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Friday, 20 July 2018

Summer holidays: an Istrian adventure

Summer is well underway and it's time to do a little more exploration. This time my partner and I will be exploring Istria, a peninsula in the Adriatic sea that comprises of three countries: Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, and yes, we'll be making stops in all 3!




August 8th: Trieste

Immediately after arriving at Venice airport, we'll side-step the city itself and head east by train to our first Istrian stop at Trieste, an Italian city very close to the Slovenian border. While Trieste was honestly planned as a convenient stop between Venice and Slovenia, I am looking forward to experiencing an Italian culture that is heavily influenced by its Slovenian and Croatian neighbours.

Must-dos:
  • Castello di Miramare

August 9 - 10th: Ljubljana

After one night in Trieste we'll take a fairly quick bus ride the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. As with any other capital city, there's so much on offer so it's hard to decide what to do altogether, so if you have been to Ljubljana please get in touch! The plan is to get Ljubljana City Cards which allows for free use of the city's public transport system as well as free or discounted entry to many, many city sights and attractions - a super affordable way to explore!

Must-dos:
  • Old Town
  • Ljubljana Castle
  • Ljubljanica boat cruise
  • Dragon Bridge

August 11 - 12th: Bled

After two days in the Slovenian capital, we'll be heading to Slovenia's most popular tourist destination; Bled. Bled is most famous for its lake and the island which hosts the Church of Assumption of Mary which is super picturesque (as any quick google search will show you). I am really looking forward to visiting Bled and its lake, I was sold on the image search!
(I should also point out that neither Ljubljana nor Bled are in Istria, please forgive my wicked redrawing of map boundaries)

Must-dos:
  • Cerkev Marijinega vnebovzetja (Church of the Assumption of Mary)
  • Lake Bled
  • Bled Castle
  • Vintgar gorge

August 13th: Rovinj

After a total of 4 days in Slovenia, it will be time to travel back to Istria, this time heading to Rovinj, a port town in Croatia. Although we were keen to spend more time in Croatia, we chose to prioritise Slovenia for this trip to keep costs down as Croatia has yet to adopt the Euro - the trusted currency of France, Italy and Slovenia (not to mention many other countries). Rovinj looks like a beautiful seaside town with its own Croatian take on Mediterranean culture, cuisine and architecture.

Must-dos:
  • Basilica of St. Euphemia

August 14th: Venice

On the final full day of our trip, we'll take an early ferry from Rovinj to Venice which is no-doubt the best known destination of those I've noted above so I won't go into too much detail. In all honesty, I've not researched Venice at all yet, I've been too preoccupied being mesmerised by our other destinations so advice on what to do is very much welcome for Venice!
July 20, 2018 / by / 0 Comments

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