After our very twisty and turn-y ride down the coast, we finally arrived in Zadar in the early evening. Once at the bus station, we weren’t really sure what the quickest way would be to get to our hotel, so Miloš called the contact number and we were told that a taxi was the best option. We also each had a quick Snickers ice cream bar. (It seems the bus station is apparently the only place you can get them in Zadar!) We happened to find a cab company that has a low flat rate anywhere in the city within a certain kilometer range, and we kept the guy’s card in case we needed it later on in our trip.
It was honestly only about ten minutes or so to get to our hotel, the Pansion Maria. We were greeted by the owner, who was a very helpful and friendly man. He spoke English with me, but immediately was conversing in Croatian with Miloš too. He gave us all kinds of info on restaurants in the area, as well as the locations of several beaches. We also had to give him our ID’s so he could register our stay there. (Kind of a weird thing to me, as I’m more used to traveling where you have to show your ID to prove that it’s you, but not to be put into some kind of government listing.) Our room was small, but was more than fine for us. Back in April when I was getting ready to book our room, there were three criteria to me that were essential: air conditioning, private bathroom (’cause there are still places to stay in Europe where you share a bathroom with strangers – eek!), and a good price. This place came up with all three of the criteria!
We took some time to settle into our room and unpack then got ready to go out for the evening!
That first night, we had dinner at a restaurant on the sea, closest to our hotel: Lungo Mare.
Here’s the view from our seat:
And a pic of our tasty dinner:
I didn’t get a pic of our shrimp appetizer, but it was really yummy!
After dinner, we started walking in the direction of Old Town Zadar. We found the pier to walk down to get to the Barka boats (to take us across the water to the Old Town), and soon we were exploring! Inside the city walls (the ancient walls are still there) it is essentially a pedestrian only area. The streets are old and narrow. When you look down, you can tell that the stones you are walking on have been trod by countless feet, as they are polished to a smooth shine.
After stopping for a drink and talking for a bit, we continued our walk and went the long way around the peninsula, walking along the edge of the sea, coming around back into town via the old ancient gate.
The Barka boats only run 7am to midnight, so after a certain hour, you have to take the bridge when leaving the peninsula. On our way back that way, we saw a place that we decided to try for lunch the next day, and after about a 25 minute walk, we were back at our hotel for the night.
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