-
June 29 - Opatija and Plitvice
Opatija
We walked down the hill from our hotel in Motovun and rode the local bus to our real bus and left for our next destination. On the way we stopped in Opatija to see where the rich people from the Habsburg Empire spent their vacation. Opatija is a beach town with dozens of elegant old baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau villas which have been turned into hotels with appealing names - the more exotic, the more popular. Ann and I spent our time searching for a place to eat and finally settled on a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the sea. We both had salads which were OK. The restaurant was affiliated with others in Croatia with Hemingway in their titles.
Our next stop was in Senj . This was a bus driver required stop. Drivers by law must have a rest after two hours. Senj is known for its pirate. He is an ice cream vendor who turns his cost per scoop sign to a more expensive one when he sees tourists coming. We didn't spend much time there.
We went a little farther to a gas station/rest area to wait for one of our tour members who had to visit an opthomologist for a potential eye problem. He caught up to us there after we all had some refreshments.
Continuing on, we arrived at Hotel Plitvice in Plitvice National Park . Before dinner, we had a potluck happy hour where everyone brought snacks or drinks to share. Our contribution was salted peanuts. Dinner was in the hotel's dining room. Our entree was chicken breast with a cream sauce and rice.
Here is a link to the photos that I took today.