For our second day in Zadar, Miloš and I decided to walk back to the area of the bridge crossing, as we had seen a restaurant the night before that we thought we’d try out. We walked the long way around through the marina. The weather was hot, so we stopped briefly at a beach area along the way to cool off in the water. We didn’t stay long however, and were soon arriving at the restaurant that would become our favorite pizza place: Giardin. The outside dining area was covered with very large umbrella awnings, and looked out onto the water and the old town just across it.
Our pizza was great. Seriously – we really recommend the quattro formaggi pizza. That’s damn good pizza! Mmmmmm…… Just thinking about it makes me drool like Homer Simpson…
After our delicious lunch, we decided to walk north along the coast and see which beach we might like to try out. We walked. And walked. We walked for quite some time. We eventually came to the beach that was simply marked: “Beach for the Handicapped” (in Croatian), as it had two separate ramps so that those with mobility issues could get in and out of the water more easily. The water was wonderful – the perfect temperature and so clear! And I have to point out an observation I made, especially as a person who does a good deal of swimming in fresh water…. It’s SO true how salt water makes you more buoyant! And the salt levels in this water are on the high side. You hardly had to do any work to tread water at all! I felt so… floaty! So much more than what I’m used to at the beach on the east coast of the U.S. And because of all the islands along the Croatian coastline, it doesn’t have that “open water” feeling, which I think helped exponentially with my shark phobia issues. (I saw “Jaws” when I was too young and have been scarred for life ever since.)
After a few hours at the beach, I’m sure we went and got some ice cream nearby, as we pretty much got ice cream a few times a day the entire trip. And dinner was a quick stop at the market to get some lunch meat for some sandwiches. (We also picked up some wine and sparkling mineral water to enjoy that evening while sitting and enjoying some time over by the Greeting to the Sun.)
We spent some time back at the hotel for a bit before heading out to the Old Town part of Zadar. Seeing the Greeting to the Sun for the first time was really an awesome thing. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, the lights undulate like the waves of the sea – and all different colors too – blues and golds and purples and reds. We sat for awhile along the edge of the grassy area just next to it. (And quick reflexes saved us when the sprinkler system kicked on!)
Here are some fun pics of our evening at the Greeting to the Sun…
And we totally got photo-bombed in the most hilarious way…. by a drunk girl who looks like she had….um…. an accident……
We ended our evening by taking the bridge back to the mainland area and heading back…
Next up: trying fresh figs for the first time, and finding another favorite restaurant spot! And of course, more beach!
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