When we travel back to England for Christmas, we don’t fly. Flying is a real hassle, even when it’s the short two & a half hour flight we do from Pula to Manchester. Plus we’re becoming more & more aware of the impact of flying – but, we have to get back some way, and […]
We had hoped that over Christmas we’d be beavering away, updating our websites and that we’d jump into the new year with a whole new look. Well, you know how these things go – a road trip back to England, much catching up with family and friends, and far too much excellent food and wine […]
That’s right, the end is nigh. After a good few years blogging about our travels and latterly, about our move and subsequent property renovation in Instria, things are coming to an end. Not in a “It’s all gone pear-shaped and we’re giving up and coming back” kind of way. In the best way possible. Let […]
Yes, we are edging closer and closer to having the house fully renovated, with the completion of the renovation of the second guest room. This room, on the top floor, currently looks out over the village and has a great view down onto the piece of land, with a tiny little abandoned house, which we […]
Summer in Istria is pretty amazing. Once it takes hold, we’re almost guaranteed five months of blue skies, sunshine and hot temperatures. It’s now October, and although the temperatures have definitely fallen, it’s still pretty balmy – currently in the low-mid 20s. As in, what we would have called a “good summer’s day” back in […]
In northern Istria, is the small village of Draguć, somewhere I’d never heard of, let alone been to, until this summer. That’s the beauty of Istria. It’s a small peninsula and so I guess that once people who visit have been to the big-hitters – Rovinj, Porec, Pula, Motovun, Grožnjan, Rabac, Opatija – they might […]
Recently, we’ve had our latest Workaway couple staying with us, Kaiti and David, a couple from Oklahoma. Like the other couples who’ve come to stay with us, they are on a sabbatical, travelling and working and embracing the cultural highlights of other countries. They came to us via Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and southern Croatia […]
A while back, I set ourselves the challenge of renovating our upstairs bathroom for less than £500 – excluding labour. Labour is a whole lot less expensive out here, but I’m not mad, as there’s no way we could do a whole renovation of a bathroom, including labour, for that price. So, the initial plan […]
Sometimes things take a turn of events that you just didn’t anticipate. And this has happened to us. We’ve spent the best part of the last two and a half years renovating our stone house in Istria, from top to bottom and have almost, almost completed it. We’re on the final lap now. The new […]
Restaurant choices in Istria are huge. Even the tiniest hamlet will usually boast a konoba, serving food of an excellent quality. If you love pasta, gnocchi, stews and truffles, then Istria is definitely for you, as these do form the staples of many restaurant menus. I think it’s also fair to say that quite a […]
Our second and third WorkAway visits have just come to an end. We are delighted to report that our second visitors – a couple from Tasmania, who are travelling and working their work around the world – were another massive success. Like we said we preferred, they were a couple, they were independent, resourceful, creative, […]
Visiting friends were recently treated to a real spectacle when they came to stay with us in Istria – the Oprtalj Festival of Fire, on Sunday 23rd June. This is apparently a very old tradition, which is being revived in this beautiful town – on the eve of the feast of St. John the Baptist, […]