://vayacongringos.wordpress.com/2015/10/04/powering-towards-plitvice-lakes/

Friends ask us, “Why four nights in Rovinj?”  There are so many reasons! Rovinj is a seaside town on the Istrian Peninsula, which Rick Steves calls his favorite town in Croatia. We’ve never been to Rovinj before, but when the Gringos and Mark were here in 2015, we all vowed to come back and explore more. The Istrian Peninsula is a magical place, located in the same latitude as Tuscany. Moreover, for centuries this area was either owned by or heavily influenced by Italy, and shares much of the Italian culture and cuisine. Today, Italian is the unofficial second language, and all signs are written in both Croatian and Italian. About every fifth storefront is a gelato stand in this seaside area, and Europeans frequently vacation here.

We pulled into Rovinj yesterday afternoon, and settled into our hotel (the Hotel Adriatic) right on the harbor. Although the hotel is lovely, and very modern, there seemed to be some issues with the air conditioning, so be aware. Nonetheless, we got our gear stored, and then had cocktails overlooking the bay, The sunset shots were amazing, and it seems that we have brought the sunshine with us. Accordingly, we had a very good dinner at the hotel, and got ready for a full day of exploring today.

On our prior trip, Mark, Jim and I all decided that when we came back, we would explore the towns of Pula and Rovinj. The guide we had hired through Tours By Locals in 2015, Matjias (Mat) S. was a great find, so we booked with him again. Accordingly, our plan is to explore Pula and Rovinj with Mat today, and then tomorrow, he will take us into the interior of Istria to do some wine tasting and explore some of the iconic hill towns.  It turns out Mat lives in Rovinj, and he met us at our hotel for the tour. Right away, he has convinced us that he is again going to be an invaluable source of information.

Apparently, Rovinj is a town of 15,000 permanent residents, but has 60,000 tourist accommodations, so the summertime population of the town swells dramatically.  Obviously, Rovinj is a town with a still vibrant fishing economy, and there has been a canning factory here since 1877. The local fishermen use seine nets for sardines and mackerel. Even though we’re enjoying the sunshine today, Mat tells us that May was rainiest and coldest in memory.

Rather than taking the main highway south to Pula, Mat opts to drive us through the countryside, gushing information as he drives. I just hope I can catch most of it! For starters, Istria, is a geographical area covering about 800 square miles. Its 3 major ports are Trieste, Rijeka and Pula. The majority of tourists are car and ferry guests, because Milan is only 5 hours’ drive by car, and Hamburg, only 6 hours. The roads are excellent and modern, largely because the European Union invested billions of dollars in infrastructure in this area as a way of rebuilding the economy following the Balkan wars for independence in the 1990s.

The drive is glorious, with more of the red poppies everywhere.  Additionally, we can see olive trees everywhere. Since we were last here, Mat has become credentialed as an “olive oil sommelier”. Olive oil has been made here since Roman times. In fact, Mat tells us that recently in a blind tasting, Istria was awarded the prize as the best olive oil in world.  The area we are driving through has over 2300 years of tradition making wine and olives. The farmers also grow pears, stone fruits and quince, but they are really sacrificial crops, because flies attack fruits instead of the olives.

The area between Bale, Rovinj and Pula is known as the “golden triangle of olives”, and there are about 1 million olive trees in Istria. The Romans made olive oils in 5 grades; with the highest made from olives picked right before fully ripe. This results in an olive oil with less quantity, but higher biephenols and anti-oxidants. After pressing, the oil ages 3-6 months to tame the bitterness. It takes olive trees 10-12 years to fully mature, and 10-15% of the trees die in first 6 years.

We made an unplanned stop in the countryside so Mat could show us the Kažun Park, which is just nearing completion. Kažun are small circular stone huts built by local farmers and shepherds as a way to clear their fields of stones, and which provide shelter against the sun and extreme weather for those toiling in the fields. The huts were built without architects’ input, and without mortar, and reached their highest usage in the 18th and 19th Centuries. The park is a passion project of the locals to celebrate and remember a unique form of local culture.

The drive is glorious, with more of the red poppies everywhere. Additionally, we can see olive trees everywhere. Since we were last here, Mat has become credentialed as an “olive oil sommelier”. Olive oil has been made here since Roman times. In fact, Mat tells us that recently in a blind tasting, Istria was awarded the prize as the best olive oil in world.  The area we are driving through has over 2300 years of tradition making wine and olives. The farmers also grow pears, stone fruits and quince, but they are really sacrificial crops, because flies attack fruits instead of the olives.

The area between Bale, Rovinj and Pula is known as the “golden triangle of olives”, and there are about 1 million olive trees in Istria. The Romans made olive oils in 5 grades; with the highest made from olives picked right before fully ripe. This results in an olive oil with less quantity, but higher biephenols and anti-oxidants. After pressing, the oil ages 3-6 months to tame the bitterness. It takes olive trees 10-12 years to fully mature, and 10-15% of the trees die in first 6 years. 

