A little more Hvar

After rereading my last post, it sounded like we had something against the Chinese tourists, which is not true, it is just that we had gotten used to the quiet of small towns on small islands, and it was a bit jarring to be around big groups again, though in every beautiful place, you are bound to run into tour groups, especially at this time of the year. Pretty much everywhere we have travelled since the turquoise coast of Turkey we have experienced a general sense of busyness and preparation for the height of the tourist season which is fast approaching. We feel grateful that we are here when it is relatively quiet, and easy to find rooms, etc. I'm sure we would not have as much freedom to travel without reservations as we have done. It has been wonderful.

As I said, we were delighted by the beauty of Hvar, and it became more evident as we wandered through back alleys that this was a very ancient city. Beginning in the 13th century, it was part of the Venetian empire, and that is reflected in the elegant buildings. 

It felt quite timeless, as so many of these old Croatian walled cities do.

Even more mysterious as dusk approached..

A wonderful modern lantern discovered in a back street

And a gryphon, symbol of Jim's and my college...

A good roost for pigeons 

And other bird friends

And lots of interesting jewelry and art to be inspired by.

Sorry I haven't shown much in the way of eating for a while, but is there anything prettier than fresh strawberries? 

And frilly artichokes

They make quite a lovely still life, don't they? 

The next morning we drove to another tiny harbor down the hill from where we stayed and had coffee with the local boat guys.

I wanted to go out in one of these little boats but was too shy to ask how I could do it.

I could have happily stayed here a lot longer.