(music plays) - We've come to a place where ancient streets lead to a new world of discovery.

A part of Europe growing in popularity with tourists, but still home to places new to explore floor.

Croatia is a country quickly moving up the European travel destination bucket list for many and for good reasons.

The land and city scapes here, the warmth of the people and the high bar of the food and hospitality industry in Croatia are creating a new excitement for travel to a part of Europe that has been long overlooked.

- You wanna go for a snorkel or a swim in the Adriatic?

- They turned the ocean into a swimming pool.

- Yeah, they basically turned the the sea into a swimming hall here.

- Our Croatian travel expert, Eva invited us to explore her home country starting out in the capital city of Zagreb.

- [Eva] The thing about Croatia is how diverse it is.

So being such a small country means so diverse, you know geographically and climate wise.

- She then led us to the history region of Croatia, known for its wine, truffles and olive oil to explore the hilltop town of Motovun.

Top of the castle, the top of Motovun.

This historic hilltop village in the history district of Croatia.

- But now as our journey continues, Eva has raced ahead to make arrangements for the next part of our adventure.

We don't know where we're going.

We're following Eva up ahead there, which is exciting sometimes.

In two seaside towns along the Adriatic that are as beautiful as you'll find anywhere in the world.

It's amazing to me to be the history of what's happened right here.

Think about that.

- Come, come.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

Let's go.

From the historic Roman arena of Pula.

- The story is written in historical sources.

That's true, true, true - To the cobblestone streets and harbor life of Rovinj.

Kind of broke away from Dave and Zach and Eva.

We all were kind of, we all kind of got into our own mojo and that happened sometimes when we're shooting out here.

Eva is pulling out all the stops for the next part of our photographic tour of Croatia.

We're getting ready for warfare - Here.

Fancy.

- Zach, you ready for your bib?

Go ahead.

I'm - Ready.

Okay, we're ready.

Thank you.

- Here we go.

When we travel, the world becomes a smaller place.

When you explore with friends that share a love of photography, destinations come to life.

Are you not entertained?

We tell the stories of travel with our cameras capturing images of the most beautiful places on earth.

But every adventure reveals more than what's found in the frame.

The people, the food, and the unexpected terms that happen on every journey, he's going downtown on you.

Hang on a second.

Brings the full experience of travel into focus - Production funding for outside beyond the lens provided by visit Fresno County.

Nature, Diversity found in the heart of California's Central Valley from Fresno and Clovis.

You can drive to three nearby national parks by Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- Hedrick's Chevrolet is proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- By advanced beverage company serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

From our family to yours.

Supporting Valley PBS and the wonders of travel.

By the Penn Star Group promoting growth and opportunity in business through collaboration and partnerships for the future.

By Hodges Electric, serving California Central Valley for over 50 years.

Dedicated to supporting public television and the calling in all of us to explore and by visit Yosemite Madera County California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

(music plays) - Mornings are always my favorite part of the day.

The earlier the better.

With all the time and effort invested when we travel sunrise over a new destination always seems to be the best time to get acquainted with new surroundings.

After a whirlwind few days touring the northern reaches of Croatia, distant from the usually visited split and Dubrovnik in the south, we've explored Croatia's capital city of Zabreg then moved to a region of the country called Istria.

Here, we hike the streets of a hilltop town called Motovun with a rich history and photographic settings almost too good to be true.

But now as the sun rises over the city of Pula that straddles a bit of Rocky Coast along the Adriatic, we set out on another day of an adventure in Croatia, guided by our local travel expert that invited us here, Eva.

Pula is a town with a long and turbulent history built and destroyed and built back again several times over the last 2000 years during war.

It is a place once ruled by the Romans, the Franks under Charmaine, the Austrians, and was once a part of Italy.

Today Pula is the largest city on the Istrian Peninsula.

With a natural harbor and rich agricultural lands around it.

Pula is famous for its seafood, wine making, and gourmet designs that any food you will love.

We've caught back up with Eva after grabbing some shots around our seaside hotel and just as we were getting a little hungry Eva has a spread, ready to go.

So we're here at this beautiful park plaza, Istria hotel - [Eva] Mhm.

on the shores of the Adriatic and we are in Pula and we're just getting kinda used to what's going on here getting the lay of the land and right away again.