Our first (unscheduled) stop was a brief one at the newly constructed Kažun Park near Bale so mat could show us a traditional type of local architecture called kažun. In a land where you have an overabundance of stones, you build structures with rocks, and Istrians were no different. These folk structures built without architect’s input, or even mortar evolved in this area over 200 years ago to serve the double  purpose of clearing fields and sheltering the farmers and shepherds from extreme weather and heat. In this local area of Vodnjan, the local people wanted to preserve the memory of the Kažun huts as a unique cultural heritage, and so the built the park in tribute.

Next stop, Pula!  This town and its surrounding area is amazingly rich in history.  Remains of homo erectus dating back 1 million years have been discovered in a nearby cave. Archaeologists have also recovered significant amounts of artifacts from both the Neolithic (6,000-2,000 B.C.) and Bronze Age (1,800-1,000 B.C.). They have also found Greek and Illyrian artifacts. More recently (relatively speaking), the Istrian Peninsula was conquered by the Romans in 177 B.C., and it is primarily their ruins we have come to see.  Probably the famous of these is the Pula Amphitheatre, which was constructed by Flavius in 10 A.D. In  fact, the main coastal route is this area is built on the Via Flavia, straight down from Trieste.

Pula Amphitheater

Pula is an industrial city, and for a century ( from 1813-1913), it was the biggest naval port for Hapsburgs.  Shipbuilding has continued to be an economic driver in this area, at least until two weeks ago, when its biggest shipyard went bankrupt and stopped operations. At that time, it is projected that their average loss per ship was 10 million dollars. However, the local economy is still fairly diversified, with 25% of it based on tourism. The population in the greater metropolitan area is about 80,000, so it is much larger than Rovinj.

The Arena was the 6th largest amphitheater in Roman world, and was built in stone by Flavius to seat 22,000 spectators. The Roman government organized games and entertainment, which were free for all and they were called Festivus (cue the Seinfeld jokes here). Gladiators were part of the show, and the Roman fighting area called a harena. The western wall is 100 feet, sits on a stone foundation 100 feet deep. The center is a 200 by 300 feet elliptical. Below the mid-level seats, there were areas for food, drink and brothels. Interesting fact: Romans used the first iron rebar.

Olive Oil amphorae soared beneath the amphitheatre

After the fall of the Roman Empire, many parts of the arena were destroyed. During the Venetian period, lots of the stones were recycled to rebuild portions of it, and there were many well-meaning, but incompetent restorations over the centuries. Mussolini rebuilt part of the ground floor, and used for Fascist rallies.  It was largely ignored until the 1960s, when tourism began to revive in Croatia. Restorations have continued since then. In fact, the west wall was restored about 5-6 years ago. Sadly, due to the many wrong restorations, UNESCO rejected it as a World Heritage site. Now it is used for concerts by everyone from ABBA to ZZ Top, and can seat 12,000 guests.

Mat then led us on a walking tour of some of the other wonders of Pula’s old town. First, we visited the 17th Century Venetian fort, which was built on the foundations of Illyrian and Roman forts. The 2d Century  Roman gate is still standing.

Then we wandered into St. Theodore’s quarter. When the city fathers started building parking garage in this area, they turned up abundant ancient treasures. All of the Venetian amphorae we saw stored beneath the amphitheater came from this area, and the remains of a Roman temple were also found. 

We walked by a house with some graffiti art depicting Noordung, an early 20th Century Croatian physicist who predicted space travel in his book, “How to Travel Thru Time”.  When being guided by Mat, it seems like we are traveling through time. The Cathedral of the Assumption is so old that parts of nave date back from Fifth Century A.D., and parts of the amphitheater were used in its construction.

Cathedral of the Assumption

From here, Mat led us back into the former main square area (the forum), which was also the Roman town square. You really get the sense of time when you walk these ancient streets. On the way to the forum, we walked past the house of Nero’s mother, Agrippina. Emerging onto the square, you can see the fully preserved 10 AD Temple of Augustus. Right next to it is the town hall, which was a former Venetian palace. 

The ancient forum area

Temple of Augustus

Pula town hall

The Franciscan monastery adjacent to the town square is one of oldest in world, and Pope Francis visited it recently on his tour through Croatia.

Next we stopped at the excavated remnants of a Roman mosaic floor believed to have been made in the 2-3 Century BC. You can’t see it too well from the pictures, but the mosaic lies at a depth about 8 feet below the street level which shows original height of city After World War II, the mosaic was found when the residents were cleaning rubble from the 27 bombings of the city. The mosaic depicts (in gruesome fashion) the “Punishment of Dirce” by her stepsons, which involved her being torn in half between two bulls.

