Pula Croatia

 For the remainder of the trip we rented a car and drove to Pula which is on the coast and north of Zagreb by 3 hours.  Pula is so close to Italy that it felt more Italian than Croatian in it's town center.  There were many Roman ruins and the streets were narrow and cobbled.  There were also a lot of fortifications as it was an important naval area for the Austria-Hungarian empire.  They created a vast network of tunnels and bases throughout Pula.

Our Airbnb had an orange and pomegranate tree.

I loved the cobbled streets in the downtown core.  

Temple of Augustus, dedicated to the first Roman emperor.  It was built between 27 BC and AD 14.  It was huge, 26x57 feet and 46 feet high.  The area where the temple is still remains the center of the social area in Pula.  There are shops and patios where people still gather today.

Walkway leading to the original city gate, the Golden gate also known as Arch of Sergii.

The square surrounding the temple.  

The Golden gate or Arch of Sergii.  It was built as the entrance to the city to commemorate 3 brothers that fought in a naval battle.  Parts of the wall are still intact as well.  

The Roman amphitheater in Pula. It is the only amphitheater to have all 4 towers still in tact.  The entire structure was well preserved considering it was built between 27 BC and 68 AD. 

Gate leading to the area under the arena where animals and gladiators were kept before the fights.  

The area under the arena has the history of the olive oil production in the area on the Istrian peninsula.  The area was a major producer of olive oil for the Roman empire. 

Fun city view of the amphitheater from the fort.

Pula's fort and tunnel system.  The entire town has tunnels throughout and can house 50,000 people.  It was fun walking through them.

This was creepy, in one corridor it just had a chair sitting in the dark.  

Pula also had a great Christmas market.  The hot chocolate here was interesting as it was very thick, melted chocolate.  We had a hard time drinking it so we brought it back to our apartment and added almond milk and a shot of espresso and it was perfect.

A visit to the beach.  The water was a pretty color and warm.

After a long walk, we enjoyed a delicious meal at Bistro Alighieri.  The fish was just caught that day and the desserts were homemade and only $4 a piece.  Our favorite dish of the whole trip was the falafel here, it had an amazing flavor and was breaded like the potato croquettes they serve in Croatia.

Most meals in Croatia were around 40 euros total for drinks, main dish and dessert with enough left over for another meal.  The most expensive item purchased was this fresh caught fish which was 65!  We didn't realize it when we ordered it as the waiter told us verbally.  It was fresh but bland.  Oh well, lesson learned to ask how much it costs ahead of time.

Christmas morning the kids awoke to Scott and I dancing to the Italian Christmas donkey, a song we have danced to every Christmas since they were little.  I never imagined I would one day be so close to Italy when dancing to the song.  I got them traditional Croatian junk food and kinder eggs.  

Our Airbnb we stayed in was in the old town area.  I loved the original stone walls.