Following coffee at Cafe Splendid in Jelsa one morning, on the way back to the car we happened upon a sign for an arts and crafts fair. This had been part of the May Fair celebrations which had been held when we weren’t able to go, so we were delighted to find it had been…
Legend has it that the skill of making lace from agave leaves arrived from the Canary Islands around the mid-nineteenth century. A seaman brought back a sample of Tenerife lace from his latest trip, you could imagine as a gift for his sister, who may have been a nun, or attended convent school. The sister…
A birthday is a perfect excuse for eating somewhere special – maybe even somewhere new. We’d read about the Zlatna Školjka (Golden Shell) in Hvar town, and how the chef is part of the “slow food” movement. Now that doesn’t mean you’ll still be waiting for your starter a couple of hours after ordering, but…
The trip up to Velo Grablje from Stari Grad provides you with marvellous views as the road winds its way uphill. The slopes are covered in a distinctive lattice of drystone walls and mounds. As you reach the top, the view to the south opens up, with Vis floating in the distance. And just off…
Step back in time as you enter the world of the traditional Dalmatian Konoba. It’s where the wine is made and stored, where tools are kept when not out working in the fields, and it’s where you sit around a table of an evening and enjoy a glass or two and a song. The konoba…
One of the delights of Hvar is the variety of aromatic plants that grow naturally here. The island is well-known for its lavender (lavanda), but for many centuries, rosemary (ružmarin) was more important to the island’s economy. Rosemary is actually a close relative of lavender, both belonging to the Lamiaceae (mint) family of plants. The…
Stari Grad is an old town. If you wind back time by a couple of thousand years to the turn of the millenium, you’d find that settlements on the island consisted of Illyrian hillforts, mostly away from the coast, though the castle at Hvar town directly overlooked the harbour. And then there was Stari Grad,…
I find the Dalmatian landscape to be a wonderful inspiration, and I’m really enjoying my Painting Rocks! series. At the same time, I’m also exploring the work of local artists, especially those whose work is so evocative of this area. So this week, I’ve taken a work by Mato Celestin Medović, and created my own…
I really enjoy getting up early in Vrboska, especially on a sunny day. Even with the grilles on our shutters firmly closed, I can still tell that the sun is about to appear and it’s time to be out and about. From the top floor of our house, we have a view of the sunrise…
The hill overlooking the town of Hvar is a magnificent viewpoint. From there, you can look down on the town itself, watch the comings and goings in the harbour, see the Pakleni islands and the sea beyond. On a clear day (which they mostly are), you can see right over to Vis. The benefits of…
Go Hvar 
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