The Punishment of Dirce

Through the centuries, Pula has played to host to a number of luminaries. Dante Alighieri visited in the 13th Century, and in the late 19^thCentury, James Joyce lived here teaching English to sailors. Although the locals loved Joyce, he referred to Pula as “the Mediterranean Siberia”. That wasn’t enough to keep the city fathers from erecting a statue of him, which is called “Ulysses”. Right next to the statue is the famed “Golden Gate”, so named because a courtesan paid so much to have the gate erected in 27 BC. As you pass through the arch and into another large square, you can see white outlines on the ground represent where the original Roman walls were. In the center of town raised above most of the city is the remains of a Venetian fortress, which was built on the remains of the former Roman fortress. 

The Golden Gate

Statue of James Joyce

The yellow building housed the apartment where Joyce lived

We walked around the old walled city. From the outside, you can still see where the successive centuries of residents here built on top of the Roman walls, which date back to 44 BC. Parts of wall date to 5th and 6^thcenturies A.D., when the Pula residents tried to defend their town from the “barbarians’, using materials from the Roman necropolis. In an area this historically rich, excavations (both planned and unplanned) happen all the time. For example, as construction was ongoing to expand the archeological museum, remains of a second set of Roman walls were found. That unplanned excavation has pushed back the reopening of the museum for 2 more years.  Obviously, we could have spent a whole day in Pula, but Mat had other things in mind for us, so we drove off to Bale to eat a special lunch and learn a little more about that tiny town. Besides, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted just writing about everything we did this morning!

Pieces from amphitheater

Upon arriving in Bale, we went straight to the Hotel la Grisa for lunch at their restaurant of the same name. We ate in a lovely courtyard with a gazebo overhead. The menu is full of locally-sourced specialties, and we all chose to try dishes made with the local beef/oxen species called bošcardin.  I had mine prepared tagliata style, but we also tried the short ribs, which were excellent.  The wine list of Istrian wines was also extensive, and the service was terrific.

Hotel lq Grisa

The inner courtyard at la Grisa

After lunch, we walked through the tiny town. Once again, it was time for a history lesson. We learned that Don Casanova, the legendary Italian lover, lived here for a time. There  was also a tiny late 16th Century church called Santo Spiritu, with murals painted inside. Mat explained to us that these early churches were all built with their doors facing to the west so even without a literate bishop, the priest could calculate the exact date on which Easter occurred. 

Look at all the architectural styles reflected here!

Casanova’s abode

Santo Spiritu

The murals and Mat

With that, we had earned “wine off for good behavior”, so Mat took us to the Matošvić Winery to taste some of the local specialties. Our wine guide, Ira (a very knowledgeable young lady) introduced us to the wines of Istria, which are primarily the varietals Malvasia and Teran, although the Istrians also successfully grow Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Chardonnay. Ira had obtained her university degree in wine studies in Poreč (a harbor town about 50 kilometers up the coast). She explained that the whole wine Croatian industry was very primitive 30 years ago. Malvasia was considered a table wine because there were no quality production techniques. She took us down to visit the cellars so we could see how times have changed. At Matošvić, they now ferment all their wines in stainless steel tanks, which are kept at a constant 15 degrees C. temperature. For their higher quality wines, they do the initial fermentation in steel tanks, then those wines spend 15 months in barrels. In a first for us, we saw that some barrels have plexiglass ends so the vintners can see the progress of filtration of the sediments. But Matošvić still manually harvests, and also hand selects the grapes which go into its wines. They produce about 100,000 bottles/year. The vineyards also uses Acacia barrels for its Antika and Robinia special label brands. Malvasia can be aged for 15-20 years.  

Rebecca at our garden tasting spot at Matošvić Vineyards

Here is what we tasted: 1. Alba -a steel fermented Malvasia, which is the most popular style in Istria; 2. Alba Robinia – also an Istrian Malvasia, but aged 15 months in Acacia; 3.  Alba Antica- a Malvasia which spends two days on lees, and is then aged in Acacia for 15 months (we all thought this was fabulous!);4. Grimaldia Bjela – a white blend consisting of 45% Malvasia, 45% Chardonnay (aged in a steel tank), and 10% Sauvignon Blanc (Maybe it was the heat of the day, but we also thought this was stunningly good!!!!); 5. “Mora” – A Merlot aged 15 months in oak; and 6. Grimalda – a red blend from 2016, consisting of 30% Teran, 60% Merlot, and 19% Cab Sauvignon aged 15 months in oak.

Suitably refreshed, Mat took us back to Rovinj to tour the old town. We stopped at the local outdoor marketplace, which showcases the many local products grown in this region, such as honey, fig jam, wine and olive oil. However, Mat advised that a shop in the old town, called Croatis, has a better diversity of products.We hiked up through the narrow streets to the highest point, which is crowned by the 450 foot bell tower of the Cathedral of St Euphemia. The Cathedral is topped by a 15 foot statue of St Euphemia, which is said to forecast the weather. The old town sits on a rounded peninsula, with old houses reaching right down to the bay, and the Cathedral commands a stunning view from an elevated position overlooking the whole peninsula. Of course, we had to go into the Cathedral, which has several interesting features. There is an inner temple to St. George, who is the patron saint of Rovinj. There is also a chapel to St. Teresa, who is especially beloved in this part of the world because she had Albanian ancestry.

