Thousands of Islands

The Bumboat headed east into Lake Ontario to cruise the Thousand Islands.  Our three week cruise included passages through the Welland Canal, Erie Canal, and exploration of  thousands of islands.  Check out the voyage on Instagram at bumboatcaptain  The captain will be experimenting with future voyages on the Instagram format..... let's see how that works out....

Averidichi Venice

Our Air France flight to Paris left Venice on time
I had a good view of Venice, the Alps and Paris from the port side.

Disneyworld of Europe

We romped around Venice with surprisingly large crowds.  Way too too many tourist shops and too too much shopping.  I was here 30 years  ago and it hasn't changed.  No need to return....

Yachting to Venice

On our way to Venice via water taxi.

Ron is Fished Out

Dinner at Batelina outside Pula was completely seafood.  This restaurant was a favorite of Chef Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" television show.  Ron, who said he never saw so much unknown food on one plate, did not consider it one of his favorites.

Vesna's Birthplace

A VERY small town, Sutivanic, was where Vesna was born and grew up.  We stopped to pick up some rare cheese from one of her thousands of cousins.  Of couse, she knew everyone in town.  White house on left is where Vesna's mom was born.  Vesna was born in house down the hill.

Laben on the Hill

A few kilometres from Rabac is another hilltop town Ed frequented as a kid.  We had some lunch and strolled to the top.

Ed's Boyhood Village

Rabac on the east coast of Isteria is where Ed grew up before moving to America.  It is a beautiful seaside town which now is a tourist destination.  Ed found his old home on the hillside.

Uncle Vlado's Daughter's Farm

Vesna has a BIG family.  This morning we visited a family farm which had pigs, geese, olives, fruit, vegetables, and who knows what else.  They work the farm full time year round.

Early Morning Marina

My sunrise walk took me to the marina near the port.  The boats were 80% sail and mostly French and German boats.  The Mediterranean mooring is such a pain compared to our methods on the Great Lakes.

Uncle Vlado's Friend

Vesna's Uncle Vlado has a good friend with a restaurant that serves traditional Croatian food.  Tonight we had minestrone soup, gnocchi with wild beef (bull), pasta with oxen, roast pig, and grappa.  Dinner with Vesna's family was excellent!

In the Clouds

The hill town of Motovun was immersed in clouds.  Even though visibility was low, it was very scenic.  The stone streets were steep and slippery.

Kozlovic Winery

A good thing to do on a rainy day is visit a winery.  According to our conesuers, the wine was fair and the white was preferred.

Rovinj Harbor

The harbor had a wide array of vessels.  If the weather wasn't so foul, it would be interesting to take one for a cruise.

Rovinj

The coastal town of Rovinj protrudes into the Adriatic and is surrounded by the sea.  It wouldn't be right if a visit didn't include a climb to the top of the tallest structure.

Farm to Table

Beach Bums

We took a walk along the Adriatic and visited more Roman structures.  The building with columns was leveled in WW2 and rebuilt.

Gladiator View

This is a view from inside the Coliseum.  The museum had a display on ancient production of olive oil.

Host Home

This is Ed and Vesna's Croatian home in Pula.  It has two apartments and they are very nice and accommodating.  We will be here for four days

Local Bakery

Vesna and I went on a walk at dawn.  We stopped at a local Bakery for breakfast pastery.  The shop was small and the goods were very good.