Saturday 26 October 2013

Island Life - Hvar



Just as Autumn arrives (my absolute favourite time of year), I am finally getting down to telling you about my amazing week spent in Hvar, Croatia. Five of us got together at the end of September and waved goodbye to a slightly cold and grey London and hopped on the plane to a very sunny Croatia.

We arrived early evening, and having missed the last Ferry over to Hvar, our first night was spent in Split. The ancient buildings were all beautifully lit and the place had a bit of a feel of a film set. Stunning. 





The next morning, we got up early, had our first of many pastries for breakfast (each street seemed to have at least 3 pastry shops and not necessarily much else), and hopped onto a ferry over to Hvar.

Sadly, although we were greeted with this stunning view, things didnt go all to smoothly to begin with. As we got off the boat, there were hoards of locals with signs trying to pedal their accomdation. We very smugly declined - we had booked the beautiful Palace Hotel (an actual palace in the 16th century), right in the centre of the town. We had wanted to be right amongst the buzz, and this place certainly was. It overlooked the harbour and was a stones throw from the bustling main square.



Unfortunately, the receptionist had some very bad news for us. The online agent that had made our booking on behalf of bookings.com had gone bust, and cancelled our booking. Over a month ago. Why had no one told us?! All the hotels were fully booked so we had no choice but spend the next few hours trawling tripadvisor to try and find a good alternative. We settled on an apartment in the centre of Hvar and waited in the square with an Aperol Spritz (an Italian drink of Prosecco and orange liquer)and tried to find the funny side of it all, while our apartment owner's Auntie came to collect us to show us to our new home for the next week.



After ditching our luggage in our decidedly strange accommodation, we headed back out to explore, and ended up in Hula Hula bar, which turned out to be one of our favourite places of the holiday. The bar was built into the rocks on the beach and had 180 degree views of the sea. The sunsets here were to die for, and we spent most of our days here soaking up the sun and then watching the sun set as we tucked into our cocktails and prosecco.








Hula Hula was in a bay, just tucked around the corner from the harbour and the main square, so we had a little walk back each day, and look how amazing the view was.



Oh wait, sorry, those are my friends (still an amazing view though, although I am biased).

Here it is.


Back at Hula Hula bar the next day, we watched the boats sail in and out of the harbour from our sun beds on the rocks. Look how beautiful and clear the water is. Despite being told it would be lovely and warm in the sea, it wasn't, but it was wonderfully refreshing, you just had to watch out for the pesky sea urchins. I am a bit of a wimp in the sea, but they didn't put me off, just make sure you're armed with some shoes for protection. I definitely came to the conclusion that week that shoes and a bikini is not a great look!


All of the beaches were pebble beaches, which I thought would be a pain, but actually it was quite nice to not be covered in sand the whole time, and there were always sunbeds where ever you went, so there was no need to snooze on the rocks.





This beautiful bar had day beds over looking the sea. We thought about hiring one for the day, but they were about £150.00 each and no one else was ever there, so we thought it might be a bit lacking in atmosphere. Later in the week, the bar was the venue for a wedding reception, and having been spotted having a nosy by the bride's Uncle, he insisted on showing us around and having photos taken. We didn't stay too long since we were getting some scowls from the rest of the bridal party.



Many an afternoon spent playing cards...



... and watching the sun set.



And drinking more Prosecco.


And Daiquiris.


We knew we wanted to do a boat trip to one of the beautiful local islands, and were recommended Palmižana so one morning we got up early and headed down to the harbour to find ourselves a water taxi. 


We were'nt disappointed with the recommendation. Palmižana is a small island, and we were dropped off on a jetty in a small bay, with shallow, crystal clear waters, and even a bit of sand.



After some sunbathing we stopped for spot of lunch at Laganini (Lounge Bar). It was a bit Robinson Crusoe esque, seats built into trees, all on different levels. The staff were friendly. The food was divine.



We had tomato bruschetta with local cheese and balsamic glaze. Honey, local cheese and beautiful freshly made bread.


But, my highlight was the Octopus Bruschetta. So simple and fresh, the flavours spoke for themselves.

The presentation was pretty spectacular too I think you'll agree.










All polished of course with a Pina Colada. So naughty, but so good!


Our lovely water taxi driver came back to collect us before the sun began to go down. I don't whether it was anything to do with the Pinas we'd been drinking, but we laughed all the way back to Hvar, bumping over the waves, trying not too get soaked.



He even let us have a little go at steering (brave man).




The food was amazing in Croatia, particularly if you are a lover of sea food like I am. We ate so well, fresh tuna steak, mussels, sea bass, and of course lots and lots of lovely squid. I think we ate this every day. Delicious.





Look at the delicious crispy tentacles. Yum.


We had a fabulous week, met some great people, and are making plans for a reunion next year. 

See you at Hula Hula!









Friday 18 October 2013

Hvar - a taster

While I do some catching up on my upcoming blog posts, here's a little preview of my recent time in Hvar, Croatia.