Back in Rovinj

The views from St. Euphemia

Cathedral of St. Euphemia

St. Euphemia is the patroness saint of Rovinj. She came from a high-placed Roman family, and was one of Diocletian’s casualties. She was killed in 303 AD for her Christian faith. Legend has it that the Romans tried to kill her three times-by fire, on the wheel, and by lions. The sarcophagus of her body is here in the Cathedral, but her body was moved to Constantinople in 800 AD.

Chapel of St. Teresa

St. Euphemia’s sarcophagus

We wandered through some more of the old town with Mat, and through the 13th Century gate of St. Benedict, but by this time (7:30 for a tour that was only scheduled to last until 5), we were all exhausted and begging for mercy. So Mat gave us some restaurant recommendations, and we agreed to meet tomorrow morning for our day touring into the interior of Istria.  After enjoying a cocktail overlooking the harbor, we walked to One of Mat’s favorite restaurants, Gianino’s, for an excellent seafood meal.

St. Benedict’s Gate

Trotting Off to Trogir (and Krka National Park)

June 2, 2019:

The seaward wall of Diocletian’s Palace

Having seen  most of the major sites of Split yesterday, and with four cruise ships scheduled to be in town today, our merry band headed off on a tour that combined a visit to yet another charming medieval town, Trogir, and a visit to one of Croatia’s splendid national parks, Krka.

We met our tour group down by the ferry dock on what dawned to be a lovely day.  However, we’ve learned to be wary of Croatia’s rapid weather changes, so we’re all carrying rain gear!

About an hour to the north along the coast from Split is the UNESCO World Heritage town of Trogir, which has had civilization here from pre-Christian times. In fact, settlers of Greek ancestry from the island of Vis settled here over 2000 years ago (in the third century B.C.). Subsequently, the town became part of the Roman Empire and was known as Tragurium.

Trogir

Trogir is another of Croatia’s walled cities, fortified against successive waves of sea-born invaders during the time it was ruled by the Venetians (starting in about 1000 A.D.). There are still many Venetian-era buildings in town, upon which, its UNESCO heritage status is based. We entered the town through the north gate, and immediately saw the St. Lawrence Cathedral. In particular, one of the most interesting things about this church is church entry, which details how the Saracens were vanquished when they attacked the town. Everywhere you go in town, including on this church, you see lions (and even baby lions here), which symbolize the Venetian standard of the Lion of St. Mark. Interestingly, in more modern times, when Mussolini tried to consolidate his rule during World War II, he declared that anywhere that had the winged lions of Venice displayed was part of Italy. The townspeople objected to his rule, so he destroyed the many of the lions which were in the city.

The north entrance through the wall

St. Lawrence Cathedral

Just a few steps further into the town, there is a lovely open-air square, with another imposing church across the square from St. Lawrence Cathedral. This is the Church of St. Sebastian, and church services were ongoing when we arrived.  Part of the beauty of this church is an outdoor loggia very much in the Italian Renaissance style.  Here, we were treated to a Dalmatian tradition; men singing Klappa music, which is an a cappella style.  Their voices were beautiful!  St Ivan is patron saint of Trogir.

The loggia outside St. Sebastian

The Klappa singers

Past St. Sebastian, we walked out the town’s seaward gate, and walked along the waterside walkway. Because we’re now fully in the tourist season, there were many handicraft vendors selling their good along the harbor. The four of us walked over to the fortress of Kamerlengo (from the 15^thCentury A.D,), which sits just adjacent to the town. The walls are still standing, and you can walk up on the ramparts, but the center has all been destroyed. Still, the photo opportunities from ramparts were really picturesque! We bought some nicely carved olivewood pieces from the street vendors before the rain drove us back to our van.  Then it was off to the Krka National Park.

Kamerlenga Fortress

Sadly, the rain just increased in intensity as we arrived at the park.  Initially, we were supposed to have a sail along the Krka river as an introduction to the park, but our guide decided to postpone it. Instead, we walked into the park, which is fully of waterfalls.  It also has some historical buildings which demonstrate the workings of the grist mill and the traditional wool weaving arts.  There are many photos because of the rain, but this definitely looks like a place worthy of a return visit.

Krka National Park

You can see how swollen the river is from all the rain

At this point, my camera is packed away, and I’m trying to shoot photos with my iPhone from under my umbrella

I shot his picture standing in about a foot of water on the path where the river had overflowed

Wet but happy because the sky is clearing

Relief map of the park with the Krka River running through it

Finally, however, the rain did let up, and we had some lunch and our delayed sail on the river.  Stay tuned as tomorrow, we relocate to the harbor town of Rovinj, in the Istrian peninsula. Rick Steve’s has proclaimed this his favorite town in Croatia, so we are eager to explore. 

news from our boat ride

Shifting to Split

June 1, 2019:

This morning we took the ferry from Hvar to Split, and arrived just in time for the rains to totally let loose. We’re staying at a very centrally-located hotel, called the Hotel Marmont Heritage. The good part about that is that it is centrally located in the old town, which dates back to Roman times. The bad part is that you have to drag your suitcases to the hotel from the ferry because the streets in the old town are so narrow that no cars can fit in

However, the hotel is really cute and nicely modern. We dropped our bags off and then we had some free time. After walking around a bit, and grabbing some lunch, Rebecca chose to go look for a museum with a modern art exhibit, while Mark rested. 