Eva has taken good care of us like she likes to do.

She's a great host by the way and we've got a selection of different local fishes.

We've got some octopus we've got some, now what do we have over here?

That looks like old school, just straight up.

Yeah.

It looks like prosciutto.

- Yeah.

- There's some shrimp.

- [Eva] Tuna tartar - We have tuna tartar.

Yeah, it looks beautiful you guys.

Fresh tomatoes in there.

- [Eva] Cod paté.

- Some excellent, that's cod paté.

I'm looking forward to trying that.

Make sure there's olives, some bread sticks.

As usual Eva knew exactly what she was doing when she put together this little pit stop.

We still had a lot of exploring to do and our next adventure would take us to a place where we would be tested in keeping up with another Croatian guide that had a lot of energy to spare.

(soft music) This is the Pula arena.

Croatia's best preserved ancient monument.

It is the only remaining Roman amphitheater in the world to still have its four original side towers intact and was constructed between 27 BC and 68 years after the death of Jesus Christ.

(soft music continues) We've come to the Pula arena as the day and all of us are starting to wind down.

That was until we met our local historical expert, Igor.

Who was just getting fired up to show us this very special place.

Okay, so we are now with our friend here.

He's showing us.

We look at, look at this.

We are walking on, this is hallowed ground.

This is like hallowed ground, man.

- [Igor] Yes it is.

- I mean, talk to me.

What are we looking at here?

What is, what is this place?

- This is our Roman amphitheater called Arena.

Because arena is this around you?

Arena.

A Latin term means send, send, absorb the blood because of gladiators.

You have have 26 kind of gladiators, but only four of them were elite, only four.

And first one was Rudiarius.

Who was Rudiarius?

Men who deserve the freedom fighting in amphitheater, in arena.

- Yeah.

- And after that he stayed the fight, but on his choice.

- Yep.

Got it.

- His own.

- He earned the right.

- Yeah.

And award was a little wooden sword called Rudiarius.

Second one is a replacement, Secutor.

Fighter with eight kind of weapons.

Third one is Retiarius, with a trident and with a net.

And fourth one, a woman, Amazon's.

You know what Amazons means?

You know what Amazon means?

- Like Wonder Woman was an Amazon.

- A Wonder Woman came later, came later.

- I'm joking.

But you know why Amazon?

Because they cut their right breast because of, of elbow.

Oh.

- So they could pull.

Igor's Day job is teaching the children of Pula ancient history in the classroom.

So we're in good hands here, but I'm not gonna lie it was hard to keep up with this guy.

His passion for sharing his country's rich history is infectious and somewhat exhausting.

- Because this is elliptical.

- Yes.

- And you see up there across the bar.

- Yes.

- The only affiliate in the world, elliptical who have a comfy one in the corner.

Amazing.

- Yes.

- Amazing.

- So I mean look at the - And the only one with the towers, you see one tower?

- Yeah.

- [Igor] This repairing, repairing tower.

- Yep.

- [Igor] And the third one and the fourth one.

- Okay.

So this is, that's what makes this rare.

And you were saying before this is one of the most preserved coliseum arenas.

- If you know what is Roman Empire?

It was the first empire on the three continents.

- Yeah.

- And in Roman world today, Roman world we have about 250 of the theaters still existing.

And this is the fourth well preserved and the sixth biggest.

- The setting of this ancient site next to the Adriatic Sea as the sun sets on another beautiful fall day in Croatia begins to take hold of us all.

The importance of the history here begins to sink in, but Igor has no time for self-reflection.

There's more to see and he's got places to go.

It's amazing to me, it's amazing to me to be the history of what's happened right here.

- Yeah.

- Think about that.

- Come come.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, let's go.

Typically when we shoot this show we try to avoid guided segments on camera.

They're usually long winded and slow down the pace of the final cut.

And people, people with a death sentence for crimes would be put in here with animals too.

Correct?

- No, no, no, no.

- I read that.

It was on Wikipedia, it's gotta be true.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

(laughter) - Clearly that is not a problem today.

(soft music) The days of gladiators and the sport of killing men here ended in the fifth century under Roman emperor, Honorius.

Today, the Pula Arena is still used as a venue for entertainment, including concerts by performers like Sting, the Foo Fighters, and Elton John.

Modern shows set against the ancient stones still in place.

