From Korćula and Hvar

We've moved from one island in the Adriatic to another, taking the car ferry from Korćula (KOR-chu-la) to Hvar.

Somewhere between Korćula and Hvar ...

Korćula is beautiful, but small. I went for a jog Thursday morning, down the hill from our hotel, the Marko Polo, to the Old Town and back. It was so small, I lapped the old walled city twice before heading back up the hill, probably a little less than a two-mile run.

The layout of the city magical, though: The alleys on the west, straight, to carry the cooling breezes across the town during summer; slanted on the east, to block the cold winds which come with winter.

Looking east ...

Still, watching the sun rise on the sea was beautiful. It's hard to describe how clear and blue the Adriatic is; it's the deepest blue at times, but when you look into it, even down from a pier, into waters 15- to 20-feet deep, it's so clean and crisp you can see schools of small fish darting back and forth between the rocks and over the sand.

We rented a car for the trip from Dubrovnik to Istria. It's kind of funny; we're rocking the roads of Croatia in a Skoda family sedan:

Hvar is an ancient seaport, cast aside like so many others in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas during the 1800s when steam-powered vessels usurped the sailing ships. It's had many names, with Hvar being a mispronunciation by the Slavs which invaded what was then the Greek island of Pharos in the 7th Century.

Hvar seen from Spanjola Fortress

The three-hour ferry trip was wonderful, with para-sailors and windsurfers criss-crossing the wake of the ferry boat as we left Korćula.

The ferry arrives at Korćula

Leaving Korćula

The car ferry, which only leaves once twice a week from Korćula, actually takes you to the port of Stari Grad, on the north side of Hvar island. Then you drive for 20 minutes or so to Hvar proper. We got in to town around 4:30 p.m. and checked into our hotel, the Podstine, which is Croatian for "Under the Wall," by which they mean, under the 80-plus-foot cliff face:

We were in the building on the other side of the road. The hotel's layout being that the reception and lobby are on the 3rd floor, and our room was on the 1st floor, descending down the cliff face. Yes, the room was the size of a large, Park Avenue walk-in closet, and once again the shower was Hobbit-sized. (On a side note, Bob had no trouble with the size of the facilities.)

The view from the lobby

The city was founded by the Greeks in the 4th Century, B.C., but the fortress which looms high above the town was built upon the ruins of a 7th Century A.D. Roman fort. It's called the Spanjola Fortress due to its 16th Century design, built under Venetian rule, based on Spanish architecture.

View from the Fortress

Following the collapes of the shipping trade in the 19th Century, Hvar's governors smartly positioned the island as a vacation and spa destination, a tradition which continues today.

Bob and I were exhausted from the day's travel, and we wanted to eat at the Golden Shell, one of Croatia's best restaurants, but with only 24 seats in the place, it was booked solid our first night. The waiter, Anton, however, recommended we go to Konoba Menego, a small restaurant at the far edges of the touristy restaurants, up the hill from the town square.

What a find: Basically a "mom 'n' pop"-style place serving traditional food, we enjoyed an amazing meal of gnocchi and shrimp in a light cream sauce, a seafood salad and the special of the night, baked veal wrapped around vegetables in a caper and olive oil reduction served with a barley and vegetable salad. The gnocchi were tricolor, made with potato, potato and spinach and potato and beets.

What stood out above all else was the white wine, which Bob ordered. Full-bodied, like Chardonnay, but even and crisp, with citrus, apple and buttery notes. Bob was mad for it, and I kept stealing sips. (I had the red, made from the local Plavac grape, which was nice, but nothing outstanding.)

But when we asked for a bottle, our waiter told us it was the house wine, from the owners own vineyard and not for sale. It's not uncommon, he told us. Even the olive oil was from the owner's olive groves.

You don't get much fresher than that.

Crossing the Pelješac Peninsula

Left Dubrovnik this morning at 10 a.m. and headed northwest across the Pelješac Peninsula towards Orebić and the ferry to Korćula.

