Plavi Podrum is a restaurant in Volosko, near Opatija known for its outstanding cuisine.
We were pretty hungry so we started with dipping bread into different kinds of olive oil. The bread was totally black as if it was made with squid ink.

The real starter were shrimps with pines on rocket bed , the other was thin sliced mushrooms and tuna fillets also on rocket bed. Merlot sorbet was very interesting and the foam made of Campari juice.

With this we had some Malvazija – dry white wine of Veralda family.
There was risotto with shrimps from Dalmatia and asparagus mixed in for second course. It was accompanied by Sauvignon from Korak vineyard.

Third course was goose liver, soft as butter and ba bass filet and cod in a chunky tortellini which we dipped into a zucchini sauce. With that we enjoyed 2006 Pošip wine from Korta Katarina.

And desert: chocolate mousse with vanilla ice cream and a few drops of olive oil. Odd but tasty combination.

We tried a few sorts of red vine – I remember 2007 Postup from Pelješac peninsula.
It really was a unforgettable culinary experience.

I visited a nautical fair - saliboat exhebition in Muggia near Trieste. there were quite alot of sailboats on display and the town is very cute.

Lon anchorage near ACI marina Rovinj is a nice spot to drop anchor if you have no desire to pay for a berth and still wish to enjoy the beauties of one of the nicest Istrian towns Rovinj.

It has a huge impact from Venetians and some parts of the town even look like Venice to a degree.

The seabed in Lon is sand with some sea grass so most anchors will hold pretty well there. The depth varies from 8-15 meters. The bay is open towards NW wind called Maestral, which can be pretty strong during stable summer weather conditions but only during the day so you’re safe at night.

If you tie your dinghy at the breakwater of the marina you will probably see happy stray kittens by the dumpsters. They are very well cared for –they even have a carpet and regular meals.

A friend took me to Secovlje Salina on Slovenian coast.

They still make lots of salt here and have a nice museum and walking paths, where you can watch autochthonous species of birds, some of them really nice looking.

You need a few hours if you want to see the whole Salina, because it’s pretty big but it’s worth the couple of euros.

You can check the site at: www.soline.si

I found these postcards from Rovinj my mom had stashed in a shoe box. When I visited Rovinj about a year ago it was a totally different sight. Even old towns such as Rovinj are slowly but constantly changing.
On the last photo taken from the curch hilltop, there was no marina yet and no ugly hotels.

Ribic is Slovenian word for Fisherman my host told me, when he took me to this restaurant in Secovlje.

He assured me that this was once again one of the best restaurants on Slovenian coast though their quality wavered in the past. And he was right about the first part as far as I was concerned.

For starter we had the octopus salad, haddock pate, scallops and anchovies and they were all delicious. For main course we had, approx. 2 pound Redfish with potato and a delicious sauce, all baked in an oven. With all that we drank about a liter of Malvazija white wine and coffee after that. There was no room for desert, though I was tempted.

I don’t know exactly how much we (he) paid but it was roughly around 80 Euros, so that’s not too much to spoil oneself from time to time.

Oh, the pan was already half empty when I remembered to take a photo… sorry for that.

The town of Senj is interesting, because it’s different from other, more touristic towns on Adriatic coast.
We took a trip along the coastal road called Jadranska magistrala and stopped in Senj.
The thing to see in Senj are the fort called Nehaj. It is located on the hilltop overlooking the town and nearby islands. The fort is a museum where history of the town and the fort itself dating back to year 1558 is on display. The tickets cost 7 kuna (which is about 1 €) and up to 20 kuna for adults. The museum is open every day from 10 AM till 6 PM off season and 9 AM till 9 PM during summer.

Unlike the north coast, where you’ll only find a hotel and a view of the marina, the south coast of Umag hides several rastaurants (konoba), well protected from the bora (NE wind), where you can sit and enjox the auntumn sun.

We didn’t mind the menu with photos; we even got over the fact that there was no bakalar. There was, however, some excellent biska and medica, octopus salad, slaty sardelles and some more fish, mixed side dishes, and, of course, malvazija. And two sorbets. 250 Kn (35 €) per person seems like a good price for the pleasure we got, enjoying ourselves by the sea.

Meanwhile the Italians to the left gulped down their shrimps and the Germans to the right their mixed grill: everybody was happy. It was 100% more peaceful than Piran, and a bonazza instead of bora.

The food may not be exceptional, but the location is nice and well maintained It will tempt you to stay there instead of proceeding further into Istra. We also give extra marks for a really pleasant service.

Last weekend we went to the tavern Maruzzella in Zambratija. It’s right by the roadside, with a big parking lot, opened all year and accepts credit cards.

It is about half a mile from the Zambratija pear, where you can land with smaller boats.

In short – it was good. We paid the classic a little over 500 Kn, their home made brad is a big plus as is the fact that their mixed mussels really include a variety of different sorts and the buzara sauce is well prepared.

The black risotto had some spice issues, but the grilled sole made up for it. Sadly, the desert was store-bought so we would be better off to skip that.

All in all, it is well worth a visit, certainly in you are in Zambratija and the really acceptable price definitely outweights the small faults.

Miramare is definetly one of the most beautiful castels in this part of Adriatic and best preserved.

It lies upon a peninsula Grignano (in Spanish Miramare means Ocean View) which from Miramare Castel it really is beautiful.
The Castel was built by duke Maximilian of Habsburg monarchy (the brother of Franz Joseph, the ruler of Austro-Hungarian monarchy) as his summer residence.

The castel is surrounded by beautiful gardens with plants from exotic places from all around the world.