Can you guess where I’ve been SLEEPING AROUND SAFELY now?

Istria as said by the Italians + Istra the Croatians. Croatia claims 90% of the peninsula so we’ll go with majority.

Our journey begins with our local host, Matija Vizintin from Motovun, a hilltop fortressed city which in ancient times was also home to the Celts + Illyrians. He warned us to get our waistlines ready the culinary journey of a lifetime…

Outside of the fortress walls, we took electric bikes down a winding dirt path that was formerly a railroad where we found ourselves SLEEPING AROUND SAFELY at the new Roxanich Winery + Design Hotel. This biodynamic winery is family owned and run by four talented sisters. In this episode, we harvest grapes and learn from one sister, Sara Rozanic how Istra should be on every wine connoisseur’s bucket list. Don’t miss tasting their delicious + drinkable wine at their gorgeous hotel pool set above the vineyards.

As they say, it’s all in the timing. Luckily for us, it’s truffle season in Istra. The region averages 10 tons of black + white truffles each year and is considered one the world’s largest collection of truffles! We went deep into the famous Motovun Forest truffle hunting with Karlic Tartufi and our charismatic local host + sniffing puppies found two white truffles. Our local host, Ivana Karlic Ban, took us back to their restaurant to learn to make several dishes with fresh truffles. Too much of a good thing, does not apply when it comes to truffles!

I don’t know if there is a prettier coastal town than Rovinj, a Croatian fishing port on the west coast of the Istrian peninsula. Our local host, Aneli Radovan, took us through old town which is a tangle of cobbled streets leading to the hilltop church of St. Euphemia, which dominates the skyline.

For a sunset that will steal your heart, with the best views of the islands, yachts in port and the town of Rovinj – head to the rooftop pool of Grand Park Hotel Rovinj, part of Maistra Collection, a Leading Hotels of the World and Virtuoso.

Pack a bag + journey on,
Michaela Guzy + The OTPYM Traveling Team