Jim and I headed off for the newly-opened Game of Thrones Museum. Talk about a total “fanboy” experience! The Museum is pretty cheesy, but kind of fun.  Besides, what else were we going to do in the pouring rain?! There is a large souvenir store right across the alley from the museum, and if you buy anything, you can take a selfie in a replica Iron Throne, which ism the best you’re going to get now that Drogon has melted the real one!

Entrance to the Game of Thrones Museum

Replica of Castle Black and the Wall

The Ice Prince

Kim on the Iron Throne

This evening, we signed up for a tour of Diocletian’s Palace, which is pretty much the “it” thing to do in Split. Jim, Mark and I had already seen it, but it is impressive, and we wanted Rebecca to have the experience. Unfortunately, it pretty much dumped rain during the whole tour. We met our guide under the statue of Grgur Ninski (Gregory of Nin), who was a medieval Croatian bishop who defied the Pope, and introduced church services in Croatian instead of Latin.

Gregory of Nine

Artist’s rendition of the Diocletian’s palace

Nonetheless, our guide gamely steered us to the main sights in town, and started by telling us the back story on Diocletian. Diocletian was born in Salona, Croatia, as a slave, and enlisted in the Roman army to get his freedom. He rose rapidly through the ranks as a cavalry officer, and became Emperor in 284 A.D. after his boss, Emperor Carus, and Carus’ son, Numerian, were killed in battle against the Persians.  Diocletian is probably best known for his persecution of Christians, but he also instituted a major change to the rule of the Empire when he created what was known as the Tetrarchy. In essence, the Tetrarchy divided the Roman Empire into four parts. First Diocletian divided the Empire into Eastern and Western parts. Diocletian maintained the rule of the Eastern Empire, and granted rule of the Western Empire to his fellow officer, Maximinus, and th rulers of each part were called Augustus. Later, he further subdivided the Empire north and south, and created a sort of junior Emperors he called Caesars. The first two he named were Galerius and Constantius.

Towards the end of his reign, Diocletian built his palace in 305 AD. As a sort of glorified retirement home. It is said that Split was chosen as the site for his palace because of the presence of sulphur pools next to the town, which were supposedly good for his aging, aching body.  He died in 310 A.D.  Diocletian was buried in the peristyle next to the palace, which was built as his mausoleum. After the fall of the Empire, in 7th Century. A.D., Christians broke in and threw his remains in the sea, and defaced anything they perceived as non-Christian or pagan. Diocletian’s main temple was converted to use as a Catholic church. Today, the bell tower of St. Dominus Cathedral is one of the most prominent remnants of Diocletian’s palace.

Bell Tower of St. Dominus

Like many major Roman building projects, the design of the palace in Split was an engineering marvel. To ensure fresh water, the Romans built an aqueduct to bring water 7.2 kilometers from springs away. In the beginning, there was also a sewage system which carried the waste away. The palace was designed so it had an extensive subterranean basement systems of rooms with coved ceilings in which all the stores of the town could be kept, and the water and sewer systems accessed. Then the upper floors were constructed as a mirror image of the rooms below to improve support for those rooms. Over the centuries, subsequent inhabitants of Split, stole building materials from the palace, and built over its existing  foundations. In many cases, structures several stories high were constructed on the old Roman ruins. The original foundations would never have supported the weight, but for one fact. After the palace fell into disuse, the sewers backed up, but people just kept pumping their waste into the subterranean system. Over the years, the basement caverns filled up, and became a more stable foundation for the above-ground structures. Thus, as the locals like to say, “Split was saved by shit”. 

It wasn’t until the 20^thcentury that archeologists discovered the basements, and excavation  began in the 1950s. After excavating the basements, they were able to project how the upper stories had looked.  Final fun fact, the basement areas also were used in Game of Thrones and stood in as the caves of Mereen, where Daenarys kept her dragons. Our guide was happy to show us the seven second clip of himself as an extra playing a citizen of Mereen.

Going into the basements

Remains of Roman pipes

We all enjoyed a really great meal at Bokeria Kitchen and Wine Bar before heading back to our hotel. Although we are staying in Split one more day, there are several cruise ships due in port tomorrow, so we have planned some activities in the surrounding area.

Immersed in the History of Hvar

May 30, 2019:

Yesterday was a slower day for Jim and me, but Rebecca and Mark traveled back to the city center to visit the photography museum dedicated to chronicling the Balkan wars of the 1990s, and especially, the siege of Dubrovnik.

