Pula - Livade - Motovun - Pula

Long shadows = tiredy eyes for Mario.

Another bloody early start (6.00am) with the boys this time to go fishing with my cousin's son Antonio.  With the promise of fish galore hopes were high and excitement levels were at fever pitch.  Unfortunately the reality differed somewhat from the fantasy and we left after 3 hours without a sausage.  Or a fish for that matter.

Nevermind as my father-in-law never fails to remind me the crack of dawn is "the best part of the day".

Came home and scrubbed the squid smell off us and grabbed my cousin and my Aunty and jumped in the bongo van and headed out to the white truffle festival at a place called Livade.  

50 smackers thank you very much.

White truffles are highly prized due to their rarity as they only grow in a particular soil type and this area is one of the few places to have this soil.  Truffles were found traditionally with pigs but now they use dogs as they are easier to command.  These white truffles fetch €3000 a kg on the open market so as you can imagine a truffle hunter's career is a closed shop passed on from generation to generation.  We sampled some white truffles and watched a demonstration with a dog and it's master finding one in the bush.

The one you see in the photo (a black one) was worth €50.00.  

I heard from a pommy bloke who has a summer house in nearby Motovun that the locals can make €150 000 a year from these truffles.  Not bad for a 3 month season.

Motovun.

After that we went to a small place called Motovun which is a walled town perched atop a hill in the countryside known in the region for it's beauty.  Cobblestone streets galore and the obligatory castle in the middle.  

Outer walls.

Motovun gate.

You are not allowed to drive into the town by car unless you are a resident and you must either walk up or take a shuttle bus.  

Fortunately I spied our pommy friends in the car in front of us heading up the hill past the security fellow.  Unbeknownst to them we followed closely and when the security bloke told us to park and walk I casually leaned out the window and said we were with them and he waved us through.  

Score one for the scamming Griswolds. (And our feet.)

Had a very nice stroll around the old town and the outer walls of the town.

Nick, Aunty Marija, Sanja.

Came home and had a massive dinner with my cousin, her husband and all the kids at a local restaurant.

Dinner at Peroj.