An Armchair Traveler Bonus: Istria

Looking its best.

Sipping the Pleasures of Istria. (The New York Times, 8/23/2013)

Print edition headline:  "The Mysteries of Istria".

Excerpt:    Like the grape, Istria has seen its share of coveters. The small, isosceles-shaped peninsula, 1,200 square miles, named after the Illyrian tribe known as Histrians who first settled there during the early Iron Age, bears the thumbprints of Greek, Roman, Venetian, Austrian and Titoist rulers. The Serbs — who like Croatians had been part of the former Yugoslavia before Croatia declared its independence in early 1991 — bombed Istria later that year. But peace came to Croatia in 1995 and Istria’s status as a much-visited destination returned shortly thereafter.