Zavala - Croatia

The Place: Staying 80m from the sea in Zavala on the island of Hvar, Liz, Danel, Dave and I spent a good few days around the beaches and neighbouring towns of Pitve and Jelsa.
Some features: Long swims along the coast line, fishing from the rocks, cliff jumping into the ocean, and soaking up the sun on the pebble beaches was the general vibe of the holiday. Popped in to a local house one eve as they had a sign up advertising their wine, Bozji Dar (Gift from God). The couple made a variety of wines and spirits from grapes and believe it or not lavendar, or 'Lavanda'. It was like something out of the twilight zone as they offered taster after taster of their wines and spirits keeping us there for a few hours. Due to their hospitality (shrewd business skills) we were back on 2 more eve's to eat out on their tiled veranda high up on the hill overlooking their own orchards, the sea and a view of the next island. Their menu included local fish, full squids and black risotto (flavoured with the ink of the squid). On the 3rd night the couples' friends were over and we ended up joining in their party and dancing with the couples, was very weird but good fun.

Hvar - Croatia

The Place: The town Hvar on the Hvar island is a great town to explore with its winding alleys and steps that head up between old houses and restaurants towards the huge Spanjola castle. It's a great little port town with the usual plaza, and church and in the intense heat it was nice to be able to head around to one of the small beaches/ anchoring point for small boats and have a swim.

Split - Croatia

The Place: Split in Croatia (Hrvatska), beginning and ending point of our trip in Croatia, out to the island Hvar.
Some features: The old town sits within the ruins of the palace of Diocletian, a Roman emperor of the fourth century. It features old churches, venetian-style towers and statues, and bustling markets of fish and vegetables. The city is packed with tourists, but was still good to walk around and sight see, particularly good was hearing local singers sing their traditional Dalmatian music under one of the domed ruins. Had sundowners at a local bar overlooking the port and prominade lined with palm trees and later tried a pašticada (stewed beef and gnocci meal) at a traditional Kanoba, delicious!