For our third day, we retreated to Dol, and the wonderfully creative space that is Marinka’s studio. Overnight, the long summer’s drought had broken, and we’d been treated to a crashing sound and light show with so much rain that it sounded like a waterfall off our roof. Thankfully, Wednesday dawned bright, clear and sparkling.…
Being now happily settled into Vrboska, on Tuesday we set off to paint in the oldest town on the island – Stari Grad. Our sites for today would reflect the history of this place and the legacy of the ancient Greek and Roman settlers. We started around 9:30, intending to visit the Dominican Monastery, which…
Day One of our artist retreat began with an early morning walk around Vrboska to orient everyone. I wanted to cover the practicalities of staying here as well as giving the opportunity to take photographs as the sun comes up. It is the absolute best time to be out and about with a camera, everything…
If you listen to the radio or TV in Croatia during the summer, the word “kanader” might feature in the broadcasts. Or you might see the bright yelllow strange shaped airplane on TV or for real. So what on earth is it? Why do people keep mentioning it? In common with other mediterranean-climate areas, for example…
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…
To round off an afternoon of wine tasting, the Dalmacija Wine Expo brings in some of Croatia’s best chefs to prepare dinner at local restaurants. The menus of these Culinary Stars are published online, so you can choose in advance which of these gastronomic feasts you want to indulge in. Not an easy choice, as…
At the eastern tip of Hvar lies the pretty little port of Sućuraj. From there, it’s only 5 km, a short hop by ferry across to Drvenik on the mainland. From the island the effect is rather dramatic – you’re looking up at a 4,000 ft wall across the small channel, which looms ever larger…
Walking around Vrboska at night is delightful, if a bit tricky in places. We have street lights that kind of cover most areas, but some familiarity with the pathways definitely helps for those darker corners! Of course, the most important buildings are always floodlit throughout the night – so the churches of Sv Marija and…
Remember when the night skies were full of stars? Not just a few random bright dots on an otherwise dark backdrop – but whole drifts of fine-grained pinpoints where the more you look, the more you see? The structure of the Milky Way on clear view as it wheels above you? Shooting stars? Such is…
We wrote about swifts before and also about swallows and martins. But Hvar is the summer home of a whole set of other birds, many of them rare or non-existent in more northern climes. We just saw our first flock of Bee Eaters (Merops apiaster). This colourful bird winters in deepest Africa, but comes to warmer parts…
Go Hvar 
You must be logged in to post a comment.