Hill towns of Croatia

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Croatia’s landscape is dotted with sleepy, picturesque hill towns.
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Grozjan (grohzh-NYAHN) was the first of three hill towns that we visited.
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It was virtually forgotten until several artists took up residency. Lots of nice galleries to visit.
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Check out these dates.
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RESTORED in 1799! 😀
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Zavrsje (ZAH-vur-shyeh), small, compact and deserted. This was our favorite (favourite for Nathan and Belinda) town of the three that we saw.
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After the Italian exodus post WII this village remains almost uninhabited today.
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Only a very few locals live here now and virtually all of the buildings are abandoned skeletons.
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My very own hobbit house!
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Motovun (moh-toh-VOON), biggest town we visited, built one thousand feet above vineyards and truffle filled forests. Birthplace of Mario Andretti.
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Nice spot to grab lunch before
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walking the walls. Windy up here!
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Commanding view of the countryside below.

When on the Adriatic…

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When you’re in a beautiful town
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where fishing is the main industry
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it’s probably good to order fish for dinner.
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Right!?!
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Ummm, (cover your eyes, Annette). I think I can do this.
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Yep! Pretty tasty!
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Murph liked his squid, too! (wish you were here, Tewks).
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The square where our eatery was located.
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Next day, I thought it would be safe to order crab risotto – here we go again!

Finally!!!

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After just about three weeks of fall like weather we landed in Piran, Slovenia.
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 We spent the next day laying at the beach – relaxing and reading.
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Then we walked the ancient path into the old town.
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And explored the charming lanes.
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Spent some time in Tartini Square…
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I thought these fishing storage units were pretty cool. There were about 30 different containers and each had a unique painting of the old town.
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Such a warm evening we decided to stay for sunset.

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This and that

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On the way to Bled we stopped in the village of Radovljica and visited this Catholic church.
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I found it fascinating that so many flowers were used to decorate the ceiling instead of religious figures.
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While staying in Bled, we walked through the neighborhood orchard many times. At first I thought they were just apple trees, then I discovered the plum trees.  Never have I tasted such sweet plums – even the skin was sweet! Yummy
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My favorite selfie.
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My favorite hubby!
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I think this is a fun pic. ❤

We’re out of the shire, Mr Frodo.

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Headed over to a nearby recommended place – Lake Bohinj (bo hee n).
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Weather less than perfect.
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A bit English I’d say but anyone who knows us know we are anglophiles!
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Fun way to keep the kids (and me!) entertained along the hike.

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Great carving
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This is no way to see a beautiful lake and mountains! Seriously.
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Wait – look at this green water! Hard to tell it from the green grass beyond.
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Australian couple, playing Pooh Sticks, stopped to take this photo of us.
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Hung in long enough for blue sky. Hooray!

Lake Bled, Slovenia

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Head through our neighborhood to the lake.
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Lake Bled
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This church is on an island in Lake Bled.
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Nice reflection.
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Cool castle
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Our walk around the lake – 6K.
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Still walking…
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Time for dinner. I had an amazing veggie plate. So hungry I forgot to take a picture but it was beautiful!
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Castle at night.
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What a difference a day makes. Huge & loud thunderstorms during the night. And our mountain view? Gone!
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Off to the local bakery for breakfast.