Even though I live in Zagreb and love it so much, whenever I get a chance I go to the coastline to take some quality rest. It’s hard to specify which coastal town in Croatia is the most beautiful one but I have to admit that to me, Pula has a very special place in my heart. Maybe it’s because of my personal reasons - I lived there with my family for four years and I gave birth to my youngest son Noel there.
This summer, I visited Pula again and it’s been one week now since I got here. I have to admit that I’m spending some beautiful and relaxed time - exactly what I needed! On some days I visit Rovinj, which is about 30 minutes drive from Pula. It’s nice to have time just for yourself sometimes. The only thing I’m missing right now is my family to cheer together for Croatia. Today at 5 PM CEST Croatia is playing the final football match against France. This is a historic event for my dear little country and a big success that makes every Croatian proud. What makes me especially happy is when you, my dear Chic & Antique family, write me wonderful messages wishing Croatia great success. I thank you from the bottom my heart for that! In Pula, the live streaming of the match will be in our beautiful Roman amphitheater where citizens and tourist will be able to watch it together. The atmosphere of excitement can be felt through the whole city and also through the whole country.
And now a few facts about Pula...
Pula is the biggest city of the Istrian peninsula which is located on the northern part of the Adriatic coast. It’s the fifth largest city in Croatia and a very interesting tourist destination because of its climate, calm sea and pure nature, just like the rest of that region. Pula is known for its well-preserved ancient monuments of which the Roman Amphitheatre - Arena is the one most known. Last night was the 65th opening of the famous film festival which is being held there for one week every summer. I have to mention two other very important Roman monuments - The Arch of the Sergii and The Temple of Augustus, which was built in the first century.
Arena (Roman Amphithatre)
Pula Film Festival
Arch of the Sergii
Temple of Augustus
When walking the narrow streets of Pula tiled with ancient Roman paneling rocks, you can notice very interesting medieval and Renaissance buildings in the old city. The official language is Croatian, but the majority of its population speaks Italian and sometimes German and English. An appealing fact for literature lovers is that in the 1904 and 1905 the famous Irish writer James Joyce lived and worked in Pula.
Besides all the historical and cultural attractions that make tourists from all over the world want to visit Pula, I also need to mention the crystal blue Adriatic sea that will (I'm sure) amaze you with its beauty. Beautiful beaches, diving and exploring underwater remains of ancient Roman and First World War's ships, sailing to caves and many small islands will surely impress visitors from anywhere. I have to mention that near Pula there is also a National Park Brijuni which was former Yugoslavian president Tito's residential area and in that time visited by many famous world leaders.
Although Pula has a very good highway connection with Slovenia and other parts of Croatia, this city also has its own international airport. Other international airports close to Pula are Trieste, Rijeka, Ljubljana and Zagreb.
There are many more wonderful things I could say about this lovely place but some things I want to leave unmentioned because I want you to see them for yourself when you visit Pula. It will be a huge pleasure if we somehow bump into each other this summer or the next one, in some small street with live music playing in the background, while the air is filled with Mediterranean scents coming from fine nearby restaurants.