Border Crossings
Our host, Gabriele, had invited us to stay another night for free but we had to keep moving! The anxiety of crossing through Slovenia & into Croatia was up there. We were told several times about the sticker needed for our car to travel through Slovenia so we got one for $33 at our last stop before leaving Italy. I thought they were going to stop us at the Slovenian border & check the sticker... nope. There is no border control because Slovenia is still part of the EU. The fine, however, is $300 if you're caught without the proper sticker! It only took about 20 minutes to cross Slovenia at the coast.
They did stop us at the Croatian border, but just long enough to scan & stamp our passports. Our 1st stamping since arriving in Barcelona. We pulled ahead to the customs booth but the guy looked at us wondering why we stopped, checked to see if the gate was up & waved us on. In another 30 minutes we came to the little village of Kanfanar in the middle of the Istria Peninsula. Istria has belonged to other neighboring kingdoms or countries throughout history; to Italy after WWI, then to former Yugoslavia after WWII & now to Croatia, although Istrians consider themselves quite distinct culturally. More on that when we get to dinner.
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| stop to get Slovenia sticker for the van |
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| crazy truck traffic headed into Italy |
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| Slovenia speed limit sign |
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| Stacia risked taking this shot at the Croatian border control station |
"Ivan & Tina" House
I booked this particular place in Kanfanar because of the cool backyard with a pool & games. It has serious potential. If it were 20 degrees warmer we would have love it here, but at 62 degrees & cloudy it's a bit less attractive. We did enjoy our 1st evening in the warm sun by the pool, although even when Cannon jumped in he screamed & got right out! We did kick the ball around on the mini soccer field, played ping pong, foosball & Kyra & Cannon played on the kiddie tree fort.
The house is divided into 4 apartments I think, the top level belonging to the hosts, Ivan & Tina. I wanted to squeeze us into a single apartment but we got 2 & have plenty of room with less noise for those doing schoolwork. The main downer is the single heater in a central room that takes all day to warm up the bedrooms. No mosquitoes though.
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| Carley & Cannon before he jumped in |
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| Cannon warming up on the stone hut after he got out |
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| a shot with the house in Kanfanar, Croatia |
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| our host brought us gross "lemonade" where Kyra is sitting under the canopy |
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| the kiddie treehouse |
Authentic "Istrian" Cuisine
When I asked our nice fellow serving us dinner if this was authentic Croatian food, he corrected me with, "Istrian food!" ...
A 5-course meal...
Stacia had a small heart attack when he handed her the bill for 750 dollars... We knew a huge meal like that should be in the ballpark of $20/person but not more than $100/person! In Croatia they use kuna (pronounced "koona," not like Kuna, ID) so the 750 turned out to be 100 euros ($110) for all of us, or about $15/person. Not too bad for more-than-you-can eat authentic Istrian cuisine!
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| sunset photos are hard on the eyes |
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| the family plaque |
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| cool décor! |
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| meat & cheese appetizers |
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| broth & noodle soup |
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| vinegar salad |
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| stroganoff-like meat sauce with thick pasta chunks |
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| more pasta & meat, very tasty sauces! |
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| chocolate-topped carrot cake |
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| a polish family at the next table |
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| time for the bill |
Stacia you have nice clothes for someone limiting what they can take. I'm amazed how all the girls had Sunday clothes. (in your carry-ons from the start?)
ReplyDeleteThe food looks great. Hope we get some.
Thanks, but NOT limited in the clothes we can buy! This jackect/blazer and scarf was purchased in Italy to fit in with all the local style. We just have to get rid of a few old T-shirts for the plane ride home!
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