Then we all caught the ferry from Dubrovnik harbor to the island of Hvar, which takes about three hours.  It made a couple of stops on the way, at the islands of Mljet and Korcula. Korcula, in particular, looks like an interesting place, and worthy of further exploration on a future trip.

Finally, after a full day of rain, we pulled into Hvar harbor under clear skies just in time for a glorious sunset!  We checked into our hotel, the Amfora, which sits in a small bay of its own around the headland from the main harbor, and then walked back to town for dinner.  There are tons of great restaurants here in town, and after reading several menus, we decided to eat at one on the main square called Bacco. 

The so-called “Spanish Fortress” of Hvar

The main square and St. Stephen’s Church

This morning, we had time to ourselves to enjoy our beautiful surroundings. After breakfast, Jim and I walked some of the upper streets in town behind our hotel, while Mark and Rebecca hiked up to see the views from the Spanish Fort (somewhat oddly named because the Spanish were never here). Then we walked down into the town and found a market so we could pick up some toiletries, before heading back to the hotel. This town is just buzzing with people, both young and old,  on holiday.

Views from our walk in the morning

The harbor at our hotel

The grounds at the Amfora hotel

However, this afternoon, we have a jam-packed schedule as we have arranged with a local guide, Sinisa M. (“Simon”) to give us a private tour of the island, including a return to the home town of Mark’s family, Stari Grad. Here is the link for his Tours by Locals information: https://www.toursbylocals.com/HvarIslandTourGuideand also for his tour company, Secret Hvar: http://secrethvar.com

Suffice it to say, Sinisa knows every inch of this island, and he happily shared his knowledge with us over the next several hours.

Our tour started with a drive up to a high point (Napoleon’s fortress) overlooking the town and harbor of Hvar, and the islands just offshore. The views are absolutely incredible, and we see the first huge clumps of red poppies of the season. From this spot, you can look down on the Spanish Fort.

Sinisa then drove us inland, all the while telling us about the history and flora and fauna of Hvar. After the phlloxera blight wiped out most of the vineyards on the island, much of the island turned to lavender production. Just looking at the terrain, you can tell how hard life must have been for these islanders. Not only are there miles of hand-placed stone fences, but there are so many rocks that the farmers have had to just pile the extras up to get them out of the way to plant on what little land they can clear.

Sinisa told us a little about tourism on the island. Basically, Croatia was not a tourist destination until the 1960s and 70s, because it was still under the control of Tito, and was a Communist state. However, starting in about that time, some German and Italian tourists first started visiting. Today, the island of Hvar is becoming known as a cycling destination, as well as a hiking destination.The largest number of tourists are the English, then the Americans, then the Chinese, then the Italians. Ther4e are 15 campgrounds on island, and visitors can bring their campers across using the car ferry which departs the mainland at Drvnik, and docks on the other end of Hvar at Sucuraj. Aleppo pines were brought in by the French, and are still thick around Stari Grad.

As we came into Stari Grad Bay, we were quickly reminded why it is almost always better to hire a guide than to try to get to know a place o your own. Within fifteen minutes, Sinisa had already told us much more about Stari Grad than we learned in our entire visit here four years ago!

Stari Grad Bay

The building with the clock is the town hall

Apparently, Stari Grad is the oldest settlement on the island of Hvar. Sinisa took us to an open air archeological museum that we never even found on our first visit. Although we knew that the Romans had a settlement here, they were preceded by Greeks, who moved here from the island of Pharos back in the 6th Century B.C. The archeological remains date back to that time, when the Greek colony of Pharos was established. As the aerial photo shows, Stari Grad sits at the mouth of an incredibly fertile valley, which the Illyrians (from north of Greece) divided into farming plots and established farms, villas, and a lookout fort. This area has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage area.  

We saw an excavated area where the Greek settlement was located, and then taken over by the Romans, and then by everyone else that came along. The oldest remains show pieces of the eastern and southern town walls, some housing foundations and a well dating from Greek times Roman mosaics from their homes were found on top of the Greek remains. In the 5^thand 6^thcenturies, two churches (St. Mary’s and St. John’s) were built on top of the ruins, and then, a house was built on St. Mary’s and St. John’s churches. Basically, chunks of stone used by those earlier civilizations have been reused over the centuries and many of them are still just scattered around the town.

Looking towards old southern and eastern city walls from Greek times

The town was officially founded in the 4^thCentury B.C. under the name of Pharos, and there is evidence that the Phoenicians traded with the people of Stari Grad in ancient times. The Romans renamed it Pharia. After the Slavs took over in the early Middle Ages, the town was variously referred to as Far or Huarr. The name Stari Grad (“old town”) is mentioned in documents from the 14^thCentury to distinguish it from Hvar (the “new town”).

