Food – Travel Breezers

Slovenia – June 20-24

Honestly, if it wasn’t for Melania, I wouldn’t even have known that Slovenia was a country. My cluelessness is pretty inexcusable because the Slovenia we saw in our four day visit was awesome.

There are no trains from northern Croatia to Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, so for us it was a two and a half hour bus ride from Rovinj. Tip for travelers – don’t judge a town by what it looks like near the bus station. It’s usually pretty grim down there.

A very short taxi ride takes us to our Airbnb in Ljubljana’s extremely charming Old Town. Our rented apartment [http://triplex-apartment-the-princess-castle-ljubljana.booked.net] had a great location right on one of Old Town’s main walking streets, but is hard to recommend due to a poorly equipped kitchen, some cracked and broken furniture and an absolutely treacherous staircase going up to the third level bedroom – making it almost unusable. One other negative is that there is no elevator and it takes about 60 steps to get to the front door. On the positive side however, the place was pretty big, had great wi-fi and a terrific television!

Notwithstanding the shortcomings of our apartment – which we still had a ton of fun in – Ljubiana is a lovely place. The Old Town is very compact. Everything is close so you can have a great time just walking around taking in the impressive architecture, wonderful restaurants, shops and bars that surround the Ljubljanica River as it runs directly through the quaint city.

We had some great meals here, including one at a Julija [https://julijarestaurant.com], and one at the apartment with incredibly fresh vegetables purchased from the Old Town’s “green market” – which is a huge farmer’s market operating Monday to Saturday. There are also many talented musicians in the streets as well as cafe’s serving fantastic ice cream dessert. Sitting around eating dessert is a thing here. We think it should be a thing everywhere!

Great salad after visiting the Green Market

We wholeheartedly recommend a short visit to Ljubljana’s Old Town. At night it’s wonderfully lit up and looks like it was designed by Disney. Overall it provides a quaint Euro city experience that is hard to find in large more touristy cities.

After two nights in Ljubljana, we were on our way to Lake Bled – about 45 minutes by car. We decided, however, to take a detour – 60 minutes in the other direction – to tour the Postojna caves. There are a bunch of different caves in Slovenia. The Postojna caves are the most famous and most visited. They were discovered in the 17th century and are more than 20km long. It’s pretty touristy and you take a 3km ride into the caves in a train, but you then get to walk for about 1.5km. Notwithstanding the touristy feel, these caves are amazing. It’s very hard to capture the massive size and spectacular rock formations in pictures, but if you find yourself in Slovenia, this is something you’ll want to see.

After the caves, we drove through nasty traffic to our apartment on Lake Bled. Not knowing what to expect, this place massively exceeded our expectations. Our apartment, Vila Katja [https://www.bedandbreakfast.eu/bed-and-breakfast/bled/vila-katja/2542192/] was extremely clean and comfortable and within walking distance to the lake.

Lake Bled is an absolute gem. One of the top ten places that we’ve visited in Europe. On our only full day here (we should have stayed longer), we rented a row boat at the Grand Hotel Toplice [https://www.sava-hotels-resorts.com/en/sava-hoteli-bled/accommodations/grand-hotel-toplice], took a toboggan ride at Straza Bled [https://www.straza-bled.si/en/Summer]and then rented bikes for a ride around the lake.

The Grand Hotel Toplice is a Small Luxury Hotels listed property with stunning views – directly on the lake. The public areas are extremely elegant (we didn’t see a guest room) and they had a display case filled with photos of a distinguished group of past visitors.

From the lobby of the Grand Hotel Toplice

We went for a two hour rowboat ride to a small island in the middle of the lake on a perfect day. The incredibly blue water, surrounding green trees and nearby mountains create an unforgettable scene.

After the rowing, we went for an adrenaline rush on a “summer toboggan”. Super fun and more amazing views of the lake. Click on the link for a view of Shawnee thundering down the run!

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Then we rented bikes for a totally peaceful ride around the placid lake. Great fun and all of this in one day.

We were sad to leave the next day, but can’t recommend this highly enough. I’m sure we’ll be back.

Croatia – June 8 -20

There’s only one non-stop flight from Florence, Italy to Split, Croatia. The 6:15am take-off makes for an early wake up but it’s all worth it because we’ll be meeting Nikki – flying in from Paris this afternoon – and then our great friends the Cane’s in a couple of days.

One the bummers about departing Florence was leaving our great airbnb called La Torres del Cestello [http://www.latorredelcestello.it/?act=home&l=en]. We only stayed here one night, but this was an amazing find. It’s in a very good location within a short walking distance to all the best sites and a view of the Orno river! It was virtually brand new, with a fabulous bathroom and a very nice sitting/TV room with leather sofas and a steal $300 in Florence!