Now is, is, is all of this like when I touch this limestone here?

- [Igor] Yeah.

- Is this original limestone?

- [Igor] Yeah, from Bryonia Island, it was Bryonia Island and from in Quran.

Yeah.

- And, and - 2,000 years old.

2,000.

- Igor's lightning tour of the Pula Arena continues as we pass different random points of interest.

- Look at this 1906, Paula.

Name.

Paula was military port.

This was six years before the Titanic.

- 1906 was also big year for California history 'cause that's when the big earthquake hits.

- Yeah.

- San Francisco.

- San Francisco, yes and also in 1908.

When you are engraved in history.

(music plays) - Now, below the main arena floor Igor shows us the tunnels and rooms where gladiators waited for battle and where the dead were piled after these barbaric displays of blood sport.

- 50,000 people shouting, something happens and you're here in the dark waiting for going out for fighting for your life, you can imagine that.

Gladiators wait here to call them out.

You know a story about this and this.

This is Hollywood, you know, you know the story - Mhm.

- and this was way out and this was way out.

And after games, after death, after, after, all after they were here.

Waiting with the torches because there is no electricity.

Smell of the dead animals, smell of the blood, smell of the dead.

They wait here a few hours.

When the crowd has gone home 23,000 people when, is going out.

And after that they can go to their schools or whatever.

- That was their job.

- That was their job, that was a job.

(music plays) - After our unforgettable tour of the Pula Arena with Igor we stroll the historic streets and alleyways of old Pula near the seaport on a more relaxed pace.

Pula is a beautiful seaside town that honors its past by celebrating what it has become today.

This entire area is known for its rich, historic resources, and laid back lifestyle, incredible food and the friendly people that call this place home.

This was another good day in Croatia.

(music playing) Our next stop on the Istrian Peninsula is just an hour up the coast to another important town on the shores of the Adriatic Sea.

Along the way, Eva has planned another wonderful stop in a unique part of Istria called the Lim Fjord.

This channel winds deep into the interior of Istria from the sea and is famous for its truffles and oysters.

It's also a great place for Eva to show off another over the top dining location at the Viking Restaurant.

A place known for delicious seafood and great wine.

- Because it's autumn, there you see how they're not as big as they usually are.

- Okay?

- So in spring when the water is not as hot as it is during the summer, and now they're bigger, right?

So as the, as the fall approaches, they're becoming smaller, right?

- Like a lot of places throughout Europe, food is central to every aspect of life here.

It's revered, it's celebrated, and it's made with the care and commitment of true artists.

You know what, Zach?

- This is pampering.

- You need that more often than you think you do.

- You do massages too?

- Yeah.

- Okay, so Zach and I are bibbed up as, as Dave and Eva are.

- Bibb bro's.

- Yeah, bibb bro's and we're ready to dump, jump into some beautiful lobster.

And what's the pasta, Eva?

- It's tagliatelle.

- Tagliatelle.

All right.

Gonna get in there.

This is it.

(music plays) The road from Lim Fjord to our next stop winds through quaint farmlands and small villages back to the sea.

Once again, our heads are spinning at the next place Eva has arranged for us to stay.

The Grand Park Hotel overlooking the town of Rovinj.

(soft music playing) The hospitality scene in Croatia is world class and this hotel is a great example of that dedication.

This hotel has won just about every award there is for its food, staff service, and even architectural design.

The modern layout of the Grand Park contrasts beautifully with the old world charms of Rovinj.

Sitting like a painting in the distance against a pastel sky.

A short walk into town from our hotel delivers us to the vibrant city center of Old Rovinj.

This is an active fishing village that is now a busy tourism hub in the summer for both international travelers and a popular destination for Croatians taking a fun weekend trip.

(music playing) The original town of Rovinj that was once part of Italy was built on an island just offshore, but was filled in with dirt to connect it to the mainland in the 14th century.

The deeper we walk into this picture perfect town the more each of us is drawn into the labyrinth of small streets and pathways as we make our way to the top of the hill where the Church of Saint Euphemia dominates the distant skyline.

(soft music playing) All I gotta tell you, just walking around here in the streets of Rovinj, as I make my way up to the church, kind of broke away from Dave and Zach and Eva.

We all were kind of, we all kind of got into our own mojo and that happened sometimes when we're shooting out here.

