Friday, October 6, 2023
BRYAN'S JOURNAL
The Azamara Quest arrived at the seaside resort town of Opatija, Croatia around 9:00
am. We were looking forward to the excursion we had booked to go hunting for truffles.
After breakfast, we boarded our bus to travel to Karlić tartufi at the village of Palladini
near Buzet, the truffle capital of Croatia.
This family-run farm harvests black and white
truffles in its managed grove of oak trees and hazelnut bushes. The truffle hunters use
trained dogs to sniff out the truffles.
Our “hunt” was brief as many of the older members of our group were reluctant to walk
down among the trees to watch the two dogs search for truffles. The staff served us a
lunch of scrambled eggs with truffles
as well as cured meats and cheeses with truffles.
Local wine was served as well. Naturally, we bought a few truffle-based products from
the farm store. Our tour bus drove us back to the cruise ship through the beautiful
mountains of the Istrian peninsula.
While the truffle excursion did not turn out as
anticipated we did enjoy a sunny afternoon in the Istrian countryside of Croatia.
The evening, we dined at the more formal Discoveries Restaurant on the fifth level. The
hostess kindly placed us by a rear window so that we enjoyed a pleasant view. (She
would continue to do this for the rest of our journey.)
The mixed grill appetizers were quite tasty; the duck breast was outstanding.
The after-dinner entertainment in the Cabaret Lounge was provided by the ship’s
singers and dancers. We tempered our expectations and enjoyed a diverting evening.
Later that night we had tea on the stern deck. Eleanor challenged me to a table-tennis
game and promptly demolished me. I spent a lot of time chasing a ping-pong ball down
a flight of stairs to the deck below, much to the amusement of one of the ship’s staff
who teased us about it every time we walked off the ship.
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