After arriving in Split, we made our way to our next home for a few days. An Airbnb next to the beach about 10 minutes – via Uber – outside of the old town [http://www.dejaviews.eu]. It’s a new all white well equipped two bedroom, 2.5 bath place with an ocean view balcony and a great TV room which we used to binge watch about 12 episodes of Animal Kingdom. Guess we all needed a bit of down time!

Split is a big city with an old town dominated by a waterfront promenade directly on a very busy harbor.

In addition to the many cafe’s and shops, you’ll also find a number of tourism shops where you can book excursions. We booked two – the half day boat tour and river rafting.

On our boat tour – with a scary fast boat – the first stop was the quaint old town of Trogir. With it’s Roman roots and lots of cool shops and restaurants it is a definite must visit.

After a 45 minute visit we’re whizzing to the blue lagoon. This is truly a beautiful bay with incredibly clear blue water, but like most “beaches” we saw in Croatia, there’s no sand, just rocks. We spent an hour lying on a short concrete pier. Not bad, but not optimal for Californians used to soft, white sand.

The last stop made the trip! The Laganini Beach Club on the island of Clovo sits on an incredible calm bay with crystal clear water. The beach is still rocks, but the Laganini is a small paradise with plush couches and flowing curtains as your waiter serves you ice buckets of wine and delicious food while lounging. Altogether, it turned into an luxurious day and we wholehearted recommend the half day boat tour.

Two days later we woke early for our river rafting tour. We discovered that we were the only people signed up for the morning trip. So great to get a private tour! The river trip is a cool way to get away from the coast and take in the beautiful inland landscape. The rapids – class 2 and 3 – were fun, but the best part was getting out of the raft and canyoning through a cave full of frigid spring water that was behind a waterfall! Super fun day and a great way to see another cool part of Croatia.

While in Split, we also celebrated Nikki’s 20th birthday at a 1990’s villa with gardens at Perivoj [http://restoran-perivoj.com]. We ate outdoors under big white umbrellas – which were crucial since it rained really hard. Nevertheless, this is a great restaurant and a fun celebration!

Perivoj bringing on the bday celebration!

After four nights in Split, we were very fired up to meet up with the Cane party crew – including our travel agent extraordinaire Tammy Cane, on their 48 foot catamaran [http://www.theartoftravelbytammycane.com/about/] -. We took the 6pm ferry 2 hours from Split to meet them on the island of Vis. We were excited to see Lawrence and our boat captain Val in the main harbor – which was completely packed with pleasure boats. We immediately met the entire crew for pizza and then went to a great cocktail bar and dancing to Tammy’s requested songs by Bruno Mars. It was awesome to see familiar faces so far from home!

Super random meeting in Vis with WSU football coach – Mike Leach

The next morning we sailed around Vis. First stop was the green grotto, a popular ocean cave with a small hole in the top that allowing a focussed beam of sunlight to burn through the water. So cool to swim inside.

Next, we sail to the blue grotto. Another cave, but with a tiny opening. So small it seems that the boat which takes you in could never fit – bit it just barely does. The water in this cave is “uplit” by the sun causing it to be a beautiful translucent blue. Again, super cool.

Piling in for the ride into the blue grotto

After the grottos, Val takes us to a peaceful small harbor on the other side of Vis. I have no idea where we were, but my photos say a place called Komiza. The water was perfect for a great swim. Not too hot, not too cold, just right.

That evening, Captain Val had a surprise for us. He’d arranged for us to have dinner at a local resident’s home. We piled into a van and took a 15 minute ride up a hill to a small village where we were greeted by a herd of goats, sheep and lambs. So cute. Until they started battling over hunks of bread a woman was throwing at them. Then – not as cute – but still tons of fun to watch.

The dinner was totally authentic. The chef cooked fish, meat and veggies in a wood fired oven under several “pekas” which are basically iron lids. If I’m being honest, I thought the food was just OK, but the experience was awesome. Especially when Nikki, Maddy, Nate and Garrett were bottle feeding a lamb after dinner!

The next morning, Captain Val took us on a bit of a rocky ride – causing a little motion sickness for some of our crew (sorry Nate and Tammy) – that ended up in the most beautiful bay. Again, I have no idea where we were, but the photos say “Colta”. It was so perfect that we spent two nights here relaxing, playing cards (mostly a vicious game of “El Presidente”), paddle boarding, and swimming. So much fun!