From the archeological area, we walked back down to the harbor area, where we saw the Dominican monastery of St. Peter, the Martyr; the church of St. Rocco; and the fortified villa  of poet and nobleman, Peter Hectorović.  He was also a wealthy merchant and trader, and reportedly, boats in the harbor could sail right up to his house on the riva. Today, the harbor edge is back a couple of blocks, but Hectorović is considered a great benefactor to the island. In fact, he left the money to establish the Church of St. Rocco.

The Dominican monastery, built in 1482

St. Rocco’s Church (the patron saint of Stari Grad)

Peter Hectorović’s fortified villa

The front of the villa where boats could dockhand unload their wares in through the window in the middle

Now the area in front is a public square

We walked a little further through the old town so we could revisit St. Stephen’s Square, and the Church of St. Stephen, where both Mark’s dad and grandfather were baptized. Some of the rocks on base of buildings in St Stephen’s square came from Greek ruins at archeological site. The original church destroyed by Ottomans in 1571, but was rebuilt.

The rebuilt bell tower at St. Stephen’s Church

St. Stephen’s church

Gate Post from Roman times

After we left Stari Grad, we drove through a succession of tiny little towns which show on the aerial photograph above: Vrisnik, Plitve, and finally Vrboska- known as the “little Venice of Hvar”. It was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 15^thCentury, but rebuilt.

Vrisnik

Plitve

Vrboska

Finally, we drove to Jelsa to visit one of the premier wineries in Croatia, Vina Tomić, where they make 120,000 bottles of wine/year. Their flagship wine is their Plavac Mali, but they also produce a couple of whites (both a Pošip and a Pošip blend), as well as a rosé, and some dessert wines. The Tomić wines are aged in barrels and barriques of Croatian oak and French oak. The barrels used for three years. (A barrique holds 225 liters). We enjoyed a fabulous tasting in the dining room, whose design is based on Diocletian’s palace in Split, and made of Dalmatian Travertine limestone. We tasted five wines: The white blend called Beleca, the Pošip, the rosé called Opolo Nobile, a Plavac, and a Plavac Mali (barrique aged). The Plavac Mali was really good, and so were the whites.  

With our day concluded, Sinisa drove us back to Hvar town, where we enjoyed a terrific meal at the restaurant Lucullus. All four of us ate the local roasted boar served with gnocchi scented with lavender. Yum! Yum!

Playing Around in Porto

April 15-16, 2019:

For our last two days in our trip, we stayed in Porto, and just explored the town, which has a lot to offer.   Our first day, we decided we needed to learn more about port wine. So we headed across the river to the separate town of Gaia (just on the opposite bank of the river from us) to visit the port houses. Hey! It’s a rough job, but someone has to do it!  Besides, we had a mission … to buy a very special bottle to celebrate our friend’s special milestone birthday.

To get to Vila Nova do Gaia, aka “port town”, all you need to do is walk across the iconic double-decker Dome Luis I bridge from the Porto side of the river. The bridge was designed by Teófilo Seyrig (a student of Gustav Eiffel’s), and inaugurated on Oct. 31, 1886. The bridge is constructed of two metal trays, which underlie the two levels, and spans 391 meters.

Looking at Vila Nova de Gaia

The Dom Luis I bridge over to Gaia

The first port house we visited, Calem, required that you purchase a cellar tour in order to taste their wines. But since it was raining outside, it wasn’t a bad way to waste a morning. The story of how the port houses ( aka “lodges”) ended up here is somewhat interesting. Basically, after the Napoleonic wars, wealthy British investors starting buying up the port producers to ensure their port supply into the future, they realized that the conditions for aging the wine in the Douro Valley were not ideal. Thus, they accelerated the establishment of the port aging facilities in Gaia. However, as we learned on our tour, even though the climate was better here, periodic flooding of the Douro River inundated the caves at the river level several times. We could see the high water marks on the walls of Calem’s cellar. If you are looking for a “one-stop” port tasting experience, there is a facility just a little way further along the riverside called Espaço Poto Cruz. Sadly, it was closed the day were there.

At Calem, we tasted  a white and drt port, a late harvest vintage (ruby) port from the 2013 harvest, and a 10 year tawny port. We also learned about the premier style of port called “colheitas”, which is a port in the tawny style, but aged from a single vintage of grapes. The grapes are left in barrels or in something called “pipas”, for at least seven years before being bottled. Then the port is additionally aged for an almost infinite period of time. In the cellar, we saw several barrels of colheitas from the 1990 harvest, which had not yet been bottled. Obviously, none of those were available for tasting! While their ports were good, they were not as exceptional as what we tasted at Marrocos in the Douro.

From right, the white, ruby and tawny ports of Calem

By then time we got out of Calem, the sun had graced us with an appearance, and we continued our walk along the quayside. One charming facet of this is that on both sides of the river are parked these replica barges of the barges used to ferry casks of port from the Douro Valley to Porto. Every major port house has one parked on the river and they are just charming!  We began walked up into the hills of Gaia, and stopped at Ferreira, but as they also required a cellar tour to taste, we passed on them. Then we climbed all the way to the top of the Gaia hills to visit Graham’s port lodge.  The views are spectacular from here, and you can sit on their loggia to eat lunch, or enjoy the tasting room inside.  Here, we tasted the 10, 20, and 30 year tawny ports. Hands down, our favorite port here was their flagship 20 year tawny port. Interestingly, we liked it much better than the 30 year.