 Bob, master of all he surveys ...

Pelješac (pronounced Pell-yuh-shotz) is wine-country and as you travel across the main highway, the D414, you wind your way from the shore into the foothills and back along the water, never far from a vineyard or a wine store. The peninsula is only about 40 miles in length and some of Croatia's finest wines are made here.

The climate is Mediterranean, and we have been blessed with mostly clear, blue skies with light clouds resting on the peaks of the granite mountain tops.  The temperature was in the low-80s with a wonderful breeze.

The view from Mali Ston's harbor

The peninsula is the home to the Dingać (ding-gatch) and Postup wine regions and to the Plavic Mali, or “little blue grape,” indigenous to the area. It’s also where giant salt flats have been cultivated for centuries and where the region’s amazing oysters, scallops and white scallops are cultivated.

We stopped in the tiny village of Mali Ston, more or less the beginning of the peninsula, and had lunch at the wonderful restaurant, Kapetanova Kuca.

Oysters from the local waters

Mussel soup, rich and savory and filled with mussels

Mixed seafood: Giant prawns, mussels, clams

 and white mussels with polenta and tagliatelle

Following lunch, we drove to Orebić, stopping at a roadside wine store high above the town for a couple of glasses of wine. Bob has the white, the Pošin, and I had two glasses of the Dingać; one from the side of the peninsula facing the bay, the other, facing the Adriatic.

Both were robust, dark, tannin with cherry flavors, but the Dingać from the seaside-facing region was bolder, deeper, with a very dry finish, very similar to a big Zin. The bayside-facing Dingać was lighter and fruitier, almost Beaujolais-like.

Maybe there’s something to this whole “terroir” thing …

Anyway, all three wines were great despite the fact we tasted them at a wine store called “Wine Shop” which had a giant wine bottle next to it:

Many Croatian wines are world class, but due to the relatively small number of vineyards and low production - some vineyards are barely a couple of hundred acres - there is barely enough product for the domestic market. Still, a great reason to visit the country, I say ...

The peninsula from the ferry

So we hopped on the ferry in Orebić and arrived on Korćula Island by 4 p.m. We're staying just outside of the Old Town. Like Dubrovnik, Korćula is a walled city right on the water. It's not as old a Dubrovnik, dating from the 10th Century, and certainly not as impressive. But it has an almost rustic charm, with its weathered limestone buildings and marble paved roads. You can easily walk the old city in 30-minutes, and take in all the sights.

Despite many recommendations, we ended up eating at a very non-traditional, contemporary restaurant in the Lesic Dimitri Hotel, overlooking the bay. We started the meal with a glass each of the Misal Prestige, an Istrian sparkling wine made with Istrian Malvasia and Chardonnay grapes. A dry, yet surprisingly rich yellow sparkling wine.

Bob had the vegetable soup, a broth thickened with mashed vegetables and small croutons; I had an order of  paški sir or "cheese from Pag Island." It's an amazing cheese and I'm going to cheat and make you go here to read about it.

However, the main event for the evening was the cuttlefish, cooked in its own ink and served with whipped potato, cream, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil, topped with a white truffle garnish. The call it "Night & Day."

It is the house specialty, and it was wonderful. Even eating it was fun, breaking through the creamed potatoes and stirring in the pitch, oily black ink. The squid was tender and very tasty. Score.

I had the lamb kabobs and Bob had a wonderfully grilled veal steak  chop. The side dish was very interesting and tasty, too: Potatoes boiled in fish stock. Not at all fishy, but luxurious, with a slight briny taste. We finished with off with another nice Dingać.

On a strange aside, the background music for the evening veered between 60s soul, "lite" jazz, some of what we thought was Croatian pop, and in one of the stranger musical moments, the theme of "Sanford & Son." Ah, American pop culture. Your reach has no end. Enjoy!