It is a 10-kilometre drive into the heart of Poreč–

and like beach towns everywhere, this one is spread up and down the coast of Croatia, narrow and long. Everyone else is trying to get there early too, to beat the heat, and traffic is heavy on our drive in. But parking is easy – there are huge parking lots all around the old city, ready and waiting for the tourists. The old town of Poreč itself is a peninsula, maybe ½ kilometre wide and 1 ½ kilometre-long – surrounded by the sparkling blue of the Adriatic.

Lining the street from the parking lot is a wonderful fruit and vegetable market – lunch today will be luscious peaches, apricots, nectarines, and tomatoes.

Although Poreč was also a Roman settlement, there is not much left from the Roman days, except the layout of the streets, which are, as always, full of shops for the tourists. What is left is the beautiful Basilica of Euphrasius, a Byzantine religious complex established in 543. The Basilica is famed for its mosaics, and the museum displays large segments of them, many dating back to the 6th and 7th centuries.

And then it is back to the beach for the rest of the day!