Port storage caves

Views from Graham’s

For our final tasting experience, we walked back over to the Taylor Fladgate tasting room. We also tasted the 10, 20,  and 30 year ports here, but the classic 20 year tawny was the hands down winner of everything we had tasted today, and we deemed it a worthy birthday present for our friend.

The 10, 20 and 30 year tawny ports at Taylor Faldgate

That “chore” completed, Jim and I walked back down to the waterfront, and took the teleférico(gondola) from the quayside up to the top of the Dom Luis bridge.  The views are very good from the gondola, but not so much the photos, as the Plexiglas side reflect the light, and are somewhat scratched.  However, the photo opportunities are much better from the bridge. 

Views on the east side of the Dom Luis bridge.

Porto Cathedral

The Batalha Funicular

Jim, being the transport nerd that he is, also insisted that we ride down the funicular which goes from the bottom of the Dom Luis bridge up to the upper town area of Batalha right next to the Church of Santa Clara. This level of the town is also where the grand Cathedral of Porto is located a few blocks to the west.

Tonight we dined at a really good restaurant just across the square from our hotel, called      . The food was more traditional Portuguese dishes (but you could avoid cod, if you like).  Tomorrow, we’ll explore more of the town of Porto, so stay tuned for the final post from Portugal!

April 16, 2019:

Well, even “Our Lady of The Aggressive Schedule” (me) blows it now and again!  I thought I had scheduled us for an e-bike tour of Porto this morning, only to discover that the Viator website had defaulted to the last date I had booked something, which meant I scheduled our bike tour for November, 2019.  Oops! Fortunately, they are super flexible about refunding your money. Even though we weren’t able to take the bike tour today, we settled for booking a Segway tour (motorized 2 wheel electric scooters) for this afternoon.  The good news its that it is such a beautiful, sunny day that Jim couldn’t even stay miffed at me for long. Instead, we walked back to our hotel, and down to the river, where we booked a one-hour boat tour of the five bridges of Porto.

The river cruise boats

The funicular and old city walls

In advance, I apologize for even more pictures of the river, but it is stunning!  We’ve already introduced you to the iconic Dom Luis I bridge (designed by Eiffel’s student), but there is also a bridge over the Douro designed by Eiffel himself. It is called the   Maria Pia Bridge .  The boat rip takes you a few miles up the Douro, then turns around and takes you downstream (and almost out to the ocean). From Porto, you don’t really realize how close you are to the sea, but all the seagulls in town should have given us a clue!

First view of the Maria Pia Bridgeo

Coming back down the river

Great view of our hotel, the Pestana Vintage

The opening out into the Atlantic

Porto Cathedral (Sé de Porto)

After our boat ride, Jim and I walked up into the upper town through the charming tile-façaded buildings where we stoped at the square in front of the Clérigos Tower, which, when it was built in 1763 was the highest bell tower in Portugal. The area around the tower is rich in points of interest from the photography museum to the Church of the Misericordia to Porto University, and the famous Livraria Lello bookstore. In fact, the bookstore is so popular (and pretty) that you have to buy a ticket and wait in line for entry. With wait times in the line projected to last over an hour, we reluctantly passed on this sit, and went to eat lunch in the shadow of Torre de Clérigos.  Then we met our Segway group in the courtyard of the photography museum, passed our check ride, and off we went! Our guide first pointed out the Estatua de Camilo Castelo Branco, which scandalized Porto when installed, depicting a man holding the nude body of a woman. Locals frequently decorate her bottom with handbills.  We went over to the Ingreja do Carmo with its lovely tile façade. Then we meandered our way over to the San Bento Railway Station, which is an architectural jewel.

Museum of Photography

Sardines Storre-selling vintage sardines and all types of canned seafood

Livraria Lello

Ingreja do Carmo

Art in the Park (and Jim)

Our test drive

Off we go

San Bento Railway Station

The rail station is very near the Porto Cathedral (Sé de Porto). This is an amazing 12^thCentury church, and monastery complex that dominates the Porto skyline with its two towers.  It is well worth a visit up close!

Sé de Porto

With that, the official sites on the tour were checked off the list, so our guide took us freewheeling. We went up on the top deck of the Dom Luis bridge for the views over Porto.  From there, we went down near the waterfront, and rode our Segways along the river, and up into a quiet neighborhood with great views over river.

In celebration of the last night of our trip, we went back to A Despensa for dinner, and were treated like returning royalty.  Tomorrow, we drive back to Lisbon and fly home.  Stay tuned, dear Readers, because another trip is right around the corner (at least in blog time)!