Day 15 - Driving to Croatia

Today we drove to Croatia. Our plan was a brief stop in a hilltop town renowned for their truffles and vineyards, and then on to the beach from there. After changing out the van’s water and a stop at the grocery store, we were on our way. Traffic getting out of Bled was awful since there are not many roads in or out of there. A two hour trip ended up taking four, but that was to be expected. The roads through Slovenia were lovely but not as scenic since we stayed on the major highways. Once in Croatia however, our road to the city of Motovun was narrow and windy. We passed vineyard after vineyard and couldn’t believe that this one lane road was actually two lanes and the way into a town. Once again, the boys all thought I had gotten us lost but I hadn’t and we ended up in a lovely hilltop town. The truffle store I found was not all the way up in the town so we walked to it from the parking lot. Most of our journey to find weird and little known places has worked out great, but even I can admit that this adventure ended up being a bust. The truffle store ended up being closed. I’m sure we were supposed to have scheduled a tour instead of just arriving… which would have been fun with more advanced planning. But alas, some things work out and some don’t. At least we got to see the beautiful countryside. 

Next stop, one hour away was the beach so we headed on our way, eager to get there. More hairpin curves and small roads led to the beach campgrounds. The first campground we went to was very full, with no campsites close to the ocean. The second one, however, had a few sites to choose from with an ocean view. We selected one and set up camp. This campsite is more of a resort with a hotel and condos close by as well as two pools, restaurants, and activity rental options. Excited, we walked around to explore our surroundings and make plans for our next two days! The boys swam in the pool for a minute and then the ocean before heading back to cook dinner. The area has a great view of the beautiful town of Rovinj and an island not far away. After dinner, a walk along the ocean to seen the end of the sunset was a great way to end our day!