Day 5- Hvar

The sun finally came out today, but rough seas and high winds remained, so the boat stayed in Stari Grad harbor, and no one cycled! 


Breakfast consisted of the usual with grilled mushrooms and eggplant added, scrambled eggs with ham inside, and a delicious powdered sugar dusted pastry with peach filling

The originally planned cycling route would have been very steep, up and over a mountain to Hvar, and the winds were over 25 mph, so our guide arranged mini van taxis to take us 20 minutes across the island to the upscale town of Hvar, a celebrity favorite. Once there, we split up and had 5 hours to explore.

A church altar above and today's unique plants and flowers below.


  One of the 14th century city wall gates above. Below, one of the many narrow walkways that cover the hillsides and are lined with quaint restaurants, shops and stone homes.


Town square above & below
Below, the city cemetery, high on a hill, with fortress in the background. I covered a lot of ground today amd climbed a lot of stairs since we didn't cycle!



This nice man makes these ships by hand and was happy to pose for a photo.
The stone riva/promenade above, and yet another church below..
Very rough seas around the island with waves crashing over the promenade... slippery!
Below... many 14th century churches and monasteries..


Water view vignettes...


I visited a Crotian heritage museum in the town square which featured famous scientists, poets, inventors like Tesla, and Ivan Vučetić, the man who invented fingerprinting!
Also in the museum, this beautiful lace, only made in Hvar by Benedictine nuns...from agava plant thread!
Traditional old costume above and ancient castle facade and walls below...
My photos uploaded in reverse order, so the following pics are from my first stop, a hike to the hilltop fortress.

Spectacular views from the fortress!

The Byzantines built a citadel here in the 6th century, and the Venetians began construction of the present fortress in 1278. It was strengthened in 1551, which may have saved the lives of Hvar's population, who sheltered here in 1571 when the Turks sacked their town. The Austrians renovated it in the 19th century.






Fresh food markets in every town...
Our taxis arrived at 4pm and took us back to the boat in StariGrad. Dinner was at 7...vegetable risotto, Grouper stew with polenta and cheesecake 😁

 

Comments

  1. MaggieMay 16, 2023 at 1:42 PM

    Just caught up on your trip. Looks like you’re having a good time. I’m loving all the photos! Hope your weather improves so you don’t miss out on anything else.

    ReplyDelete

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