If you’re following me on Instagram you’ve probably seen photos from my trip to beautiful Izola, which I would describe as a little jewel of Slovenia. Read the blog and take a peek at the Izola vistas and its mouth-watering culinary experiences. Perhaps the photos will inspire you to take a trip to Izola in the coming weekend, the weather will still taste of summer! 🙂
Check in – HOTEL Marina ****
Location: Veliki trg 11, 6310 Izola
Parking space, a warm welcome, and a tidy room with a view of the marina. I had never imagined that a view of the marina could be so charming! If I’m being honest I expected a “car-park for boats”, which doesn’t sound very interesting, but as you can see in the photos, the view is great – the street below gives off a cool urban vibe, the curvy rows of boats stretch off into the distance, and the wide sea opens up to the right. Straight out of a postcard!
A stroll to Izolana, House of the Sea
We took a walk between the cute and clean streets of Izola to the House of the Sea Izolana, where we learned some interesting things about the history of Izola, mainly its shipbuilding and fishing industries. Inside you can find cool handmade models of ships, and the black-and-white photographs on the wall tell stories of the old days.
Dinner at hotel Marina****
At around 6pm we started our dinner at the hotel restaurant. Domen was impressed by the fact that there was a chalkboard near the entrance, with the names of local distributors that provide the restaurant with fresh, local ingredients – meat, fish, dairy… A very good sign, which turned out to be correct. The dishes are truly gourmet and at a very high level. We tried out a variety of dishes, from the tasty and creamy bakala spread, to raw Adriatic scampi and tuna tartar, followed by fish filets, pasta, shellfish… It was one of the best and longest dinners in our lives!
We visited Izola during the Days of Bakala (between 14th and 19th of September), when many restaurants in Izola serve wonderful bakala menus made from local and homemade ingredients. You can read more about the festival here (use google translate).
On the webpage www.visitizola.com it is written: “Istrian food will take you on a gourmet journey that you will remember forever.” How right they are! 🙂
Evening walk a the Sun Vista #sunVista
After dinner we took a walk along the beach and enjoyed the orange sunset. The sun drew an interesting shape in the sky; it looks like a lone cloud passed the horizon in just the right spot and provided us with a beautiful memory. 🙂
A walk by the beach
#lighthouseVista
After a tasty breakfast we decided to explore Izola, the first stop closeby was the Lighthouse beach.
If you’re lucky and the weather is good you can see the beautiful snowy Alps in the distance behind the lighthouse. This morning the alps weren’t visible, but the sea was crystal clear and calm, and perhaps even warm enough for the bravest to take a dip. Walking along the beach you can enjoy the view of the small Mesečev bay, Trieste, Debeli Rtič and Koper.
The view from 99th step
#belltowerVista
We walked through the city to the belltower and scaled its 99 steps to get to the top. The 39m tall belltower of the church of St. Maurus is a great vantage point from which to experience a view of the old city center and its crowded houses. You can also see the Izola marina, and the pier directs your attention to the magnificent cliffs of Strunjan.
A walk along the marina
We took a walk along the marina and enjoyed beautiful Izola from different corners.
Panoramic vista and coffee with a view
#izolaVista
location: Dobrava 1a, 6310 Izola
The road out of Izola passes the restaurant Kamin, where we enjoyed a cup of coffee on a warm sunny day. The high-situated restaurant provides one of the most beautiful views of Izola.
Lunch at restaurant Sonja
location: Morova ulica 4, 6310 Izola
We ended our trip in the best way possible – a gourmet lunch at restaurant Sonja. Though we were still almost full the previous evening’s dinner we can confirm that there is always space for food this delicious! As is appropriate for the Days of Bakala, we were once again treated to the delicious bakala spread, which really grew on us, and warmed up with clear fish soup. After that we had a big, tender, chunky fillet of fish with tomato sauce, polenta and capers. The dishes had a lot of fresh, homemade ingredients, and it showed. For dessert I had a decadent warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice-cream, and Domen had an apple crostata.
We headed home with tummies full of delicious food.
Izola, you are wonderful, thank you for the delicious memories, we will definitely be back soon! 🙂
*Objava je nastala v sodelovanju z Visit Izola.
