A side trip to Stari Grad on the island of Hvar…...

We certainly liked what we saw of Hvar but felt we needed to check out the oldest inhabited area of the island. Apparently Stari Grad was settled 300 years BC by the Greeks!  And it has fields separated by stone walls from that time….which are now protected.

It is a lot smaller and sleepier than Hvar.  The main car ferry from Split docks there….but it would seem as though most tourists head on to Hvar.

We took a bus over there……and had a great view along the coastline…..

…..then walked around….slowly!  It was obvious we would not need too much time to explore!

Lots of squares……

quiet streets….

with the odd konoba for wine!

and fishing nets!

We were intrigued by their use of fake birds to keep the real ones away! As we didn't see any flying around it would seem to work…….

We had intended having lunch at a well recommended restaurant, the Apolon…..

but it was closed!
The menu outside looked very interesting and it certainly looked an appealing place!

We went looking for an alternative and were briefly enticed by these funky chairs until we realized they only served cake!!

The only place of interest to see apart from various churches seemed to be the Tvrdalj Fortress, the house of a poet from the 15th century.

Apparently the gardens have the same flowers and herbs as when he lived there

 and the fishpond is still stocked with the same type of fish….

We returned to the absolutely bustling town of Hvar ……...

……..on an earlier bus than we had originally planned!

From one island to another! Hvar to Sveti Klement and back….

Our breakfast area at the Riva hotel made up for us having to settle for a room without a sea view!

There was lots of action all the way up and down the quay…

We noticed that the nice super yacht Helena moored out in front of the hotel was on the move…..

….apparently one can charter it……and it comes equipped with a sauna and a Harley Davidson…..

or one could charter this one for 69,000 euros per week!

...almost next door was a boat with local fishermen selling their night's catch….almost certainly not to EU rules or norms!

We decided to go over to Palmizano on the small island of St Klement on the Pakleni islands…..
our boat was small…..with just a few of us going over…...
Hvar does look very charming from the sea……

we arrived at the small port…..

 and then had to cross to the other side of the island for lunch…..this involved going uphill for  10 mins and then walking down the other side….

The plants en route made for an interesting walk…..

Toto's, our lunch destination,

was just a few steps up from a pebble beach……

It turned out they were preparing for a wedding dinner…..

Which explained the various signs we noticed on the way……..

At Toto's one can choose a fish from the catch of the day… or go with the menu…

 Excellent food and wine….

Back to Hvar …...where we actually saw the bride and groom……

plus a few guests!

Judging by the heels worn by some they had no idea they were going to be traipsing over a hill!

Hopefully the bridal party would be getting a lift….. this has to be one of the few cars on the island…. there are no roads!

For our dinner we went to one a well recommended restaurant……. Passarola...
Ambiance and location were fine…..

unfortunately we can't say the same for the food……...