Easternholiday in Istria - day 4
On the 4 day of our Istria Easter holiday we went to Pula which is 40 minutes drive from Porec, on the way we made stop in the cities Vodnjan and Bale.
The city of Vodnjan is not that interesting, most street reminded me of the cities in the north eastern part of Croatia, according to our information the city church is home of some mummies which is the main tourist attraction.
The city of Bale is a nice little town made of stone houses, which gives the city a historical atmosphere.
As we finally arrived in Pula we manage to find the main tourist attraction, the roman amphitheatre "Arena" quit easily, the theatre was build more than 2000 years ago for gladiator fights, and it today, besides a tourist attraction also used for cultural event like the International film festival in Pula.
After have a walk around the impressive building we decided to pay the 40 kuna entrance fee to see the Arena from the inside. Our girls was quite existed to see if there was still lions here, and especially when we entered the exhibition in the basement, Ida our smallest daughter was not 100% comfortable. But after I convinced them that the lions were long gone, they found it very interesting to see all the historical objects in the basement.
After finishing our visit at the Arena, we took the car to the centre of town, where we had a walk on the main street, starting from the forum (with temple of Rome and Augustus) through Sergei’s Arch until the outside market (Which i can recommend from prior visits). Pula as the largest city in Istria is also the main city for shopping, not only in the large supermarkets but especially in the city where you can find the most common brands. After finishing our walk we headed back to pula to prepare for our evening dinner at Bebo’s place.
What you can / should see:
- The roman Amphitheatre - Arena
- Sergei’s Arch - the old city gate.
- Several Churches and the Cathedral of Assumption of the blessed Virgin Mary
- Istrian historical museum, which is situated in old fortress at the top of a hill in the centre.
Where to stay:
I personally have always avoided staying in Pula, not because Pula does not have a good offer of private accommodation and Hotels, but mainly because there is much cheaper accommodation in Medulin which is only 10 from Pula. If you prefer a camp site there is a perfect camp in Fazana - the camp Bivillage.
In the evening we went to have our "test" dinner at restaurant Borgonja (Bebo’s place), Bebo had prepared to menus which we could use for our groups.
| Menu 1 | Menu 2 |
| Soup with Corn | Pršut with cheese |
| Goulash with homemade pasta | Mixed grill with homemade fries |
| Fritule | Fritule |
The food was excellent especially the dessert, the homemade Fritule, which is balls made of a dough similar to the one you use for pancakes, served with Powdered sugar was irresistible, for the food Bebo served his homemade red wine, which is the best I had in Croatia until now, so I asked Bebo if I could by a couple of litres, two minutes later I had 5 litre bottle in front of me!!!
After 3 nice hours at the restaurant it was time to head back for Porec, so I asked Bebo for the bill, he said that price was 0 kuna, even when I tried to insist on paying he refused to accept it, as he said, maybe you will bring group this summer then I will be happy, if not it is also ok as you are one of Carlo’s friends, that is what I call hospitality!!
As I do not know if I will have any groups this summer, the least I can do is to recommend Bebo place to all of our readers, so if you should be in Istria this summer please go an have lunch or dinner at bebo’s place, I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
The address you have here:
Taverna Borgonja
Istarska 10
52463 Višnjan
PS: if anyone can recommend me a better red wine then the one Bebo makes, dinner is on me.
Here a few photos from Višnjan and the restaurant
Read about Novigrad and Umag here
Read about Vrsar and Rovinj here
- Gastronomy , Istria , trips
april 24th, 2008 at 05:26
The food cooked by the locals sounds great! And the sights look equally impressive!
april 24th, 2008 at 08:42
Yes it is very nice here; if you can not come you can follow our journey true Croatia with our blog.
Thanks for stopping by.