Click on this link for a great little video of Colta from Space! FD093552-9F25-478A-BE17-B79D3D4D7BF2

Far too quickly, it was time to go. After a sizzling dance party on the way to port, we disembarked somewhere near Trogir.

The following day we took a couple of rental cars for a five hour drive to the Meneghetti Wine hotel & Winery in the Istria region of Northern Croatia [https://www.relaischateaux.com/us/croatia-hrvatska/meneghetti-istria-bale]. It’s a really incredible property – about 200 yards from the sea with a vineyard, two outdoor pools, one indoor pool, a spa and a truly gourmet restaurant. And beyond that — amazing service!

We arrived with great timing because Croatia was playing a World Cup soccer game against Nigeria that night. Lawrence did some quick research and determined that we needed to be in Pula so we could watch the game with some Croatian fans. 30 minutes later, we were in the main square – complete with ancient Roman buildings – and a giant television screen. After gearing up with some Croatian jerseys we watched the crowd of about 2000 go wild as the home team took a 2-0 victory. Great experience. Who says soccer is boring.

The following day was Father’s Day. We took advantage by watching more World Cup and the US Open on TV and then took a drive to the incredibly picturesque town of Rovinj for dinner at a oceanfront restaurant called Puntalina [http://www.puntulina.eu]. Again, if I being honest, the food was pretty good, not excellent. But the magnificent setting – and of course, the company – made it a very memorable Father’s Day.

Celebration continued the following day – Shawn’s birthday! Tammy had arranged for a van to take us into the hills of Istria for an awesome mountain bike ride along La Parenzana – an historic railway. Super fun for those with biking experience. Pretty fun for the rest. Although I do recall Maddy saying she would never ride again. 😊

After the ride, we went back to the Meneghetti’s gourmet restaurant for a tremendous dinner of steak Florentine along with an amazing cake that the hotel had specially made for the birthday celebration.

Pre-birthday dinner group pic in the vineyards

Sadly, it all ended too fast. Our wonderful friends headed back to Manhattan Beach. And we are off to Slovenia.

Puglia – May 23 to 30

A car from Positano to Naples and then a bus from Naples to Bari gets us to Puglia – the “heel of the boot” of Italy. With so much other great stuff to see in Italy – Rome, Florence, Venice, Amalfi, Tuscany – most Americans don’t make it this deep. And that’s unfortunate, cuz it’s another pretty great place.

We rented a car – Jeep Renegade subcompact SUV – and after crowbarring ourselves and massive amounts of luggage inside, made our way to Polignano a Mare, a cliff side town on Italy’s Adriatic Coast.

First thing you notice about Polignano a Mare is that it’s really beautiful here. Check out this beach.

And the little town is also excellent. Quaint walk streets loaded with restaurants and cool shops purveying hand made Italian goods. Looked like a choice spot for a wedding party.

Main shopping street in Polignano a Mare

The cliffs here are very dramatic. Caught a couple of good shots from the drone!

If you’re feeling like a big spender, try The Grotto [https://www.grottapalazzese.it/en/]. We passed – even after hearing a good review from the Rosen’s – cuz its 150 euro per person (not including wine), and it seemed like a lot for the four of us. But it’s a spectacular location for a super special dinner – as you can see from this shot.

The Grotto – built into a cave in the cliff

We passed on The Grotto, but there are many other great options. After gorging on meat, cheese, tomato and more cheese for the past week(s), we found a great pescatarian place called Mint Cucina Fresca. [https://www.facebook.com/mintcucinafresca/]. This place was fantastic and somewhat healthy.

Our Airbnb here was totally adequate. If you are looking for two clean bedrooms and a bath – for less than $150 per night, we can recommend this place. [https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/casa-lilla-polignano-a-mare1.en-gb.html?aid=376370;label=log-7hXcdXmQIAnytr80ankEYwS267778187023%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg%3Afi%3Atiaud-297601666715%3Akwd-317486742176%3Alp9058686%3Ali%3Adet%3Adm;dist=0;sb_price_type=total;type=total&] But understand that it does not come with a place to park. And parking in this town is like Hermosa Beach in summer. So be forewarned about that.

Also, there are other very good – non-rocky – beaches close by. Monopoli, about 20 minutes by car south, has excellent sandy beaches. We went to the Lido Sabbiadoro beach club [http://www.lidosabbiadoro.com/en/]. Apparently we were here just prior to the summer crush. They had about 200 lounge chairs and umbrellas and only about 15 guests. But it was clear they were getting ready for the “on” season. In any case, it was a great white sand beach with beautiful blue water.

