Well, sorely disappointed in the lack of actual Dalmatians on the Dalmatian Coast. Seriously, seven days in and not a one; not even 101. Closest we've got to a Dalmatian? Visor for sale in Hvar:
Hvar is a beautiful port town aimed at the luxury-seeking vacationer. It's a town with a great history, being that almost every major empire of the ancient world established, trampled, reinvigorated and/or plundered the town and the island over the last three millenium.
You name it, they were here: Greeks, Romans. Slavs, Venetians, and for military history buffs, the Ottoman Turks came through on in 1571 on there way to the Battle of Lepanto whereupon they pillaged the town and razed it to the ground. (On a side note, October 7, 1571, the date of the Battle of Lepanto, was the same date in 2001 when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Coincidence? I think not ...)
Later the French came through, and finally the Austrians. It was quite the destination for all the warring clans of Europe.
There are more than 200 shipwrecks from the Roman period throughout the waters surrounding Croatia, many near Hvar and the museum in the Spanjola Fortress contains amphorae retrieved from some of the wrecks. What's interesting is that archaeologists confimed these containers carries olive oil and dried fish from Roman-ruled Spain. Quite a distance to travel by boat back in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries.
The center of Hvar is St. Stephen's Square and the Cathedral of St. Stephen, built at the height of the Renaissance. But the true center of town, and it's where the port begins, is the Arsenal:
During the 17th and 18th centuries, galleons were brought ashore, there masts removed and work completed within this wonderful building's walls.
The Arsenal is now a giant theater, but what makes it cool is that in 1612, the governor of the town built on the second floor of the building a theater for both the aristocracy and the working class to attend theater together. Now the whole space has been renovated. The night we were there, a children's theater piece had been performed.
OK, we had read about this one restraurant in Hvar, Zlatna školjka (the Golden Shell), and we wanted to go. Chef Ivan Buzolić is Croatia's only big international culinary judge and runs this small restaurant - 24 seats if the weather is good, 18 if it starts to rain, which it did the night we dined - located in the heart of Hvar's tourist-restaurant alleys above St. Stephen's Square.
Our waiter, Anton, or "Fluffy," as he admitted he was called in high school - "I was fat," he said - recommended the local Plavac red wine. It was dry, cherries, some tar, light tannin.
We started off with a wonderful potato salad, the mayonnaise was made with olive oil, a cherry fruit syrup vinegar, truffle oil and garnished with shaved white truffles. Rich, savory, we needed more bread to sop up the wonderful tart mayonnaise. Things only got better.
Bob ordered the mussels and I, the lobster soup. Anton told us that the basis of most of the sauces and soups was a pesto of garlic, onions and parsley in olive oil. The mussels came in a white wine broth with pieces of fried polenta at the bottom of the bowl.
The lobster soup had the look of a creamy chowder, but once you broke the surface with your spoon, it fragmented, like a miso soup, with chunks of lobster, polenta and baby shrimp dancing in the clear broth. In both liquors the garlic was strong, but sweet, with the freshness of the parsley really standing out, especially in the soup.
Bob ordered the grilled shrimp, which came served on a bed of par-boiled zucchini in a lemon olive oil, a side of mayonnaise and a warm mixed potato and zucchini salad.
Next stop? Split and then onto Lake Country ...
Hvar is a beautiful port town aimed at the luxury-seeking vacationer. It's a town with a great history, being that almost every major empire of the ancient world established, trampled, reinvigorated and/or plundered the town and the island over the last three millenium.
Bob and I on the Spanjola Fortress ramparts overlooking Hvar
You name it, they were here: Greeks, Romans. Slavs, Venetians, and for military history buffs, the Ottoman Turks came through on in 1571 on there way to the Battle of Lepanto whereupon they pillaged the town and razed it to the ground. (On a side note, October 7, 1571, the date of the Battle of Lepanto, was the same date in 2001 when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Coincidence? I think not ...)
Later the French came through, and finally the Austrians. It was quite the destination for all the warring clans of Europe.
There are more than 200 shipwrecks from the Roman period throughout the waters surrounding Croatia, many near Hvar and the museum in the Spanjola Fortress contains amphorae retrieved from some of the wrecks. What's interesting is that archaeologists confimed these containers carries olive oil and dried fish from Roman-ruled Spain. Quite a distance to travel by boat back in the 2nd and 3rd Centuries.
Spanish amphorae
The center of Hvar is St. Stephen's Square and the Cathedral of St. Stephen, built at the height of the Renaissance. But the true center of town, and it's where the port begins, is the Arsenal:
During the 17th and 18th centuries, galleons were brought ashore, there masts removed and work completed within this wonderful building's walls.
Inside the Arsenal in Hvar
The Arsenal is now a giant theater, but what makes it cool is that in 1612, the governor of the town built on the second floor of the building a theater for both the aristocracy and the working class to attend theater together. Now the whole space has been renovated. The night we were there, a children's theater piece had been performed.
Spit-roasted lamb in Hvar. More on that later ...
OK, we had read about this one restraurant in Hvar, Zlatna školjka (the Golden Shell), and we wanted to go. Chef Ivan Buzolić is Croatia's only big international culinary judge and runs this small restaurant - 24 seats if the weather is good, 18 if it starts to rain, which it did the night we dined - located in the heart of Hvar's tourist-restaurant alleys above St. Stephen's Square.
Our waiter, Anton, or "Fluffy," as he admitted he was called in high school - "I was fat," he said - recommended the local Plavac red wine. It was dry, cherries, some tar, light tannin.
We started off with a wonderful potato salad, the mayonnaise was made with olive oil, a cherry fruit syrup vinegar, truffle oil and garnished with shaved white truffles. Rich, savory, we needed more bread to sop up the wonderful tart mayonnaise. Things only got better.
Bob ordered the mussels and I, the lobster soup. Anton told us that the basis of most of the sauces and soups was a pesto of garlic, onions and parsley in olive oil. The mussels came in a white wine broth with pieces of fried polenta at the bottom of the bowl.
The lobster soup had the look of a creamy chowder, but once you broke the surface with your spoon, it fragmented, like a miso soup, with chunks of lobster, polenta and baby shrimp dancing in the clear broth. In both liquors the garlic was strong, but sweet, with the freshness of the parsley really standing out, especially in the soup.
Bob ordered the grilled shrimp, which came served on a bed of par-boiled zucchini in a lemon olive oil, a side of mayonnaise and a warm mixed potato and zucchini salad.
I ordered up the chef's take on the local seafood stew, the Gregada. This had poached branzino, rolled around kale and sun-dried tomatoes, shrimp, limpets, clams, mussels and a certain shellfish which can't be named due to legal issues.
It was a beautiful. The seafood was so fresh that the briny taste of the shellfish softend the garlic and onions. The branzino was cooked perfectly, with the sweetness of the tomatoes complimenting the light bitterness of the kale.
Overall, this meal was totally worth the wait. We loved Hvar. I actually spent one whole afternoon at the hotel, lounging on the private pier, drinking German sparkling wine and swimming in the Adriatic. Bob believes I will figure this whole vacation thing out someday.
It was a beautiful. The seafood was so fresh that the briny taste of the shellfish softend the garlic and onions. The branzino was cooked perfectly, with the sweetness of the tomatoes complimenting the light bitterness of the kale.
Overall, this meal was totally worth the wait. We loved Hvar. I actually spent one whole afternoon at the hotel, lounging on the private pier, drinking German sparkling wine and swimming in the Adriatic. Bob believes I will figure this whole vacation thing out someday.
Next stop? Split and then onto Lake Country ...
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