We had our first full day onboard the Ave Maria. Started with a beautiful sunrise. Then an amazing breakfast of meats, cheeses, breads, fried prosciutto and eggs. That was followed by some scenic sailing and an amazing lunch!! The highlight was the eggplant "roll ups" filled with a savory hummus. Also had local fish cooked in parchment and a flavorful blueberry Panna Cotta.
We then sailed to the island of Hvar for a short walking tour. Before we could dock, we had a short swim stop. Anchored offshore, the crew released yet ladders, set out some floats and a life ring. And then we had the "brochure moment" of swimming in the Adriatic Sea while anchored. Hvar has the largest public square in all of Europe. It was separated by a moat which do used the nobility from the commoners. The church had two entrances depending on who you were. We went in as commoners but decided to reenter the square as nobility!! After the walking tour we watched sunset with a couple of local beers. Then had an amazing dinner at Giaxa. They had an amuse bouche of tuna on a polenta cake. A great start!!
They also served some local olives which were on their own holder. Hadn't seen anything like that before.
Starters were tempura-fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese. Then a sushi platter with two preparations of tuna and prawns.
Our main was brodeto which is a tomato-based fish stew. The star there was the wonderfully braised and tender octopus and the well developed sauce. The sauce was slightly sweet but accented by hints of olives and anchovies. So good that we had to scoop up any remaining sauce with the delicious rolls.
We had two great wines. One glass is white and a bottle of the red. The red was similar to a Pinot Noir but a bit drier. Went very well with the stew. And all.of this food and wine was $140 USD which included a fixed service charge. And we did provide 100 Kuna (about $12 USD) as an additional gratuity since our waiter was so helpful in recommending wines. Very reasonable and so delicious.
We walked back to our motor yacht and had a couple of gin and tonics on the open deck. Since we had docked earlier, five more yachts had docked beside us. And to get to the other ships, guests have to walk from one to the other. So part of our people watching was seeing all these other guests from other ships parade past us. It was quite fun. All part of the yachting experience.
Today we may have an opportunity to see the Blue Cave.
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