A delish dinner of tuna, monkfish and sea bass @ 2Ribera (2 fish) last night in Zadar Old Town, which is where I’m staying.

The city is known for the Roman-laid cobblestones and ruins within Venetian-built city walls with decorative gates. Built in 1543, this decorated stone sea gate once served as the main entrance to the city. Love the winged lion sculpture.

An early start to avoid the hordes and see some of the historic buildings – the rather simple design of the 27m high circular church of St Donatus from the 9thC; the elegant 4thC Roman Catholic Cathedral of Anastasia, the largest church in Dalmatia and with a three-nave Romanesque-style building design; the Bell Tower that provides awesome views over the Old Town – but can’t beat a drone’s perspective 🙂

A ferry ride with sea breezes was just the ticket and I wanted to see the Island of Ugljan (named after the island’s product, olive oil), its main village Preko and the adjacent islet, Galevac. The island has quite a history of occupation – Liburnians in the 4thC; Romans in the 1st century BC; the Republic of Venice in the Middle Ages; French in the early 19thC; then Austria until the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Its been in ‘Croatian’ hands since 1918.

The idyllic islet of Galevac is 80m offshore Preko, with a circumference of 650 metres. It’s a favourite destination for swimming and sightseeing of the old 15thC Franciscan monastery, its library having a collection of rare and old books dating back to 1527.

I relaxed at a little cafe by the sea, watching kiddies and their parents frolicking in the shallow waters, while I sipped a refreshing and delish Cosmopolitan.

Back at Zadar that afternoon, wandered down to the esplanade to experience the “Sea Organ”, 70 metres long series of stairs crafted at the ocean’s edge, designed to hum to the tune of the ever changing waves, creating a symphony. A beautiful amalgamation of art, architecture and nature.

Right next door, there’s a 22 metre diameter circle with solar panels, consisting of 300 multi-layered glass plates placed on the same level as the stone paved waterfront – it creates a colourful light show at night. It’s called “Greeting to the Sun”. (Full disclosure…I pinched someone else’s photo to include in the blog for effect….much better than what I came up with ! )