And in a place like this, I think each person wants to just kind of have their own experience.

So that's what we've all sort of done without even talking about it.

We all kinda wanted to have our own experience here and just kind of photograph this thing in our own way.

I'm walking down this old cobblestone street right now.

Vacationers are light.

The traffic, vacation traffic is kind of light.

We're kind of past the season right now, but you know any of these towns in Europe that you come to have their own charm.

This one Rovinj has a very special charm.

It's a favorite place for people in Croatia to come and vacation.

As you can see, it's just beautiful.

And so I'm gonna make my way up to the church.

I'm not exactly, how to get there.

(laughter) I'm not sure.

There's no map.

I'm not going to my phone for GPS on this one.

I'm just sort of following my heart and have a basic idea of where the, the main tower is.

But so far Rovinj has been my favorite stop here in Croatia.

It is beautiful.

(soft music plays) As I climb higher toward the church on cobblestone streets passing scenes of everyday life here that make this place so special.

Every turn is a photographer's cityscape paradise.

Finally, on top, Saint Euphemia's Church, the largest baroque church in the Istria region, rises as an imposing yet beautiful centerpiece to the city.

(music plays) Built in the early 1700's the church is said to be the final resting place of Rovinj's patron Saint who was tortured for her faith by the emperor, Diocletian before being thrown to the lions in AD 304.

Her body was kept in present day Istanbul until it was moved here inside the church that bears her name.

(music playing) The Bell Tower here rises 200 feet above the church and was modeled after the tower at St. Mark's Square in Venice, not far away.

(music playing) From the top of the tower views of Rovinj below are worth every step it takes to climb this historic monument.

Croatia had already captured our hearts on our first few days here, but now as our week long adventure comes to an end and we see more of the Istrian Peninsulas beauty like that found here in Rovinj I know for certain this is a place I will come back to eager to share it with friends and family.

On our last day, as we head back to Zagreb to catch our flight home Eva suggests a drive away from the highway and along the rugged coast to the town of Apache.

Even though the weather is pretty rough the rain and winds strong, we knew if Eva had arranged another meal on this journey it would be first rate and something we would talk about for a long time.

All right, so we're on our little voyage here along the coastline above the Adriatic Sea on our way to Apache.

It's gorgeous here.

As David Boomer's probably getting with his camera from behind behind me and I'm feeling a little bit of pressure right now because Zach, for the last hour has been saying there's a restaurant, dude, hey, we could eat there.

Hey, let's stop there.

Hey, why don't we get, and and he's right.

That's the thing.

There's this, there's this, this place is littered with awesome restaurants, but we just got a call from our host guide.

And anyway, she just, she she just got a phone call from a friend who said, Hey we just got some fresh scampi in bring, bring the boys down to the restaurant.

So, you know, that's what we're doing now.

We don't know where we're going.

We're following Eva up ahead there which is exciting sometimes.

And, but we're on our way to a restaurant to eat fresh scampi and we'll let you know how that's gonna look here.

If and when we make it.

After navigating some of Apache's ridiculously narrow streets, we make it to the restaurant where Eva's friend is awaiting our arrival.

Yes.

(laughter) Good, good.

Seafood is obviously the dominant trend in dining along the coast here.

Beautiful.

But the artistry of the cooking and the presentation of dishes is a thing of beauty.

Even though our time in Apache was short, the memories and moments we enjoyed here will last a long time.

Travel to places far from home is often avoided by people fearful of experiencing culture shock.

And while international travel may seem daunting or too far from reach, it's really a wonderful way for all of us to connect with the world and ourselves.

Culture shock as a friend once told me is the growing pains of a broadening perspective.

(music plays) - Production funding for outside beyond the lens provided by visit Fresno County.

Nature, Diversity found in the heart of California's Central Valley from Fresno and Clovis.

You can drive to three nearby national parks by Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- Hedrick's Chevrolet is proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- By advanced beverage company, serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

From our family to yours, supporting Valley PBS and the wonders of travel by the Penstar group.

Promoting growth and opportunity in business through collaboration and partnerships for the future.

By Hodges Electric, serving California Central Valley for over 50 years, dedicated to supporting public television and the calling in all of us to explore.

And by visit Yosemite Madera County California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

(music plays)