Day 10

Another early morning...but not the usual. For the first time in a while, we weren't waking up to go play volleyball. Today, it was time for another European adventure to downtown Pula. The walk there was over 30 minutes and terribly hot, but the scenery made it so worth it. Plus, we had Alex showing us around, so we weren't completely at a loss! I thought we'd never get there! We stopped by Gilda's gate to go into the underground tunnels they used during the war, only to find out they were closed :( We next headed to the coliseum/amphitheater/arena, one of only 5 ancient coliseums left in the world! They have movies and concerts inside of it sometimes, and it has its own underground part to it. It was so cool to me, even for someone who doesn't like history.

The team inside the coliseum

This is where they will have the concerts and movies displayed

Classic selfie in the coliseum

I'm pretty sure this could be on a postcard

Next up, shopping! We split into groups to make shopping a bit easier and were told to meet back for lunch at the hotel at 12. Around 11:30, my group went in search of the bus stop. After running around and getting lost and running some more and confusing ourselves and running one more time, we finally made it to the bus stop....at 12. Then, we had to wait for the right bus that would get us to Hotel Pula (2a in case you're ever in this bind). Once we settled on the bus, we suddenly realized that we had no idea which stop we were to get off at since we knew there wasn't one that went directly to the hotel. Layne asked the driver and he told her the next one! Thank goodness she asked when she did or it could've been a much much longer ride for us. But don't worry, it still wasn't over. We got off and had no idea which way to go. Luckily, just before he drove off, the driver got my attention and pointed which way to go. We started walking, uncertain of where we were headed. We passed a random man and Genna asked him if he spoke English to which he responded with a blank stare...perfect. Once she said "Hotel Pula", his face lit up. He began firing off Serbian to us and pointing every which way. We tried to follow what he was saying with his hand motions, thanked him, and FINALLY found the hotel...now that it was past 12:30. 

We quickly ate lunch, changed into our swimsuits, and boarded the bus to head to another city of Croatia, Robinj. There were so many cute shops and restaurants lined up around the city and along the shoreline. Most of this city was built in the early 1700s. Our first stop was the big cathedral, St. Eupharina Basilica. We climbed the super narrow staircase that stretched on forever. At the top, you could have a complete view of the beautiful city. Next, we spent some time shopping and swimming in the Adriatic Sea before we boarded the bus again to head back to the hotel for dinner.

Arriving at Rovinj

Too. Many. Stairs.

We made it!

View of Rovinj from the top of the tower

Some of the team went to the beach after dinner to take some pictures and enjoy being by the sea one last night. It was so peaceful and beautiful! I'm going to miss Pula.

The sunset was beautiful! 

I love this team!

Can't wait for Venice tomorrow! Unbelievable that it is our last day :(