After three nights in Polignano a Mare, we it was time to for a road trip. First stop was Alberobello. I was chastised for calling it “Albertoburrito”. Sorry. This is the town with the famous “trulli” homes. If you’ve ever done any internet research on Puglia, you’ve likely seen these cute little structures with cone shaped roofs. Yes – it’s a bit touristy – but a totally worthwhile and fun day trip. Another great place to to eat, drink and shop. I found a cool scarf – yes going totally Euro – and Shawn found some jewelry – you must be shocked to hear that.

Albertoburrito was just a stop on the way to our actual destination, Gallipoli. This is not the site of the famous and devastating World War I battle (that’s in Turkey), but instead is another great Italian beach town.

The old town in Gallipoli is on a very small island connected to the mainland via a bridge. We didn’t know that you’re not supposed to drive in the old town – or on the tiny stone walk streets – but that’s where Google Maps directed the Jeep Renegade toward Relais Corte Palmieri hotel [https://www.relaiscortepalmieri.it/old-town-hotel-gallipoli/, our home for the next four nights.

The Corte Palmieri is very charming. A blend of old architecure, relaxing balconies and terraces along with a great location. We had the Luna room which had a private terrace. The girls had a different room (can’t remember the name of that one) with a funky loft. I think both rooms together were about $300 per night (including breakfast). So a pretty good value for four travelers.

Roof Terrace at Corte Palmieri from the drone

The public beach in Gallipoli is a bit “tired” looking, but there are many beach clubs near town.

Gallipoli public beach likely “rocks” in Summer, but pretty dead in May

Following a hotel recommendation (which also came with a complementary ride), we went to Lido Sottovento [https://www.lidosottovento.com]. A nice club with white sand and blue water, but due to a particular seasonal tide, there was a ton of vegetation floating in the water which made it a bit unpleasant to get in the sea. This was not the case at the clubs about 300 yards on either side of Lido, but we just got a bit unlucky on that one.

In any case, we received a tout from a Scottish woman that had a house in Tuscany. She told us to take a 45 minute drive north to Porto Ceasareo. Taking her advice we found a club called Bahia del Sol [http://bahiaportocesareo.com]. Excellent lounge chairs, umbrellas, food, drinks along with great sand and pretty warm water. Great way to spend a day. Again, we were here in late May so the beach was relatively uncrowded. I suspect that if you come here in July it will be totally packed!

As you might recall, we love a day on a boat. We were fortunate to hook up with Francesco at ZaBoat [http://zaboat.it/coming-soon.html] who took us on a half day cruise around the Gallipoli coastline. Great way to spend a super hot and humid day!

And yes, we did go to some cool restaurants. The finest was the Palazzo del Corso at the sister hotel of the Corte Palmieri. We went at sunset and the view was absolutely spectacular.

Sadly, the food did not live up to the view. It was good, but for the price – which was relatively high – we expected better. Nonetheless, we had a great time!

On our last night were getting ready to get some food and we heard what sounded like a marching band in the alley next to our terrace. Shawn exclaimed – “ you just missed it, we have to get down to the street”! So we raced down to the street and found the procession of a marching band, about 200 people and various clergy. Very cool.

Parishioner tossing rose petals at Virgin Mary

Unfortunately, our time in Puglia was coming to an end and we made the two and a half hour drive to departing planes and trains in Bari. Sadly, we were all heading in different directions. Nikki to see her boyfriend Ben in Paris. Nicole, home to LA. And Shawn and I to Chianti. OK, not so sad 😉!

Positano – May 19 to 23

With a great visit to Bordeaux behind us we flew to Naples where we were so psyched to meet Nikki and her awesome BFF Nicole at an AirBnb – our jumping off point for a trip to Southern Italy.

Quick note about discount flyers like Easy Jet. Make sure to check the luggage allowances! Some Easy Jet tix allow one piece of checked luggage (some don’t), but our allowance was only for 15kg per person, not the usual 23kg, ouch! So, upgrade online to avoid the high charges at the airport.

Naples is an intense city with tons of action everywhere. We met Nikki and Nicole at Palazzo Carafe Della Spina. That’s a very fancy name for a vacation rental apartment directly in the middle of the old city – also known as the Centro Storico. [http://www.booking.com/Share-eQq1xA]. Perfectly adequate and clean place if you are looking for two bedrooms (one is a loft) and two bathrooms for under $100. And the manager, Maria, is very nice and awesome. After our ride to Positano fell through, she quickly arranged another one. And was great with suggestions for restaurants. The Centro Storico is actually really cool, but one night in Naples was plenty for us.

Positano is a pretty magical place. Very hard for mortals to describe in writing, so I’ll give you a bit of a guy named Steinbeck.

