Day trip [Croatia, Day 7]

Up ridiculously early in order to be at the designated corner at the designated time for the bus which was taking us to the harbour. We don't generally do this packaged excursion kind of thing, but Hvar town sounded the best of the bunch in the brochure, and going by hydrofoil seemed like a good idea because of giving us more quality time at our destination. As it turned out, this was the best day yet since our arrival in Croatia.

The weather was perfect, and Hvar lived up to our expectations big time. Hvar is the principal town on Hvar island, had a chequered history over the centuries involving invading Venetians and Turks and so on, and sports some tremendous architecture because of this. But it's the overall feel of the place which makes the biggest impression. An impressive fortress towers above everything, while the town below is centered around a fine square and picturesque harbour. We explored much more than we normally would, and enjoyed every moment. We stopped for liquid refreshment at one stage in a little restaurant with a garden drenched in dappled sunshine. A large group at another table were in great party mood, and it turned out that they were celebrating a family member's eleventh birthday. Daddy came over to us with a plate of figs as a birthday gesture.

Refreshed, we tackled the long climb up to the fortress. The view was stunning, and we were really glad we'd done the climb. A quick meal back down in the square wasn't so good, though (our second-worst food experience so far). We'd been told to be back at the bus station for 5.30. The church bell rang the half hour as we turned the corner, but we were still greeted very disapprovingly by our tour guide, the bud door closed immediately, and we were whisked back to the port for our return to Makarska and a leisurely wind-down trawl of a few places along our seafront.

All in all, a really great day. Lots and lots of photos, and very difficult to decide what to offer as a representative blip. Carl was as camera-busy as I was (he might turn into a blipper yet), and we spent ages back in our apartment going through our combined stock if pics. It's Saturday morning now, the sun is shining brightly out of a clear blue sky, and we're planning the day to come. We'll leave you all with this eventual choice from Hvar. It's actually the very first shot I took as we made our way from the coach to the cathedral, not more than a hundred yards along the way. The tiled rooftops which are such a part of Croatian architecture, both old and new, are much in evidence in Hvar, so this is as good a time as any to introduce you to them.