Well, I hate to say it, but the Croatian Holiday is over. It is such a shame, but at least I got a tan.

I mean really though, why wouldn’t I  miss waking up and having breakfast here every morning?

We did finally accept the fact  that we weren’t going to be able to stay in paradise forever, but we did however, come to the conclusion that we didn’t have to leave in the middle of the week… So, we didn’t. We stayed two extra nights and decided Italy can wait. It was worth it.

Opatija, Croatia was seriously the most beautiful beach location I have ever been to. The water is just the right shade of blue, and the mountains surrounding the coast just make the views picture perfect. The entire town is well manicured with an unique little touch, the people are friendly, the seafood is fresh, and there is gelato every two shops. What more could one want for a tropical vacation?!

Oh, and to make Opatija even better, the seagulls get  up close and personal.

This guy here was going to town on some french fries a fellow guest left behind on the table next to us. Yes, that is ketchup all over his beak. He was pretty aggressive with those fries, and Dan was completely grossed out and wanted to move, but I thought it was hilarious just kept snapping pics.

Anyways, Dan and I found the best restaurant in town. It was called Hemingway Ristorante and we went there THREE times! I know that may sound weird, but trust me, when you live overseas and 90% of the time you can’t understand the menus and never really know what you are getting to eat , when you find somewhere with extraordinary food, you have to go back.

And might I add, not only did everything on the menu look outstanding, the ambiance and service was excellent.

To prepare your palate for awesomeness, the chef sends out a per-appetizer ” small bite”  to every guest that varies daily. This wasn’t anything but a slice of toasted french baguette, with a cream cheese flavored topping and a cherry tomato, but man was it good.

For an appetizer, Dan and I  decided to eat local and ordered up some fresh  muscles and calamari.

It is incredible how the freshness of  food improves the quality. These were both EXCELLENT and there wasn’t a crumb left on the plate.

And here we have my main course for our second night’s dinner. Hemmingway’s specialty is pasta and the first night I tried a pasta with shrimp and truffles.  I have never before had a truffle, but know they are somewhat of a delicacy and allegedly delicious. It was indeed delicious, but for dinner on night two I wanted something with a little less potent  flavor. I decided to get a simple spaghetti bolognese with mushrooms.

There was no doubt that this pasta was homemade , and that  makes a huge difference in quality. Also, I loved how the sauce wasn’t heavy and had a lighter tomato flavor unlike many bolognese sauces I have tried. It was absolutely fantastic, and even Dan thought so!

So, there we have one of my best dinners thus far in Europe.  This place, Hemingways, was delicious, and I give them two thumps up.

And now I am sure you are wondering, “Where is the dessert?” Trust me, I did not skip out on dessert while in Croatia! Like I mentioned, there were gelato shops EVERYWHERE! We seriously had gelato 5 out of 6 nights we were there.

I know, that is horrible, but how could you pass this stuff up?

Don’t mind the chandelier  reflecting in the glass, they just do their gelato classy like that in Croatia. We went to a different shop and tried different flavors every night, and once you get stuck on gelato, regular ice cream doesn’t cut it.

I definitely couldn’t  have asked for a more relaxing, beautiful, and romantic time with my love. If you ever get the chance, check out Croatia. I feel that it is an overlooked destination for Americans, and I guarantee that it is just as nice, if not nicer than several other tropical locations that are often more touristy and just as expensive.

Now  that we have officially moved on from Croatia for the time being, you may be wondering if we took advantage of our last two days on vacation and went anywhere else cool. Well, of course we did! We wanted to knock out two birds with one stone and check off another desirable European destination on our way back to Munich, with some history and cool sights.

 This a view from a  famous castle we visited while there. Any guesses to where we chose to go?

Posts and  more pictures coming soon!