One of the great benefits of catching the early morning ferry into Split, is the opportunity to wander around the backstreets when they’re not so busy. On this particular Sunday, we had a plane to catch, but that wasn’t until lunchtime. In the meantime, we could have breakfast on the Riva, and explore the old town.
The Dalmatian fjaka doesn’t really have a simple translation. Even the Spanish concept of siesta, taking a snooze on a hot afternoon, although related, doesn’t quite cover it. Fjaka is more of a trancendental mood where time stands still and mind and body drift in a totally relaxed state. Nothing happens. Any movement is simply…
Having really enjoyed the seminar about the top Plavac wines, we wanted to learn more about the best wines from other parts of Croatia. The seminar by the wine authority Darko Baretić promised an insight into the thought processes of some of the best known winemakers and what is in store from them over the coming months and years. Excellent!
Plavac Mali is a relative of Zinfandel in California, and Primitivo in Italy, so we’re generally comfortable that we know what a glass of Plavac will taste like. However, growing this Dalmatian native in its own, frankly marginal terrain can give very different results depending on the the soil, environment, heat, sea, rocks, etc, etc. We recently attended a guided tasting by Croatian wine authority, Saša Spiranec of some of the best Plavac wines from the prestigious locations throughout Dalmatia, to assess the quality, style and aging potential.
After a great start to our tour of Korčula, we arrived at the town on the island most visited by passing tourists. Set out on its promontary, fortified all around and bristling with artillery, for centuries this small town guarded a strategic shipping channel. Korčula is the name both of the town and the island,…
Last September, on our way from Hvar to Dubrovnik we called in briefly at Korčula. Now, I don’t think it really counts as visiting the island if you stay on the ferry, and don’t actually set foot on land. But we liked what we saw, so a couple of weeks ago, we set out to…
One of the most impressive buildings on the Stari Grad waterfront has recently been renovated in fine style and will be opening for the season as the classy boutique Hotel Apolon. The restaurant opened a couple of weeks ago, and we went along to see how it all looks. This was originally the villa of…
While walking around Lumbarda with our friends John and Rachel from Korcula Explorer, they asked whether we had ever seen such cabbages. The cabbages in question were lovely looking healthy plants, obviously cabbage but without the usual solid round head. What we were looking at was a variant of Brassica Oleracea, or wild cabbage, commonly…
Birdwatchers on Hvar between May and September will encounter beautiful colourful bee-eaters. The European Bee-Eater (Merops apiaster) is a gorgeous bird which migrates between tropical Africa and southern Europe. Occasional pairs have tried to breed in Southern England but only five pairs in the last fifty years. On Hvar they can most often be heard…
Hvar is not just the island of sun, wine, and nude beaches. Because of its lush vegetation and plentiful water, it is an important staging post for migrating birds, and many of them spend the summer here. The lack of pesticides on the island is also a big factor in keeping the bird and other…
Go Hvar 
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