A couple of hours on the west coast of Istria between Poreč or Parenzo and Novigrad or Cittanova around noon today only reassured me in my choice of central Istria as my home. The coast is a zoo. The sea is wonderful, of course, but I can always appreciate it from a safe distance. To paraphrase an old saying about the sea and land, praise the coast but stick to the interior.

Addendum (October 1, 2016)

My beloved and I went to a beach just north of Novigrad several times the last few months. To the best of my recollection, it was actually no less than six times. Both of us were surprised by our wish to return to the same beach over and over again. According to my Residua, the last time we went to swim anyplace in the Adriatic was seven years ago. Seven years! In the meanwhile, we had not been to the Istrian coast even once. It is a zoo, indeed. And so is Motovun during the tourist season, but we can always hide indoors when we get tired of the crowds. Which gives a new and different meaning to the last word of this piece. Ah, the blessed interior!