Hvar part III - Stari Grad

Another cloudy day, another excursion. After a short drive across the Starigrad plain, it was time to get to know this ancient town.

Just as elsewhere, the city was still sleepy in the morning. Past the church of St. Stephen, we walked through narrow streets and small squares towards our first appointment.

Palace Biankini, a representative house, which is today part of the city museum of Stari Grad. After a rather turbulent history, it now serves as a link into the past, displaying artifacts from Pre-hellenic times until thousands of years later when it was built by the Biankini brothers.

Almost next to it lies the fortified residence of poet Petar Hektorović - Tvrdalj. With its well-preserved layout, a lovely fish pond and a huge garden, it offers a unique atmosphere. Sadly, the garden looks rather neglected and apart from the arcades and a small collection of old tools there isn't really much to see. 

Again, a scheduled coffee break can be used for independent exploration - because nobody has ever discovered a city by sitting in a café anyway.
More of the lovely streets...

... but of course, at the seaside, there can only be one goal: off to the sea!

Just a little off the promenade, a quiet spot for a daydream...

Hi there!

Back in Jelsa and still quite a while to go until dinner. Off to catch the first sun rays in days!

Same direction as the other das, different road. Cemetery with a view...

... and a little more of the sea down b the coast.

Due to the constant presence of clouds, I thought I'd better stay in the vicinity of the hotel just in case. However, after a while, I decided to walk the other way: past the tiny city of Jelsa towards Vrboska, but maybe not all the way towards it because it would be on our schedule for the following day anyway.

And while it still looked quite cloudy in the beginning... 

... the sun soon took over. And suddenly, a holiday by the sea began to actually feel like it :)

Still, at some point, I decided to turn around and head back towards the hotel.

Back in Jelsa, I not only discovered a reasonable alternative to ferries...

... but also that on a sunny day, the church shines in a white that makes it almost impossible to look at. 

And don't even the flowers look prettier as soon as the sun comes out?

A golden sunset and waves smashing at the shore...

~ to be continued ~