According to my newspaper, Rovinj is described as being “impossibly picturesque “. Hmmm – it’s ok but that sounds a bit like hyperbole to us.
Always a bad sign …
And yes, it was pretty busy and no standout monuments so we left after a couple of hours and hung out at our local beach.
Day was completely turned around by dinner which I had sort of booked by mistake – website was only in Croatian and I thought I had aborted before the end but I hadn’t which was great.
Enjoyed the fish and the views
For a few days, the weather forecast was for thunderstorms, flooding, travel disruption (and probably raining frogs and pestilence as well!).
So expectations were low – getting out for a brief walk would be regarded as a positive and we even resorted to “fond” memories of previous days when we were confined to barracks. (Granada, Sicily, Tenerife and Madeira came to mind).
But it was much much better than that, although fun in the morning.
But then armed with much wet weather gear we headed out to Porec, about 40 minutes up the coast.
Much of it from the 4th and 5th Centuries so quite old.
Congratulated ourselves on timing lunch during a showery interlude
And being smug thinking we had cracked it when the heavens opened again when we were only 5 minutes from the car park so fond memories of sheltering in the bus station.
Didn’t get wet from above but feet sodden from the floods.
Lovely evening in Valle
First of all, demonstrating my lack of geography I didn’t even know where Istria and Slovenia were when Eileen suggested it, so here we go
Easy journey and managed to get to the local town, Rovinj in the evening.
Got drenched coming back. Forecast for tomorrow is “inclement” so we’ll see how we go.
All too short.
Bank holiday = Shelagh, Alan and family in Aldeburgh so here we are again.
Not the best start (actually only a short sharp shower) so enjoyed a picnic in the car.
But then everything improved and it’s almost like Groundhog Day – everything familiar and lovely.
Even made a friend where we’re staying
Did it!
Stunning views – who knew???
And despite all the warnings, Strava timed it at 11 minutes to the top from the car park – admittedly quite steep.
Back at our house by 10.00 for a well deserved coffee. And then a visit to a working mill
And that is it. Repeat visits to Ilam and Kedleston and enjoyed some cold beers on our terrace.
And another one – not NT this time.
It’s getting seriously hot outside – finding places in the shade to sit is a problem!
But then luck really hit us – looking for a shady place to have our picnic and completely by chance found Monsal Head – benches in the shade with quite a decent view.
And a bit of a walk on the old railway line.
Discovering lots to do – and much of it National Trust which is great. Today Kedleston Hall which, of course, we’d never heard of.
Chatting to Jo
And a nice walk round the grounds.
It was one of the drivers for the holiday – can’t believe neither of us had ever been. Definitely worth it.
Firstly Eileen managed to source a discount – sign up for Arts Society Membership ( £20) and get half price entry (saving £32). Happy Days!
And the inside
And for the rest of the visit the biggest challenge was to find a bench in the shade (which we don’t think is often an issue in this part of the world!).
Beginning to get a bit of a feel for Matlock and its surrounds, but still can’t be quite sure what we’ll find. For instance, when a walk is described as “moderate ” that could have quite a different meaning when you’re surrounded by all these hills.
Anyway, DoveDale was a really nice surprise
.. including the balancing act …
And Ilam describes itself as NT and a Youth Hostel. Both true, but still fabulous.
And back to our own wonderful view
