We are staying at a very nice VRBO rental in Istria, with a view of the hilltop town of Motovun. We rolled into the rental just prior to sunset. Marion met us there and introduced us to the cats, and our accommodation.

We woke to thick fog filling the valley. But it cleared quickly. The little town of Motovun was a ten minute drive and then a 15 minute walk through the stone streets. It was nice to have a day without a lot of driving.

In the guidebooks Motovun is called “the most celebrated of the Istrian hilltowns”, “picturesque” and “fairytale.” The Istria Tourist Board describes Motovun-Montona as “magical” and “the best preserved medieval urban complex in Istria.” All pretty accurate, and we had a fun and relaxing day wandering the streets and settling in for lunch.

We climbed to the top of the town, but not the Bell Tower. Augie was happy to see it was closed today. There was a shop in the square selling locally made olive oil, soap, chocolate, liquors, jams, and more. We made a few purchases and tasted the olive oils.

It is another walled city, so we were compelled to walk it.

After lunch we drove down into the small town below the walled section looking for vines. We found not only the vines, but the Tomaz winery and tasting room. We tried to get a tasting but it was full, and we were told it was best to make a reservation. We bought two bottles of the white I had at lunch, each bottle costing just 12.50 € .

We had a good weather day today. It was sunny and 75 F. We watched the sun go down from the patio.