Lynn WiezyckiOn our second day in Istria, we made the rounds of several small picturesque villages, Višnjan, Motovun, and Livade, each unique!
We first drove to Višnjan, a small village where it was apparent that there had been an Italian presence at one time, as many of the signs were in Croatian and Italian. As with all villages and towns, the church was the most prominent building. All images were made with the Nikon Z8 and 24-200mm lens unless otherwise noted.
For a small village, the church was very ornate!
This village also had a very tiny church.
I found another cat in a picture-perfect setting.
We took a coffee break at one of the outdoor cafes in this cute village and then hit the road. We were headed to an unexpected stop along the road! As we wound around the mountain roads we kept running into huge buses (which in some places were bigger than the road) and we were wondering why they were taking the route we were on. As we came around a curve we saw several buses parked in a fairly small parking area in front of a roadside cafe. Once we were out of our vehicles and joined the crowd of people on the far side of the lot we knew why the buses were there!
We were on a mountainside and across the valley in front of us were vast fields, and vineyards, and on the next mountain was the village of Motovun!
I was so glad that my 24-200mm lens had that telephoto zoom so I could zoom into the interesting and beautiful village from our vantage point.
Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore Motovun so our distant view was all we were able to experience.
We were heading to a special stop to experience a big food festival in that area. As we drove into Livade, we saw a huge tent and lots of people. We found a parking area and then, decided to stop for an early lunch before the restaurant Kresimer wanted to try, was too busy!
The festival that was happening was the Truffle Festival! This part of Croatia is known for its truffles! The festival attracted chefs from around Europe and beyond to see and try the truffle harvest for 2023.
But first, the lunch we had was so good! First, Kresimer ordered an insanely good antipasto platter!
I had to try the truffles so I ordered a pasta dish with black truffles on the top. In the US, if you order truffles, you are apt to get bearly a taste but not in Livade! The waitress brought out my pasta and there was a pile of shaved truffles on my food and not black truffles, but the more uncommon, white truffles, which even in Livade were more expensive! I had Kresimer explain that I had ordered black truffles so they told me they would charge me for black truffles and I was welcome to enjoy my dish with the white truffles. That was the earthiest pasta dish I have ever eaten! Truffles are good but that was just too much earthiness for me!
After finishing our lunch, we walked down the street to the Truffle Festival and there were lots of truffles but so much more. The tent was huge and was set up with displays from truffle distributors but also olive oil, wine, and liqueurs!
We discovered a new favorite thing in this tent! The Aura Company is a Croatian family-owned distillery of the best brandies and liqueurs. We did some taste sampling for sure! Their Limoncello was so good!
One of my friends promptly bought a bottle of the limoncello (which between the five of us, we finished off that night! ). More on Aura later!
From Livade, we headed back to Rovinj but that will be the subject of my next post!
If in Istria, I highly recommend checking out the small towns and villages. They show an even more distinct influence of the past occupiers of this part of the world! Check for local festivals as that allows for even more of an in-depth feeling for these interesting places! Višnjan, Motovun, and Livade are great places to start!
To view larger versions of these images and many, many more and to purchase as prints or on other merchandise please visit my galleries:
That is all for now!
Lynn
Add comment