Travelling to Rovinj

15/09/2008
We went back to the market to pick up some goodies to make our lunch to eat on the bus to Rovinj.
We got to the bus stop and found the bus was already there, although the sign did not say Rovinj. Bob asked the driver if he was going to Rovinj. His expression said it all "another dumb tourist to make my day" sighed and tapped the sign in the window and said "next bus!!" .... okay!
We didn't expect seat allocations on the bus and plonked ourselves in the any old seat. 4 girls wanted to sit together so we had to move. Then a german couple wanted our seats claiming seat allocation. I was slower to move as there was a queue in the aisle by this time. The German man rudely prodded me and motioned to get out of his seat. I pointed at the queue and said he would have to wait until there was room for me to move. Finally, the penny dropped and stopped poking me. I thought it would be pretty obvious what the hold up was. After the musical chairs we ended up with best seats on the bus as our "allocation" was the front with panoramic views of the countryside.
This bus trip was not boring at all as there is so much to see. Beautiful countryside and when we reached the coast the views were spectacular. Each town along the coast was like a part of the French Riviera.
We arrived in Rovinj just after 7pm to gatecrash on the local festivities by the harbour. The locals were enjoying wine and food while watching the school children on stage perform various songs and dances. The atmosphere was very euphoric.
I rang our landlady who said it would take about 10-15 minute walk to our apartment and she would be waiting.... Of course we got lost. Several locals asked if they could help but did not know the address or our landlady who we were seeking. The old town has very windy streets and alley ways, slippery too with cobblestones of marble. Eventually we thought we had the right street and and an old lady arrived at the address with her shopping who we assumed, this was Miranda. Bob was explaining we were the new lodgers and she got a bit of a shock when we followed her up the stairs... Anyway, we had the wrong address. We thought we had found our navigating error but became more and more disorientated and were just about at our wits end when quite by chance a lady said "Yes you have found me at last".... and our landlady wasn't old at all!
We have a little ground floor apartment with a view of the cobbled narrow street with a kitchenette - a bit like a B&B without the breakfast. Our landlady told us we had arrived at a good time as the celebrations were because tomorrow is St Euphemia's day, which is a big thing in Rovinj. Tomorrow morning the church is opened early and people can go and visit St Euphemia as her relics are opened with much fanfare for public viewing. We might notice a lot of people going past in the morning.... Well, yes we did. It sounded like they were coming into our room actually. At the same time it was amazing staying in this place and it really gave you the feeling that you were part of it all and was not disappointing in the least. The bed was not the best as it was a fold out single lounge which had been made to look like a double but actually half of it was the base. We rummaged around in a cupboard and found some spare mattresses so managed to make it more comfortable.