Excursion to Pula 2/18/06

Compared to last night's dinner this morning's breakfast was just great. Not only they have scramble egg and hard boil egg, they also served freshly made crepe and fried eggs. Besides the usual cold cuts, bread, cereal, and fruits, much to my delight they put out a lot of yummy desserts and cookies too. For breakfast, all drinks coffee, tea, juice or water were included.

At 8:00 am we boarded the bus for Istra in Pula. The first place we visited was the ancient Roman amphitheater, which is one of the largest remaining in existence. The Spartans used to fight in this arena. The lions were kept underground. The local guide even took us down to take a look. It was amazing how well this structure was planned and built. It was equipped with aquaduct and air purifing system. Women were not allowed to go in the arena, but there was a section especially built for them higher up. In he underground, a number of ancient thousand year-old wine jars were put on display. These utensils were dug up from somewhere near by in town, when someone decided to build a parking lot on that piece of land. Later, we strolled over to visit the small old Roman town surrounded by stone wall.

On our return trip, we stopped by the resort of Rovinf, which is famous for their nude camps. We were free to roam around and had our lunch there. First we went up to the top of the hill to visit the St. Eufenia Cathedral. Too bad it was closed, but the view up there was magnificent. We sat down at the entrance of the cathedral and enjoyed the lunch we brought from the hotel. The last place we visited today was the Basilica of Ephrasius.

We got back to Opatija around 6:oopm just in time to see the end of that day's special festival. As soon as we got off the bus, we saw crowds of people, young and old, all dressed in colorful costumes. The air was filled with cheerfulness. Some were having a good time in a bar. Then we came upon a bus or a truck blasting with delightful music. Two young fellow came down and warmly invited us to join their fun. They won't take No for an answer, so Paul, Richard and Daniel were pushed into the crowd up in the truck, singing and dancing with them. They even offered a drink. Daniel thinking it was beer, took a big gulp. Oh, wow it burn all the way down!

For dinner, we wanted to take the guide's recommendation. It took us some time before we could locate the Ruiz Martin Restaurant a little up the hill. We ordered a fish combination dish and two pizza. The guide said we definitely had to try pizza with" troful". We had no idea what "troful" is or how we should properly spell it, perhaps it is some kind of fish and so we thought. I therefore asked the waiter what it is. He explained that it is mushroom grounded up to a paste and it is good. Sure enough, we all enjoyed that pizza very much. My daughter thinks maybe it's supposed to be "truffle".