Giveaway winner announced + New giveaway

I am finally back in London and am ready to announce the winner of my Benefit Giveaway.

And the lucky girl is Despina from Greece.

Therefore it's time for another giveaway! And this time it will be James Brown London Serum 

(50ml worth 7.14 pounds). 

"I prefer using a serum that isn't made with silicone. This serum uses red seaweed extract to give the 'slip' and shine of silicone without the build up. Serum works by adding shine and protecting hair from the elements but many people make the mistake of using too much which can make the hair feel oily. Use a small amount; you can always add more. I've added in provitamin B5 for condition, the antioxidant white tea to prevent damage and a sunscreen".
- James Brown

James Brown haircare products are among my absolute favorites so I'd love you to  try this out.

The rules are as follows:

Step 1 - Follow my blog via GFC and Bloglovin'

Step 2 - Post a comment saying you've done that and you want to win.

Step 3 - Re-blog or tweet a link to this giveaway (this step is not compulsory, but if you provide me with such link you will get 5 entries instead of 1)

How it works:

When you leave a comment and I approve your entry you will be given your number(s). Random number generator will pick one lucky winner to whom I will send the chosen product in a month from now - the giveaway will end on the 25th of October. 

Good luck!

Porec, Croatia

To be honest I'm not a huge fan of Porec and that's all I have to say. Also that's the last part of my Croatian photographs.

And that's actually Vrsar.

Groznjan, Croatia

I fell in love with Groznjan, from now on this is my favorite town in Croatia. Town of beautiful views, art and music. It is one of the calmest and artiest places I have ever been to and I'd love a getaway for a week or so there, maybe someone would consider it boring but I love to have a lot of time for myself.

The cafe on pictures above and below is beautiful and very cozy, they also have an amazing terrace but didn't get a change to have coffee there, we visited Groznjan only for about an hour, I'm so coming back.

Brijuni Islands

Today I'm going to show a little of Brijuni Islands. In the past few years they became extremely popular, the hotel is fully booked many months in advance and I mean look at this yacht, but you can always go to the main island for a day on a boat from Fazana.

The main island was Tito's residence for many years, I actually went there to do some research about four years ago when I was writing my IB history coursework. So one of the main attractions there is the safari-type zoo with animals that were brought to Tito by other famous historical figures, for example an elephant brought by Indira Gandhi. Though as you can see I enjoyed donkeys the most :)

And this is Tito's personal car I totally fell in love with, in fact you can even rent it to drive around the island but I think it costs a fortune and I would be dead scared of breaking it as it is pretty old, though it looks perfect.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of my reflection in it :)

And another attraction is the museum with all Tito's photographs and other similar stuff in it. I even bought a t-shirt with a print of Tito and his car but I'm gonna show it to you later when I pimp it.

Also the island is famous for it's golf fields (don't pay attention to the fact that there's almost no grass, usually it's not like that but this summer was hell) and...

the oldest olive tree in the world! Seriously, it was planted B.C.

And of course the clearest sea ever.

P.S. Brijuni is also the place where Robert Koch made many discoveries in bacteriology. 

Zigante + Wine tasting

Croatian wine is not as well-known and popular as for example Italian wine but as I already mentioned Istria is somewhat little Croatian Italy and wine produced there is quite worth spending a day tasting it. We visited Veralda wine estate in Verteneglio, where they also produce olive oil and prsut (Istrian prosciutto) and oh my god their new sparkling rose!

 Roxanich winery that is famous for storing their wine for at least five years before bottling it and 

Benvenuti nearby Motovun which, in my opinion, has some of the best desert wines ever. 

And then another place worth visiting, as Istria is also quite rich in truffles is the Zigante truffle shop and restaurant. Below you can see truffle and cauliflower soup, truffle ice cream (delicious!) and truffle-peach jam.

Rovinj, Croatia

So my week in Croatia came to an end and I am going to share some photos with you, there are many more but I will be posting one city a day and this time it will be Rovinj:

 That's the Hotel Monte Mulini. It's considered to be the best hotel in Istria but to be honest I'm not a big fan of it (though as you can see it looks pretty impressive) and my advice would be to rent an apartment or something else with a more national feel to it, this kind of experience would be much more worth it.
Ok, I'll confess - I got forever disappointed in Monte Mulini when they served me Irish coffee in a cappuccino cup, it's just not the way it should be anywhere and especially in a five star hotel.

Streets of Rovinj, they have a very Italian feel to them as Istria did belong to Italy for quite a while and is generally the closest part of Croatia to it. 

A beautiful, beautiful champagne bar by the sea, if you'll ever go to Rovinj do try to find it, is rather up, on the way to the church. They also have a stunning terrace but I think they are always pretty full so make reservations.

Also there are many little galleries, some of them have very traditional art, many sell naive art but you can also find something quite creative and modern, just keep your eyes open ;)

Beautiful Rovinj as it is.