The village of Vrbanj is home to Frane Abramović, and his ceramics studio. Through the Udruga Varbonj society, he organizes an international ceramic art colony each summer. Ceramicists from around Europe participate, and an exhibition of their work from last summer, “Varbonj 2017“, is on now in the Zvijezda Mora church in Hvar (Open: 21st…
It’s the end of June, so it’s lavender harvest time! Shame, really, as I love to see the purple hummocks decorating the hillsides. Unlike Provence, where the lavender is grown in great long stripes, here the bushes are kept separate, giving more of a pattern of dots. And, given the steepness of the fields, the…
It’s been nearly 5 years since we took the old Liburnia ferry from Stari Grad down the coast to Dubrovnik. That took a leisurely 8 hours, including stops at Korčula town and the island of Mljet. Things are speedier now. Krilo’s fast catamaran service does basically the same trip (leaving from Hvar, not Stari Grad)…
With the lower level of light in December and January, I’ve been noticing more textures and patterns as we’re out and about on the local trails. The slanting sun is great at picking out the underlying structures and surfaces in a cool, muted colour palette. In this vineyard, for example, last year’s growth shows as…
Hvar town has been decorating for the festive season! A cluster of small huts has arrived in front of the loggia, serving food and drink, while lights have been installed around the pijaca and on the palm trees along the waterfront. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… here are a few photos of…
More properly, I should say a bug hotel, with an annexe for bees. As we’ve expanded our range of garden plants this year, we’ve been visited by more bees. Over the long, dry summer, they especially seemed to enjoy drinking the water from the saucers of our large pots. To help, we added a special…
I’m happy to report that the good fortune of our house is assured for the summer at least. This is due to the presence of a little swallow family nesting in the porch by our front door. We did try to explain to them that it wasn’t the quietest of locations, but neither parents nor…
I wrote last year about the Dalmatian Black Pine, and the efforts to save this endangered species on the island of Hvar. In honour of Earth Day 2017 (22 April), here is my painting of a Dalmation Black PIne on Sv Nikola, the highest peak of the island. In the background is Mt Biokovo on…
This December, we came across a new custom in the villages of Hvar. Well, I say new, but only to us, and it turned out only the name was truly unfamiliar. Kolendanje is the local variation of very old folk custom in Croatia, with versions in many other Slavic countries. When we arrived at the…
Delighted to see so many of Hvar’s winemakers at the 11th annual Vino.com, Zagreb’s premier wine expo, held Nov 25-26 in the Hotel Esplanade. Despite the rival attractions of the Davis Cup tournament also in town, and the opening of the Christmas Advent celebrations, Vino.com was extremely popular. It was packed out on Saturday afternoon, by…
Go Hvar 
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