“Positano bites deep. It’s a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. Its houses climb a hill so steep it would be a cliff except that stairs are cut into it. I believe that most house foundations are vertical, in Positano they are horizontal. The small curving bay of unbelievably blue and green water laps gently on a beach of small pebbles. There is only one narrow street and it does not come down to the water. Everything else is stairs, some as steep as ladders. You do not walk to visit a friend, you either climb or slide.” – J. Steinbeck. For more Steinbeck on Positano go to: https://sirenuse.it/media/57085/Steinbeck.pdf

This enchanted village is built directly into a steep hillside above the Tyrrehenian Sea – that’s what the Mediterranean is sometimes called on the west coast of Italy. It’s very possible to get a place that requires walking down literally hundreds of steps to the sea. And, of course, hundreds back up. The steps were supposedly built uneven to ward off enemies back in the day. Not sure I believe that. But, if you want the best location in Positano, check out Villa Costanzo. It’s a two bedroom, one and one-half bath VRBO [http://www.villacostanzo.com] just 12 steps from the beach. Kitchen and dining room as well. And best of all – an amazing view. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in this place.

Villa Costanzo – Right at the top of the steps to the beach

Positano is loaded with quaint walking paths and little streets lined with boutiques – great linen and jewelry. Shawn, Nikki and Nicole did quite a bit of damage here. I might have done a bit of shopping myself. 😉 There are also a ton of excellent restaurants.

A little beach time – then a bit of damage

Two of our favorite restaurants were Chez Black [http://www.chezblack.it] – a Positano institution that is right on the beach – and Ristorane Max [http://www.ristorantemax.it]. Chez Black has great pizzas, pasta and seafood and is a terrific place to see and be seen – awesome people watching! Max is a combo art gallery/restaurant and is much more of a fine dining experience. The food at Max, however, is excellent. Probably the highest quality dining we had in Positano.

Another great place is La Tagliata [https://www.latagliata.com]. It’s built into the very top of the cliffs above town. Way, way up there! If you call them, they will send a bus to pick you up. The ride up is pretty scary. Views from the bus windows make you feel like you’re flying as you traverse the impossibly narrow streets clinging to the mountainside.

Tagliata is not “fine dining”, but authentic and high quality – owned and operated by an Italian family – and really, really good. They are very friendly and ask you only two questions. Where are you from? And, do you want red or white wine? Then the food just starts coming – and coming. Best to arrive here on an empty stomach or you won’t get through the first 30 minutes of this two and a half hour feast. It’s a fixed menu – with lots of vegetarian mixed in. The friendly waiters just keep bringing more dishes. Anti-pasta, pasta, cheese, veggies, breads, meats – all kinds – and loads of desserts. All you can eat and drink for 40 euro per person. And an amazing view! Very fun!

The road along the Amalfi Coast – AKA the Amalfi Drive – is a marvel of engineering and is arguably the most spectacular road in Europe. It’s built directly into the cliffs, hundreds of feet above the sea. Tour busses, cars and motorcycles all fight for position on the ultra-tight curves. Years ago, Shawn and I made the mistake of renting motor scooters with our pre-teen girls for a “fun” trip down the coast. Pro tip – this is a bad idea and an example of poor parenting 🤔.

But if you really want to see the coast – and you do really want to see the coast – you have to rent a boat. I can’t emphasize this strong enough. You must rent a boat! One of my top 10 favorite things to do in the world is to rent a boat in Positano on a sunny day.

On the beach you’ll find several kiosks where you can rent boats and buy tickets for the ferries to Capri and other coastal towns. We rented at a kiosk is called Lucibello. It’s not inexpensive – was 600 euro for 8 hours – but oh so worth it. We were blessed with a glorious sunny day and a cool breeze. Our captain Roberto took us for the slow ride down the coast from Positano to Amalfi. The water is bluest you’ll see anywhere and the scenery is other-worldly.

Went for a swim in that cave – really a huge cavern

We pulled in for a terrific lunch at La Tonarella [http://www.ristorantelatonnarella.com/en/storia/]. Apparently Jackie “O” used to come here for a special pasta with courgettes (that’s zucchini). It was delicious. Also great just to watch big groups of Italians have a lunch. It always sounds like they are arguing – until they bust out laughing.

La Tonorella is the pink building on the shore

Enjoying the speciality drink of Positano – Limoncello

Positano is a place that you must see. But, in my opinion, it is much more “touristy” than when we visited about 10 years ago. Our sense was that many more busses of visitors are being jammed into town than before. It doesn’t ruin the experience – especially if you get a boat – but it’s something to be aware of just so you can set your expectations accordingly.

Next stop – Puglia.