Wednesday & Thursday 30th April & 1st May
Piran, Slovenia to Polari, Croatia
Wednesday
We left Slovenia and drove for about an hour into Croatia heading for a humongous campsite in Polaris, ( Camping Polari) that is near a beautiful town called Rovinj.
It was lovely and hot, the temperature was about 25° so we were thankful that our drive wasn’t too long.
Arriving at check in for the Polari campsite, we weren’t surprised to see a queue.
There are 1,668 pitches of varying accommodation here. Glamping, cabins, set tourer pitches and then the free area (this still has pitches laid out but there are no borders, just level gravel for parking with a column providing water, electricity and grey waste). The wait was really long though. I’m not sure what was taking so long because when it came to our turn, we were done in minutes.
Now, that might be down to the fact that I do not like choosing a pitch before booking in. Had we gone away after our long wait, we would have had to queue again to state the pitch we wanted. It was far too hot and there were far too many pitches on this massive site to even consider it.
We just chose a free camping spot, at the furthest point of the site where the dogs are allowed on the beach – another thorn in our side from previous campsites.
Anyway, enter we did and searched for the perfect spot. I have to add at this point that as we have an ACSI off-peak discount card, we are paying €23 a night for a fully serviced pitch compared to €76 for a standard pitch. Why would you not join ACSI for €25 a year? 
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We have chosen a pitch in the trees with partial shade and just a 1 minute stroll to the water. Yes, the beach is rocky, but Meg is free to explore and there is room for us to take our chairs and chill in the sun in the breeze.
Its sort of perfect really. We love it here.
If the only annoying thing is the noise from the bicycles racing along the gravel path along the waters edge then that’s not too bad. You get used to it and zone out – 
its not even loud, what a grumpy pair of old gits we’re turning in to .
So, after settling in, we went and sat at the waters edge and stayed there all afternoon 
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We had dinner just before sun set and then went to watch the sun disappear over the horizon before taking a stroll into the main site to see what was on offer.
It’s so busy down in the main area, we felt even more happy that we’d chosen our spot out of the way.
We stopped at a bar/restaurant for a glass of wine before heading back in the dark to the van.
Thursday
We were up quite early as we wanted to walk into Rovinj and knew it was going to get hot, so thought we’d beat the heat.
There’s a cycle path which takes you most of the way, ending in a national park and then taking you onto the waterfront of Rovinj.
It’s very posh.
I read that its one of the most favoured spots for Croatians, its seen as the Saint Tropez of Croatia before all the glitz and glamour. The marina has the obligatory bars and restaurants and designer shops. Very swish hotels with vegetation spilling over verandahs and wisteria creeping through pergolas.
Then you come into the main area of Rovinj and the old port, leading you to the old town that was once an island. It’s dominated by the church on the hill and very lovely cobbled streets – a word of warning, the cobbles are more slippery than Clovelly, shiny and slidy as hell.
Its also uphill all the way to the church. But what a view when you get there. If thats not enough, for €4 you can climb the bell tower! The church is huge, I was very surprised when I went inside. It’s pretty but not opulent, more functional I’d say.
Walking back down to the main square, we slid a couple of times and, as we are over 40, we slowed down and made sure we distributed our weight and adjusted our centre of gravity. You can’t be too careful once you’re the other side of 40!.
Near the bottom of this particular lane – no traffic, just pedestrians – we found a lovely little place to stop for lunch. We shared a cold seafood platter, comprising sardines, octopus, shrimp, mussels, anchovies and a fish pate on a bed of rocket and olives. Delicious.
We were now ready for the walk back. We stopped halfway at one of the waterside cafés for a refreshing Radler and coke. You can’t help but soak up the gorgeous views of the adriatic here. The colours are amazing, the horizon is dotted with tree topped islands and every now and then there’s a yacht, lazily bobbing around near the shore. Wow!
Before you get to our campsite you pass by another. This one is like a huge kids club. There is always loud music and announcements – audible from our own camping spot miles away! Today we passed a childrens foam party, it was packed. I’m not sure the little ones really knew whT was going on, but can you imagine 6 year old Johnny going to school and telling his mates about the foam parties he’d been to on holiday? , how cool is Johnny 
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Today’s walk was a big one. We covered over 25,000 steps, 10.5miles and had the best time in perfect temperatures of 25°.
We’re showered and dressed to protect against the night biters, have watched another glorious sunset and now ready for bed.
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