The walk from the bus station to the hostel was a short 7 minutes through winding narrow cobbled stone alleyways.
When I checked in there was another guy, Juan in the same room, but was about to leave for Croatia. He mentioned he had been staying in the hostel for 4 nights and had been the only one in the room. It is a very quiet season this time of the year.
Piran is a very small town with pretty small narrowing streets just like what you find in Venice. The main square is very small, with the city hall, concert hall and a few shops all easily seen in a glance.
As I arrived on a Sunday, almost everything was closed. I stepped into a shop within the main square that happens to be selling postcards. I selected one and then asked the store owner for lunch recommendations.
The shop owner referred me to a restaurant which he usually frequent himself with his family. He mentioned that the owner of the restaurant was a fisherman and he has now opened his own family run restaurant. Always trust a local for food recommendations! :)
And so I made my way towards the restaurant, passing through little harbours and sail boats while walking along the coast. I chose a fish dish which was served very fresh and all in together with a glass of wine was Euro 16.20.
Having spent just 1 night in Piran (half day on arrival and another half day in the morning before heading to Portoroz), it was more than sufficient especially during this time of the year when most things aren't generally open for the winter.
Piran has a medieval charm, surrounded by a town wall and built upwards with small little pretty alley ways, all leading to the Walls of Piran as well as the Monastery, with a nice mirador of the town and the waters around.
As I was there close to Christmas, the town square was nicely lighted up.
Piran is apparently also famous for a number of nice walks. I only had time for 1 and took the shortest one covering the coast.
The tide was pretty strong on the morning when I did it, that at some points, I was so afraid those waves would take me out mid-way! But I was glad that all went well and it is definitely worth doing.
The bus to Rovinj, Croatia departs from Portoroz, and so I decided to leave a little earlier towards Portoroz to get some lunch and see the town.
Portoroz although is also by the coast is very different from Piran as it was a lot more commercialised with fancier looking hotels and buildings and supposedly known as a spa wellness town. I was personally not a fan of Portoroz and glad I didn't spend too much time here.
I did head to the lunch recommendation spot by Juan which offered a lunch time menu (salad, soup, seafood main course) all for just Euro 11.50. And this is probably the cheapest glass of wine I ever had at Euro 1.20!
With some additional time before my bus arrives, I decided to pop into a cafe to chill with a hot green matcha!
The border crossing between Slovenia and Croatia was pretty smooth sailing, however by the time I arrived into Rovinj, the sun had already set.
But I was pleasantly pleased by the little town that was nicely lighted up as I made my way to the apartment which I had rented - It's nice to have my own personal space again!
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