Bruschetta, Zadar, to Zagreb

Wednesday 27 May

Once again, "Time Out Croatia" on the internet helped us pick a lunch spot at Zadar, at Bruschetta Restaurant; and once again, an obliging waiter rushed to help us choose quick options and got us excellent food and wine before we had to catch our bus.

In this case, we got an amazing beef carpaccio rolled with pesto, topped with arugula and grana padano, and a pile of eight skewered fried prawns on a bed of hot, crispy shoestring-fried zucchini, red pepper, and onion.

Holt had a white Žlahtina from Toljanić, and Barbara had a glass of Prošek - a local specialty, and despite anything the European Union says, you'd never think of confusing this honey-rich, Tokay-like wine with prosecco.

That evening we pulled into the Hotel Panorama (the panorama is of the mountains on one side and a giant smokestack on the other) at Zagreb, and the dinner was actually pretty decent, featuring panfried whole trout and surprisingly succulent pork neck - yes, that's what the sign said.